Defending? Hell no.
But I thought effort was a problem fostered by Felton, Tyson & Woody...but there is still some of the cancer left...but who...
No "cancer" made Dalembert, Swish, Larkin, and Pablo put up poor rebounding numbers. Most of them are usually good rebounders. NY needed those rebounds. NY is 9th in rpg. NY is 12th in 2nd chance point defense. They gave up 17 last night (this was the equivalent of giving the Bucks half of the points they missed back to them). More than anything, NY is 1st in pitp defense and they gave up 48 last night. NY is also 4th in fbp defense and they gave up 13 last night. NY rarely gives up the amount of points they gave up. They are 16th in ppg defense (just below average). All these things are very uncharacteristic of them. Off nights happen. The Bucks had an off night defending too. The Bucks rarely give up the amount of points they gave up.
What I'm saying is... that last quarter was intense team defense...which frustrated the bucks...why can't they play that all game.
Same reason why the Bucks (a good defensive team) was inconsistent tonight on defense. It happens. They certainly didn't win because they gave more effort than NY. NY usually gives plenty of effort. They are:
1st in opp pitp
6th in opp fg% at the rim
6th in opp fga's at the rim
4th in opp fbps
9th in rpg
12th in opp 2nd chance points
16th in opp ppg (just below average)
17th in opp rpg (just below average)
All this while learning a new defensive system (not just a new offense). Both teams are capable of defending better than they did tonight. They could've used Acy's rebounding.