Knicks go against the Bucks for the third time this season, hoping for a win this time around after two ugly losses earlier in the season.

This game, in many ways, serves as a more important benchmark for where the latest version of the Knicks stand -- it was great for them to be competitive against the Suns and Lakers, exhilirating even.  But taking the next step is as much about rising above the middling teams like the Bucks, the Raptors, the Bulls etc, as it is about beating up on the likes of the Wizards, the Kings and the Thunder. 

Despite the Bucks's so-so performance so far this year, fans seem generally content with their performance given injuries to players like Redd, and Luc Mbah a Moute seems to be a nice rookie who's strong on the boards and on defense. As a League Pass junkie, I make it a point to watch even the mediocre teams because I can usually find a few names I'm interested in watching (Durant, Green and Westbook on the Thunder, Mayo/Gay on the Grizzlies,  and so on), but I have to confess my knowledge of the Bucks is even more frighteningly superficial.

I missed the Bucks' first matchup with the Knicks, and the second game came just after the trades of Crawford and Randolph. As a result, the Knicks were so depressingly uncompetitive after the first half that I barely processed the Bucks' play (good and bad), other than that they had the hallmarks of a Skiles team. They were tough defensively and on the boards, but not particularly distinguished on offense.

I'll be paying attention tonight, though, and hoping the Knicks can keep their mojo from the road trip going at home tonight.

*  Brandon Roy was huge last night for the Blazers against the Suns, scoring 52 points almost effortlessly. The game between the Suns and Blazers was extremely entertaining, as you might expect with so much all-star and future all-star talent on the floor. As a former closet Suns fan, it was nice to see them dealing on offense and to see Shaq and Amare fairly active. But their so-called renewed commitment to defense (and the idea that Jason Richardson might be an improvement defensively over a declining Raja Bell) looked pretty hollow, given how many open jumpers Roy seemed to have all night. 

Roy is one of those players that fans of all stripes can get behind -- smooth, sound fundamentally, great all around game, and one of the sweetest jumpshots this side of Allan Houston and Joe Johnson.

*  Meanwhile, Steve Nash continues his up and down season. Nash was probably my favorite player in the league (along with Tim Duncan) the last four years, and some Knicks fans and beat writers are speculating he may be headed for a reunion with Coach D in 2009 or 2010, given his open and heavily documented dissatisfaction with the Suns' current system. As much as I love Nash, though, his play has shown marked signs of decline dating back to the end of last season and through the first quarter of this year.

Maybe it's back problems, maybe it's Shaq, maybe it's Kerr and Porter, but Nash's jumpshot isn't automatic the way it used to be, and he even misses point blank layups that he used to make with his eyes closed with a seven footer draped over him.

I hope I'm wrong and that he's just starting the season a little slowly (perhaps pacing himself more than usual) and getting used to a new system.  It's a nice thought having him as a veteran backup in 2010 along with some of the hotter free agents the Knicks (and half the league clearing out cap space) are coveting.  But that's all it is to me right now -- a nice thought, not a feverish, Lebron-sized dream.