In-season tournament game or not, Knicks and Bucks had plenty of incentive to win

MILWAUKEE — The court at Fiserv Forum was adorned in a mix of odd color schemes and the seats in the arena were covered by T-shirts heralding the start of the NBA’s latest scheme, the in-season tournament. 

But in the locker rooms and on the sidelines, both sides insisted that this game would be no different from any other one — even with the word filtering out Friday that not only the players would  be playing for prize money in the tournament but  the coaches would, too. 

“I just want to win,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “Obviously, I’m not going to turn down any money. But we’re all competitors. If there’s a trophy, we want to win. The money is a good external incentive. But we have tremendous character in our locker room and the competition itself is more than enough. And when you play, play to win. Compete to win and expect to win.”

If the league is trying to push teams to play their best players — a growing problem in recent seasons — the efforts are lost on the Knicks and Tom Thibodeau. Even as the Knicks were a man short Friday with RJ Barrett out with a sore left knee, there is little question that Thibodeau and his team play to win every night — sometimes to a fault, as his star players regularly strive to play in every game and to pile on minutes.

“Here’s the thing about the tournament,” Thibodeau said before the game. “Hey, I’m curious myself. I think it’s a great idea, and the thing I love about Adam [Silver, the NBA commissioner], he’s not afraid to try things. 

“And I think everyone’s trying to get a feel for it, but the thought process behind it is very good. I think once we get through the initial phase, all these games matter. Whether they count in the tournament or not, they count in the standings. I think when you get to the knockout phase, all those games — just like we saw in the play-in — when it goes to winning time, one and done, it adds interest. So let’s see where it goes. We’re excited about it. Hopefully it’s great.”

Both of these teams had plenty of incentive to play to win anyway. Griffin, in his first year as a head coach, entered the game at 2-2 although the Bucks'  defense was ranked near the bottom in most metrics (29th in points per possession and 28th in points per game). Already in pregame, Griffin was admitting to shifting some strategies he had tried to put in place.

Thibodeau has long held a reputation as a coach who treasures every game, an advantage the Knicks have sometimes held that could be diminished if teams begin to mimic their focus on every single game. The Knicks have had a difficult early schedule, have played poorly offensively with Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson searching for their shot, and were 2-3 in their first five games.

So the trip to Las Vegas and the $500,000-per-player reward for the tournament-winning team sounds nice, but the more profound meaning of this game for these teams was that it was the next one on the schedule for teams desperate for a victory.

The Bucks are different from the team that won a title three seasons ago, and it’s not just the coaching change. While Giannis Antetokounmpo may be the focus of what success they have had, they dealt away defensive stopper Jrue Holiday and brought in Damian Lillard, the best offensive talent that Antetokounmpo has ever been paired with in his career.

"They were already a good team,” Thibodeau said. “Obviously, when you start with Giannis and you look at all the other pieces, [Brook] Lopez, [Bobby] Portis, [Khris] Middleton, the [Malik] Beasley pickup added shooting. When you add a player of Lillard’s ability, they’re a terrific team. But they were already that. They’ve got championship experience. Adrian’s terrific. There’s going to be a little feeling-out time for them, but they’re loaded.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.