Hawks vs. Knicks Live Notebook
Pregame
Kevin Huerter will join Trae Young, De'Andre Hunter, Jabari Parker, and Damian Jones in the starting lineup. Huerter's status had been in question coming into Tuesday because of a minor shoulder injury suffered against the Lakers. Lloyd Pierce announced this afternoon that he'd play. That unit will go up against Frank Ntilikina, R.J. Barrett, Marcus Morris, Julius Randle, and Taj Gibson.
First Quarter
Jones Active Early
Damian Jones has improved significantly as a passer this season, especially out of the short roll. He just caught a pass from Trae Young on the roll and kicked out to De'Andre Hunter on the wing for a 3, then grabbed an offensive rebound to give the Hawks an extra possession.
Jones still gets flustered in crowds and is limited as a ball-handler and shooter outside the paint, but his progress on offense has been noticeable through the first 27 games of the season. He gives Trae Young a dangerous option above the rim in the pick-and-roll, which opens up both dunks for himself and open looks for teammates.
The Hawks could still look to upgrade at center, and Alex Len is still a better option, but Jones has put the work in to improve, and it shows one little play at a time.
Young Feasting On Floaters
The Knicks are playing a drop coverage against the Hawks' pick-and-rolls and playing to take away lobs, which is leaving Young wide open looks in the short midrange. Mitchell Robinson is the Knicks' only intimidating rim protector -- and he is elite -- but with him off the floor, Young will get all the floaters he can take.
He has been one of the best floater shooters in the league this season, and as teams continue conceding that shot, he keeps dropping in devastating teardrops over contesting big men. He's up to 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and has been Atlanta's only consistent source of offense.
An Early DeAndre' Bembry Sighting
Bembry had been out of the rotation for the last few games, but made an early appearance in the first quarter after Cam Reddish picked up two fouls in three minutes. Bembry is a longtime favorite of Pierce's, but has been squeezed lately by the emergence of Allen Crabbe and the Hawks' investment in developing Reddish and Hunter. He didn't score but grabbed three rebounds in five early minutes. We'll see if he remains a part of the rotation or if those five minutes were merely a stopgap.
Second Quarter
Jones Struggling to Track Robinson
The Hawks stumble to start the second quarter, and Mitchell Robinson has absolutely terrorized Damian Jones. Twice the lanky center has simply reached over Jones' head to grab offensive rebounds, and the second time he ended up drawing a foul on an alley-oop attempt on the second chance.
On the other end, Robinson smothered Kevin Huerter's pass attempt to Jones and has generally been a nuisance for the Hawks with his length and energy in the paint. New York's offensive rebounding (and thus Atlanta's defensive rebounding) was a key area to monitor coming into the game and Robinson is currently demonstrating why.
Young Continues to Spark Hawks
Young has hit a stepback 3 and, in a rare occurrence, an open spot-up triple set up by Huerter and Jabari Parker. Young, Parker, and Hunter all ran the left side of the floor as Huerter brought the ball up, and Hunter's cut down the middle drew a defender to the paint, freeing Parker to swing the ball to Young in the corner.
Those sorts of attempts don't come often for Young, who has to create most of his looks on his own, but as Huerter works more with the ball in his hands, Young could be free to work off the ball a bit more.
Hawks Lacking Energy In Second Quarter
Save for a few of Young's highlights, Atlanta doesn't seem to be playing with much energy. Their movement is sluggish and shot selection was rather poor in the second period. They have nine turnovers, many of which have been off of careless or lazy passes.
The Knicks, no matter how low their talent level, play hard almost every night and hit their opponents first. Atlanta seems dazed by the force of the Knicks' blow and have staggered to a 77-53 halftime deficit. The difference in energy was perhaps no better exemplified than by one of the final plays of the half, when Mitchell Robinson sprinted to knock a looping pass by Young into the backcourt and finish with a soaring dunk. New York deserves credit for shooting and defending well, but the Hawks haven't made things difficult on them at all.
Third Quarter
Hunter and Huerter Working Together
The Hawks have struggled to generate good shots in the third quarter (or the entire game) but some of the few they have gotten have come from De'Andre Hunter and Kevin Huerter on the left side of the floor. The Hawks are running a variation of a common play used to get Hunter working toward the middle of the floor, only using a different option out of the set. Hunter will come up to the left wing off a screen from the center, catch, and initiate a pick-and-roll with the big man.
Rather than using the screen and attacking the middle, however, Hunter is been dribbling left and handing the ball off to Kevin Huerter, who has the option of initiating a second pick-and-roll with the big or rising and firing for 3.
This could be a nice way of alleviating Young's workload moving forward, with Atlanta's second- and third-best initiators working together to create offense.
Fourth Quarter
Fernando Starts Fourth
Bruno Fernando gets his first run of the game to begin the fourth quarter, likely because the game is out of hand and Pierce wants to get the rookie some reps. But Fernando might be worth keeping in the rotation moving forward, it only for a few minutes in each half.
Alex Len is clearly the best center on Atlanta's roster right now, but the disparity between Fernando and Jones isn't significant enough that it's not worth investing more in the rookie's development. Fernando isn't the lob threat Jones is, but might already be the better defender and has far better basketball instincts. He's a smart screener, relatively versatile defender, and occasionally canny passer, and while Fernando looks completely lost at moments, his flashes might be worth exploring.
Hawks Making A Late Push
It's too late to earn a win, but the Hawks have played with more spirit in the fourth quarter. Fernando played well in his seven minutes at the start of the period, which may have helped boost Atlanta's collective energy, and Young has begun to heat up from deep. The Hawks have been more active on defense and a touch more cohesive on offense. It helps that shots are falling at a higher rate than they did in the game's first 36 minutes.
It looks like Pierce will close the game small, with Carter at center and Hunter at power forward. That will likely compromise Atlanta's rebounding and rim protection, but the outcome is out of question and these are good times to try stuff.
Hawks Lose, 143-120
This one wasn't close after the opening minutes, and the Knicks roll to a 143-120 victory. The Hawks (6-22) now own the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
R.J. Barrett scored 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting while Mitchell Robinson and Marcus Morris each finished with 22. Julius Randle had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 42 points 16-of-29 from the field and 7-of-13 from 3. After a slow start, De'Andre Hunter finished with 19 points on 19 shot attempts. In his final game at Madison Square Garden, Vince Carter had 15 points off the bench.
The Hawks will come home to play the Jazz on Thursday before turning back around to New York for a Saturday evening meeting with the Nets.
