Trae Young Does It Again! Here Are My 4 Notables For The Knicks vs. Hawks NBA Cup Game!

Trae Young danced and "rolled the dice" on the Garden floor in one of the worst regular season losses in Knicks franchise history. To add to that, losing to their dislikeable rivals from The A has fans reeling. I thought that Trae initially avoiding the "villain smoke" meant that the Knicks would cruise to a win, but boy, I was sadly mistaken, as he reveled and trolled the way any good villain would. The Knicks, a remarkable -7.5 favorite, fell flat when faced with the 90's brand of physicality despite Towns monstrous paint dominance: 19 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. Josh Hart showed some grit, but his sole 20-point effort was not enough. The Knicks simply played 2 quarters of decent basketball and then ran out of gas.

Here are my four notables:

1. The "F Trae Young" Chants Are More For Motivation Rather Than A Deterrent:

As a semi-pro hooper, it doesn't rile me up when the opponents ridicule me through trash-talking. I revel and perform better. Yes, the crowd was primarily hostile throughout, but as a competitor, we are always looking to find our edge, and for Trae, it clearly occurred at the 9:59 mark in the third quarter. Until then, Trae had a relatively quiet performance, but the Knicks brass simply couldn't help themselves. What proceeded was the usual "F Trae Young" chants. The aftermath was a 12 and 5 quarter sparking a 14-point swing and 11-point Hawks lead. Some people would have been inflamed or cowered, but for Trae, it was fuel. Despite Trae having a losing record for his career against the Knicks at 7-14, when it comes to the big ones, he’s 4-1 in the postseason. Which do you prefer? Regular season glory or post-season dominance? I will choose the latter every time!

2. The Knicks' Defense wasn't a problem; it was...

Honeslty defense was the Knicks strongest attribute in this contest. The Hawks were -8 on their season average of 116 points; they shot 41% from the field and 29% from 3. The Knicks issue was their supposed #1 ranked offense, which I will get to, lack of size and rebounding. You can analyze many remarkable standing stats, but what shines brightest is that the Knicks are 14-2 when they dominate the glass! The contrary is they are 1-8 when they concede the glass battle. So when the Knicks were +2 at halftime, I was confident, but it faltered when the Hawks took complete control, holding Towns to 5 bounds in the second half. Regarding size, when Towns left the floor, the Hawks took advantage of their length, nullifying the 6'9 Precious in the 4th while holding on to a 9-point lead with Trae off the floor.

3. The #1 ranked offense just disappeared!

Another night of inefficient offense leaves fans wondering if the #1 ranked offense was real or an aberration. Hopefully, it's on a temporary hiatus, with the Knicks falling to #3 after this Hawks game. The Knicks' performance in close games is so volatile you wouldn't be able to tell who the real #1 ranked offense is. The Knicks are 4-6 in close games, which a plus-500 record here usually separates good from bad teams, with the latter typically producing fewer wins. They were -20 in their usual production of points at home, struggling to pass the 100-point mark with two last-minute irrelevant buckets. The Knicks settled with the three-ball while shooting a mediocre 26% from 3, their second-lowest output on the season. This was a missed opportunity for the Knicks to show that their offense can put them over the top, especially against a "lesser team," but lack the consistency where it counts in close games.

4. What happened to last year's Jalen Brunson?

I understand the Knicks are 11-1 when they notch 30 or more assists. I know the Knicks offense performs better when the ball moves and everyone gets their shots. The Captain is doing a superb job running the offense with 8 assists a game and still has a ways to go when balancing scoring with passing at the right time. However, the passing goes out the window when your team goes 8 for 30 from 3-point range and is down big in the 3rd. Last year, Jalen would have shot every shot in the 4th. That was the guy we needed last night and the guy we needed down the stretch in all close-game situations. I hope that guy returns, at least when we need him the most. Will last year's Jalen Brunson please stand up? I hope so, and no matter what, let's go Knicks!