Hawks 108, Knicks 100: A loss more weird than worrying
The Knicks lost a “big” game at home to Trae Young and the Hawks. So why doesn’t it feel that way?
As the clock ran down on the New York Knicks losing 108-100 to Atlanta, costing the hosts a trip to Las Vegas to compete for the Media Rights Money Cup, weird things were going down. The Knicks were about to lose their second straight at Madison Square Garden, the stronghold where they’d won six in a row prior. Jalen Brunson missed two-thirds of his shots. And Trae Young maintained his edgelord rep, the loser of two-thirds of his games at MSG bizarrely acting like he owns the joint. But the weirdest thing to happen was also, given the season to date, somewhat reasonable.
Alah Hahn is not a free man. He’s a company man, and that company is owned by James Dolan. So when Hahn talks during games, you have to imagine the owner is sitting right next to him. That’s his audience. Not you. Not me.
Had the Knicks won last night and advanced in this tournament, Hahn would surely have put the best spin on it possible. It’s a sign of growth for the franchise. It gives the Knicks a chance to compete for a minor trophy – no matter how awkward that could get – while learning something important about themselves in their ultimate pursuit of the Larry O’Brien. You play to win. This game. That game. Every game. Etcetera. But Hahn is not a free man.
Instead, Smithtown’s finest dropped his drawers, peed on all our legs and insisted it was raining. It was a silver lining, he put it, losing and being eliminated, because otherwise the poor Knicks would have had to deal with the media in the lead-up to the In-Season Tournament semifinals, something no New York athlete is familiar with. In addition, by losing the Knicks get most of next week off, and rest and recovery are welcome additions to the big picture. But what does the big picture even tell us at this point?
A little over halfway to the season’s halfway mark, the Knicks are a 55-win team at home and a smudge over .500 on the road, a 50-win outfit against the East and .500 on the dot versus the West. The worst team they’ve lost to is Indiana, which would have sounded more impressive before the year started than it does after seeing the Pacers stumble out of the gate. The Magic are the only team the Knicks have beaten this year better than two games over .500. 60% of their wins have come against losing teams, 60% of their losses against winning teams.
Three of the league’s four minutes leaders are Knicks – Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby; Brunson makes it four of the top-10. If Karl-Anthony Towns hadn’t missed two games, he’d be right there with them. Maybe a week off, mostly, is what the Knicks need right now. Not only a chance to rest, but to reflect, collaborate and adapt. They’re coming off their lowest three-game scoring output of the season. After holding four of their first 10 opponents under 100 points, New York’s done so only twice to their last 15. If the Knicks were a racecar, now would be the time for a pit stop.
If they were a racecar they’d also be a palindrome. Palindromes read the same forward and backwards, meaning the bit in the middle has to do its job, and it’s important to remember that with everything these Knicks have done and shown over 25 games the middle is still missing. You may remember the 2021 Hawks ruthlessly exploiting the absence of Mitchell Robinson in the playoffs. Last night Atlanta nearly doubled-up New York on the offensive glass. Two years ago the Knicks were third in that category; last year they were tops. This year? 24th, collecting nine a game. Last year Mitch grabbed seven per 36 all on his own. This is not a complete Knickerbocker team, I reminded myself watching the Hawks grab seemingly every shot they missed in the fourth.
The temptation after every win or loss is to go big-game hunting for larger truths. This isn’t the sexiest recap reveal, but here’s some truth: there’s not much to draw from these 25 games. Not definitively. The Knicks can shoot. They can score with anybody. They play very slowly and efficiently, which they kinda have to, given their lack of second chances. The biggest, maybe bestest truth is that these Knicks are still an unknown work-in-progress, with enough early evidence to hope it ends up a happy ending.
Since their magical run in 2021, the Hawks are a losing team, though no pushovers, the quintessential “Can beat any team any night while never getting past the first round” squad. They boast the league leaders in assists and steals and eight players averaging double-figure points. Atlanta has veterans with their primes still ahead of them (Young, De’Andre Hunter) and oh so much youth (Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Zacchaire Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu, still somehow only 24). There’s something there. Is it good? Hopeful? Bleh?
Hard to say for a team 18th in both offensive and defensive rating. Last night they were good, or at least they were in the third quarter, which they won by 16. Their bench outscored New York’s 43-14, led by Hunter’s 24. The Hawks have now won seven of eight. That’s gotta be good, right?
If that’s what you’re into, sure. I find it odd that four years after Young had them two wins from what would have been their first Finals, the Hawks rotation still includes half their dudes from that run, they’ve added dynamic young talent to the mix, yet when it’s all said and done they’re 14-12 (120-126 the prior three seasons) and haven’t sniffed a single big win since. Maybe last night does something for them.
For a Knick team with bigger fish to fry than a cash grab trophy, maybe losing last night does more for them than winning would’ve. Maybe the rest helps. Maybe they re-gather, reorient. At the very least, their next game is now Sunday in Orlando, which would be New York’s best win of the season so far. If they win, full steam ahead. If they lose, roll up your sleeve. Alan Hahn will dull the pain.
