The Hawks attempted to take Mitchell Robinson out of the equation for the Knicks in Game 1 by employing Hack-A-Mitch, intentionally fouling him to send him to the free-throw line at the expense of New York getting into its offense. After going 1-for-4 from the line, Robinson was pulled from the game after 15 minutes without having recorded a single offensive rebound.
When it comes to how he will approach Robinson’s minutes in tonight’s Game 2, Knicks coach Mike Brown said that the team wasn’t overreacting to the strategy.
“We’ll probably just use a normal rotation, and at the end of the day, he’s gonna get an opportunity, and we’re confident that he’ll knock ’em down,” Brown said. “If we need to make a change, we feel confident with Josh [Hart] going and playing the center. Especially the way we’re playing, it allows us to switch the pick and roll and all that other stuff, so we’re okay with them fouling Mitch if that’s what they want to do.”
Robinson’s rim protection and ability to generate extra possessions on the offensive glass have been a huge part of the Knicks’ success over the last few years.
Brown adds that in some ways, the strategy can work in New York’s favor.
“If they want to start fouling him, that’ll get us closer to the bonus, and so that’s the time for us to go back to him,” he said, according to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.
The Knicks had 30 free throw attempts against 19 Hawks attempts in Game 1, some of which had to do with Atlanta putting itself into the bonus to send Robinson to the line.
We have more from the Knicks/Hawks series:
- OG Anunoby is available to play for the Knicks tonight, James L. Edwards III notes (via Twitter). The 6’8″ wing, who came in 10th in Defensive Player of the Year voting, was a crucial part of New York’s Game 1 victory, scoring 18 points in 38 minutes despite missing some time in the second half after twisting his ankle.
- Onyeka Okongwu is also available for the Hawks, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post (Twitter link), after previously being listed as questionable due to knee inflammation. Okongwu was productive in his minutes in Game 1, scoring 19 points and hitting four of his six threes. His presence is a welcome sight for the Hawks, who are already thin at the center position after the injury to Jock Landale.
- Due to the Hawks‘ aforementioned frontcourt depth, or lack thereof, the team turned to Mouhamed Gueye to be the primary backup center behind Okongwu in Game 1, and he managed to hold his own, Lauren Williams writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While Gueye didn’t put up impressive box score numbers, he didn’t allow Karl-Anthony Towns to bully him down low. Williams writes that with Okongwu dealing with knee inflammation, the Hawks may need Gueye to play more than the 10.5 minutes he saw on Saturday.