The Milwaukee Bucks face off against the New York Knicks in their respective season openers and there are many subplots between these two teams.
Greg Monroe was declared a virtual lock for the Knicks prior to the offseason because of his agent, David Falk has a strong relationship with Phil Jackson, dating back to the Michael Jordan days.
So it was quite a surprise when he chose the Bucks. Now that he'll face the team he spurned, Monroe explains to the NY Daily News why he shunned the bright lights of the Big Apple, whom he met with first among his suitors.
"That was just the way it was scheduled," Monroe told the Daily News. "There was nothing extra. I wasn't the only player teams were meeting with and that's just how it fell in place."
Falk himself helped to elaborate: "It wasn't about presentation or marketing," said Falk. "It was about what Milwaukee already brought to the table."
In other words, Monroe wanted to experience the playoffs-something he could not see with the Knicks, but much likely with the young Bucks. That was how it ended last season, and Milwaukee's team looked very promising.
Now it's a question worth raising-what would Monroe say about Charles Barkley's latest prediction, vis-à-vis the predictions that the Bucks won't make the playoffs? Barkley made the controversial comment to Ian Begley of ESPN.
"The Knicks are one of my sleeper teams. I think they will make the playoffs. I think Phil Jackson's done a good job getting quality NBA players," Barkley declared. "Porzingis, he's obviously a young kid with tremendous upside ... Lopez is a legitimate NBA player, Arron Afflalo is an NBA player, Grant is an NBA player, you got Derrick Williams -- they've got actual NBA players. I'm picking the Knicks to make the playoffs. I'm guaranteeing it!"
It should be noted that one of Barkley's predictions blew up in his face as the outspoken former NBA MVP was forced to wear a shirt stating: "NBA championships: Jump Shooting Teams - 1, Charles Barkley - o" which was in reference to his previous prediction that a jump shooting team like the Golden State Warriors would not win a championship.