Getting swept by the Knicks in the regular season isn’t deterring the Hawks going into the teams’ first-round playoff matchup.
There’s a clean slate, power forward John Collins reiterated.
“Obviously it’s in my mind, it happened, I don’t not remember it,” Collins said. “But I don’t give a (darn) about any of that. I’m coming to play. I feel like it’s a new season.”
Collins is correct the playoffs are a whole new chapter, though it feels the Hawks already started fresh since interim coach Nate McMillan took over March 1, turning a disappointing 14-20 run into a 27-11 finish — the top record in the Eastern Conference and the best fourth-quarter point differential in the league (+3.1) over that stretch.
Although the Knicks might seem to have a leg up given their homecourt advantage and previous success against the Hawks, Atlanta is a much stronger and much healthier team than in those three previous games. After being one of the most banged-up teams in the league this season, there’s only one player who was consistently playing heavy minutes before he got hurt, wing Cam Reddish (right Achilles soreness), out these days. And, they’ve learned how to buckle down and win close games — their two recent outings against the Wizards and a surging Russell Westbrook, prime examples.
Good timing, center Clint Capela thinks. The Hawks are set to face one of the NBA’s best defenses (the Knicks limit opponents to a league-best 104.7 points) and will need to do a much better job against Julius Randle, who dominated them in the regular season with 37.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists in three games.
“I think we really got to a point where we’re really good,” said Capela, who led the league in rebounding with 14.3 per game. “We’re pretty good. This is at that time, too.”
The Hawks have earned the right to be here, McMillan said. After meeting the team’s goal of making the playoffs and exiting the rebuilding phase, now the Hawks get to truly measure where they are as a franchise. This marks the Hawks’ first trip to the postseason since the 2016-17 season and the Knicks’ first trip since the 2012-13 season.
“The level of intensity is going to be much higher than regular season,” McMillan said on advice he’d give to young players ahead of their first playoff appearance. “Everybody’s going to come with that sense of urgency right from the start, and as I just mentioned, you have to really value every possession in games like this. Because you’re playing against a really good team. You’re going to be playing against a really good team in the playoff.
“So every possession makes a difference on both ends of the floor. You can’t take possessions off. You have to limit your mistakes out there on the floor. But you don’t want to scare the guys … This is an opportunity. This is what you play for. As I’ve said to our team, this is an opportunity for you to play against the best and show what you’re capable of doing.”
Two of the Hawks’ losses to New York, a 113-108 loss Jan. 4 and a 123-112 loss Feb. 15, came under previous coach Lloyd Pierce.
In January, the Hawks blew a 15-point second-half lead, a pattern they often fell into in the season’s first half, and one they have broken in the second. Wing Bogdan Bogdanovic couldn’t play the fourth quarter, and the Hawks ran out of timeouts after an unsuccessful challenge on a Collins foul call with about four minutes left.
In February, Bogdanovic was out with an avulsion fracture in his right knee, and Randle made a career-high seven 3-pointers.
In their final loss, a 137-127 overtime defeat April 21 under McMillan, guard Trae Young sprained his ankle and left in the third quarter, with the Hawks leading by eight. Hunter was only able to play in the Hawks’ first game vs. New York, the one in January.
For the first time, the Hawks will face the Knicks with this combination: a healthy Young back leading the offense; a reasonably healthy forward De’Andre Hunter to provide both shooting and defense; and a healthy Bogdanovic — whose 49.5% clip from 3-point range led the league among players who made at least 50 3′s after April 1 — thriving as McMillan customizes the offense for him. And, of course, McMillan leading the way and getting the Hawks to play a full 48 minutes.
Hunter may still be on a minute restriction, but McMillan mentioned it may go up from the 24 minutes he played in Sunday’s win vs. the Rockets, which could certainly help in limiting Randle.
“Having guys back gives us another level of energy and effort on the court, and more bodies,” Bogdanovic said. “This is the right time to have more bodies.”
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