Game Thread: Streaking Hawks host Knicks -- 1/20/23

[Jamaaliver]

Hawks' Keys to Beating New York Knicks

PACE

Atlanta is riding a four-game winning streak, with the last three victories coming against slow-moving teams. Over the past two weeks, Atlanta has shown what its capable of accomplishing when healthy and playing at a fast pace. Like Atlanta's last few opponents, New York moves at a glacial pace on the court. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau would prefer his team work methodically to get the right matchups for Julius Randle or Jalen Brunson on offense and force Atlanta into a half-court playstyle on the other end of the floor.

DEFENSE

Atlanta and New York split their two prior matchups earlier this season, and they were both low-scoring affairs. There is a high likelihood that tonight's game will turn into another defensive battle for the Eastern Conference foes. New York ranks 11th in defensive rating, and Atlanta is close behind with the 13th-best defensive rating in the league. Atlanta's offense is stagnant, and their outside shooting is lacking, so they will have to win this game on the defensive end of the floor.

REBOUNDING

New York is the third-best rebounding team in the league and scores more second-chance points than anyone. Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and Isaiah Hartenstein are formidable on the glass. Meanwhile, Atlanta is a slightly below-average rebounding team and bottom-five in second-chance points allowed. However, Clint Capela returned to action last week and has looked good since dealing with a calf injury. Capela's importance to Atlanta's overall defense and rebounding cannot be overstated.

JULIUS RANDLE

Sticking in the post, Julius Randle tallied a 34-point triple-double the last time Atlanta and New York faced off. The All-Star power forward averages over 24 points and ten rebounds per game. Atlanta will have to pack the lane to keep Randle from eating in the paint once again.

Sports Illustrated

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[jayu70]

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[Jamaaliver]

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[D21]

It's actually a rare thing to see a team shooting 56FG% and 38% from 3pts beating a team shooting 59FG% and 43% from 3pts.
The key: ATL controlled the ball better (7 TOs only to 12 for NYK) and fight on offensive rebounds (14 for ATL, 9 for NYK)
In the end, they took 100 shots, while NYK only took 83, the win comes from here

I like that, fighting and not losing the ball !

[KL78192020]

hawks on a roll finally healthy

[HMFFL]

Everything is looking great right now. I'm just enjoying it while this streak last. Go Hawks

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[dms269]

It did get a little hairy there for a minute.

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[DirtybirdGA]

Yeah, me too HM fan...