Official Game Thread: Knicks at Hawks -- GAME 3

[TheNorthCydeRises]

52 minutes ago, Diesel said:

Let's make it through the BS of the first round. 

I don't for one moment think that the refs are through helping the Knicks.   I think they can wack Trae as much as they like because the refs aren't calling it.   Then there's that Thug Randall.   He's a Thug.   That's just how he plays.  When he gets really frustrated, he tries to go straight to the Basket.  Last night he looked like an offensive lineman going to the basket and ran over Gallo and was called for the Offensive charge.   One that play... even Shaq grabbed his pearls... But O Doris Burke couldn't see the foul in it. 

 

Randle is far from a thug.  He's not a tough guy at all and he doesn't play dirty.  

Honestly, he's doing exactly what he should be doing if his shot isn't falling.  I would tell any of our offensive stars to go to the basket if their shots weren't falling, to try to get their points at the FT line.  Randle only averaged 6 FTA per game, because his game this year has been a lot more perimeter oriented.  That's why his mindset is to still shoot tough jumpers, instead of trying to live on the inside to get our bigs in foul trobule.

When Randle puts his head down, he has tunnel vision.  That's what we want him to do.  Capela is at the rim almost everytime he does that, to throw that double team at him.

The Knicks really need a pass first PG.  I think they're going to throw the bank at Lonzo Ball, while trying to keep Randle at a rate just under the MAX.  But they have a lot of decisions to make, seeing that they have 6 guys who are unrestricted free agents.

[JeffS17]

Alright, I'm late so I'll keep it short this morning but my takeaways after going to the game last night:

• Crowd was hype, no idea how it sounded on the broadcast but everyone around me was loud as hell and the stadium was absolutely rocking when Trae sauced up Randle and dished that oop to Capela in the 2nd quarter run where we took control of the game.  I don't have a voice this morning.
• Nate had nice rotation adjustments and nice adjustments overall.  He did stagger Bogi into the second unit, and I think it was @JayBirdHawk that already called it out but I was gitty when I saw Hunter assigned to DRose last night.  
• I like that Collins came out passionate last night.  I hope he can clean up some of the mishandles under the basket though, he didn't look great when we went to him inside
• Heurter continues to impress me on the defensive end, and he had a good shooting night.

All in all, awesome first game back at SFA, hope we can win game 4 Sunday afternoon and really take control of this series.  

[JeffS17]

2 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

Randle is far from a thug.  He's not a tough guy at all and he doesn't play dirty.  

Honestly, he's doing exactly what he should be doing if his shot isn't falling.  I would tell any of our offensive stars to go to the basket if their shots weren't falling, to try to get their points at the FT line.  Randle only averaged 6 FTA per game, because his game this year has been a lot more perimeter oriented.  That's why his mindset is to still shoot tough jumpers, instead of trying to live on the inside to get our bigs in foul trobule.

When Randle puts his head down, he has tunnel vision.  That's what we want him to do.  Capela is at the rim almost everytime he does that, to throw that double team at him.

The Knicks really need a pass first PG.  I think they're going to throw the bank at Lonzo Ball, while trying to keep Randle at a rate just under the MAX.  But they have a lot of decisions to make, seeing that they have 6 guys who are unrestricted free agents.

Lonzo would be nice for that team.  It's a little alarming if you're a Knicks fan that the only guy to show up in the playoffs is 32 year old Derrick Rose.  He won't be in the picture soon and they haven't had a lot of guys stepping up, outside of Burks in one quarter of one game.

On the flip side, couldn't be happier with the Hawks progression.  Trae is looking very solid in his first playoff series, Hunter is progressing nicely, Heurter has been looking good, and OO has had some solid stretches of minutes.  Collins is the only question mark right now but that situation is going to be settled soon regardless.  I think if he can put on a little muscle it would benefit him a lot down low.

[LucastheThird]

59 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

  Regardless of what happens in the playoffs this year, I want to run it back next year with our core guys.

This is the major point right here! With everything we have seen from this Hawks team this second NBA year (Lloyd Pierce coached games were a different season in my opinion) we have to keep our core together and give them a full season together.

[marco102]

20 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Lonzo would be nice for that team.  It's a little alarming if you're a Knicks fan that the only guy to show up in the playoffs is 32 year old Derrick Rose.  He won't be in the picture soon and they haven't had a lot of guys stepping up, outside of Burks in one quarter of one game.

On the flip side, couldn't be happier with the Hawks progression.  Trae is looking very solid in his first playoff series, Hunter is progressing nicely, Heurter has been looking good, and OO has had some solid stretches of minutes.  Collins is the only question mark right now but that situation is going to be settled soon regardless.  I think if he can put on a little muscle it would benefit him a lot down low.

I like everything you post, but sir!  This is the understatement of the year!!!

[Atlantaholic]

1 hour ago, Thomas said:

Those guys are right there with the NBA front office with that stuff am afraid. 

2k and ESPN are both scam companies anyway. The 2k game franchise is a casino for underage children. 

[Atlantaholic]

1 hour ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

Remember.  This is not what WE think JC is worth.  It's what the league thinks he's worth on the market.

I forgot who said it on the other thread, but if the alternative is matching an offer sheet of JC getting the 4year max, or letting him walk, I'm matching the offer sheet.  Regardless of what happens in the playoffs this year, I want to run it back next year with our core guys.

Exacty, to me the opportunity cost is too high. We have NOTHING to replace Collins with. Nothing. 

[thecampster]

32 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

Randle is far from a thug.  He's not a tough guy at all and he doesn't play dirty.  

Honestly, he's doing exactly what he should be doing if his shot isn't falling.  I would tell any of our offensive stars to go to the basket if their shots weren't falling, to try to get their points at the FT line.  Randle only averaged 6 FTA per game, because his game this year has been a lot more perimeter oriented.  That's why his mindset is to still shoot tough jumpers, instead of trying to live on the inside to get our bigs in foul trobule.

When Randle puts his head down, he has tunnel vision.  That's what we want him to do.  Capela is at the rim almost everytime he does that, to throw that double team at him.

The Knicks really need a pass first PG.  I think they're going to throw the bank at Lonzo Ball, while trying to keep Randle at a rate just under the MAX.  But they have a lot of decisions to make, seeing that they have 6 guys who are unrestricted free agents.

That team would look 100 times better with Lonzo at the point.

[Atlantaholic]

31 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Alright, I'm late so I'll keep it short this morning but my takeaways after going to the game last night:

• Crowd was hype, no idea how it sounded on the broadcast but everyone around me was loud as hell and the stadium was absolutely rocking when Trae sauced up Randle and dished that oop to Capela in the 2nd quarter run where we took control of the game.  I don't have a voice this morning.
• Nate had nice rotation adjustments and nice adjustments overall.  He did stagger Bogi into the second unit, and I think it was @JayBirdHawk that already called it out but I was gitty when I saw Hunter assigned to DRose last night.  
• I like that Collins came out passionate last night.  I hope he can clean up some of the mishandles under the basket though, he didn't look great when we went to him inside
• Heurter continues to impress me on the defensive end, and he had a good shooting night.

All in all, awesome first game back at SFA, hope we can win game 4 Sunday afternoon and really take control of this series.  

Collins has gotten hacked all series long, and the refs have swallowed that whistle for the most part. 

[RedDawg#8]

A little negativity, but I have noticed that our offense has really struggled jn the 2nd half all series.

We have been held under 20 points in 4/6 of the 2nd half quarters. We have lost all of the quarters we failed to score 20 or more. 

A lot is made about the bench rotation and staggering Bogi and Trae, but it still hasn't helped the fact our offense grinds to a hault down the stretch. Trae went in to halftime with 14 and 10, finished the game 21 and 14. So they kept him in check in the 2nd half.

It's something to monitor. Our 3 point shooting helped negate the FT disparity. But our offense is still not humming yet. We are a team that should get 120 in its sleep. We are at 101 ppg for the series. Thibs (and the refs) are doing a good job slowing us down. What they didn't account for was the fact that we can actually play some defense too. 

Points aren't easy for anyone this series not named Trae or Derrick. Hopefully we finish the home stand with another W and put them into desperation mode.

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

1 minute ago, LucastheThird said:

This is the major point right here! With everything we have seen from this Hawks team this second NBA year (Lloyd Pierce coached games were a different season in my opinion) we have to keep our core together and give them a full season together.

 

And with Cam back in the mix, he probably fills the role that Lou Williams has now as the slasher / scorer off the bench next season during the playoffs.

 

PG - Trae / free agent PG

G - Bogi / Huerter / Cam

F - Hunter . .  with Huerter & Cam playing some minutes at the 3

PF - Collins / Gallo

C - Capela / Okongwu ( hopefully in an expanded role )

[TheNorthCydeRises]

1 hour ago, Atlantaholic said:

2k and ESPN are both scam companies anyway. The 2k game franchise is a casino for underage children. 

 

You know, that's a very good assessment.  Kids be stealing their parent's credit cards, just to buy some VC for their My Player.

Hell . . VC is probably why we have Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.

[Diesel]

12 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

A little negativity, but I have noticed that our offense has really struggled jn the 2nd half all series.

We have been held under 20 points in 4/6 of the 2nd half quarters. We have lost all of the quarters we failed to score 20 or more. 

A lot is made about the bench rotation and staggering Bogi and Trae, but it still hasn't helped the fact our offense grinds to a hault down the stretch. Trae went in to halftime with 14 and 10, finished the game 21 and 14. So they kept him in check in the 2nd half.

It's something to monitor. Our 3 point shooting helped negate the FT disparity. But our offense is still not humming yet. We are a team that should get 120 in its sleep. We are at 101 ppg for the series. Thibs (and the refs) are doing a good job slowing us down. What they didn't account for was the fact that we can actually play some defense too. 

Points aren't easy for anyone this series not named Trae or Derrick. Hopefully we finish the home stand with another W and put them into desperation mode.

 

My opinion is that our offense is predicated on Trae's abilities.   Sure, we put in Lemon Pepper and we let Bogi hang in there and that can play some pick and roll with the bigs... but Trae is really what makes things happen.  I honestly think the Lemon Pepper trade was good for us because Williams can go and get his own points and he can become a threat.   Having Rondo out there would have been an issue.   I suspect that as Hunter gets his wind, we will become better with that second squad or our first squad will give us a big enough lead that we can cruise.   Aside from that we have no big answers.   You can't replace Trae.   We'd have to get out the footage and see what Detroit did when Isaiah went to the bench. 

[marco102]

14 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

A little negativity, but I have noticed that our offense has really struggled jn the 2nd half all series.

We have been held under 20 points in 4/6 of the 2nd half quarters. We have lost all of the quarters we failed to score 20 or more. 

A lot is made about the bench rotation and staggering Bogi and Trae, but it still hasn't helped the fact our offense grinds to a hault down the stretch. Trae went in to halftime with 14 and 10, finished the game 21 and 14. So they kept him in check in the 2nd half.

It's something to monitor. Our 3 point shooting helped negate the FT disparity. But our offense is still not humming yet. We are a team that should get 120 in its sleep. We are at 101 ppg for the series. Thibs (and the refs) are doing a good job slowing us down. What they didn't account for was the fact that we can actually play some defense too. 

Points aren't easy for anyone this series not named Trae or Derrick. Hopefully we finish the home stand with another W and put them into desperation mode.

 

In this scenario you have to look at the pace of the game regarding the final score. 

I believe the Hawks and Knicks are playing at a super slow pace which will lead to the score being much lower. I liked that the Hawks pushed the ball a few times to get some quick baskets. 

I agree about the second half scoring. I believe it's adjustments by the Knicks and playing these physical games.

[RedDawg#8]

14 minutes ago, marco102 said:

In this scenario you have to look at the pace of the game regarding the final score. 

I believe the Hawks and Knicks are playing at a super slow pace which will lead to the score being much lower. I liked that the Hawks pushed the ball a few times to get some quick baskets. 

I agree about the second half scoring. I believe it's adjustments by the Knicks and playing these physical games.

For sure, the game pace has definitely been a factor. But game 1, they said we wanted to run more and keep them out of half court defense. Either we changed that up or they are stopping it.

Refs play a major factor in that too. Every whistle allows both teams to reset. No free flowing tempo when the zebras are ticky tacky.

[marco102]

3 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

For sure, the game pace has definitely been a factor. But game 1, they said we wanted to run more and keep them out of half court defense. Either we changed that up or they are stopping it.

Refs play a major factor in that too. Every whistle allows both teams to reset. No free flowing tempo when the zebras are ticky tacky.

Also, if the Hawks get 5 more free throw makes, the game score would be a little more reasonable. 

The refs have to do a better job.  I don't mind allowing physical play, but don't call the Hawks for soft shooting fouls when the Knicks are mugging our guys. 

[Gray Mule]

Hawks played some good defense - - So good that they were called for a lot of fouls.  It worked!  Nothing was easy for the NY team.  They started Gibson and Rose.  That's who had been carrying them and they continued to do so.  Problem was, when they sat down there was no one to take their place.

Did the Hawks get called for a lot of fouls?  Yes, they did.  Did NY get by with a lot of fouls that were not called?  Yes, they did.

Hawk shots were falling.  Since Collins went without a score in the last game, the first play of the game was planned to get him points.  And, it worked!  Collins scored!  Not getting shut down again.  He still gets too many foul calls.  Much of it is his own fault.  Trying to do too much.  Trying to prove he deserves a big $$$ paycheck.  

Nice to know that the Hawks hit most of their free throws.  In that 4th quarter, when NY was in desperation mood, they would score some.  Then, Atlanta would drain a three and you could see the air escaping from their balloon!  Hawks held on nicely.  Didn't let NY get too close.

If Atlanta gets called for a lot of fouls in our next games, I'm OK with this because it means we are playing some tough defense.  Just don't let NY go rough on us and not call it.

Momentum is in our corner!  GO ATL HAWKS !!

[Thomas]

21 minutes ago, Diesel said:

You can't replace Trae.   We'd have to get out the footage and see what Detroit did when Isaiah went to the bench. 

Can only remember Dumars covering point while Vinnie Johnson went all microwave hitting shots when falling to the ground and such. 

[RedDawg#8]

27 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

And with Cam back in the mix, he probably fills the role that Lou Williams has now as the slasher / scorer off the bench next season during the playoffs.

 

PG - Trae / free agent PG

G - Bogi / Huerter / Cam

F - Hunter . .  with Huerter & Cam playing some minutes at the 3

PF - Collins / Gallo

C - Capela / Okongwu ( hopefully in an expanded role )

I think Cam goes to strictly back up SF immediately upon return and expansion of his role depends solely on his performance.  Kev as back up 2. 
And agreed Cam and Kev can mix and match on wing if the situation calls for it

We are definitely in the market for a good back up point guard (where have we heard this before).

I certainly don't mind Lou coming back if he wants to. But some halfway point between strictly floor general Rondo and Instant scoring Lou would be ideal. 

[JayBirdHawk]

47 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

A little negativity, but I have noticed that our offense has really struggled jn the 2nd half all series.

We have been held under 20 points in 4/6 of the 2nd half quarters. We have lost all of the quarters we failed to score 20 or more. 

A lot is made about the bench rotation and staggering Bogi and Trae, but it still hasn't helped the fact our offense grinds to a hault down the stretch. Trae went in to halftime with 14 and 10, finished the game 21 and 14. So they kept him in check in the 2nd half.

It's something to monitor. Our 3 point shooting helped negate the FT disparity. But our offense is still not humming yet. We are a team that should get 120 in its sleep. We are at 101 ppg for the series. Thibs (and the refs) are doing a good job slowing us down. What they didn't account for was the fact that we can actually play some defense too. 

Points aren't easy for anyone this series not named Trae or Derrick. Hopefully we finish the home stand with another W and put them into desperation mode.

 

IIRC, Trae played a lot off ball to start the 2nd half. Knicks made some adjustments.

Edited May 29, 2021 by JayBirdHawk