Knicks Pregame Preview vs. Milwaukee Bucks November 18

Knicks Pregame Preview vs. Milwaukee Bucks; November 18th, 2014

The New York Knicks will look to continue their strong play from Sunday afternoon tonight against the surprising Milwaukee Bucks. It will be the start of a stretch of five out of six games on the road for the Knicks. They have won seven of the last eight in this series, but that may be tough to continue. New head coach Jason Kidd has been getting the most out of this young, seemingly mismatched roster as they currently stand at an overachieving 5-5. The Knicks will look to knock them back under .500 Tuesday night and get their second consecutive win in the process. Here are some things to watch for tonight when the Knicks and Bucks tip off from the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee at 8:00 PM ET.

Matchup of the Game: Jabari Parker vs. Carmelo Anthony

Mar 15, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) shoots over Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) in the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

This will be the first time the Knicks see Parker, the second overall pick from the 2014 draft. There are some people that compared Parker as a Carmelo Anthony-type player, as he is capable of playing small and power forward with the ability to score in an array of ways with strong percentages shooting and strong rebounding numbers for the position. So why not see how he does against Anthony? Anthony has started to get on a role recently offensively, and it may be tough for the rookie to slow him down.

-Injury Updates

The Knicks will be without rookie Cleanthony Early tonight, and for the next couple of weeks. Early is expected to miss at least a month as he is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee. The Knicks said there is a ‘loose body’ in the knee and they are going to clean it up. He will be re-evaluated in a month to determine his timetable to return. He has played in spurts this season, but shouldn’t affect Derek Fisher’s rotation much.

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An injury that does is the one to Iman Shumpert, who has essentially missed the last two games with a bruised hip. Shumpert will take part in shoot around and see how the hip feels, but he is hoping to play.

Khris Middleton is the only Bucks player with a question mark health wise. He was listed as probable for Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat, but ended up sitting out with soreness in his knee. He will more than likely be probable again tonight against the Knicks, but should suit up.

-Head Coaching Matchup

This will be an interesting matchup head coach wise, as the two players manning the sidelines both got there just months after playing in the NBA. For Kidd, he was a point guard on the Knicks in the playoffs before joining the Brooklyn Nets sidelines as head coach weeks later. For Fisher, he was playing in the postseason with the Oklahoma City Thunder this past June, but was hired to coach the Knicks shortly into the summer.