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Yet I've received no indication to this point that the Hawks have designs on pursuing Antetokounmpo via trade this summer. Sources say that Atlanta is not eager to splurge for major roster additions, preferring to focus on internal improvement and addressing the futures of CJ McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga along with coach Quin Snyder (who has only one season left on his current contract).
Alas, nitpickers can point to some moves in which Atlanta went backward. Most notably, second-year pro Zaccharie Risacher — the top pick in the 2024 draft — stalled out. He lost his starting job after the All-Star break and then his spot in the rotation in April. Getting him back on track to at least play rotation minutes should be a key organizational goal, and a trade can’t be ruled out.
CJ McCollum, PG (free agent): The 34-year-old McCollum is a decade older than the rest of Atlanta’s core but was also key to the Hawks’ two playoff wins. An unrestricted free agent, he likely will have other suitors who value his scoring, although perhaps not as a starter. I canvassed a few execs on his likely value during my recent travels, and most seemed to think one or two years at slightly above the midlevel exception was a fair ballpark (i.e., two years and $35 million to $40 million). However, with tanking now verboten, a one-year balloon deal from a struggling cap-room team like the Chicago Bulls or Brooklyn Nets can’t be ruled out.
Brad Rowland: For reference... The worst playoff loss in Hawks history (at least since moving to Atlanta) was 114-71 to the Magic in Game 1 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals. The worst home loss was also in that series by a 105-75 margin in Game 3.
Brad Rowland: Jock Landale (high ankle sprain) remains out for the Hawks in Game 5 on Tuesday. Rest of Atlanta’s injury report is clean.
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Knicks Videos: Mike Brown says Jalen Brunson is "as coachable as they come," before joking that Rick Brunson is the opposite: "If I had to coach his father, it might be different" Brown on the Brunson argument in Atlanta: "They have a unique relationship, and I enjoy every aspect of it"
Ian Begley: Knicks-Hawks is now a three-game series. Knicks dominated Atlanta in crucial Game 4, thanks in part to Karl Anthony Towns (20p, 10r, 10a), OG Anunoby (22p, 10r) and Josh Hart (10p, 9r, 3a & strong defense on CJ McCollum). Hawks have 18 TOs and are 10-for-40 from three.
The Hawks have bested the Knicks in that aspect thus far. Atlanta isn’t a pick-and-roll heavy squad, but it’s leaning into those actions more because of who’s on the other side. Sixty-five percent of the pick-and-rolls it has run over the first two games of the series have brought at least one of Brunson or Towns, the two weakest defenders in New York’s starting lineup, into the action, according to Second Spectrum. The Knicks have not done the same. Only 35 percent of their pick-and-rolls have involved at least one of the two weakest defenders in the Hawks’ starting lineup, McCollum or All-Star and soon-to-be All-NBA forward Jalen Johnson.
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The Knicks blew a 12-point lead to start the fourth quarter and fell to the Hawks 107-106 in Game 2 Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Now the series is tied 1-1 heading to Atlanta with a completely different tenor. Now the Hawks have life. Now, the worst memories around the Knicks have come flooding back. “It’s a game we should’ve won,” Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”
Famuyide, a part of “Mornings with Mero” on the famed New York hip-hop station new Hot 97, said on Monday that his station “should play no Atlanta artists until the series is over.” That means no Usher, Ludacris, T.I., Lil Baby, and numerous others. “Day one of my Atlanta music protest starts today, we ain’t trying to hear NONE of that until the first round over lol,” Famuyide posted to X the following day. The station went Atlanta-less on Monday, and Famuyide said the music was “still good and current.”