Official Game Thread: Knicks at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

This is the time to remember. ‘Cause it will not last forever…

 

March Madness is here! Have you caught the fever yet? If so, you may want to self-quarantine and watch some NBA action to kill the time, if not a few germs, during tonight’s lull in NCAA conference tournament play.

This time last year, it was about to be a nice little run for the New York Knicks’ RJ Barrett, cementing himself as a certified PTP’er alongside Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson as Duke would win the ACC conference tourney championship. Indeed, those were the days to hold on to.

Williamson would wind up entering the NBA with some experienced, if not accomplished, veteran talent around him. Barrett was granted high expectations, just by being picked shortly after Zion by New York, but not a commensurately high amount of usage.

RJ ceded center stage to another former high NBA draft pick, in Julius Randle, trying to prove he can be a headliner, and a now-departed Morris Twin who was trying to grab the attention of his next NBA employer. But some fans and media are already dour over the prospect that Barrett (42.6 2FG%, 31.8 3FG%, 60.5 FT%) may not become the franchise-defining superstar for whom they have longed. Did I mention, he only turns 20 in June?

Barrett returns with his Knicks to visit Reddish’s Atlanta Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL), and I can imagine the #3 pick from last year’s draft is a bit envious of his former Dookie teammate’s situation.

“Simply put,” Sopan Deb of the New York Times wrote in generality on Saturday, “being a rookie for the Knicks, a franchise seemingly addicted to chaos in the country’s biggest city, is different from being on any other team.” Deb noted that RJ’s career-high of 27 points in what should have been a rousing home win over Houston was overshadowed by the antics of his team’s owner and his squabble with its biggest superfan. “It can be jarring for young men entering adulthood, and even more so for Barrett – who fans hope will be the centerpiece of a long-desired championship team.”

Maple Mamba has a few supporters above the border who have been tracking his path to the pros for some time, and there’s hope he can become a consistent go-to star for the Knicks, sooner rather than later. By the time he does break through, he will likely be under the guidance of his second team executive, the incoming ex-agent Leon Rose, and at least his third head coach.

There’s a reason that surveyed first-timers, during a preseason poll predicted Reddish, above all others, would finish with the best NBA career. I suppose a lot if it is how well he has blended in as a talented teammate at all stages of his development, sharing the spotlight with Mo Bamba in high school, with Zion and RJ in Durham, and now with Trae Young, John Collins and a host of up-and-comers in The ATL.

Cam isn’t under the urgency to be the signature star, or even to start, in Atlanta. Away from the pressure of lugging a mismanaged major-market titan back into viability for the first time in deceades, the optimism is higher than the expectations for Reddish (42.6 2FG%, 33.5 3FG%, 80.2 FT%), and neither is overblown.

Spirits have lifted a bit, at least on the court, since coach David Fizdale got his ouster following a 4-18 start. Yet the wins have come in drips and drabs for “Mikey Two Shoes” Miller and the Knicks lately. Yes, they have won three of their last six, including that 123-112 win over the slip-sliding Rockets. But a regression could also be viewed in the context of the six-game losing skid that preceded the 3-3 run, a slide that began on February 9 with a double-OT loss (stop me if you’ve heard that before) to the Hawks at State Farm Arena.

That 140-135 loss in Atlanta, like today’s game, was the back end of a road back-to-backs. New York (20-45) returns here today at 1-8 on the season in SEGABABAs, the sole victory, Miller’s first, by two points at Golden State three months ago.

With the Knicks coming off a 122-115 loss in Washington last night, the indicators point to the Hawks (20-46) coasting past the Knicks in the right-side-up standings like two ships passing in the night. Alas, like the last game between these two, and like the double-OT win over the Hornets, we’re likely setting ourselves up for something akin to the Merrimack versus the Monitor.

Miller must be somewhat miffed to see coaching colleague JB Bickerstaff turn a 5-5 start, in taking over the Cavaliers since the All-Star Break, into a multi-year extension. Well before that time, the Knicks’ interim coach has had his job status come up out of the blue by a new employee on First Take, and he has had to watch his owner prioritize the situation with celebrity entrance choices at MSG. On the court, however, Miller’s biggest issue has been his penchant for getting the upper hand, then giving it away with his rotations.

His Knicks built up a sizable 31-20 lead on the Hawks here on February 9, thanks to Randle’s 12-and-8 in the opening quarter, only to watch it dissipate by halftime and dissolve completely by the end of the third (John Collins’ 14 second-quarter points propelled Atlanta), necessitating some late-game scrambling to force the OT periods.

Last night, New York bounced back from a slow start to pour on 70 first-half points on the defensively woeful Wizards. But the Knicks could only muster 45 points the rest of the way as Washington turned the tables. Unlike the last Hawks game, the reserves carried the day in the first half, particularly Frank Ntilikina, the former lottery hopeful now in his third year who enjoyed his first 20-and-10 performance, and bug-eyed big Bobby Portis. But by the time Miller put the subs back into the game, it was too late to stop the Wizards’ second-half blitz.

The Knicks do come into the game healthy. Starters like Elfrid Payton, Queens native and ex-Clipper Moe Harkless, and Taj Gibson, along with rotation players Mitchell Robinson, Wayne Ellington and Kevin Knox were used sparingly in D.C., so it’s imagined that Miller will ride with a lot of them to support Barrett and Randle, the latter of whom fouled out last night with four minutes to spare. New York will also hope, while challenged with defending Young for much of this evening, that Ntilikina’s offensive output on Tuesday was no mere mirage.

Atlanta exploited Charlotte’s interior early and often, and more of the same will be needed from Lloyd Pierce’s young charges this evening. Randle will post up and hog the ball on occasion, and when transition opportunities come from his shots that Hawks need to turn those into points at every opportunity. Majestic offensive displays from Young and Reddish can come later in the contest. But early on, we’ll need to see the guards looking for Collins (28-and-11 vs. CHA), Bruno Fernando and Dewayne Dedmon (+20 plus-minus vs. CHA) running the floor against New York’s travel-weathered legs.

Tonight ought to be a rookie showcase between former college teammates Barrett, the Knick who is challenged with becoming a more efficient scorer, and Reddish, who has been a defensive salve for the Hawks but could stand to become a more consistent rebounder and playmaker. So far, they’ve given us the best of them. And now, we need the rest of them.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Pre-game injury logs look pretty good. John Collins (sore ankle) and Kevin Huerter (sore groin) are listed as Available. Bembry's still out with gut pain. If anyone gets shelved it might be Treveon Graham, who is listed as Available despite "Personal Reasons".

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Just posting and toasting! The historic school in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward that taught MLK Jr. (when it was a middle school) and Knicks legend and broadcaster Clyde Frazier closed in 1976, but is getting remodeled to reopen as a middle school in the fall semester. The David T. Howard School was named after a gentleman who was born into slavery but later owned a mortuary and built the first bank for African-Americans in the city.

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/mynews/east-atlanta/howard-building-construction/85-a5126b80-49eb-45a1-b941-517fbb58b86c

 

~lw3

 

[Spud2nique]

Nice game thread as usual lw3! Cam vs RJ will be a lot like Trae/Luka. Seems like they will forever be linked.my Hawks biased opinion but Knicks should have picked Cam at 3!  Also hoping Collins keeps it hot !

Let’s make it 2 in a row! 
 

Hawks -5   o/u 232

 

GO HAWKS!!!

 

Ps Lottery implications. Let’s the chips fall  

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Spud2nique

[lethalweapon3]

"This Hawks coaching commentary is brought to you by your friends at Purell!"

~jer0me

[Dnice]

They already look bad.

[Vol4ever]

Well since I cant watch anymore on tv I have to keep up here.  

[terrell]

1 minute ago, Dnice said:

They already look bad.

Same starting lineup same  early results...Trae/Huerter wont work. LP cant be this dumb. START CAM..

[terrell]

TRae turnover machine already. smgdh

[terrell]

TRae stinking up the joint..

[Plainview1981]

Trae/Huerter is as bad of a defensive backcourt as you can have.

[terrell]

DRaft a PG with size Hawks.....

5 minutes ago, Plainview1981 said:

Trae/Huerter is as bad of a defensive backcourt as you can have.

TRae driving me crazy right now for real..

Edited March 12, 2020 by terrell

[Vol4ever]

They will fly past the Knickerbockers in the 4th quarter.  

[Peoriabird]

At least the @NBASupes reverse jinx is still intact!  Every time he criticizes someone, the player plays well like Teague is playing in this game.

[Vol4ever]

Teague with 8

[terrell]

10 minutes ago, Vol4ever said:

They will fly past the Knickerbockers in the 4th quarter.  

You sure? lol

[NBASupes]

Can we shoot please 

[terrell]

4 points  between Trae and John. Wow..

[Bonkers]

What kinda team consistently lets the Knicks beat their ass lmaooo

[Atlantaholic]

Having the Hawks play without fans on the seats would be doing the fans a favor lol.