November 23, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) runs up the court during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-US PRESSWIRE

Let me be honest with you, I have no idea about this Bucks team right now besides the fact that they’re probably one of the hardest working teams in the league. First, Milwaukee started the season out at 6-2 but after three hard fought losses that frustrated Bucks fans everywhere they made the greatest comeback in my history of watching the team when they came back from trailing by 17 in the start of the 4th quarter to defeat the Bulls Monday night 93-92. In all honesty, you would’ve thought I was psycho if I told you that Mike Dunleavy, Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih, Ekpe Udoh, and hell even the 2012-13 version of Ersan Ilyasova would’ve lead this team to victory against a Bulls team that has had our number since hiring Tom Thibodeau in 2010, but it happened and it was magical.

Now Milwaukee goes back home to the BMO Harris Bradley Center to take on a Knicks team that’s currently 9-4 without the likes of Amare Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert and their 984-year-old point guard Jason Kidd who will be out yet again tonight after missing Monday’s game against Brooklyn.

Expected Starting Lineups

Knicks: Raymond Felton, Ronnie Brewer, Carmelo Anthony, Kurt Thomas, Tyson Chandler
Bucks: Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Tobias Harris, John Henson, Samuel Dalembert

Both Andrew Gruman and Charles F. Gardner have reported that John Henson will start again at power forward in place of Ersan.

Now I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about the world of the Knicks but it’s always good to have an opinion of a person that’s seen every single game of Knicks basketball. So I went down to the land down under and asked Aussie Knicks blogger Leon Jacobsen from Knickswag.com some questions about the upcoming game and the Knicks season in general.

Nov 16, 2012; Memphis, TN, USA; New York Knicks forward Kurt Thomas (40) drives to the basket against the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. Memphis defeated New York 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-US PRESSWIRE

What is Knicks nation view on the Bucks as a competitor?

Many of the Knicks fans I have spoken to about the Bucks recently are expecting a tight game. The Bucks always play tough and make it hard to score freely. The Bucks backcourt is particularly strong, and with Kidd and Shumpert out the Bucks backcourt in Ellis and Jennings could prove to a massive handful for the wounded Knicks team.

How do you view this Knicks team right now?

The Knicks have started extremely well in my opinion; a 9-4 start with nine games on the road is impressive. I think it’s even more impressive with Stoudemire and Shumpert out with injury and Camby not fit enough for decent minutes. They have won eight out of their nine games by double digits so when they have won, they have put teams away. Three of the Knicks losses have been in back to back games and all on the road. All in all it has been a tough start for the Knicks but so far they are ticking a lot of boxes.

You see them as a legit contender to Miami or Boston?

I predicted the Knicks to finish third in the East behind these two teams. I still believe this could happen due to I don’t think either team has hit their straps yet. The Knicks have already taken care of the Heat once this season by a lazy 20 points; the bigger test becomes can they do it regularly? The Celtics are being the Celtics and are hard to judge until after the All Star break, so i will reserve my judgement on them till then. This Knicks team if fit and healthy should make it to the second round at worst and my expectations are the Eastern Conference Finals.

What should Bucks fans look out for as they’re watching the game?

The Knicks ball movement; if this is on the Bucks might struggle to contain the Knicks. The Knicks offense is pretty strong when they move the ball unselfishly and it has become infectious in the Knicks’ wins this season. Having Kidd out hurts this a little but expect a lot of passes from Melo and JR vs the Bucks.

______

One last thing to watch for (in addition to Kurt Thomas starting in place of Jason Kidd): Ronnie Brewer evidently will be playing tonight with an injured finger on his non-shooting hand:

Ronnie Brewer was getting his ring finger taped to his middle finger before shootaround today. He will play tonight.

— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) November 28, 2012

Ronnie Brewer: “I plan on still being active, still trying to get rebounds & still trying to get steals.”

— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) November 28, 2012

I am not going to lie, this sucks.  Bogut was having his first truly impactful season.  This year he has really blossomed on the defensive end and become a legit shot-blocker to go along with his very solid rebounding and positional defense.  He was among the biggest reasons the team defense took another step forward this season.  He also brought us Squad 6, which has been a great addition to the atmosphere at the Bradley Center.

In a league with so few legit centers outside of Dwight Howard, Bogut gave the Bucks something unique and was a very tough matchup.  There is no way to really quantify how much he will be missed.  Good luck in recovery Andrew and get ready for next year.

Move On

The rest of the team needs to move on.  Us fans need to move on.  Season long goals of reaching the playoffs can still be attained.  Win at Chicago on Tuesday and the Bucks are in.  Piece together a few more wins down the stretch and the Bucks can remain in the 6th spot in the playoffs and still avoid the Cavs or Magic in the first round.

The Bucks still have the shooters and defense to be a pain in the ass. 

Finding Something Positive

To point to something as “glass is half full” from this injury we could look at the timing.  If Bogut had been hurt a couple of months ago that would have been too long for the Bucks to hold ground in the playoff race, their frontcourt would have worn down.  Kurt Thomas will likely get the most minutes due to the injury and there is just enough games left in the season for Skiles to put together some idea of a rotation to get the team acclimated.  Thomas is old but by only getting the major minutes this late in the season he should have plenty in the tank to finish the regular season strongly and perform well in the playoffs.

If Thomas had seen a boost in minutes for a much larger number of games his age would have been a bigger factor, due to the injury ocurring so late in the season I think the negative of his age is mitigated.

Now, who else steps up in the frontcourt is anybody’s guess.  There is Brezec who we have not seen much of or Gadzuric who nobody wants to see.  The best strategy may be small ball.

Crazy Optimist

I think the Bucks will get into the playoffs.  I think the Bucks will keep the sixth seed.  There is also a chance for Bill Simmon’s Ewing Theory to play in here.  Although the Bucks have not had enough success in the last few years the theory could be in still exist.  Best player is out, but the team rallies and outperforms expectations.

I do think the injury eliminates any chance of a run to the NBA Finals, but I truly believe the Bucks can still win a playoff series against the Celtics or Hawks.

The injury sucks, but not all is lost.  Stay away from the ledge.