Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 130-110 loss to New York Knicks

Kicking off their three-game road swing, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to 1-2 on the season with an ugly 130-110 loss to the New York Knicks Sunday night.

Sunday night’s game was a tough pill to swallow for the Milwaukee Bucks from start to finish.

Following their dominant 39-point victory over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, the Bucks strolled into Madison Square Garden to square off against the New York Knicks. With the Knicks having played Saturday night and set to be without promising rookies Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley, many believed this would be a routine win for Milwaukee.

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However, it was far from that. The Knicks built up a 16-point lead at halftime, and their demolishing of the Bucks continued throughout the final two quarters to give them the shocking 20-point win in Sunday’s showcase.

While this is a game that most fans will want to forget about, here are three takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ 130-110 loss to the New York Knicks from last night.

Takeaway No. 3 – The Bucks’ offense was nowhere to be found

It was a rough outing for the Bucks’ offense was downright terrible in Sunday’s matchup with the New York Knicks, to say the least. Milwaukee shot 41-of 95 from the floor, good enough for just 43.2 percent on the night. Bobby Portis summed up the Bucks’ abysmal efforts perfectly after the game.

Portis’ viable assessment applied to no greater area than the Bucks’ perimeter shooting. The Bucks shot a collective 7-for-38 on 3-pointers, which undoubtedly compromised their success on a forgetful night as they connected successfully on just 18.4 percent of their attempts.

In the Mike Budenholzer era, the Bucks have only shot below that mark on three occasions. And only one of those games came in a win for the Bucks’ favor.

That was quite the change compared to the red-hot shooting that the team displayed throughout the first two games of the season, where they shot 47.1 percent from long-range. The Bucks will continue letting it fly, but hopefully, this game will prove to be just a fluke as the season progresses, and they can get back in a groove offensively soon enough.

Takeaway No. 2- The rookies deserve a genuine shot in the rotation

The Bucks selected a pair of promising rookies by the name of Sam Merrill and Jordan Nwora in the draft, and it was clear to see why. Both were prolific shooters from behind the arc in college, something that the Bucks are heavily dependent on in their offense.

Three games into the season, the pair has seen little time on the court aside from some minutes when the game has already been decided. Still, these two have looked good in their limited minutes throughout this turbulent three-game stretch to begin the season. With the typical wings struggling, it might be time to give the rookies some more time.

In nearly 16 minutes, Pat Connaughton finished with four points, shot 2-of-8, and went 0-for-4 from three against the Knicks. Bryn Forbes followed suit as the guard scored a single point after he went 0-of-4 from the field in 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, Merrill and Nwora saw about seven minutes apiece and proved to be a breath of fresh air in the blowout loss. Nwora finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 1-of-2 from the perimeter, as he showed off his confidence. Merrill finished with just three points of his own after having connected on his sole 3-point attempt but collected three rebounds and two assists as well.

While it is still relatively early in the season, Merrill and Nwora could be the spark that Milwaukee’s bench unit has been missing.

Takeaway No. 1 – Defending the perimeter remains the Bucks’ Achilles’ heel

While the Bucks struggled to find any rhythm offensively from long-distance, the Knicks had no such issue. Every shot they heaved seemed destined to go in, and indeed, the Knicks finished the game having shot 16-for-27 from the perimeter, an incredible 59.3 percent in their upset over the Bucks.

Nights like these are nothing new for Milwaukee as opponents have taken advantage of their defensive scheme that allows shooters to get their shots from distance for two years now. It has been a common theme over Budenholzer’s reign, and it appears that nothing has changed three games into his third season with the franchise.

Now, the Bucks will have their hands full trying to slow down their opponent’s shooting as they will travel south to take on the Miami Heat in back-to-back games this coming week. The Heat, of course, were one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league last season, and that paved the way for them to dismantle the Bucks in the second round of the postseason only a few months ago.

Miami’s dynamic shooting will be difficult to contain for Milwaukee, but nevertheless, slowing them down from behind the arc will be pivotal in this two-game stretch. Hopefully, Budenholzer has learned from the error of his ways and devises a scheme to limit triples, but that might just be wishful thinking.

The Bucks will now travel down to South Beach to play the first game in a back-to-back series against the Heat Tuesday night at the American Airlines Arena.