New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks Post Game Recap

Oct 20, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Cleanthony Early (17) defends against Milwaukee Bucks guard Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Another night, another preseason game. Tonight the New York Knicks took on the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden. It was the second preseason game the Knicks had at home, and the second lose they suffered at the World’s Most Famous Arena. Here are some takeaways from the Knicks loss Monday night.

-New Starting Lineup

Head coach Derek Fisher rolled out a new starting lineup tonight, switching up the one he had used the previous three games. Tonight Jose Calderon, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony and Quincy Acy were joined by Amar’e Stoudemire instead of Samuel Dalembert.

The results were mixed, as the Knicks struggled to stop the Bucks offensive without their best rim protector playing many minutes. Stoudemire on the other hand looked as comfortable as ever back as the starting center. Stoudemire had a solid stat line, finishing with 14 points on 5-7 shooting with six rebounds and three assists. He also added a block, and was one of the few players to finish with a positive plus/minus ratio.

This could be telling as Stoudemire is one of the players, with Andrea Bargnani, whose role is still unclear. It would be smart to separate the two, but it will be worth watching in the final two preseason games who Fisher goes with in the starting lineup. Right now it looks like the big spots are the only ones up in the air currently.

Acy has looked good in preseason and has earned a look for the rotation, adding another player Fisher has to find a place for in the rotation along with Stoudemire, Bargnani, Dalembert, Jason Smith and Cole Aldrich.

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-Defense Needs Work

Whenever you give up 120 points, preseason or not, there is work to be done on the offensive end. The Knicks are working on plenty of things with Fisher installing a new system as a rookie head coach, but the defense has plenty of work.

Fisher has billed himself as a defensive minded player who scraps, much like he did when he was playing point guard in the NBA, but the Knicks do not seem to have many players with a defensive mentality.

Tonight the Bucks scored at will, making 40 of 67 from the field, good for 59.7 percent. They didn’t miss much more from beyond the arc, as the Bucks knocked down 12 of 24, 50 percent, from deep. O.J. Mayo led the way with 24 off the bench for Jason Kidd and the Bucks.

Plus/minus is not always a telling stat, but tonight the Knicks had too many players that were negative to overcome. Eight of the 15 players finished with a negative amount, with J.R. Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cleanthony Early recording the worst numbers with -15 and -13 respectively.

-Injured Starter

Calderon was forced from the game tonight with a strained right calf a little more than three minutes into the game and did not return. Calderon has been plagued by injuries more often than you’d like throughout his career, and the Knicks have to hope this one is minor.

In his place Pablo Prigioni and Shane Larkin absorbed all of the minutes at point guard. Like the rest of their teammates, their performance was spotty on the night as they received more playing time than they were expecting.

If Calderon is going to miss extended time, Prigioni will most likely get the first shot at starting with Larkin backing him up. The savvy veteran is closer to what Calderon would give them in the starting unit, and makes for the logical replacement. You could expect to see Shumpert and Smith sprinkle in playing point guard in a pinch as well, and even Anthony bringing the ball up some times to initiate the offense is absolutely necessary.

Check out here for our more in-depth breakdown of the Knicks’ Point Guard position, which has become the center of attention after Calderon’s injury Monday night.