The NBA Cup is filled with JUICE
Two more compelling games with recently bad teams moving on to the semifinals.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
(Don’t worry, there’s art today. It’s just a little lower.)
Fill Up My Cup … Mazel Tov
(Fun fact: this song was on the radio on low volume when driving my wife to the hospital to give birth to my first daughter. So I have a large soft spot for what is ultimately a very strange party anthem in an era of strange party anthems.)
Hawks 108, Knicks 100 — The Fellowship of the Ca-Caw survives! This was an incredible game, as in “it was not credible” as in the Knicks totally and utterly melted down in the second half OR maybe the Hawks, finally designed to cover Trae Young’s weaknesses and lift up his strengths, are just really good. The Cavaliers would vote for the latter theory.
Dyson Daniels didn’t register any official steals but was getting deflections and put Jalen Brunson in a box. Karl-Anthony Towns got bottled up offensively and fought foul trouble. The Knicks went 4/10 from three in the first quarter and 7/32 the rest of the night. Jalen Johnson might have been the best player on the floor. De’Andre Hunter, thriving in a bench role, wasn’t far off. Trae Young wasn’t efficient but was electric, if that makes sense.
The warning sign here is that the Knicks don’t really seem equipped to win games if the offense isn’t working well. Between Atlanta’s amazing work on the offensive glass and some transition efforts, the Knicks were giving up a bunch of points.
Atlanta moves on to Vegas to meet the Bucks. Trae celebrated by shooting invisible dice on the Knicks logo as the final seconds ticked off.
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