New York Knicks Takeaways From Opening Night Victory Over Milwaukee Bucks

Bench Explodes

Oct 28, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; New York Knicks forward Derrick Williams (23) shoots during the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

While Williams will get a lot of talk for how well he played, the bench as a whole was outstanding tonight. They dominated the Bucks bench, outscoring them 73-32. The bench unit even outscored the starters tonight, as the starting unit scored only 49 compared to the 73 the bench poured in.

They deserve a lot of the credit for the win tonight, as the got the Knicks going in the first quarter after a slow start. Williams woke them up, but Kyle O’Quinn helped out as well. O’Quinn has come into a role as the backup big off the bench, and like Williams, continued his strong play from the preseason. In only 23 minutes, O’Quinn pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to go with three assists, one steal, two blocks, eight points and a couple of hard fouls.

O’Quinn reminds some people of a former Knicks fan favorite Charles Oakley for how he mans the paint, and with the fouls he hands out that won’t change people’s mind about him being the new Oakley. He laid a couple of hard shots tonight to remind the Bucks that there will be no easy baskets when he is in the middle.

The duo of Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway was also outstanding. They were both efficient, shooting 4-of-7 and 5-of-10 respectively for 10 and 16 points. They also stuffed the stat sheet, as Grant added one rebound, five assists and three steals, while Galloway had four rebounds and three assists. The biggest takeaway for them though is that they combined for zero turnovers, making their night that much more efficient.

Next: Defense Comes Up Big