The NY Knicks must neutralize Clint Capela if they want to win this series. The Knicks lost a devastating 2 point game off of a Trae Young game winner putting home-court advantage in favor of the Atlanta Hawks.
Clint Capela and Trae Young’s pick and roll game was vital in beating the Knicks ‘ defense. As Adam Kester mentioned last month, the Knicks are very aggressive against the pick and roll. New York is going to have to find a way to slow down Atlanta’s big man.
NY Knicks: Clint Capela has a big impact on the Hawks’ offense
Capela’s ability to be a lob threat off of every pick and roll the Hawks ran meant there would always be an open man for Atlanta. Capela would finish any alley-oop thrown his way if Nerlens Noel or Taj Gibson double-teamed Trae Young.
The NY Knicks trap defense on the pick and roll was beaten because Capela being a lob threat on every possession means if anyone else on the Knicks other than the big man doubles young, it will leave one of their many capable three-point shooters wide open.
Trae Young is less incumbent to stop as even though he controls the pick and roll, Capela is forcing the Knicks centers to sit back, which, along with going over screens, is adding too much separation in the trap.
Capela also stood at a plus-minus of +8, second only to Bogdan Bogdanovic, who was typically getting open through the Knicks double-teaming off the pick and roll.
The Knicks could also neutralize Clint Capela if they keep the center on him instead of guarding Young. There is only one way for this to work, though: Frank Ntilikina. In Ntilikina’s rookie year, the year he played the most, he was first in points per possession when being the primary defender guarding the pick and roll at .65ppp.
As mentioned by Zachary Bachar, Ntilikina should have been used before the last play of the game if he was going to be used on the last play of the game. Frank did his best and almost cut Trae Young’s drive off, but it is harder to do that when it is also your first ever seconds of playing in the NBA playoffs.
If the Knicks use Frank Ntilikina more and start to go under more screens preventing too much separation, and if Julius Randle can get back on track, the Knicks will likely win this series.