Official Game Thread: Hawks at Knicks -- GAME 5

[kg01]

2 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Oh maaaaaaan. Why is this exciting me so much. Our man Hunter bottles people up to the point they trippin over their own 2 feet. Oh this should be fun.

Aye, Barrett and RandLLLLe .... I see DeAndre comin' ...

[JeffS17]

Just now, Spud2nique said:

Oh maaaaaaan. Why is this exciting me so much. Our man Hunter bottles people up to the point they trippin over their own 2 feet. Oh this should be fun.

To be honest I rather Hunter guard Tobias Harris.  Harris is their only 3 level scorer and he's a decent playmaker.  Let Ben run around the perimeter all he wants.  Capela will be there to help if needed but Ben not being able to shoot allows you to cheat quite a bit so I don't know if it makes sense for our best defender to be assigned to him.  

[REHawksFan]

23 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Im satisfied with the win. Period. Hawks won, not just Trae. Our defense was spectacular. Our team shooting has been pretty bad on the road so far.

Narratives change real fast. The media is loving Trae right now because most of them are casuals that haven't paid him any attention until now. They cannot justify their hate so long as we are winning. We have seen Trae up close. We know that 36 points on poor shooting is far from his best. WE know he is better than that. 

Forget percentages for a second. Let's talk counting numbers.

Trae only took 6 3's per game in the regular season.

Through the first 3 games against the Knicks (his best) he shot 5 3's per game.

The last 2 games he shot over 12 3's per game.

So take away the shooting percentages, which got worse the more shots he took, he literally changed his approach to the game. He starting doing the things that he was criticized for in the first place and not playing the style that got us here. That is definitely something to look at. 

Did the Knicks force him to shoot more 3's? Can Philly have the same effect? That's a legit conversation to be had. 

If you want more, you have to do more. Stakes are raised higher in the next round and there will be even more attention paid to us. As the casual media finally has to watch they will begin to tear down every chink in our armor the same way they do everyone else in the playoffs.

Narratives change in a heartbeat. You win, ugly stats look better. But you lose, and you are a choker that couldn't raise your play. See what has happened to Randle overnight. He shot slightly better than Trae last night, but they lost, so now he is overrated. He shot .393%  to Trae's .387% from 3 for the series, but he was "exposed" and Trae was validated.

Winning hides all. Unless we hold that trophy at the end of the playoffs, we will end up getting killed by the media at some point too.

Don't fall for the fake love. Drake said it best, "No new friends."

On to the next.

Like I said, if they lose and he's playing a certain way, then we can talk.  But until then, it's a lot of noise about things that aren't a big deal, imo.  

Trae has been in complete control all series.  He's led the team offensively and been solid defensively.  I don't think he all of a sudden went rogue with his play in games 4 and 5.  The team was never in jeopardy of losing either game.  Yes, he took more 3's in both, but he was always in control of the game and neither were in doubt. 

And last night, he only took 4 3's in the first half and 3 in the 3rd quarter. Then, with the game out of reach, he took 4 in the 4th.  I thought he was hunting that killer blow but the game wasn't in doubt.  The point is, he had such complete control of the game, that even when he was missing 3's, he never put the team in jeopardy of losing or even really getting down.  

Lastly, I have no doubt there will be a time of re-focus going into the next series.  From everything we've seen from Trae and the whole team, they understand the task at hand and the magnitude of it.  They sure don't seem like they are going to go into Philly thinking the wins vs NYK are going to carry them.  New series. New foe. New challenge.  I think Trae will be ready to control each game as well.  Can he do it vs a better team?  We'll see.  

But one thing's for sure, Trae is going to do everything he can to make sure the Hawks win. IF that means being a primary facilitator, he'll do that.  If it means being a primary scorer, he'll do that.  

 

[Spud2nique]

5 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

To be honest I rather Hunter guard Tobias Harris.

Does make sense here. I can see Hunter guarding either but your right about Harris, he’s their real offensive threat so why not put our best defender on him.

[RedDawg#8]

7 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Does make sense here. I can see Hunter guarding either but your right about Harris, he’s their real offensive threat so why not put our best defender on him.

Simmons can get to the hoop in a heart beat off the drive. Harris is an actual inside out threat but not as strong of a slasher as Simmons. I trust Hunter to be able to move his feet better and keep up with Ben.

[aali34]

3 hours ago, Atlantaholic said:

"too bad you're gonna get swept next round" 

I've never understood salty fans that say this. Okay? Your team lost in the first round. Pretty sure thats worse.

[RedDawg#8]

19 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

Like I said, if they lose and he's playing a certain way, then we can talk.  But until then, it's a lot of noise about things that aren't a big deal, imo.  

Trae has been in complete control all series.  He's led the team offensively and been solid defensively.  I don't think he all of a sudden went rogue with his play in games 4 and 5.  The team was never in jeopardy of losing either game.  Yes, he took more 3's in both, but he was always in control of the game and neither were in doubt. 

And last night, he only took 4 3's in the first half and 3 in the 3rd quarter. Then, with the game out of reach, he took 4 in the 4th.  I thought he was hunting that killer blow but the game wasn't in doubt.  The point is, he had such complete control of the game, that even when he was missing 3's, he never put the team in jeopardy of losing or even really getting down.  

Lastly, I have no doubt there will be a time of re-focus going into the next series.  From everything we've seen from Trae and the whole team, they understand the task at hand and the magnitude of it.  They sure don't seem like they are going to go into Philly thinking the wins vs NYK are going to carry them.  New series. New foe. New challenge.  I think Trae will be ready to control each game as well.  Can he do it vs a better team?  We'll see.  

But one thing's for sure, Trae is going to do everything he can to make sure the Hawks win. IF that means being a primary facilitator, he'll do that.  If it means being a primary scorer, he'll do that.  

 

100 % agree with everything except the bolded

I think that win or lose you have to find ways to improve. Sometimes it's really hard when you are playing at very a high level, but when you can point to an increase of volume shooting on worse efficiency, that's an easy area to look at and say, "Hey, I need to pick my spots better". And a mature player will address those things before they come back to haunt them.

The second Bolded part, that's never really been my debate. Trae CAN, WILL and SHOULD do both as needed, no doubt. But how well you do it is the question/issue for me. There are times he makes risky passes that lead to turnovers, there are some times he takes bad shots. I don't really care what his intention is, its about the execution for me. Looking to score doesn't mean taking bad shots, looking to facilitate doesn't mean forcing the ball into traffic. Staying aggressive is important, but so is decision making and discernment.

Your overall point that the games weren't in question and it did not put us in jeopardy is what I agree with most. I had no issues with his performance until the very end of the game when he lost the ball out of bounds, then rolled it off John's ankle trying to get too cute. That came with a couple of dagger attempts that missed. At that point, I'm like Trae, get your head out of your butt and focus. We still had a cushion, we were in control, but that wasn't good basketball and coach needs/needed to check him for that. Win or lose, that was not how you want to play. 

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, JeffS17 said:

To be honest I rather Hunter guard Tobias Harris.  Harris is their only 3 level scorer and he's a decent playmaker.  Let Ben run around the perimeter all he wants.  Capela will be there to help if needed but Ben not being able to shoot allows you to cheat quite a bit so I don't know if it makes sense for our best defender to be assigned to him.  

That will leave Collins on Ben - Ben will drive by Collins in a heartbeat - I don't think he'll be able to stay in front of him.  You give Ben space to shoot and that quick 1st step he'll be by Collins in a flash.

Edited June 3, 2021 by JayBirdHawk

[RedDawg#8]

14 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

That will leave Collins on Ben - Ben will drive by Collins in a heartbeat - I don't think he'll be able to stay in front of him.  You give Ben space to shoot and that quick 1st step he'll be by Collins in a flash.

Right, that's how he attacks teams, similar to Giannis (but wayyyyy worse shooting) He knows how to eat up that space and get you off balanced in the blink of an eye. You want someone who can prevent him from getting a head of steam downhill and can run with him laterally when he changes directions.

[aali34]

JC on Tobias probably is for the best. On an athletic and strength level John matches better with him. The problem will be if he can't chase him around screens which he probably can't.

If he starts putting up points Deandre will take him. If JC can't handle Simmons he'll probably not play as much this series. Nate's shown to bench guys in favor of matchups before.

[RedDawg#8]

In the spirit of balance, just to make sure no one thinks Im hating on the guy, Trae played some amazing defense especially down the stretch. Bullock got off some open look early, but Trae adjusted and had some PERFECT close outs on him. He moved his feet around screens, and I could only think of one time when there was a miscommunication on a switch that left Randle open.

There was a play late where Trae forced a live ball turnover on a dig down against Randle that came at a clutch moment in the game. He was very active defensively and not just hiding out. I am very impressed and proud at his improvement on that end of the floor.

Great job Trae and Coach Nate

[RedDawg#8]

5 minutes ago, aali34 said:

JC on Tobias probably is for the best. On an athletic and strength level John matches better with him. The problem will be if he can't chase him around screens which he probably can't.

If he starts putting up points Deandre will take him. If JC can't handle Simmons he'll probably not play as much this series. Nate's shown to bench guys in favor of matchups before.

I can see them taking turns and giving them both multiple looks for those reasons. Gallo is the one who may struggle the most against their frontcourt

Harris, Simmons, Embiid, Howard and Scott. I can only see Gallo keeping up with Scott out of those names

[JayBirdHawk]

8 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Gallo is the one who may struggle the most against their frontcourt

I would like to think that, but Gallo surprised the heck out of me against the Knicks.  And I mean being able to stay infront of Randle - I did not see that coming at all.

[AHF]

16 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I would like to think that, but Gallo surprised the heck out of me against the Knicks.  And I mean being able to stay infront of Randle - I did not see that coming at all.

His defense exceeded my expectations too.

[REHawksFan]

1 hour ago, RedDawg#8 said:

when he lost the ball out of bounds, then rolled it off John's ankle trying to get too cute. That came with a couple of dagger attempts that missed. At that point, I'm like Trae, get your head out of your butt and focus. We still had a cushion, we were in control, but that wasn't good basketball and coach needs/needed to check him for that. Win or lose, that was not how you want to play. 

Agree with this.  But my point is that I don't think that type of play is a recurring thing for him in the playoffs. I think he was wanting to make a statement in a game that was 100% under his control and he got sloppy.  I'm not concerned in the least that that is becoming a pattern for him.  

In regards to the rolling the ball, I get why he does it, but just pick it up when the defender gets close.  No need to involve JC, imo.  

[JayBirdHawk]

FACTS!!!

 

 

[MaceCase]

4 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Here's the thing too - he's not directing any of this to the opponent players - it's all about his interactions with the fans who gave it to him mercilessly.

People complaining about Trae need to introduce themselves to Joel.  He will troll a crowd, players, and media even from street clothes.  His handle is “Troel” FFS!

[Spud2nique]

11 minutes ago, MaceCase said:

People complaining about Trae need to introduce themselves to Joel.

oh boyyyy. We are in for a show. Tweetie bird wars if you will. 

[Spud2nique]

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

That will leave Collins on Ben - Ben will drive by Collins in a heartbeat - I don't think he'll be able to stay in front of him.  You give Ben space to shoot and that quick 1st step he'll be by Collins in a flash.

Let’s be honest, I’m just here to see who gets to expose Curry. Everyone here knows I hate the brother,  Seth is better but still a Curry no less. 
 

Trae or Bogi need to light him up and I mean him up big!

[Dnice]

Just running across the dopeness from "Dansbae"....

 

 

Edited June 4, 2021 by Dnice