New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks 1/14/20: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Daily Fantasy
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New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks Preview
The New York Knicks are looking for a winning streak as they hit the road tonight. Unfortunately for them, they’ll be without several key players and they are matched up against the Milwaukee Bucks, who own the league’s best record.
This will be the final game of the regular season series between the Bucks and Knicks. In their most recent matchup this season on December 21, the Bucks beat the Knicks at home 123-102. Khris Middleton had 23 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with a triple-double. Julius Randle led the Knicks with 20 points.
New York is 14th in the Eastern Conference with an 11-29 record. They won their most recent game, are 4-6 in their last 10 games and are 5-16 on the road this season. The Bucks own the league’s best record at 35-6. They have won three straight, are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are 18-2 at home.
TV Schedule
Date: 1/14/2020
Time: 8 PM ET
Arena: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
Channel: FSWIS, MSG
Injuries
Knicks: Reggie Bullock, Mitchell Robinson, Frank Ntilikina (P), Marcus Morris, Dennis Smith Jr. (O)
Bucks: Robin Lopez (O)
New York Knicks Starting Lineup
PG: Elfrid Payton
SG: RJ Barrett
SF: Reggie Bullock
PF: Julius Randle
C: Taj Gibson
Knicks Analysis
The New York Knicks haven’t had much to be happy about. Several players have reportedly asked for trades and they’ve been cellar-dwelling in the East.
A big win on Sunday was just what was needed. It was an impressive win over one of the East’s best teams. It was close through most of the game, and the Knicks poured in 40 fourth-quarter points to secure the win.
“It’s huge,” rookie guard RJ Barrett said. “They’re really one of the best teams in the league. We were able to fight it out and get one.”
“I just told the guys I’m so happy for them, so proud of them for hanging in there and battling back,” coach Mike Miller said. “We bent a couple times but didn’t break.”
The Knicks had seven players score in double figures, led by Julius Randle, who had 26 points and eight rebounds. Barrett had 23 points and Kevin Knox came off the bench for 17 points.
Knicks Quick Links: Knicks Starting Lineup, Knicks Roster, Knicks Depth Chart, Knicks Injuries, Knicks News, Knicks Schedule
Milwaukee Bucks Starting Lineup
PG: Eric Bledsoe
SG: Wesley Matthews
SF: Khris Middleton
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Brook Lopez
Bucks Analysis
The Milwaukee Bucks will be looking for their fourth consecutive win tonight, and they’d also like to put a bow on their regular-season series against the New York Knicks.
In their game on Saturday night, they blew out the Portland Trail Blazers 122-101. They got off to quick starts in each half, which helped them keep the pressure on the Trail Blazers and secure the win. While Giannis Antetokounmpo was not 100 percent for the prior game, coach Mike Budenholzer said that didn’t stop the superstar forward from putting his stamp on the game.
“I guess nobody’s probably ever 100-percent healthy, but I think he wanted to put a statement on the game,” Budenholzer said. “Giannis was very good (Friday) night, but he probably wasn’t his super Giannis that we’re all used to. So I think whenever he has one of those games, you feel like he’s going to come out and play with force in the first quarter, want to put a different spin on the game. And he definitely did that.”
Giannis finished with 32 points and 17 rebounds. Khris Middleton added 30 points, and it was a big night for Eric Bledsoe, who had 29 points. Donte DiVincenzo came off the bench for 10 points.
Bucks Quick Links: Bucks Starting Lineup, Bucks Roster, Bucks Depth Chart, Bucks Injuries, Bucks News, Bucks Schedule
Key Player Matchups
Giannis Antetounkoumpo vs. Julius Randle
Randle has been having a solid year in New York, even if his numbers are a little down. However, Randle has never really been known for his defense, so he’s in for a tough night. If Morris was playing, they could turn to him for assistance, but the Knicks will really have to look for answers because this is the type of mismatch Giannis thrives in.
Brook Lopez vs. Taj Gibson
While Giannis vs. Randle will be the key matchup, other matchups to keep an eye on are the veteran big man matchup of Brook Lopez vs. Taj Gibson and RJ Barrett vs. Khris Middleton, id they are matched up together. If Lopez has to switch over on driving scorers, he’ll have to keep out of foul trouble.
Daily Fantasy
Giannis is always a safe bet to put up a monster stat line. He’s consistently a top-three producer by fantasy standards. For tonight’s matchup with the Knicks, the Greek Freak is going for a salary of $12.2k with his fantasy projections set for 51. his teammate Middleton, who is starting to get his rhythm back after missing time with a thigh injury is available for $6.4k on FanDuel with his points projected at 29.2.
The Knicks have two guys projected to post more than 25 fantasy points for tonight’s game. Randle is going for a salary of $7.5k and projected for 28.9 fantasy points. The rookie, Barrett has had a solid statistical season. Despite rookies being inconsistent their first year, Barrett leads the Knicks in minutes per game at 33.1, so he ends up posting counting stats one way or another. He’s going for $6.2k with fantasy projections set at 28.8.
Bet on Matchup
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