The Atlanta Hawks went into the New York Knicks home court having lost all three games in the regular season against them. They had also lost their last five games away from State Farm Arena in the regular season. They certainly faced an uphill battle.
Well, on the back of Trae Young‘s almost triple-double, including the game-winner, He has 32 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds in 35 minutes of game time. What was incredible is that he only had two turnovers for the entire game.
He had some good help from the rest of the starting five and also from Lou Williams. However, this is where the help ends, and considering how deep the Hawks are, this is not good enough. They got some quality veterans over the offseason and Danilo Gallinari, their highest-paid player, did not deliver in game one.
The Atlanta Hawks need Danilo Gallinari to step up in game two.
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The Knicks are not going to allow Young to do what he did last game if they can help it. They will have worked out a way to try and slow down the lightning-fast point guard. This is easier to do if players are not making shots.
Last game Gallinari went 3-of-11 from the floor, and an appalling 1-of-7 from deep. Shooters are allowed to have off nights and the Knicks were the best perimeter defensive outfit in the league throughout the regular season.
The problem is Gallinari only had one rebound which shows how off he was. He also had four fouls which shows that he was not in the game from the minute he stepped onto the court.
Gallinari needs to have some plays worked for him so that he can back his defender down in the post regularly, seeing the ball go through the hoop from close in. He is also more likely to get to the line where he was the best in the league last season.
When a shooter sees the ball go through the hoop, they then start to heat up, as a rule. Gallinari, when he is hot is as good as anyone in the league. If he has a huge game against the Knicks in game two, the Hawks are going to be tough to beat.