Knicks crush Bucks 117-85 as Herro sits with leg injury

The New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 117-85, handing Milwaukee its seventh consecutive loss, Yahoo Sports reported.

Tyler Herro was sidelined with a leg injury, and the Bucks could not generate offense without him. NBC Sports reported that Herro was downgraded to out before the game, and CBS Sports confirmed he was sidelined versus the Knicks. The Bucks scored 85 points, well below their season average, and the Knicks controlled the game from start to finish. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described the loss as the Bucks falling 117-85 to the Knicks without Herro, and Sports Illustrated called it the Bucks dropping their seventh game in a row. The margin was 32 points, and the game was not competitive after the first quarter.

The Knicks took advantage of a shorthanded opponent. The New York Daily News described the win as the Knicks bullying the Herro-less Bucks, but noted that the real test comes on the second night of a back-to-back against the Cavaliers. Yahoo Sports published player grades that highlighted the Knicks’ balanced scoring and the Bucks’ inability to keep up. Josh Hart was also listed on the injury report, according to Athlon Sports, but he played and contributed to the win. The Knicks are healthy and playing well, and they took care of business against a team that was missing its best scorer.

The Herro injury

Herro’s leg injury is the story for the Bucks. He is their primary scoring guard, and the offense falls apart without him. Sports Illustrated reported that the Bucks may be without a key piece against the Knicks, and the prediction was correct. Heavy.com announced the Bucks’ injury news before the game, and the downgrade from questionable to out sealed the outcome. The Bucks do not have another player who can create shots at Herro’s level, and the Knicks exploited that weakness all night.

The seven-game losing streak is a crisis. The Bucks were expected to compete for a playoff spot, and a seven-game skid puts that goal in jeopardy. The Eastern Conference is competitive, and the Bucks are falling behind. Herro’s return is the only thing that will turn the season around, and the timeline for his return is unclear. The Bucks need him back soon, and they need to win games in the meantime. The schedule does not get easier, and the losses are piling up. The team has not won since Herro went down, and the pattern is established: without him, the Bucks cannot score enough to win. The coaching staff has tried different lineups and different approaches, but nothing has worked. The offense needs a primary creator, and Herro is the only player on the roster who fits that description.

Yahoo Sports provided a rapid recap of the game, and the box score tells the story. The Bucks shot poorly, turned the ball over and could not get stops. The Knicks scored 117 points on efficient shooting, and the Bucks could not match them. The game was a blowout, and the Bucks have to find a way to compete without Herro while he recovers. The 32-point margin is the kind of result that prompts questions about the roster, the coaching and the direction of the franchise. The Bucks were built around Herro and their other core players, and when one piece is missing, the whole structure collapses.

The injury report also included Josh Hart, according to Athlon Sports, though Hart played and contributed. The Bucks’ injury situation is not limited to Herro, but his absence is the one that changes the team. The other players are role players who complement Herro, and without him, they are asked to do more than they can. The result is a team that looks lost on offense and overmatched on defense, and that is what the Knicks exposed.

What I think

The Bucks are in trouble. Seven straight losses is a tailspin, and the team does not look competitive without Herro. The offense is stagnant, the defense is leaking, and the schedule is not going to ease up. The Bucks need Herro back, and they need him back soon. Every game without him is a game they are likely to lose, and the Eastern Conference is not going to wait for them to get healthy.

The Knicks are playing well, but they should not overread this win. They beat a shorthanded team at home, and the Daily News was right to point out that the real test is the Cavaliers on the second night of the back-to-back. The Knicks are a good team, and they should beat bad teams. The question is whether they can beat good teams, and the Cavaliers will provide that answer. This win was expected, and it should not be treated as a statement.

Herro’s health is the story. The Bucks traded for him to be their go-to scorer, and he was doing that job before the injury. Without him, the Bucks do not have a primary option, and the offense devolves into isolation possessions that do not produce points. The Bucks need to get Herro healthy, and they need to find a way to win a game or two while he is out. If they do not, the season will slip away, and the trade will look like a failure. That is a lot of pressure on a leg injury, but that is where the Bucks are right now.