Knicks Unconcerned With Trae Young Revenge

An old enemy faces the New York Knicks to open this week at Madison Square Garden.

Nov 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) is defended by New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Like the Corleones before them, it's nothing personal for the New York Knicks ... just business.

The Knicks open this week of play with a visit from an old enemy, as Trae Young brings his Atlanta Hawks to Madison Square Garden for a holiday matinee on Monday (3 p.m. ET, MSG). New York's leaders, however, are looking past the headlines, seeking only to generate some form of consistency as they continue to work through the second half of the year.

"He’s a good player, and so I think he’s authentic," head coach Tom Thibodeau said on Sunday, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. "We respect him, but we got to play. We’re not going to get wrapped up in all the other stuff. But that’s part of the game today, social media and all that stuff, but just focus on what we need to do to win."

"We have to approach every game the same way regardless of what happens," point guard Jalen Brunson added in Botte's report. "We’ve got to stay poised, we’ve got to stay composed, we’ve got to execute our game plan and try to find a way to win. There’s always going to be something where you can say use that for motivation. For us, no, our motivation is to win every game we go out there and play, and that’s all the motivation we need.”

Little more needs to be said about the origins of Young's "love-hate" relationship with the Knicks, one that began with his brilliant performance in the opening round of the 2021 playoffs. Though Young still owns a losing record when he faces New York (7-14 in the regular season), he has gained a lasting reputation as a Knicks killer.

Like any good slasher villain, Young rose from the dead and solidified his deadly reputation when the Knicks and Hawks last did battle in December: Young fell three assists short of a triple-double while pairing 21 points with 15 rebounds in Atlanta's 108-100 win. He commemorated the victory by rolling invisible dice on the Knicks' midcourt logo, a reference to the fact that the win secured Atlanta a spot in the Las Vegas-based knockout of the NBA Cup in-season competition.

The Knicks, however, are worried only about consistency and that'll be key against Atlanta. The Hawks are one of three to defeat the Knicks on multiple occasions so far this season, joined by Chicago and Detroit.

New York (27-16) holds stable ground in the upper half of the Eastern Conference playoff picture but has struggled to gain any lasting power in the new year. It has yet to win consecutive games in 2025 and has struggled to take advantage of a lengthy defense of the Eastern Seaboard, posting a 3-4 record halfway through a 14-game stretch where their longest trek away from MSG was Wednesday's visit to Philadelphia.

“Every game is going to be a roller coaster, so you’re going to have a lead, you’re going to be down, you never know what’s going to happen," Brunson said. "As a team, we’ve got to be ready to adjust and just keep our foot on the gas. It’s going to be times when they go on runs. We’ve got to stay composed and stay poised and figure out how we’re going to get a win.”

Of note, Atlanta (22-19) enters this week as holders of the sixth and final automatic Eastern Conference playoff spot. If the season ended today, they would thus face the third-ranked Knicks in a opening round.

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