Official Game Thread: Knicks at Hawks -- GAME 4

[JayBirdHawk]

3 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

1st in DFG%

1st in D3FG%

3rd in DRating

30th in pace

 

The Knicks are like a run heavy football team with a great defense, that uses their offense to keep their defenders fresh.  Think of the Knicks like Navy football.  You know exactly what they're running.  You know they're going to possess the ball.  ( Knicks were 6th in turnovers, by the way ).  But can you stop it?  And you have to watch out for the pass, because they can do that too when you least expect it.

But that Navy offense isn't going to be able to come back on most days, if they fall down by 10 or more points.  The same goes for the Knicks.  It took extremely cold shooting + a fatal coaching mistake by Nate, for them to come back from 15 down in Game 2.  Otherwise, this series would be OVER.

That's why Randle's methodical and consistent ISO offense was so important to their team success.  If he has it going, he's normally scoring with under 10 seconds left on the shot clock and he's either keeping the Knicks in striking range, or they have the lead.  Randle is the option QB that keeps the offense guessing.  Rose is the fullback that moves the chains when everyone is focused on the QB ( Randle ).

If his supporting cast are making 3s, that makes their methodical offense even more lethal.  Knicks were 3rd in the league in 3FG%, but only 21st in the league in 3 PT makes.  When they make 3s, it energizes their defense on the other end.  That's the equivalent of a Navy pass that they convert downfield, when you are so concentrated on stopping their running attack.

 

Now the Knicks fans realize that they need guys who not only can catch and shoot, but can create their own shot if need be.  They also understand that ISO Randle is not good for the playoffs.  Because if he's stopped or slowed down, it hurts all facets of their game.

 

Great anology. I pointed out at the start of our series in our regular season games vs Knicks, most of his shots were open shots with like a 4 foot cushion since we were playing him for the drive and it was like we defended him like we forgot he was left handed.

In these playoffs, we're crowding him, so he's not just walking into open shots, everything is contested and we are playing that left hand.

[Final_quest]

28 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

That would not be funny...we don't want the Knicks to win anymore games.

OK, let me amend the statement.  Randle is suspended, which doesn't sound like it's even being discussed, and the Knicks perform better but still lose the game in the last minute.  It's wrong, but I want to leave that franchise in complete disarray after this series.  Forgive me Lord for wanting to destroy them psychologically.  

[Jdawgflow]

19 hours ago, Iverwig said:

He’s not! He really was hoping someone would stop him when he jogged down the court. 

That reminded me of middle school with some of the “tough guys” I knew.

[Final_quest]

1 hour ago, marco102 said:

This is an interesting stat from the video I posted above.  Trae Young has created 204 points.  That the second most all time for a player in his first four playoff games.  We are witnessing something special here folks!

It's actually 2nd most over the past 25 years, not all time.  But as NorthCyde pointed out, this is not an aberration from Trae.  He has had bigger and better runs.  This series is more like his career average.  

People are freaking out because they literally have never had to cover 4 games in a row from Trae.  They saw his stats but came up with narratives to dismiss them as being empty.  Now that they HAVE to watch him take over a series against a good team they have to change the narrative.  He is being discovered for the first time by millions of people.  It's insane.  
 

[JayBirdHawk]

18 hours ago, RandomFan said:

LMAO what is Solo tryna do? Out here posting throwbacks of young Bogi, haha. 

 

He has posted these as well, lol

 

 

 

[AHF]

48 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

1st in DFG%

1st in D3FG%

3rd in DRating

30th in pace

 

The Knicks are like a run heavy football team with a great defense, that uses their offense to keep their defenders fresh.  Think of the Knicks like Navy football.  You know exactly what they're running.  You know they're going to possess the ball.  ( Knicks were 6th in turnovers, by the way ).  But can you stop it?  And you have to watch out for the pass, because they can do that too when you least expect it.

But that Navy offense isn't going to be able to come back on most days, if they fall down by 10 or more points.  The same goes for the Knicks.  It took extremely cold shooting + a fatal coaching mistake by Nate, for them to come back from 15 down in Game 2.  Otherwise, this series would be OVER.

That's why Randle's methodical and consistent ISO offense was so important to their team success.  If he has it going, he's normally scoring with under 10 seconds left on the shot clock and he's either keeping the Knicks in striking range, or they have the lead.  Randle is the option QB that keeps the offense guessing.  Rose is the fullback that moves the chains when everyone is focused on the QB ( Randle ).

If his supporting cast are making 3s, that makes their methodical offense even more lethal.  Knicks were 3rd in the league in 3FG%, but only 21st in the league in 3 PT makes.  When they make 3s, it energizes their defense on the other end.  That's the equivalent of a Navy pass that they convert downfield, when you are so concentrated on stopping their running attack.

 

Now the Knicks fans realize that they need guys who not only can catch and shoot, but can create their own shot if need be.  They also understand that ISO Randle is not good for the playoffs.  Because if he's stopped or slowed down, it hurts all facets of their game.

 

Good post.  I think it would be a mistake to conclude that NY is the league's best defense for the playoffs.  They have a bunch of decent to good defensive players who have bought into a great coach's system and run things at a very slow pace.  That is a fantastic formula for regular season defense.  But it isn't a formula for big-time stops in the playoffs, imo.  They just don't have the complete players who are elite defenders.  Noel and Gibson are both very good team defenders especially for the regular season.  But as the talent rises in the playoffs, they aren't going to stop the studs consistently and they are arguably the two best defenders on the team.  This just isn't a team with Duncan / Kawhi or LBJ / LeBron, etc. who can lock down elite opposition with elite physical talent and technique let alone turn around and go do something meaningful on offense.

So I'm on board with the Knicks being one of the best defensive teams over the regular season because that is what Thibs does - he gets total buy-in on defense and maximizes the regular season.  But this team has no next gear to step up their defense in the post-season and just doesn't have the personnel to be elite defensively against playoff competition, imo.

[JeffS17]

Sorry if this was posted and I missed it, but I really enjoy Bogi's post game interview:

 

 

[Diesel]

3 hours ago, EazyRoc said:

I would’ve agreed with your sentiment before Kawhi won in Toronto. That championship run kind of kills your argument. He willed them to a ring..

That's all well and good but let's just take the series against GS... IN their signature wins, it was Lowry and Pascal Siakim doing the heavy lifting.   Kawhi was good, but in Games 1 and 6, he played a lesser role.   Not to mention they also had Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka to make a solid frontcourt that exploited GS's size. 

I give him his credit they won the finals because of him.  His defense was what stopped Klay from being effective.   His offense was what propelled them in 2 of their 4 wins in the series.    Other than that.. they were happy to make it to the finals.   Philly choked. 

Jordan would have never...  He's so alpha that he would have never let Siakim or Lowry's light shine brighter than his in the finals. 

 

[RandomFan]

Let's try and discredit a superstar by how he doesn't measure up to the GOAT. What could go wrong? 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

12 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Sorry if this was posted and I missed it, but I really enjoy Bogi's post game interview:

 

 

 

Very interesting on how he talked about working on releasing his jumper quicker during the season.  I think that may have helped him go on that insane hot streak he was on toward the end of the year.

Also, if the Hawks can advance AND make major noise in Round 2, how much appeal does that draw to the Hawks, seeing that we probably have the 4th best European player playing on our team ( behind Giannis, Jokic and "that dude in Dallas" ).

 

[Atlantaholic]

5 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

Very interesting on how he talked about working on releasing his jumper quicker during the season.  I think that may have helped him go on that insane hot streak he was on toward the end of the year.

Also, if the Hawks can advance AND make major noise in Round 2, how much appeal does that draw to the Hawks, seeing that we probably have the 4th best European player playing on our team ( behind Giannis, Jokic and "that dude in Dallas" ).

 

Yea, interesting tid-bit there. Figured it was something he had been doing forever, Not a lot of players can just invent a new catch-and-release motion in season and then nail it at such a spectacular clip. 

[Spud2nique]

5 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Kawhi is literally the closest player I've seen to MJ.

 

[Spud2nique]

4 hours ago, HawkingAwesome said:

Never thought a celtic would be the hawks biggest voice

He’s a Thunder.. 

[Spud2nique]

3 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Talking heads on ESPN and FS1 are all of a sudden not as interested in the Hawks v Knicks series.

Hmmmm. I wonder why LOL.

So I tape sportcenter and decided to check it out last week after a month just to see what they say on the Hawks. In the opening minute they talked about 3/4 NBA games but didn’t mention us. It was 1.5 hour and they got to us at the 31 minute mark. If Knicks had won it would have been the first story covered. BSPN!

[Spud2nique]

Watching the game for me yesterday felt different than other playoff runs. I mean I always have butterflies during the playoffs but something about..

1. Having a game plan

2. Having a superstar point guard

3. Having a good team defense

4. Having viable vet bench options

It eased the panic for me a bit. I’m not getting cocky by any means, this isn’t the point, it’s more like having studied for a midterm and being absolutely prepared and knowing what’s coming vs a pop quiz where anything can come at you.

 

We have a team that can actual adjust to different schemes thrown at us by the opposition. In years past (since the early 80’s), we haven’t had that, like ever! 
 

Just feels good for once. 
 

Happy Memorial Day everyone. Honoring a close friend here who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005. 🪦 to all those in battles and that fight for us.  

[TheNorthCydeRises]

2 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

 

- 100 = 0

 

Come on now.  He's only been gone for a year.  Don't disrespect this man like that.

 

[Spud2nique]

2 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

- 100 = 0

 

Come on now.  He's only been gone for a year.  Don't disrespect this man like that.

 

🪦 Kobe. No I would always put him on the list, perhaps in my mind I thought I had and thought Supes meant out of the young new age guys but Kobe was after Jordan so definitely no doubt, but just saying Kawhi is made of that cloth too.

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, Spud2nique said:

🪦 Kobe. No I would always put him on the list, perhaps in my mind I thought I had and thought Supes meant out of the young new age guys but Kobe was after Jordan so definitely no doubt, but just saying Kawhi is made of that cloth too.

Add Duncan to the list too then, he was the year after Kobe draft but same hard gortex 80’s material.

[HawkingAwesome]

7 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

Sorry if this was posted and I missed it, but I really enjoy Bogi's post game interview:

 

 

Did bogi say he changed his shot midseason? AND IT WORKED? 

[NBASupes]

3 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

🪦 Kobe. No I would always put him on the list, perhaps in my mind I thought I had and thought Supes meant out of the young new age guys but Kobe was after Jordan so definitely no doubt, but just saying Kawhi is made of that cloth too.

Exactly but people will say what they want and perceive it how they want