Atlanta Hawks: 6 Takeaways from Solid Knicks Win

Efficient Double-Double for Trae

For the first time in his NBA career, rookie Trae Young did not attempt a three-pointer. As someone who was billed as a sharpshooter coming out of college, that’s a big deal, as much of Trae’s value was tied to his ability to “pull up from the parking lot” and drill triples with relative ease.

Instead Young’s three-point numbers are less than ideal, but in this game, he opted to drive to the rim and get his teammates involved. This might seem like a red flag, but watching the game, every decision of Young’s seemed like the right one on offense.

Sometimes, he opts to force up an extremely tough off-balance deep three, but in this one, he was reading the defense and taking his time – letting the game come to him, and it showed in one of his most efficient nights of the season: 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting with 10 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and a +14 on/off rating.

John Collins Still Ballin’

John Collins continued his hot streak, and he logged yet another ho-hum double-double (I’m kidding, everything JC does is super-exciting and we love him here at SDS.) Here’s what JC has done over the past 9 games:

Here’s what he did tonight: 17 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, +17 in on/off and only 2 fouls in 32 minutes. Sheesh. Now, if only that three-pointer would start falling…