The Hawks and Knicks will face off for the first round of playoffs and, for once, difficult to see who will emerge victorious from this confrontation. Especially since some see a real opposition in style between the Hawks, very talented, and their opponents, harder to hurt. An analysis that disagrees with Nerlens Noel, the backbone of the Knicks.
“They can say whatever they want about talent, we’re a team that plays together. And I think we have talent, period. You don’t get to the NBA without being a great player. We just have to go all out game after game, and be the most talented team on the pitch, whatever name you want to call it. I know we’re gonna show some guts, play this tough New York basketball. So I think everything will be fine on that side. ” Nerlens Noel.
Both teams finished with the same record of 41 wins and 31 losses. It is therefore difficult to give an advantage to one of them on this point. And when it comes to direct confrontations, it’s a bit the same. The Knicks have won all three games against the Hawks, but the first two before the arrival of Nate McMillan on the Atlanta bench, and the last with a Bring young who had to leave the game earlier than expected due to an ankle injury.
“We are a confident team. We know who we are and what we have to do to win. It’s that simple. We have lived through complicated times, and we have experience as a team, we trust each other. I always said we had a Big 15. It really is. ” Julius Randle.
If the Knicks want to go far in these playoffs, it will obviously be necessary that Tom Thibodeau continues to perform. The coach surprised everyone this season by making the Knicks a real basketball team, and he’ll have to do even better by playoffs.
“You can tell he’s ready for the challenge. He gave us two small books, but they weren’t as big as at the start of the year. We really focused on that, we studied their game. Especially for young people, being faced with this very early in their career is very important. To understand how to win a series of playoffs, you have to see how much effort it takes, how important the little things are. ” Nerlens Noel.
And on the pitch it will be necessary for the most important players in the workforce to set an example. Julius Randle in the first place. The interior has quite simply had the best season of his career (24.1 points to 46% on shots including 41% from three points), 10.2 rebounds and 6 assists per game), but he will have to raise the your, he who discovers the post-season.
“I think I can be better, I really think I can improve. I already know how to do it during these playoffs. I can do better, I know it. Will it be necessary? We’ll see, but I think so. It has been said all year that playoffs, there will be more intensity. So I’m going to have to be better, everyone is going to have to be better if we are to reach our goal. ” Julius Randle.
In any case, he likes to play against the Hawks, since Randle is averaging 38 points against them this season… It remains to be seen whether he will be in top form, but the week of rest before the start of hostilities must have him do good.
“This week is important to me. I’m doing everything I can on the recovery level and everything to make sure I’m as fresh as possible to start this streak. It’s great to have a week to prepare. I’m trying to do my best to be ready for this series, where we’re going to have to fight. As for the regular season, I’ll let you guys talk about it. You can throw as many flowers at me as you want, I’m just focused on this team and what I need to do to help my guys win. ” Julius Randle.
Hoping that he will rise to the occasion despite his lack of experience, since the strong winger has still not played a single game of playoffs.
“We always say that in a game, the intensity goes up in the last quarter. Intensity in playoffs will be even greater, and this throughout the meeting. We play for something… We give ourselves for something. And one of those things is you can have a bad game where you can’t be focused on a game, you can’t hide it. Every game, every possession counts. We want to make sure we’re focused, and we will. ” Julius Randle.
In addition to Randle, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, Elfrid Payton, Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox will also have their first campaign of playoffs. This is why the experience of Tom Thibodeau will be particularly important.
“When the playoffs start, the opposing team has focused particularly on you. She’ll know everything about the way you play, and it’s mutual. You have to be ready to play. I hope we have built the right habits for that. And then we play over and over against the same team, so we have to show more intensity, focus and will. We have to be ready. ” Tom Thibodeau.
Via The New York Post and the new york post.
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