Knicks search for offensive fixes as Hawks take 2-1 series lead
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New York – Head coach Mike Brown arrived last summer promising an offense that would lighten Jalen Brunson’s workload. Three games into the first-round series against Atlanta, the Knicks are still waiting for that plan to click.
Brunson pressured, secondary playmaker missing
Brown’s system has yet to ease Brunson’s burden, and Atlanta’s perimeter tandem of Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker has smothered the All-Star guard. New York’s roster offers no true secondary ball-handler; Josh Hart is most effective attacking an already compromised defense, while OG Anunoby, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet and Mikal Bridges lack reliable off-the-dribble creation. Karl-Anthony Towns can pass from a standstill but struggles making reads on the move.
“We all have to be aggressive, not just to shoot the ball, but to touch the paint,” Brown said. “If you don’t have anything in the paint, you’ve got to spray it. We haven’t come close to the number of sprays we want in these first three games.”
Defensive adjustment questioned late in Game 3
After CJ McCollum punished New York for two and a half games, Brown assigned Hart to the veteran guard in the second half Friday. Hart held McCollum to 2-for-5 shooting, but the strategy changed on the final possession. Up one with 16.4 seconds left, Brown put the smaller McBride on McCollum and stationed Hart on the inbounder. McCollum shook free for the jumper that sealed Atlanta’s 118-117 victory.
“I’m not happy with my contest,” McBride said. “He made the shot. Maybe if I’d bumped him earlier … but I didn’t want to risk putting him at the line.”
Game 4 urgency
Despite trailing only 2-1, the Knicks are treating tonight’s Game 4 at Madison Square Garden as a must-win. “We’re playing for our lives,” McBride said. “It’s the first to four, but the clock’s ticking. We don’t want to leave anything to chance.”
Robinson’s limited role draws criticism
Mitchell Robinson, a key part of New York’s interior defense all season, has seen limited action in the series. His trainer, Marcell Scott, voiced frustration on Instagram, writing that Brown “would rather play OG at the 5 instead of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitch at the 4 and 5. Nice guys finish last, Coach!” Scott previously urged the staff to involve Robinson more offensively. Brown has said matchup concerns have made it difficult to deploy the shot-blocking center alongside Towns.
Game 4 tips off Sunday night in New York.
Source: Hoops Rumors
