Knicks at Hawks: How & Who to Watch in Effort to Stop Brief Losing Streak
Coming off one of their most lethargic efforts of the season, the New York Knicks will have to get their act together to not only stifle a losing streak at two games but take down an old enemy at the cusp of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
A potential Play-In Tournament preview surfaces on Friday night, as the Knicks face off against the Atlanta Hawks in a busy weekend of travel after dropping consecutive contests at Madison Square Garden. New York and Atlanta, the current holders of the respective seventh and eighth seeds on the current East ledger, have split two get-togethers thus far, both coming in Manhattan.
As they prepare to do battle with old playoff foe Trae Young, the Knicks come in as winners of seven of their past 10 but Wednesday's wire-to-wire defeat at the hands of the Washington Wizards, one where they lost starting center Mitchell Robinson for at least three weeks to a fractured thumb. Atlanta, on the other hand, has shot up the Eastern Conference standings with four consecutive wins, including a nationally-televised 130-122 triumph over Dallas on Wednesday.
What: New York Knicks (25-21) @ Atlanta Hawks (23-22)
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
When/Watch: Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/MSG Go
Who's Favored: ATL -3.5
Keep An Eye On: Jericho Sims
While Isaiah Hartenstein appears to be the top spell option for Robinson, at least in terms of who enters the game first, more minutes have gone to Sims. While the sophomore fell out of the New York rotation ... Wednesday marked his first action in 12 days ... he played 21 minutes against Washington and will likely be relied upon to help the Knicks stay afloat, especially on the rebounding end of the floor.
Sims is used to the role of Robinson understudy: he began this season as New York's de facto 12th man but a previous injury, a knee ailment that kept the starter out for eight contests, allowed him to impress to the tune of 6.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in that span.
Advanced statistics paint a promising picture for Sims, though those can be discounted by the idea that they were earned against fellow substitute competition. He can perhaps solidify himself as an indispensable part of the Knicks' future ... and maybe even build some Dunk Contest hype ... with a strong showing while Robinson's out, a lengthy trek that begins on Friday night.
Hawk to Watch: Dejounte Murray
A narrative has been built that Young is a "Knicks killer" thanks to a single playoff series. Reality, however, tells a bit of a different story, at least in the regular season: Young is 4-11 all-time against New York and has been held in check this season to the tune of an 18-point average over the two meetings this year, shooting only 38 percent from the field. Young is questionable for Friday's matchup due to an ankle injury sustained in Wednesday's win.
The Knicks instead have to find a way to lockdown Murray, who made a sizeable first impression on Georgians with a 36-point showing in the team's first meeting back in November, which saw the Hawks erase a deficit as high as 23 en route to a victory by 13. Murray enters on a bit of a hot streak, averaging 28.3 points over the last three. Wednesday accounted for his first 30-point effort since he missed five games due to an ankle injury sustained in the early stages of the teams' December rematch.
Prediction
Losing Robinson is a big blow for the Knicks, who are nonetheless likely intrigued by what Sims can bring to the table in an extended opportunity. Asking them to come out of the gate firing against the Hawks, especially an Atlanta group led by the interior antics of John Collins, seems like a little much.
Hawks 110, Knicks 104
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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