Game Thread: New York Knicks @ Atlanta Hawks 5/30/2021 1:00 pm [Game #4]

rady

Administrator
Staff member

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(41-31) -- (41-31)

NBA PLAYOFFS 2021 ROUND 1
Series (2 - 1)

VenueTVTIME
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GAABC
1:00 PM EST



Probable starters:

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Injury Report

New York KnicksAtlanta Hawks
Mitchell Robinson - Foot surgery (OUT)Brandon Goodwin - Minor respiratory condition (OUT)
-Cam Reddish - Right Achilles soreness (OUT)


Game Preview

Fans watching the first-round playoff series between Atlanta and New York have seen what the Hawks' Trae Young can do. They're still waiting for the Knicks' Julius Randle to show up with his best.

Young and Randle will be under the microscope again Sunday afternoon in Atlanta when the teams meet in Game 4 of their best-of-seven playoff series, which the Hawks lead 2-1.

Young scored 21 points and had 14 assists in Friday's 105-94 win in Atlanta. He had 32 and 30 points as the teams split the first two games of the series in New York.

The Knicks' Randle, voted the NBA's Most Improved Player, has been frustrated through the first three games. He had 14 points and 11 rebounds in Game 3, but was just 2-for-15 from the field. He scored 15 points in each of the first two games and has faced constant double-teams, nearly 10 points off his season average (24.1).

"We've got to adapt and we will," Randle said.

Young sparked the Hawks on a 22-5 run to close the first half of Game 3, which gave Atlanta a double-digit lead it enjoyed most of the second half.

"He doesn't really have a weakness," Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said of his third-year point guard playing in the playoffs for the first time. "He takes what the defense gives him. He does a good job finding the open man when the defense collapses in the paint. When they don't, he's attacking and finishing at the rim."

That's what Young did in the first game when he stunned the New York crowd with the game-winning floater with less than a second remaining for the Hawks' 107-105 victory.

Teammate John Collins said, "When you have a guy that can find open seams, sees them and can make those passes, it just makes everything easier."

"It feels great," Young said. "This is my first experience at home in the playoffs. I'm looking forward to having a lot more of these."

The difference in Game 3 was defense, said New York coach Tom Thibodeau -- or a lack of it.

"I thought our defense in Game 2 was vital because it got us into the open floor, it got us some easy buckets and I didn't think we ever really got our defense going (Friday)," he said. "We have to understand the intensity we have to bring to each game."

The Knicks have leaned heavily on veteran Derrick Rose, who started for the first time in Game 3 and scored 30 points. Rose had 26 points in New York's Game 2 win.

"If you're not making plays with a shooting team like that, there's no way you're going to win the game," Rose said.

Thibodeau retained a positive outlook about the rest of the series.

"Their attitude is very upbeat, and their work ethic is second to none," he said. "We're disappointed, obviously, in the way we played, and we'll take a good, hard look at it and come back with more determination in the next game. We have great belief in each other. We have to settle back down and hopefully we'll play better on Sunday."

Atlanta has won 12 straight at home, where it is 20-2 over its last 22 games.

--Field Level Media

(STATS / cbssports.com)
 
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Every time this team has been on the ropes, it has fought back hard this season. Huge challenge today. We have several guys who are playing basically their worst basketball of the season in this series. Rose is carrying us, but that?s not enough.

Big game today. Let?s go Knicks!
 
If nothing else, this series is some learning experience for Thibs and Randle. These guys likely have a bunch of years together in front of them. According to Rose, Nate McMillan and the Hawks are showing Randle double teams coming from unexpected directions.

If your star gets demolished by the other team?s defensive strategy, you sure know where to start breaking down film in the off-season.

As far as RJ, he?s playing playoff basketball at 20-years-old. He turns 21 in a couple weeks. If he?s going to be a star in this league, this is the kind of experience you need to learn how to keep your head on straight. No high school, college, or regular season basketball game prepares you for the playoffs.
 
Interesting note on how Trae Young is being used in this series. Early in the series, Knicks were guarding him with some of our smaller guys, so Hawks were heavily using screens to knock the defender off the ball.

More recently in the series, Knicks switched to using larger defenders on Young (like Bullock), so Hawks then went away from using screens and instead have been letting Young go past the larger defenders on his own using his speed.

Also, Young scored 30 points in first 2 games. He then switched to more of a distributing role in game 3 with 14 assists.

McMillan and Young were ready for what we were going to do to stop Young.

Thibs and Randle were not ready for what the Hawks were going to do to stop Randle.

That has to change today.
 
Derrick Rose looks like he?s playing in his driveway. The rest of our guys look like they are having a panic attack.
 
Trae Young is destroying us. He is playing head and shoulders above anyone else right now. Our guys need to step up or this game is going to go real bad, real fast.
 
Huge for the Knicks that the refs are calling the over the back foul on Capela. Capela could get every offensive board if we don?t get that call.
 
Derrick Rose with 10 points in 8 minutes. He is a stealth all-star in this league if his body could hold up for a season.
 

rady

Administrator
Staff member
Randle still shooting a lot of bricks but at least he's made some field goals
 
Giving up offensive boards. A problem all season. May be our undoing. Can?t give Atlanta 2 tries, let alone 3.
 

jimkcchief88

All Star
Trying to watch the game and the Indy 500 at the same time. It?s my fathers birthday and we always watched the race together until he passed 3 years ago. Miss u pop. I thought that last bucket by RJ was good but he took to long time line it up. JR starting to come around and I?m glad to see Drose back in there. Let?s steal one boys.
 

rady

Administrator
Staff member
9-0 run for the Hawks.. 30-34, a couple of threes by Bogdanovic and Gallo
 
Not going to lie, my confidence in Knicks on offense right now:
1. Derrick Rose
2. Taj Gibson
3. Obi Toppin

3 guys who look most comfortable out there.
 
Fight! Fight! Fight!

Trae Young keeps punching us in the mouth. Get up and punch them right back!

Knicks survive a Trae Young assault and take back a 1 point lead.
 
Just awful sequence. This is why we are behind the 8 ball in this series. Out of the timeout, Collins hits open 3, Randle misses leading to easy transition dunk for Collins, Randle turns it over leading to Bogdanovic nailing an open 3.

It took 45 seconds to go from +1 to -7. Can?t win like this.
 
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