Milwaukee has nothing like that to lean on. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis went to Miami in July. The return was Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and a pile of picks, and new head coach Taylor Jenkins is still trying to make it work. The 1-10 start is the franchise's worst opening since 2000-01. Herro has carried the scoring at 21.4 points a game while shooting 39.7% from three, and he's ruled out again with the bruised right knee he picked up against Boston.
Without Herro in New York, the Bucks fell apart. The Knicks won the 2nd quarter 32-13 and led by 24 at halftime. Milwaukee put up 38 in the 3rd quarter to get within 13, then managed 13 in the 4th and lost 117-85. Through 5 straight losses they haven't scored more than 107 in any game, and with Herro sitting again there's no obvious place for that offense to come from.
The schedule hurts Milwaukee too. The Bucks played in New York the night before this one, so they're on the second half of a back-to-back and coming home tired. The Lakers got a day off after Atlanta. Myles Turner and Ware give Milwaukee real size against Kessler, which is about the only matchup on paper where the Bucks don't give something up.
Tipoff is 7:00 PM CT at Fiserv Forum. The question is whether Milwaukee can keep this close for 48 minutes against a guard putting up numbers nobody in the league is matching, with Reaves back beside him and the Bucks' own top scorer in street clothes. The Grimes call is the last real lineup question left.
