The NBA season is upon us once again. It’s been a busy few weeks for me, so this Bucks-Knicks game was the first I’ve gotten to watch this season. Milwaukee came back in the second half to beat the Knicks, improving to 3-1 to the Knicks’ 2-2. For more stats and all that, use Google, this article is more about takeaways from the game. With that being said, let’s get into the first take.

1. The NBA on NBC is great for the sport

I’ve been saying this to anyone who will listen for months, but I want to mention it again. I am one of probably millions of Americans (feel free to fact check me) who gets my TV through an antenna out the window (thus only giving me the local channels). NBC has local channels everywhere unlike ESPN and TNT so people like myself can actually watch the games without pirating. It was a joy to just turn on the TV and watch some NBA, one which I haven’t been able to do so simply in the past several years since switching to the antenna.

But I knew that part. What I wasn’t expecting was that the experience was better than ESPN as well. Better commentators (there’s no Doris Burke of NBC), a much nicer scoreboard than anything I’ve seen out of ESPN, and THEY HIRED KENNY! Overall a great move for the NBA that will benefit its fans.

2. Giannis has become underrated

Giannis Antetokounmpo put up just a couple more points than Jalen Brunson but he was CLEARLY the best player on the floor. There was very little the Knicks could do to stop Giannis. I feel like people have recently started putting Giannis and Brunson in the same tier, right below the top tier of Joker/SGA, but I’d place Giannis in that top tier after being reminded last night of his sheer dominance.

3. The Bucks Don’t Suck

Kind of an extension of the last take here, but I expected Milwaukee to be bad this year. Like, play-in in this garbage East bad. That wasn’t the case last night. Guys like Ryan Rollins are coming out of the woodwork on this roster to fill its backcourt void. Rollins was just barely in the NBA a couple years ago, so it’s cool to see him contributing with a 25-piece.

4. Is KAT Regressing?

I didn’t notice KAT’s impact at all while I was watching last night’s game. He wasn’t doing anything to stop Giannis and he also wasn’t much of an offensive weapon. He scored just 8 points in 35 minutes last night. Curious if this was a fluke, I checked Basketball Reference which says he’s averaging just 17 points in 33 minutes a game on well under 40% from the field. It may be an overreaction, but KAT is also turning 30 in a couple of days so it’s certainly a situation to keep an eye on. His rebounding numbers are still great, but if he can’t be the offensive weapon he has been in years past, the Knicks might struggle more than expected this season.

What do you think of these takeaways? For those who watched the game, did you see what I saw, or did I miss something you saw as obvious? Thanks for reading, and I look forward to discussing in the comments.