N.Y. Knicks: Cold Start Proves Costly

From the desk: KICKING CANS DOWN 33RD STREET WITH JIMMY

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

PLAYOFFS: ROUND ONE

GAME ONE

Atlanta Hawks      107

New York Knicks  105

FINAL

Getting to the Point of the Matter

I'm not listening to the nonsensical Frank Ntilikina narrative about preventing Trae Young from playing to his right.  Yes, Julius Randle was there to help on the left side.  But let's not be petty ... that's not what happened.  Losing the game on a last-second shot is not what went wrong.  Instead, the results of the Knicks game-long collective efforts put them in a position to win.

Julius Randle started ice cold, and the Hawks outscored the Knicks in the first quarter by eight.  Randle remained cold, but by halftime, the Knicks deficit was only two, largely thanks to Derrick Rose, who Coach Thibideau utilized off the bench far earlier than anticipated.  Julius stayed cold, yet the Knicks led by two after three quarters.

As he should have, Julius Randle led the team with 23 attempts, the same number as Trae Young.  But whereas Young was 11/23, including 1/3 from behind the arc, and 9/9 from the line for a game-high 32 points, Julius Randle was 6/23 and 2/6 from three and just 1/2 from the line.  Despite hitting a clutch three down the stretch, Randle effectively remained cold throughout the fourth.  If he hits one more three, the Knicks win.  If Julius gets to the line more, the Knicks win.  If the Knicks score two more points back in the first quarter, they probably win.

The Knicks twice exceeded 30 points in a quarter, the Hawks just once; it just so happened in the fourth.  But Atlanta only scored 24 points back in the first; the Knicks scored just 16 points.  Instead of pointing at Young's last shot and Julius Randle's fail attempt at the buzzer, rewind and revisit the first quarter.  But before you do, first remember that Nerlens Noel was not on the floor when Young put up his winning shot.

And by the way, the Knick outrebounded the Hawks by seven.

The bench scored 64 points which accounted for 60.9% of the Knicks scoring.  Alec Burks was the big man on campus, with 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter.

Coach Thibodeau has a decision to make at point guard.  I agree that Derrick Rose should play off the bench.  However, necessity is the mother of all inventions.  Rose clocked 38 minutes.  Elfrid Payton played just eight minutes, which in the playoffs proved to be a major waste of Knicks' time.  So, why bother ...

Elfrid Payton posted five or more assists this season 13 times in 63 games.  Six of those episodes occurred within his first ten games of the season.  Since then, just seven times.  His best stretch of the season started on Dec. 27 against the Bucks, in which he scored 27 points with seven rebounds in 29 minutes and wound down by Jan. 10 with five assists against Denver.  Through the last nine regular-season games in May, Payton averaged just 1.8 assists in 15.1 minutes.  The Knicks simply need more in the playoffs, that is, against a singular opponent.

Me, you, everyone is expecting Julius Randle to improve his game.  Chalk this one up to an off-night.  

But what of RJ Barrett?  I hear sniveling in the background.  But I think he played a representative game for a 20-year old, with 14 points and eleven rebounds in 32 minutes.  Barrett, like Randle, only had two attempts from the free-throw line.  That must change.

So, no, all does not boil down to one failed defensive stop.