No Dice: Knicks Humble Hawks, Trae Young

Did someone in the front office sit Thibs down and inform him that he needs to adjust/evolve immediately?

Final Score: Knicks 119 - Hawks 110
Record: 28-16

The first half of the first quarter of the Knicks' rematch with the Hawks on Monday afternoon was eerily reminiscent of New York's previous two losses to Atlanta and many recent defeats the ‘Bockers have suffered this month.

The Hawks knocked down three three-pointers and scored 18 points in the game’s opening five minutes. The Knicks seemed a step slow, defensively and hesitant on the offensive end. After Vit Krejci drilled an open jumper from behind the arc to give Atlanta an 18-8 lead, coach Tom Thibodeau called a timeout.

On the very first defensive possession following that TO, Mikal Bridges put the clamps on Trae Young, hounding him from near halfcourt to the paint, eventually forcing a 24-second violation.

When asked about the sequence after the win, Bridges replied, “I was just trying to get a stop. I know he’s crafty and didn’t want him to score and I know my teammates have my back and just trying to guard them. I heard the Garden. It got loud.”

“That’s what I’m here for. That’s what I get paid for,” Bridges added. “And like I always said, I got my teammates behind me so it’s never just me against that guy. So it’s just team defense and I try my best to try to disrupt.”

Josh Hart, the Knicks' human energizer, scored two straight buckets after the 24-second call to stabilize the game, and the Knicks were off to the races.

The other significant development in the first quarter was Landry Shamet checking in for OG Anunoby and Cam Payne subbing in for Brunson with three minutes remaining in the opening frame, after Deuce McBride and Precious Achiuwa had already replaced Bridges and KAT.

Yes, nine different Knicks saw action in the first quarter. As we know, this was a dramatic shift from Thibs conventional modus operandi.

Although Atlanta stayed hot offensively to close out the first half, New York took control after halftime, pouring in 40 points in the third quarter and outsourcing the Hawks by 13.

Bridges came out of the break on fire, scoring seven straight points and 14 total within the first five minutes of the third quarter.

The Hawks were attempting to hide Young by having him guard Bridges, but NY did something many of us have been begging for since the 2021 playoffs: Target Trae and punish him defensively. Make that little dude work. Wear him down.

The Knicks did just that, having Bridges post up the diminutive point guard or spamming high screens to get Young involved in pick-and-roll action. Bridges finished the contest with 26 points (12-of-17 FGs) and four assists in just 27 minutes.

He also did a terrific job on the other end of the floor. Per NBA tracking data, Young was 2-of-9 with three turnovers across 32 possessions when defended by Bridges. After rolling imaginary dice on top of the Knicks logo after a victory last month, Young quietly walked off the floor in defeat on Monday. He ended the game with more turnovers (9) than made FGs (8-for-22) or assists (6).

“Mikal was out there to start it off,” Hart told reporters after the win. “He was our point of attack defender, and he did a great job today. He started and everything kind of trickled down.”

Thibs was also complimentary of his POA defender. “The thing you appreciate about what [Mikal] does is he does it every night. Every night, there’s a tough cover. He doesn’t run away from it. He embraces it. That’s what you need.”

The other adjustment we saw from New York on the defensive end was Karl-Anthony Towns not automatically falling into drop coverage when the Hawks ran high pick-and-rolls. Far more frequently than we’ve seen this season, KAT played at the level or blitzed/doubled Young coming off the screen.

It paid immediate dividends by forcing someone other than Young to beat New York. Trae was just 1-of-8 from the floor in the final frame.

The Knicks won both the 3rd and 4th quarters vs. Atlanta, outscoring the Hawks by 17 points in the second half.

Did this reversal of second-half fortunes have anything to do with the fact that Monday’s victory was the first time this entire season nine different Knicks played 10+ minutes in a non-blowout? It was almost as if they were exhausted down the stretch?

Hmmm….

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:

🏀 We haven’t praised Brunson yet, but it goes without saying his offensive contributions were invaluable. The Captain scored a game-high 34 points (12-of-18 FGs, 7-of-11 FTs), dished out six assists and hit three triples.

It was obvious that Brunson took this one personally.