Sean Barnard details his preview and prediction for Saturday’s Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks matchup in Game 4 of the NBA Playoffs.
The Knicks took the opening game of the series, but the Hawks have stormed back to win back-to-back games and take a 2-1 series advantage. They will face off for a Game 4 matchup in Atlanta, with New York feeling their backs against the wall far sooner than they expected this postseason.
You can check out the full series preview on DraftKings Network here.
Looking at the odds for the Game 4 clash, the Knicks enter as narrow 2.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Hawks are +110 underdogs with the game total set at O/U 214.5 points.
This article will look at a preview and prediction for the Eastern Conference Game 4 matchup.
Jalen Brunson set the tone for the series in Game 1 by scoring 19 points in the first quarter on 8-for-11 shooting. New York held a lead for 91% of the matchup and stretched it to as large as 19. It cruised to a 113-102 win that was not as close as the score indicates and looked like the serious postseason threat it is constructed to be.
But things flipped in Games 2 and 3. Atlanta has relied on its identity of high-level athletes who can defend, and this was the difference in the matchup. The Hawks tallied a narrow 107-106 win in which Mikal Bridges’ shot at the buzzer was off the mark. New York led for 91% of the matchup in this game as well, and it was outscored 28-15 in the fourth quarter to cement the loss.
The Hawks put their most convincing performance on the floor in Game 3. The final score finished 109-108, but the Hawks led for 85% of the matchup and stretched the lead to as large as 18. CJ McCollum has attacked Jalen Brunson defensively, and Bridges was held scoreless in the loss.
Across the first three games, Atlanta is 2-1 against the spread, and the game total has gone under in two of the three games.
After pulling the plug on the Trae Young era at the midseason point, the Hawks found a new gear with their defensive-minded mentality. Atlanta has not missed a beat amid the major midseason shakeup, finishing as the sixth seed in the conference with a 46-36 overall record. Across the regular season, Atlanta went 44-38 against the spread, and the game total has gone 41-41 to the over/under.
Jalen Johnson headlines the production, posting averages of 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game across the regular season. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has had a breakout season in a new location, adding 20.8 points, 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. CJ McCollum adds 18.7 points and 4.1 assists across his first 41 games with the organization, while Dyson Daniels, Jonathan Kuminga and Zaccharie Risacher also play notable roles.
Looking at the regular season results, Quin Snyder’s group scored 118.5 points per game, which ranks sixth in the NBA. The Hawks also rank 14th in offensive rating, 13th in field-goal percentage and fifth in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 116.0 points per game against Atlanta, which ranks 18th in the league. It also ranks ninth in defensive rating, 18th in opponent field-goal percentage and 12th in opponent three-point percentage.
Jock Landale is the only Hawks player expected to miss today’s action.
There have been some notable ups and downs for the Knicks this season. After losing in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, the organization changed coaches to bring in Mike Brown in an effort to get more production out of the same overall core. It won the In-Season Tournament as a sign of success, but it also had some noteworthy low points. New York finished the regular season with a 53-29 record and sits in third place in the East. The Knicks went 44-39 against the spread, and the game total has gone 38-45 to the over/under.
Jalen Brunson headlines the production with 26.0 points, 6.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds, while Karl-Anthony Towns pitches in 20.1 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists of his own across the regular season. Josh Hart sets the tone for this team from a hustle standpoint, while Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Jordan Clarkson, Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet and Tyler Kolek are capable of serving as X-factors in the rotation.
As a team, the Knicks score 116.5 points per game, which ranks 10th in the NBA. New York also ranks third in offensive rating, 11th in field-goal percentage and fourth in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents have scored 110.1 points per game against the Knicks, which ranks fifth in the league. They also rank seventh in defensive rating, fifth in opponent field-goal percentage and 20th in opponent three-point percentage.
The Eastern Conference is wide open, and both these teams are looking to take advantage of this. New York put all of its chips in the middle around this current core, and this is the year on its expected trajectory that there should be a path to making a deep postseason run. But its quality of play has not backed this up, and Atlanta has begun to find clear ways to exploit its flaws.
At the top of this list is the athletic advantage the Hawks have. This is true of just about any opponent in the league, but especially this Knicks roster. Jalen Brunson is one of the best isolation scorers in the NBA. But so much of this attack is built upon targeting the opponents’ weakest defender, getting the switch and going to work. While there are stretches where he has had success attacking CJ McCollum, there isn’t a favorable matchup for Brunson to attack.
On the other side of the matchup, both Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns have some defensive shortcomings. Atlanta has done a nice job putting them in actions often and maximizing its offensive outlook as a result. The Hawks do an excellent job of getting out in transition and creating easy looks. Atlanta is averaging 30.0 points per game in transition through the opening three games, with these transition points allowed and points per possession ranking the second-worst among postseason teams.
It has also felt as if something broke internally within this Knicks team during the past two losses. As much as the Hawks deserve credit, plenty of the Knicks’ issues have been self-inflicted, and they have done a poor job maximizing the matchup advantages they do have. It will take some real soul-searching for this roster to turn things around, and the playoff schedule does not allow much time for this to be the case. If you give the Hawks a window to seize the game, they will take advantage of it, and the series has played out this way thus far.
Expect the same in tonight’s game and look for the Hawks to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Atlanta has shown a clearer identity, has executed better and now smells the blood in the water. It will take a heroic Brunson performance and a much-improved effort from the key role players for the Knicks to swing this series. Count on Atlanta feeding off the energy of the home crowd and bringing its best effort again tonight. Back the underdogs to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, and for the same recipe that led to success in the previous matchup to bring on the same results.
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。