Anyone have any concerns or doubts that we can beat the Knicks?

[Wurider05]

Maybe I am being a homer, but despite our record against them I have no concerns that we would lose to them.  Not disrespecting their accomplishments this season, I honestly think that we are a better team. Hopefully Hunter will be back before the playoffs start because we are going to need his defense. 

[JayBirdHawk]

I don't.  All good here.

[AUhawksfan]

I think it's going to be tough.  We're both hot teams.  It all comes down to being able to stop Randle and because I'm not extrememly concerned about other offensive threats on their team.  

I think we can beat them but not easily and I wouldn't take them lightly.  It's going to take a team effort of wearing them down.

[REHawksFan]

I'll be honest and say that I have no idea how our players will handle the pressure and spotlight of the playoffs, but the same can be said for their players.  Some guys seem to excel on the big stage while others shrink.  No idea what to expect in that regard.  

Ignoring that experience angle, I agree that the Hawks are the better team.  I just think the Hawks have more depth and the better all around players.  If you rank both teams players, you'd probably have Randle and Trae as 1A and 1b.  But the Hawks would have the next 3-5 players before you get to another Knick.  So yeah, I think the Hawks are better.  Does that mean they win the series?  Dunno.  

 

[macdaddy]

Well i just told my Knicks friend that Knicks are regular season heros and we will beat them.   So i probably guaranteed we get swept.

As already said, it's hard to know how the Hawks will handle the playoffs and the pressure.  

But if i'm a knicks fan i'm really concerned that knicks success is dependent on Randle playing 38 minutes and shooting 43% from 3.    And that Rose and Gibson are playing major roles.

But they do have the ingredients of good D, physical play, and 3 point shooting.  That plays well.

Anyway.  We just have to get them off the 3 point line, punish them down low and get Randle in foul trouble.   This is a series that Collins and Capela have to work hard.

[kg01]

My concern is the refs allowing it to become bully-ball which favors them mightily.  I won't expect a quick whistle since it's the playoffs, but I hope they don't just allow blatant fouling.  If they do, it will be a tough road for us.

Honestly, I'd prefer to be 6 so we'd avoid the 6ers longer.

[marco102]

4 minutes ago, kg01 said:

My concern is the refs allowing it to become bully-ball which favors them mightily.  I won't expect a quick whistle since it's the playoffs, but I hope they don't just allow blatant fouling.  If they do, it will be a tough road for us.

Honestly, I'd prefer to be 6 so we'd avoid the 6ers longer.

Ion know about that.  The Bucks have looked MIGHTY good lately.  Their defense was smothering last night. 

I think the Knicks series will be tough for the Hawks.  The Knicks play physical defense, but if the Hawks are on, they can beat them.  The Knicks shooting has been outstanding for the last month too.  Will it revert back to the prehot streak ways?  Can the Hawks defend on a consistent level?  

I see this being a tough series and favor the Hawks because of their depth, but to me it's really a 51% - 49% series. 

[JayBirdHawk]

Let me elaborate:

Game 1 (under LP): NYK won by 5 after the Hawks were up big and in LP fashion we were routinely blowing 4th quarter leads.  This was also the game after which JC 'called out' Trae and the offense for how we ended that game. No Gallo, No Rondo and Bogi was playing off the bench and took 3 shots in that game.

Game 2 (under LP): No Hunter, No Bogi, No Rondo, Gallo on minutes restriction. We were within 2 with 3 minutes left and in LP fashion the 4th quarter wheels fell off.

Game 3: Trae coming up lame in a game that went to overtime and no Collins in OT due to minutes restrictions.

These games weren't beat down games despite Randle tearing up the boxscore - it was guys like Quickly and Rose and the others lighting us up from 3. 

Hawks will have to play tough on defense and not expect any calls from the refs.

 

[bleachkit]

55 minutes ago, Wurider05 said:

Maybe I am being a homer, but despite our record against them I have no concerns that we would lose to them.  Not disrespecting their accomplishments this season, I honestly think that we are a better team. Hopefully Hunter will be back before the playoffs start because we are going to need his defense. 

Cut the head off the snake. Do whatever it takes to stop Julius Randle. This is why D. Hunt coming back is so important. Not many guys have the strength and length to bother J. Randle. If the refs let it be a rugby scrum, that would favor them of course. But we have more offensive fire power overall than they do. 

[sturt]

Not one to challenge the basketball gods' sense of appropriate humility, particularly when the raw bottom-line evidence at-hand in this case makes clear... "yes, you should have some concerns."

Optimism is great. But I'm not going to be one to talk smack and tempt humiliation. I think there is great reason to believe we'll be successful, but if only because of our injury habit this season, I think it's a little crazy to pretend a series vs. NYK (or anyone else for that matter) is anything approaching a foregone conclusion.

And what's more... news flash, right?... I don't even care about winning a playoff series... I just want us to grow chemistry and play well against whoever we draw, setting the stage for 2021-22. My mantra is that this isn't 2020-21 now... it's preseason 2021-22.

 

[Gray Mule]

What I would expect in each and every game with the Knickerbockers.  Foul trouble early in any and every game.  Clint Capela, John Collins and Trae Young.  Take your pick.  One will be in trouble early and often.  They may switch players in each game but it will be so easy for the Hawks to pick up fouls early.

Danilo and Bogdan must by mighty careful of injuries.  Not saying deliberate but without their shooting Atlanta will struggle to score.  Not saying NY is dirty.  Just be careful.

But first, we must get there.  We ain't there yet.  We are gaining on it!

 

[aali34]

I thought the Knicks were fools gold so I gotta give them their props. Having players that can hit 3s score in the midrange and get in the lane is important when the game slows down. We have more of those and have played at a slow pace since Nate got the job.

If Dre is back than its obvious to me.

[ATLHawks3]

Julius Randle is a problem we're going to have to deal with. I already know that Thibs is going to play him 40 mpg in the playoffs, and he could realistically average in 35+ ppg, 10+ rpg, 7+ apg in a series.

The one defensive adjustment that I would add if I were the Hawks if Hunter won't be ready in time for the first round is to put Capela on Randle. From the sample size we've seen this year, Collins hasn't been able to figure out a way to slow him down. Capela is bigger than Collins, and could probably withstand more of the punishment that Randle dishes from the post.

We also can't let Derrick Rose get hot as well. He's been playing really good basketball this year, and he's played really well against us this year (14 ppg on 50 FG%).

If we can make those adjustments I think we'll be fine and win in 6, if not we'll lose in 6. If we have Hunter back in this series, I can see us winning in 5 games.

[macdaddy]

Rose is a Hawks killer for sure but the problem the Knicks have is he can't even pretend to guard Trae.  That's why we were ahead when Trae went out.   There again if they let him foul Trae with no call then it's different.  

Yeah we got to get Randle off the 3 point line.  Sure he's a beast everywhere but i'd rather have him driving.  And i'm good with OO putting him on the line with some hard fouls.

There again we may not even face the Knicks so there's that. 

[MarylandHawk]

Home court advantage is key. This has seven game series written all over it. Whoever has home court advantage will have the edge. 

[RedDawg#8]

Here are Randles clips from the 3 games this year. Notice how he is beating us. Outside of a handful of plays its not scoring in the post. It's from the outside when our bigs step out in space and give him too much room, and its a lot of him making plays for his teammates when we cut him off in the lane. He only ever bullied smaller defenders, besides 3 plays in 3 games against JC who mostly forced Randle to pass out of the post or shoot off balance over top of him.

1. Face up jumpers

2. Playmaking for teammates

3. All around activity and heads up play. 

Those are the ways he killed us. Randle is smart. If a big is on him, he is pulling it out the paint and forcing you to guard him in space. If a wing is on him he is posting up and playmaking when the double comes.

Solo and Deandre are the only guys that will stay with him inside out and even they are light in the pants vs him. Otherwise, he is eating all day no matter who you throw his way.

 

[NBASupes]

No but we gotta double Randle. It's simple as that. 

[NBASupes]

The Knicks like us gotta fight for 4. Right now, they got the toughest remaining schedule. 

[AHF]

On 5/3/2021 at 10:00 AM, AHF said:

I don't mind the Knicks.  Being NY, they will draw welcome attention to the Hawks.  In terms of looking at our record:

January 4 - We lost by 5 after coming in with a lead into the 4th quarter.  This one was under LP and before Bogi got healthy and adjusted.  I don't draw too much from this.

February 15 - Bad loss.  No Hunter or Bogi.  Randle went off for 44 points.  Still under LP.

April 21 - First game under Nate.  Hawks leading down the stretch until they lose Trae for the rest of the game.  Game still goes to OT where the Knicks pull it out while missing some key players in OT notably no Trae and no JC (minutes restriction).  Hunter and Gallo also missed the entire game.

 

So for me, I see the 0-3 record but I see two of them as being coin flip type games (if the Knicks lose Randle instead of the Hawks losing Trae, etc.) and I don't put as much stock in the LP games since I think we are playing at a different level from when we were then.  Also don't think that Randle's 40 and 44 point outbursts represent a good baseline for how he would do over a full series.

In short, I'm not scared of the Knicks and will be eager for the series if that is how it shakes out regardless of who has homecourt. 

 

[bleachkit]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31394335/knicks-agree-principle-four-year-deal-pg-luca-vildoza-agent-says

Knicks sign a guard from overseas.