Five observations from the Hawks’ 104-94 loss to the Knicks Sunday.
1. Dennis Schroder may have had his worst game as a professional – and most certainly as the new starter. The Hawks point guard finished with just one point on 0-of-8 shooting. He has as many turnovers as assists with three and played 22 minutes. Schroder came out with 5:37 left in the third quarter and never re-entered the game, missing the entire fourth quarter.
“It wasn’t Dennis’ fault,” Paul Millsap said. “Guys are going to struggle. There are 82 games in a season. When that happens, the rest of us have to be better. We have to pick up the slack. That just wasn’t the case tonight.”
Mike Budenholzer searched for any combination that would work. For several long stretches the coach went without a true point guard on the floor.
“I just feel like we had a chance to make a little run, get back in it, just trying to find something at the point guard spot that would give us a better chance,” Budenholzer said. “Dennis has been great all year. We went with a couple different guys. I think we were grasping today. They were better than us today.”
2. With or without Schroder, the Hawks offense was stagnant much of the game, especially in the first half. They shot 40 percent from the field (34 of 85) and 29 percent from 3-point range (6 of 21). In the first quarter and first half, the Hawks shot just 35 percent.
Not good against a team that entered with the game 10th in the NBA for most points allowed at 106.2 per game.
“I think it’s something that we’ve got to get better with in our offense,” Millsap said. “It’s got to be better. Against one of the worst defenses in the league and we come out and do that.”
3. The sound you heard from New York may have been the ball sticking. Budenholzer and players lamented the poor ball movement following the game. It's a little troubling that the Hawks still go through stretches like that considering the number of players who have long been in the system.
“The energy and effort is there,” Kent Bazemore said. “We just have to get the execution down and you’ll start to see where we can really be. That’s the frustrating part now. The ball sticks sometimes and we aren’t really utilizing all the pieces we have as a unit.”
The Hawks entered the game ranked second in the NBA in assists, averaging 26.1 per game. They assisted on just 17 of their 34 field goals Sunday.
“Right now, I don’t feel like we moved the ball as well as we need to,” Budenholzer said.
4. The Knicks duo of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis were too much for the Hawks. Anthony scored a game-high 31 points and Porzingis had 19 points. Together, they were a combined 20 of 37 from the floor. The two entered the game accounted for about 40 percent of the Knicks' offense. They had nearly 50 percent of the total offense Sunday, including 27 of Knicks' 46 first-half points (59 percent).
Budenholzer said he was not unhappy with the Hawks’ defense or matchups, crediting Anthony with making tough shots.
“I wouldn’t be critical of how we matched up,” Budenholzer said.
5. That was Kyle O'Quinn making an early impact for the Knicks. The center replaced starter Joakim Noah, who was a late scratch due to illness. He finished with eight points and eight rebounds. However, he had six points and seven rebounds in the first quarter before picking up his third foul with two minutes remaining in the period. By that point, the Knicks had taken a lead they would not relinquish.
