NBA Matchups: December 11

ATL @ NYK | GSW @ HOU

Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks

Team Totals:

Injury Report: Jalen Johnson (Q, shoulder), Bogdan Bogdanovic (Q, quad), De’Andre Hunter (Q, knee), Trae Young (P, Achilles), Josh Hart (Q, ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns (P, knee)

Hawks projected starters: Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela

Knicks projected starters: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns

Snyder quotes: Said they got good looks against the Nuggets, said they liked the look of Larry Nance Jr. with Okongwu in the second half to change the coverage on Jokic, said Trae Young is used to getting double-teamed, said they should’ve been in a better spot on offense and just didn’t play great there.

Thibs quotes: Said they played good defense early and it fell off later, said they had timely plays and OG was a big part of it, said he gives his players hugs every day, said the team is better at reading defenses to get great shots.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Hawks were on a roll defensively until the Nuggets destroyed them for 141 points. They had a six-game span of elite defense, as they really locked down the paint. The Hawks have been one of the best on-ball defenses in the league, as they’re up to first in PPP against handlers, but they do give up a lot of volume with the third-most possessions allowed. The Hawks have also been hot on their 3-point defense for six games, but they’re still allowing the fifth-most C&S points on the year. They’re a pretty decent off-ball funnel, and the Knicks have been quite solid this year at the eighth-most C&S points despite their slow pace. The Knicks are really going to need to get their role players to get it going. For the Hawks on offense, they really struggle to shoot 3-pointers, as they’re in the bottom 10 for 3-point frequency and accuracy. They’re only 16th in O rating this year despite being in the halfcourt 75.5% of the time (lowest in the league). They’re third in transition scoring, and the Knicks have been pretty solid there at eighth in transition defense. The Knicks also control the pace with the best of them, but their big weakness is allowing the most PNR handler possessions in the league (second in points).

*Trae Young just doesn’t have it clicking this year on offense. He’s still the most inefficient PNR handler at just 0.77 PPP (among 24 guys with 135 possessions). His jumper is down to a 45.2 eFG% this year from a 54.1 eFG% last year. Some of it could be because of his Achilles, but Trae does get some tougher coverages on him because of the poor shooting around him. On the bright side, Trae’s passing is absurd, as his potential assists continue to hang in the low 20s. Trae did manage just a 23/6/10 line in the earlier matchup against the Knicks, and he is almost certainly going to get Mikal Bridges on him again. I like this spot for Trae a lot.

*Jalen Johnson missed the last game for shoulder soreness, which is the first time he’s been listed with that in his career (he had a lower leg issue earlier this year). His matchup is the worst on the team as he’ll certainly see a lot of OG Anunoby, but he did pop off for a 23/15/7 showing earlier this year. The listing with his shooting shoulder is a bit of a concern, and he’s in a mini three-game slump. Johnson does need some transition scoring and the Knicks are great there, so there’s a lot working against him here.

*Dyson Daniels is going guard Jalen Brunson to put some major foul risk on him, but the good news is that he has to play a ton and the Knicks are likely putting Brunson on him, too. In the last game against the Knicks, Dyson couldn’t get anything to fall for his 3-of-16 shooting line. The Hawks used him as a screener a ton for a season-high four possessions, and I would expect that to happen again to get Brunson into the actions. If he avoids fouls, there’s some sneaky upside on Dyson here.