Knicks limitations are laid bare in Game 4 loss to the Hawks - The Athletic

Knicks limitations are laid bare in Game 4 loss to the Hawks

May 30, 2021 The Knicks’ frustration seeped out late in the fourth quarter, after the game had already slipped too far away. The series has been a chippy one between the hard screens, the errant hits to the face on both sides and the cabin fever that sets in during the playoffs. With 3:05 left in the game, flung his right forearm into Danilo Gallinari’s chest as the Hawks forward drove by him, recrimination for a few possessions earlier when Gallinari had put an elbow in ’s neck while boxing for a rebound and later sending Bullock chasing after him on the bench. It was the dirty work done by New York’s star, but he saw it as an obligation. There have been so many instigating moments over these four games that it’s hard to tell who landed the first blow, but for the Knicks, this was a little victory. On Sunday, it was the only one they could get. Advertisement They leave Atlanta down 3-1 in the series, on the precipice of elimination and in need of a complete refresh after a 113-96 belittling by the Hawks. Their problems, well known by now, were only exacerbated in Game 4. They were stark while the Knicks and Hawks split two tight matchups, and now they are sirens after a weekend in which New York was roughhoused in back-to-back losses. If they can, the Knicks may well still prolong a series careening toward an end. If they can’t, it will only lock in the lessons that have already set in. The Knicks flew so high this season, to 41 wins and the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, by over-performing expectations. They got there by setting a high floor almost every night. A team long on effort, defense and execution was able to ride out the unceasing regular season, but these playoffs have revealed the team’s ceiling, in which their lack of talent can’t be ignored, their lack of scorers has been highlighted and the ways Randle still has to go are clear. This series has only clarified the urgency of this offseason for the Knicks: not to go all-in for the first quasi-star they can get and unwind the years of diligent cap sheering and asset-building that predate the Leon Rose regime, but to hunt for upgrades to a roster that needs them badly. The 2020-21 Knicks are undoubtedly a nice story, a team of overachievers who have reinvigorated the franchise. The next iteration should build on that. The Hawks have shown the importance of a high-level playmaker, a role that Randle approached in the regular season but has been defended out of in this series. It is not all his fault. Atlanta built a team of shooters and athletic bigs around Trae Young, giving him outlets on each pick-and-roll plus teammates who could bear some offensive burden. Advertisement The Knicks may have thought they had that as they belted 41 wins, but the Hawks loaded up their defense to stop Randle, and the rest of the offense has sunk along with him. Only one team has a worse offensive rating in this postseason. The only Knick consistently able to score and create his own shot in this series — — is 32 and wasn’t even on the roster in January. Their most productive big – Gibson — is 35 and was out of work when the season began in December. RJ Barrett rebounded with 21 points in Game 4, but he had been struggling in his first playoff series. He still has room to grow and, at 20, there is time for him to do it. But his shot has gone missing in this series while his shots at the rim have decreased. While an emerging franchise pillar, Barrett is another story of the difference between reliability in the regular season and the playoffs. Bullock went scoreless, and his opportunities have dried up as Randle has been diminished as a passer. His presence has also had a multiplying effect. While the Hawks have taken the time to attack Randle on defense, the Knicks have not been able to punish Atlanta for hiding Young. He has been given Bullock as a defensive assignment and mostly been able to skate on that end. It has highlighted another danger to the Knicks’ lineup construction, which has put too many dependent players on the court. It is not enough to just have shooters at every position but center now (and maybe there, too); they must also be able to dribble and create problems themselves. Bullock does neither, and Young has been unaffected. The trickle-down effect has been deadly. One of the league’s best 3-point shooting teams this season, the Knicks are hitting just 32.8 percent against Atlanta. Clint Capela has taken over the paint and made it his own. As the Knicks’ spacing has been taken away from them, there has been little improvisation to compensate. Advertisement If there was some modicum of optimism Sunday, it was in Randle’s slight statistical uptick. He scored 23 points, hit 7 of 19 shots — effectively a fresh harvest after a drought the way he had been shooting — and had seven assists. He looked more at ease, at least compared to the first three games. Randle was able to get to his spots, though the accuracy from them is still missing. But he was also sloppy at times. He had a turnover in the backcourt that led directly to a Young layup and then a pass behind Rose that led to a Hawks runout and more points. Still, he struck an optimistic tone afterward, buoyed by better results. But marginal improvements in some areas did not outweigh the degradations almost everywhere else. The Knicks have still not figured out Young, who had 27 points and nine assists. John Collins scored 22 and gave Randle fits. Capela remains a two-way battering ram, especially as Nerlens Noel deals with a sprained right ankle. If it were just those three, the Knicks might be able to weather the blows, as they did earlier. Yet Atlanta has loaded up this roster. Bogdan Bogdanovic is a feisty compliment to Young in the backcourt. Gallinari, the other big offseason add, had 21 points. The Knicks could not match that firepower, and with their issues right now, it seems as if optimism is their best weapon heading into Game 5. “ Wednesday, the Knicks will get one more chance to show their best side in this series, the one that has been sanded away by the Hawks. However it goes, the Knicks have shown the limitations of this season. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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