About Game 5

[Diesel]

 

I aint making no predictions that can lead to jinx...

 

But

The Knicks are coming to fight. 

CindeRandall is bringing his thugs and they will try to beat us up.   I hope Nate can get these guys mentally ready.   This is what that mental toughness thing is about. 

I chuckled when the crowd started chanting overrated....  

It really anguished CindeRandall because the next play he Bull rushed the lane and hit JC with the Blatant Elbow.   THUG.

 

[hawkman]

41 minutes ago, Diesel said:

 

I aint making no predictions that can lead to jinx...

 

But

The Knicks are coming to fight. 

CindeRandall is bringing his thugs and they will try to beat us up.   I hope Nate can get these guys mentally ready.   This is what that mental toughness thing is about. 

I chuckled when the crowd started chanting overrated....  

It really anguished CindeRandall because the next play he Bull rushed the lane and hit JC with the Blatant Elbow.   THUG.

 

I liked Randle in high school and at MSU. He's improved a lot as an NBA player, but I can't respect his behavior during this series. He hurt Collins and could've seriously hurt Bogi. Randle and his teammate's behavior is the reason why I have no problem with the Hawks 'evening things up' the way they have. The only things bullies understand is a good pop in the mouth. With that said, the Hawks need to protect Trae at all cost in Game 5 and end this series. 

[Cwell]

13 minutes ago, hawkman said:

I liked Randle in high school and at MSU. He's improved a lot as an NBA player, but I can't respect his behavior during this series. He hurt Collins and could've seriously hurt Bogi. Randle and his teammate's behavior is the reason why I have no problem with the Hawks 'evening things up' the way they have. The only things bullies understand is a good pop in the mouth. With that said, the Hawks need to protect Trae at all cost in Game 5 and end this series. 

Agreed, except the MSU part lol hate to be that guy but he went to Kentucky

[hawkman]

12 minutes ago, Cwell said:

Agreed, except the MSU part lol hate to be that guy but he went to Kentucky

My bad. Brain fart. 

[dalamchops]

I never saw Nate play, but judging from his stats you can tell he's the guy that brought toughness every night.

[thecampster]

On 5/30/2021 at 5:35 PM, Diesel said:

 

I aint making no predictions that can lead to jinx...

 

But

The Knicks are coming to fight. 

CindeRandall is bringing his thugs and they will try to beat us up.   I hope Nate can get these guys mentally ready.   This is what that mental toughness thing is about. 

I chuckled when the crowd started chanting overrated....  

It really anguished CindeRandall because the next play he Bull rushed the lane and hit JC with the Blatant Elbow.   THUG.

 

So good news, the league is on notice with it and they can't afford "an incident".  If there is any unnecessarily rough play, I'm thinking the whistles and possibly ejections will come out early. Problem is Randle had 2 questionable plays that game and the league noticed.  The league reviews film from playoff games and advises the referees when situations are getting out of hand.

 

What I'm more interested in is the situation with Rose. Rose was hobbled at the end of that game, limping. There hasn't been any news about an injury or his status. Sounds like the Knicks are hiding his injury/status so the Hawks can't prepare.  If Rose can't go, the Knicks are done.

[ATLHawks3]

31 minutes ago, thecampster said:

So good news, the league is on notice with it and they can't afford "an incident".  If there is any unnecessarily rough play, I'm thinking the whistles and possibly ejections will come out early. Problem is Randle had 2 questionable plays that game and the league noticed.  The league reviews film from playoff games and advises the referees when situations are getting out of hand.

 

What I'm more interested in is the situation with Rose. Rose was hobbled at the end of that game, limping. There hasn't been any news about an injury or his status. Sounds like the Knicks are hiding his injury/status so the Hawks can't prepare.  If Rose can't go, the Knicks are done.

Thibs is running him into the dirt with the minutes he's playing.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

IF we get to the next round. ( no jinx )

Watching the Wizards deploy the "Hack a Ben" strategy.   I knew he was a bad FT shooter, but nothing like this.

2 - 4 so far . . . Wizards foul for the last time before the 2 min mark

2 - 5

3 - 6

Hmmmmmmm

 

If we do this to them, they may hack Capela and get us back.

[Diesel]

My guess on what we will see in game 5 after watching the footage:

1.  I believe that they will start to double Trae everytime he has the ball. 

2.  More post up opportunities for Randle. 

3. Trap weaker ball handlers. 

 

The answers that we must have.

Defensively, continue to quickly double Randle on the POST  BUT also... have a secondary coverage on his immediate passes.   By this point, they know that Randle will get doubled.. but they have found success with him passing out of the double.   We have to make it difficult for them on that pass. 

Likewise, they have had success in both doubling Trae and trapping weaker ball handlers.   The answer is to play Trae off ball.  That puts a lot of pressure on Bogi and Red Velvet. 

The major point is that we can't lose this game 5.   We can't give them momentum and think that they know how to beat us.   With our foot on their neck, we have to keep applying pressure.  The whole media is downplaying the Knicks and saying their season is over.  It's only over when we beat them... Let's not be lulled to sleep. 

[SalvorMallow]

1 hour ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

IF we get to the next round. ( no jinx )

Watching the Wizards deploy the "Hack a Ben" strategy.   I knew he was a bad FT shooter, but nothing like this.

2 - 4 so far . . . Wizards foul for the last time before the 2 min mark

2 - 5

3 - 6

Hmmmmmmm

 

If we do this to them, they may hack Capela and get us back.

What an awful game that would devolve to. 2 minutes per half of Capella and Simmons at the stripe.

[thecampster]

I for one miss Diesel being this active.

[thecampster]

I'm not kidding, love him or hate him, Diesel threads start dialogue.

and for the record, Diesel and I have bumped head a few times on the board, which is weird because we typically like/hate the same players.

[Diesel]

17 hours ago, thecampster said:

I'm not kidding, love him or hate him, Diesel threads start dialogue.

and for the record, Diesel and I have bumped head a few times on the board, which is weird because we typically like/hate the same players.

Maybe I'm you and this is just some fightclub kinda stuff!

[Diesel]

On 5/31/2021 at 10:36 PM, Diesel said:

My guess on what we will see in game 5 after watching the footage:

1.  I believe that they will start to double Trae everytime he has the ball. 

2.  More post up opportunities for Randle. 

3. Trap weaker ball handlers. 

 

The answers that we must have.

Defensively, continue to quickly double Randle on the POST  BUT also... have a secondary coverage on his immediate passes.   By this point, they know that Randle will get doubled.. but they have found success with him passing out of the double.   We have to make it difficult for them on that pass. 

Likewise, they have had success in both doubling Trae and trapping weaker ball handlers.   The answer is to play Trae off ball.  That puts a lot of pressure on Bogi and Red Velvet. 

The major point is that we can't lose this game 5.   We can't give them momentum and think that they know how to beat us.   With our foot on their neck, we have to keep applying pressure.  The whole media is downplaying the Knicks and saying their season is over.  It's only over when we beat them... Let's not be lulled to sleep. 

 

They may even start Elfrid Payton again. I caught Boomer and even though he doesn't know much, he made a good point.   He talked about the Knicks blowing their energy BU players by making them starters.    This really speaks to how well we are playing because it was evident that Randall wasn't scoring and that their offense was anemic and ours took off.   I just hope our guys are ready, rested, and determined today.  We need our shots falling because the refs are not with us. 

 

[thecampster]

2 hours ago, Diesel said:

Maybe I'm you and this is just some fightclub kinda stuff!

that would explain a great deal

[Final_quest]

I am an optimistic thinker.  The Hawks don't need to play physical to win.  Physical play is more important for the Knicks. 

Though not intentional, could Capela's comments be a mouse trap?  Refs are on high alert now to keep the game in check.  Keeping the physical play under control benefits us.  If we see some quick whistles tonight, it could end up looking like a genius chess move.  

Side note.  I can't believe Huerter has been our goon.  You got to love his mindset this series.  He came out aggressive and is not backing down.  Playing better in the playoffs speaks to his mental preparation. He's getting into Zaza fan appreciation territory.  

[Diesel]

5 minutes ago, Final_quest said:

I am an optimistic thinker.  The Hawks don't need to play physical to win.  Physical play is more important for the Knicks. 

Though not intentional, could Capela's comments be a mouse trap?  Refs are on high alert now to keep the game in check.  Keeping the physical play under control benefits us.  If we see some quick whistles tonight, it could end up looking like a genius chess move.  

Side note.  I can't believe Huerter has been our goon.  You got to love his mindset this series.  He came out aggressive and is not backing down.  Playing better in the playoffs speaks to his mental preparation. He's getting into Zaza fan appreciation territory.  

About Huerter... I didn't get why he would grab Noel's foot in the last game. I understand tripping him because he tripped Trae but maybe a little less obvious.   Also.. Where's Bruno?  Bruno is our goon. 

Lastly.. Gallo with the back hit?  Matthews hit Paul (incidentally) with a harder back shot than Gallo did to Buddy... or am I missing something. 

[Final_quest]

3 minutes ago, Diesel said:

About Huerter... I didn't get why he would grab Noel's foot in the last game. I understand tripping him because he tripped Trae but maybe a little less obvious.   Also.. Where's Bruno?  Bruno is our goon. 

Lastly.. Gallo with the back hit?  Matthews hit Paul (incidentally) with a harder back shot than Gallo did to Buddy... or am I missing something. 

I think Noel was playing dirty in other ways besides the trip on Trae.  If you watch the play where Huerter retaliates, Noel set a moving screen, got into Huerter's body, and gave him a shove.  After the tackle in the other game, it's clear that Huerter didn't care how obvious he needed to be with Noel.  I thought Huerter was sending him a message that is essentially saying you can't treat us like a bitch. 

The Knicks fans are whining about the Hawks dirty plays, but the Knicks started everything with body checks and elbows on screens.  That elbow Gallo threw was minimal compared to stuff the Knicks have been doing.  Nate did a great job prepping the guys to keep composure.   

[JeffS17]

12 minutes ago, Diesel said:

About Huerter... I didn't get why he would grab Noel's foot in the last game. I understand tripping him because he tripped Trae but maybe a little less obvious.   Also.. Where's Bruno?  Bruno is our goon. 

Lastly.. Gallo with the back hit?  Matthews hit Paul (incidentally) with a harder back shot than Gallo did to Buddy... or am I missing something. 

I think he just got flustered at the moving screen/arm extension to push Heurter away as he tried to fall the ball handler (Rose).  It was a little dirty but to be honest I like that Kev has a little fire in him.  He's been intense this series and is the type of player I want on the floor in the playoffs.

[JeffS17]

3 minutes ago, Final_quest said:

The Knicks fans are whining about the Hawks dirty plays, but the Knicks started everything with body checks and elbows on screens.  That elbow Gallo threw was minimal compared to stuff the Knicks have been doing.  Nate did a great job prepping the guys to keep composure.   

This is why I think it's so dumb when people romanticize how physical the playoffs are.  I'd much rather the rules just be applied consistently than selectively allowing certain players/teams to get away with egregious stuff like all the moving/shoving screens and elbows

Edited June 2, 2021 by JeffS17