- 2 days ago
The Atlanta Hawks dropped another lopsided game to the Knicks last night, and one question keeps ringing: are they getting enough from their key players? The resounding answer has been no.
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00:00We don't have the athleticism, and I just don't think, and I know this is a more, I don't know,
00:04esoteric argument,
00:05but we don't have the strength, the mental toughness for playoff basketball just yet.
00:09I said, because I don't want to be all negative because I'm excited about where this team is going,
00:12I'm excited about the offseason, I did tell you I thought it was going to be a six-game series,
00:16I figured we could do something with our athleticism in transition,
00:18but we don't have the horses and we don't have the mindset.
00:21Playoff basketball is a battle, that's why the NBA, it's like, that's a major problem for the NBA,
00:26how completely BS their regular season is, and when you get into this, Carl,
00:29it's like, you know, Thunderdome, you know, you're not going to get the calls,
00:33and if you don't get the calls, you've got to get your head right, you know,
00:35and we don't have the physicality, we don't have the gamesmanship,
00:38and that's experience that comes from being in the playoffs, but it's a shame that, you know,
00:42and we will get into everything about this, from the roster and there's guys that we want to keep,
00:46maybe some guys you want to move off of, but Jalen, if you just look at the score sheet,
00:50you'll have a decent playoff series, but I liked him taking the basket last night,
00:54I liked him getting to the rack, just wanted more of it.
00:56I hated the shot selection from Kaminga and everybody else.
01:00Carl, we're just clanging threes, and then the Knicks are getting points of transition.
01:03Yeah, look, Jonathan is not helping right now.
01:05Thank you, Steve.
01:07Hmm.
01:09Best defensive game for the Knicks, by far.
01:13And when they put the clamps on, with their length and size, you saw the result.
01:19Now, the reason why everybody questioned the Knicks, including myself, is because they didn't do that every night.
01:25Right.
01:25Right?
01:25They weren't OKC.
01:27OKC is young and, Mike, energetic, and they lock you down like that and beat teams by 12, 15 points
01:32every night.
01:32The Knicks didn't do that, so there were question marks as to whether or not they were going to be
01:36able to do this.
01:38They've done it.
01:38And now, I think, you know, the belief is, OK, we were sweating for a minute, but now we can
01:44finish these guys.
01:45And that's what they're going to come in here tomorrow night and try to do.
01:48There is nothing more demoralizing than to lose a closeout game on your home floor.
01:53OK?
01:53It just is, regardless of what you've done for the season.
01:56And that's why guys play with the pride they do.
01:58But sometimes, and I want to say this, you're just not good enough.
02:04Maybe we're just not good enough.
02:06Maybe right now, we're just not good enough.
02:08It's OK.
02:09You can say that because of the way this team has played and the pride that they've played with.
02:14And, Mike, the future is bright, as you said.
02:16But I'm not afraid to tell you that right now, we're not good enough.
02:19And that doesn't mean we don't win Game 6.
02:21It doesn't mean we don't force a Game 7.
02:23And who knows what can happen.
02:25But when you look at the totality of what this series has shown us, we're not good enough.
02:30Portland was not good enough.
02:31You start looking around the league, Mike, and you start saying,
02:34the team, some of these teams that got in, it's not good enough yet.
02:37That's what we are.
02:38And the good news is, we do have guys we believe in.
02:40We believe in Jalen Johnson.
02:41We believe in Nikhil Alexander-Walker.
02:43And in Kaminga, you know, I've said, I want to see what he does in the playoffs.
02:46Who?
02:46You're seeing it.
02:47I mean, look, you don't win those two games without Kaminga.
02:50Can you at least give me that?
02:51You don't win those two games without Kaminga.
02:53Yeah, because he was the best six-man in the series for two games.
02:57And now he's just chucking threes.
02:58He's probably doing the stuff which had, I guess, Steve Kerr wanting to pull his hair out over it.
03:02I mean, it's like he's playing a different game.
03:05You know, I think you brought it up in our pre-show today on Twitch and YouTube.
03:08You know, it's a close game.
03:09He just goes down.
03:10You can't hit a three-point shot.
03:12I'm having flashbacks of Josh Smith in the old days.
03:15No!
03:16You know, he can't hit.
03:17His jump shot is crap.
03:19Now, can we get the development from Quinn Snyder?
03:22All I heard from the Hawks, oh, a Congo.
03:24What he's doing with a Congo?
03:24He's making a Congo.
03:26Okay, well, can he do this with him?
03:27Can you fix Kaminga or not?
03:30And then we haven't even talked about Risa Shea because that may take an hour.
03:34But Risa Shea, in a nutshell, is useless in this series.
03:39You've got a No. 1 draft pick in his second season, and he's completely, utterly useless on a bench which
03:45has got journeymen on it.
03:47Okay?
03:47I mean, we like Kispert.
03:48We like all these guys.
03:50But we've got dudes that literally there's no reason a No. 1 shouldn't be getting minutes unless he's in Quinn
03:54Snyder's doghouse
03:55or there's now schematically a problem with how he fits on this team.
03:59Let's address Kaminga first.
04:01Before he hit that three last night, you know how many threes he had missed?
04:03Ten in a row.
04:05It ain't you.
04:07Play your game.
04:08Know your role.
04:09And, Mike, the selection, the shot selection is the thing that bugs me the most for a guy who's been
04:15in the league.
04:15This isn't a guy who's a rookie who's like, I don't know if I should take this.
04:18This is a guy that's played at a level in which he's like, okay, the flow of the game, what
04:22do we need?
04:23He could have gotten to the basket, I think, a lot more last night.
04:26But, nevertheless, he will be evaluated like everyone else.
04:30I just, my whole thing with this, and I've told you guys, role player, give you 12, 13 a night.
04:34That's what he's done in this series for the most part.
04:36With that said, as far as the bench guys and Richa Shea, it's shameful to know that we had the
04:45No. 1 overall pick,
04:46and that pick is paying no dividends.
04:49We're getting jacked return on investment with Zachary Richa Shea right now.
04:54And, look, I said to Mike, earlier in the season, I know for a fact that Quinn Snyder was challenging
04:58him to do some things.
05:00Rebound more.
05:01Be more active.
05:02And he did a little bit of that, Mike.
05:03But we're in the playoffs now.
05:05How does a No. 1 overall pick not get any run?
05:09Minutes!
05:10Right.
05:11We call it tick.
05:13How do you not get any time on the floor?
05:16That's my thing.
05:17Patrick hits us up on Twitter earlier.
05:18We were talking about this before the show in the break room.
05:21And, by the way, I love his tag.
05:22He's like, show enough.
05:23Show enough.
05:235, 2, 3.
05:24And he was saying he thought that part of the success that he had initially was through Trey.
05:29And I said to you earlier, I said he was kind of Trey's boy.
05:31Trey was working with him and really reached out to make him welcome as a first-round pick.
05:34But Trey was getting him the looks.
05:36He can't create his own shot.
05:37Trey was helping him get his shot.
05:38That's what Patrick was bringing up.
05:39So, unless you're going to find a way and you're going to bring in a solid point guard in here
05:44and keep McCollum on the team, you know, re-sachet.
05:46Guys, Castle was the play.
05:48They couldn't trade out of one.
05:50They should have just drafted Stephon Castle.
05:52I mean, in hindsight, we didn't even talk about Castle.
05:55It was us who was Sarr or re-sachet that whole pre-draft, remember?
05:58Yeah.
05:58But it's not a great draft.
05:59It's one of the worst drafts.
06:00It happens to be the crap sandwich between the flag and the Webby draft.
06:04This next draft is going to be a really tremendous draft, it looks like, for the NBA.
06:07We just, Murphy's Law, got the bad luck.
06:09All right, what do you guys think, by the way?
06:11Where are you at on this?
06:13And how do you feel about the team?
06:15And I'm not just talking about the series, okay?
06:18Because, as Mike said, like, we're all in our bag right now.
06:21We're frustrated.
06:22We thought we should have played better.
06:23You rarely get two crap games back-to-back like that, and that's exactly what happened.
06:28And then you start to just realize, like last night, there was never a chance of us threatening
06:33to take the lead or win that game.
06:35Not one.
06:36The game was over heading into the second quarter.
06:39Yeah.
06:39Yeah.
06:39Completely.
06:40So, where are you at?
06:41404-726-0929.
06:43How do you feel?
06:44And what do you think needs to be done?
06:46404-726-0929.
06:48I've heard people today criticize Quinn's rotations.
06:51I'm like, eh?
06:51Who's he supposed to go with?
06:53Eh?
06:53Other than putting Reece Hachet in there.
06:55Really?
06:55I don't know about that.
06:57And then, you know, I've heard people today obviously question the heart of Jalen Johnson.
07:02Oh.
07:02Oh.
07:03Because they're saying, how does a six-foot dude like Jalen Brunson go off for 39?
07:11And you're a 6'9 athletic, off-the-charts dude, and you're barely giving us 20 a game.
07:17Fair or unfair?
07:18Well, we spent, if you heard yesterday's show, we spent a lot of yesterday talking about he
07:22needs to be tough and step up and do some superstar stuff.
07:25The evolution of his game.
07:27And we talked about how guys, you know, what is it now?
07:30I mean, gee, is it five, eight years now to be ready?
07:33Four or five years in the NBA?
07:34Or if you're a real star, he's an all-star, and this conversation has to occur in the
07:40locker room.
07:41Hey, you know, guys, you know, tonight, either I got this or get me the frickin' rock and
07:46let's go.
07:46Or get out of the way.
07:47That's it.
07:48You know, there's an, I said it, how many times did I say alpha dog in a sentence yesterday?
07:52Again, and we said it five times yesterday.
07:54We're not complaining.
07:56We're not knocking.
07:56But guys have to evolve.
07:58If he's not going to be that guy, then he's going to be a pippin' and we've got to get
08:00another star in here.
08:02We thought he's going to be the man.
08:03One A.
08:04Okay?
08:05If he's not, then we built this thing the wrong way moving forward.
08:08That's a legitimate concern.
08:10Jalen needs to have a dog in him.
08:12And hopefully Quinn Snyder, in his passive-aggressive style, will get it out of him.
08:16Let's talk to David in Buckhead on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.
08:21David, what are your thoughts?
08:22Hey, man, what are you thinking about where this team is at?
08:25Oh, well, you know, I'm going to say this, and I'm so sorry.
08:28I'm a Knicks fan.
08:30I come from the New York Knicks wagon and fan bag.
08:36So, I mean...
08:37I've heard enough.
08:38Get him out of here.
08:39I've heard enough.
08:40Mike, let me handle it.
08:42Get him out of here.
08:43I don't want to hear from Knicks fans.
08:45You have nothing to say.
08:47Early last week, you guys were crying.
08:49Right.
08:49Okay?
08:50You were worried about how your team was going to let you down and how Mike Brown sucked.
08:55Okay?
08:56I don't want to hear from Knicks fans.
08:57Well, I don't want to hear from a Knicks fan who's got, like, a flip phone.
08:59Apparently, you know, he's got to go pay that bill at a check-cashing store.
09:03I don't know what that was.
09:03Check your provider.
09:04Knicks fans, stuff it.
09:06You guys talk enough.
09:07I'm tired of New York.
09:09Okay?
09:09And by the way, did you hear the crowd where they actually called a foul on the Knicks?
09:13Oh!
09:14It's ridiculous.
09:14I think it was something like, was it 15-5 as far as free throws in the first half?
09:19But, Mike, here's the deal, and no disrespect.
09:22Everybody in New York's got a big mouth.
09:24Oh, yeah.
09:24And everybody wants to run their mouth when things are going their way.
09:28When things aren't going their way, you guys are big-ass crybabies.
09:30So, hush.
09:32Kyle and Jefferson, you're up next on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game in Atlanta.
09:36Hey, Kyle.
09:37How are you?
09:38Hey, man.
09:40I'm good.
09:40I appreciate going in on the Knicks fan there.
09:42That was good.
09:44Yeah, look, the Hawks, they're improved, but I hate to say it.
09:49I don't want to hate on Jalen, but I think if Jalen's your best player, you're not winning
09:52the championship.
09:53Every championship-caliber team, if they're down by one late in the game, who's getting
09:57the ball?
09:58You don't have to think about it.
09:59With us, do we want the ball in Jalen's hand at the end of the game?
10:03Eh, maybe you can grow into it, but right now, I think Jalen's probably a number two or
10:07a number three on the championship team.
10:09It's a fair assessment.
10:10It just is, man.
10:12Like, I have no problems with you saying it.
10:15It's real evaluation with Ansi Saleh and what he's going to have to do.
10:19And if Quinn Snyder's going to be here for the long term, Mike, what he's going to have
10:22to decide as to how he runs this and plays these guys, and that's fine.
10:27But you better go get a big-time free agent then.
10:29You better go make a big-time trade to go get an established guy, an A, in this league
10:34already.
10:35A's rarely might get drafted and become that guy immediately.
10:38So what you're saying, Kyle, is if this offseason, where we have plenty of financial
10:43flexibility, we need to go find that A and put that guy onto this team.
10:49Well, we moved Trey off because this is going to be his team.
10:51He's got to get...
10:52This is where the...
10:53Quinn Snyder, this is where the coaching...
10:54This is where there's got to be this sort of come-to-Jesus conversation about what you
10:59need to be on this team.
11:00You know, I mean, we talked about everyone gets along, and that's great, and we talked
11:04about, you know, I said I was afraid.
11:05I don't want to be another 2015-60 win team where we don't have the alpha.
11:09Remember that?
11:10Yeah.
11:10It was the same deal.
11:11Paul Millsap wasn't that guy.
11:13Who's taking the shot?
11:14You know?
11:15I mean, at least Joe might pound the ball onto the ground for an hour, but you know he's
11:18going to take the shot.
11:19Who is taking the shot for this team?
11:21Who is that alpha dog?
11:22And it's got to be...
11:23Look, the one good thing is we have this growing experience.
11:26I didn't expect to beat the Knicks, but there are things now which raise some flags or some
11:30question marks, which need to be addressed.
11:31Yeah.
11:32You know, but we need...
11:32First things first, we need size, right?
11:34We need...
11:34And we need toughness.
11:35We need a guy like Mitchell Robinson.
11:37That's a type of player we need on this team.
11:38Do we get our ass-whoop tomorrow like this?
11:41Well, where's your pride, Willie?
11:42Where's your pride?
11:43Because I don't think we do.
11:44I think they show...
11:45Now, the Knicks might win the game.
11:46I don't think we get blown out like this.
11:49Mike, it was an 18-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
11:52Look, Mike Brown did some stupid stuff, and they couldn't execute in the two games they
11:56lost.
11:56This is still the NBA, and we've got great players who can compete.
11:58We don't have enough great players to win against the Knicks.
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