The Meaning of an NBA Christmas
For the Milwaukee Bucks to be able to play on Christmas Day, a big deal “event” in the NBA, speaks to all of the progress this franchise has made over the past five years. (293 wins-127 losses) By winning an NBA Championship and by winning so many games the Bucks have earned a spot on Christmas Day. Unlike Thanksgiving Day in the NFL where the games are all about tradition, Christmas NBA games are all about “the product” and the showcase of talent. This game was most likely one of the first games circled by the Bucks players and coaches. (I know I had that paragraph written and rewritten for weeks.) This one should be entertaining.
Merry Christmas!
The Bucks are coming off a nice win against New York. Milwaukee defeated the Knicks (130-111) and the game never really felt close. Milwaukee had a nice halftime lead. (62-54) and a nice lead heading into the 4th quarter (100-87). The Bucks never looked back. Now, on Christmas day the Bucks will take on the Knicks. While it is tough to beat a team two times in a row, Milwaukee seems to clearly have the better team.
The (22-7) Milwaukee Bucks take on the (16-12) New York Knicks at 11am CST Christmas Day. This is a major showcase game for the league and will be televised nationally on ABC. It’s Giannis and Dame and Khris vs Jalen Brunson.
Vegas has the Bucks at a 58% chance to win and 4 point favorites. The over/under is 225.
For Milwaukee to win they will need to be able to some important things.
Related: Studs and Duds from the Bucks Win vs New York on 12.23
Milwaukee Bucks keys to victory
Play “Together”
For new Bucks star Damian Lillard, the team has to continue to build upon these winning experiences.
Time and also experiences,” Lillard said. “We’ve had our moments of frustration as individuals and as a team, where we expect better from ourselves. Guys coming into a new situation like myself, Khris and Giannis, me being new to them, it’s normal for us all to have moments of frustration. Because you want things to be able to work for everybody, but it might not be going how you want it to go or in a comfortable way for you. We just kept working through it. We didn’t separate, we just kept trying to find solutions.
Quote Taken from Jamal Collier, ESPN
Does anyone doubt this is a “top five” team in the NBA if they play together? So far so good: a (22-7) start seems proof-positive of that.
How tough is it going to be to beat this team four times in a seven-game-playoff series?
Watch Those Turnovers
The Bucks have been a little careless with the ball of late. Against the Knicks they had 14 turnovers; New York only had 11. It is just a sports “truism”- turning the ball over to your opponents gives them more opportunities to score.
The Bucks, on the season, were averaging less than 15 a game. They need to keep that number down.
Against the Magic in a close win, Orlando only had 7 turnovers while Milwaukee had 13. The Bucks need to make sure they watch those turnovers.
Shoot (and defend) the three well
Something is so right with the Bucks offense. The amount of scoring this team can do has been pretty awesome. Milwaukee is shooting 38.3% from behind the arc.
They are only 9th in the NBA in 3 point attempts. They’ll need to make sure they close out on shots and not allow New York to get hot and “lucky” from 3.
It’s Time to Shine- Keep Playing those Starters!
It was a little surprising that Head Coach Adrian Griffin did not go to his bench a little earlier in the win on Saturday vs New York. But hey, you gotta roll with your best guys. And in this case you mine-as-well play Giannis and Dame for 35+ minutes. That seems to be a big change from the “Coach Bud philosophy”.
Khris Middleton does not seem on such a minutes restriction anymore. He played 33 minutes against the Knicks on Saturday.
As the game went on you could just sense Middleton was gaining confidence and improving. He ended up with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists but really started to control the tempo in stretches of the game. His four defensive rebounds came at key moments.
The Bucks have global stars in Giannis and Dame. This is their time to show up. Giannis has played ok on 12/25 games. (25/12/4). Why shouldn’t Giannis go for 50 today!
The Opponent: The Knicks
Losing Mitchell Robinson for the season can not be understated: it has really hurt New York in the halfcourt. Robinson led the team in rebounds. His presence is missed.
The Knicks have always had the team-wide identity that they are strong in the halfcourt, that they are strong on defense and play at a “slower pace”. They are 16th in the NBA in team scoring, averaging 114 points per game. (By contrast, Milwaukee is 2nd in the NBA in scoring, averaging 124.6 points a game).
The Knicks have some good players. Jalen Brunson is an excellent point guard. The former Maverick leads the team in scoring 25.6 points per game. He is a floor general who attacks the basket. Against Milwaukee on Saturday Brunson had 36 points.
Julius Randle is doing “Julius Randle things”: being a good low post scorer who can make an occasional three. Interestingly enough Randle is second on the team in assists with 5 a game. Brunson leads the team with 5.9 assists per game. He also is second on the team in scoring and averages 22.8 points per game.
Quentin Grimes has been playing more of late. The 23 yr-old is an excellent free throw shooter. He is a “slash and score” shooting guard.
The Knicks added former Buck Donte DiVincenzo over the offseason. He is averaging 9.9 points a game and 20 minutes per game. He is not playing a ton but he is playing.
New York also added Taj Gibson to help cover up the loss of Robinson. It has not really helped a ton.
Things to tell your buddies as you are watching the game
- The Bucks are ok on the road. (6-5 record). If they lose, blame it together on being away from the Fiserv Forum.
- The Bucks lead the all-time series 125-105.
- The Knicks record, all-time, is 2940-3110. They have won two NBA championships all-time.
- When the Knicks do win at home, one of two songs is usually played: one is by Swizz Beatz and the other is by the Big Beat Orchestra.
- The Knicks are one of the NBA’s original eight teams. The other seven were the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors, the Providence Steamrollers, the Baltimore Bullets, the Chicago Stags, the Washington Capitols and the St. Louis Bombers.
- Merry Christmas!
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