It's interesting because we won 3 relatively high scoring games against them. They have waves of shooters beyond Young- Lou, Gallo, Huerter etc. We just got some incredible play by Randle in all 3 games. Julius went 37/12/7 on over 50% shooting. We made Young relatively inefficient, and Elf was a big part of that. That scares me since we can't count him right now. Does Frankie get more run?

To me this is gonna be a very entertaining series. Two inexperienced playoff teams. High pace, free flowing. We have done well against some of the higher scoring teams. We have shot well lately, but the cold spells in the last 2 games concern me. The week of rest is gonna help.

Knicks in 6.

VDesai wrote:Putting this thread out there to talk about the Hawks and what concerns us about them. I think we can beat the Hawks and have done 3 times this season, but our biggest issue is Clint Capela/ keeping him off the boards. Capela put up 17 pts, 17 boards on us and is the kind of guy that gives Noel problems.

It's interesting because we won 3 relatively high scoring games against them. They have waves of shooters beyond Young- Lou, Gallo, Huerter etc. We just got some incredible play by Randle in all 3 games. Julius went 37/12/7 on over 50% shooting. We made Young relatively inefficient, and Elf was a big part of that. That scares me since we can't count him right now. Does Frankie get more run?

To me this is gonna be a very entertaining series. Two inexperienced playoff teams. High pace, free flowing. We have done well against some of the higher scoring teams. We have shot well lately, but the cold spells in the last 2 games concern me. The week of rest is gonna help.

Knicks in 6.

Here's another thing... Knicks are tied for 2nd in the NBA w/ BRK for 3 point FG%. Hawks are 12th (.392 vs. .373) and the Knicks have become really good at pounding you with RJ/Randle while finding space to shoot good 3s.

I think Atl is a good team (I hate Trae btw) but we are terrible matchup for them. They have no answer for Randle and doubling vs. an elite 3 pt shooting team isnt going to work well unless we just go stone cold.

Health:
The Hawks are mostly healthy at this point - perhaps the most complete they've been all season. (Still somewhat banged up but at least they're in playing shape) And with the play-in tourney, they get a few extra days. Which also benefits the Knicks.

The Knicks are about as healthy as they've been in the 2nd half of the season. Our biggest missing piece, Mitchell Robinson, has started on-court work and will soon progress to 5 on 5 work. Reports say he looks like he's been putting in the work and looks to be physically in great shape. Each day, Mitch inches closer to return. I think we can handle the Hawks without him (Noel and Gibson have produced at levels beyond our wildest dreams), but as we move into later rounds with potential taller/beefier players to match up with, we may pine for his size and the mismatches he creates more. (I've gotta give a major shout out to Noel - he's been as locked in as any center in the league in recent weeks - that RJ alley-oop yesterday starting with Noel's deflection was fantastic - I was sure Noel would mishandle the pass but it turned out perfectly!)

https://sports.yahoo.com/knicks-hc-tom-thibodeau-doesnt-161532004.html

I know we are 3-0 vs the Hawks this year, but 2 of those wins were against the Lloyd Peirce Hawks. Nate's Hawks are mush different. Under Nate, they are a better defensively, they are more detail oriented, they share the ball much better, their game plans are better and their roles more defined making for a more cohesive unit.

As of today, they are as healthy as they have been all year. Deandre Hunter is the X factor for this team. He's their bets two-way player and its a good chance he will get the call to guard Randle. Hunter has the quickness and length to bother Julius on the perimeter so its important for Randle not to settle and get back to playing bully-ball. He has the advantage on the interior against this team and he needs to use it.

The Hawks are loaded offensively and we cannot afford any lulls or lapses on the defensive end. I watched this team drop 135 on the Suns and Young only had 16 in that game. The Hawks have 7 guys that on any given night can go for 20 or more. We have been a great defensive team all year, and we need to be at our absolute best against this team. We have struggled on occasion guarding the pick and roll and the corner 3s. Trae and Capella are excellent in the pick and roll and the Hawks can surround the perimeter with 3 point shooters. Also, we are going to have to score. There will be a few games that the Hawks will score over 110 pts.

martin wrote:

Uptown wrote:I live in the A and occasionally listen to sports talk radio on my morning drive to work and sometimes on the way home from work. The talking heads down here have been giving the Knicks props and as of last week, most of them were rooting for a Knicks lost so they wouldn't have to play us in the playoffs, mainly because Randle has been the Hawks Kryptonite.

I know we are 3-0 vs the Hawks this year, but 2 of those losses were against the Lloyd Peirce Hawks. Nate's Hawks are mush different. Under Nate, they are a better defensively, they are more detail oriented, they share the ball much better, their game plans are better and their roles more defined making for a more cohesive unit.

As of today, they are as healthy as they have been all year. Deandre Hunter is the X factor for this team. He's their bets two-way player and its a good chance he will get the call to guard Randle. Hunter has the quickness and length to bother Julius on the perimeter so its important for Randle not to settle and get back to playing bully-ball. He has the advantage on the interior against this team and he needs to use it.

The Hawks are loaded offensively and we cannot afford any lulls or lapses on the defensive end. I watched this team drop 135 on the Suns and Young only had 16 in that game. The Hawks have 7 guys that on any given night can go for 20 or more. We have been a great defensive team all year, and we need to be at our absolute best against this team. We have struggled on occasion guarding the pick and roll and the corner 3s. Trae and Capella are excellent in the pick and roll and the Hawks can surround the perimeter with 3 pint shooters. Also, we are going to have to score. There will be a few games that the Hawks will score over 110 pts.

Feel like this will be key and I think the Knicks will miss Mitch, Noel is just not as big for those over the top lobs to Capella.

Also, if Elf is not getting minutes it will mean Atlanta will target Rose all night long in the PnR, he is in for a long ride.

Frank makes a ton of sense in this series. His length and lateral quickness can definitely disrupt Trae out on the perimeter. Not sure how Thibs will squeeze him into the rotation without a regular rotation player getting squeezed out. If it was my call, Payton would be out of the rotation, but I highly doubt Thibs would do that.

K Knicks in 5

Interestingly... both Thibs and McMillan have losing playoff records.
Thibs: 24-32
McMillan: 17-36

McMillan's teams have been ousted in the 1st round 8 out of 9 times. 6 out of his 9 playoff teams had 48 wins or more in the regular season.
Thibs has been in the playoffs 6 times as head coach. His teams made it to the 2nd round 3/6 times.

WP76 wrote:Have to give Frank some opportunities to use his length defensively against Young. The problem is that N is so spotty (nice way of saying he usually stinks) on the offensive end. Can't be any worse than EP, I guess.

Agreed. Frank would definitely be a good spot defender against Trae. Problem with some thinking he can start over Payton or get a lot of minutes is that he has not shown to be able to stay out of foul trouble early. Especially against crafty PGs. Think Thibs will stick with what has worked all year. Hoping Payton answers the bell after a horrible stretch. To be fair,

As for thread topic, Knicks are going to kick some Hawks ass. We should have everyone healthy and going in with confidence.

Go Knicks!!