Trae Young walks slowly alongside the ball in late November. His Hawks are up three against the Rockets with six minutes left in the game. He burns nearly 18 seconds off the game clock — the longest he’s walked the dog this season. But the next five and a half minutes go poorly for Atlanta. Young goes 0-for-3 from the floor, Houston’s Jalen Green explodes late in the fourth and the Hawks lose the game, 128-122. Atlanta could have used those wasted seconds in the game’s final moments. This is one of the key risks of walking the dog when the game is on the line. “I think there’s always a trade-off,” says Jeff Van Gundy, the broadcaster and former coach. “You are able to run some time off the clock. The counterpoint would be: At what expense to your rhythm and your flow? It’s not as simple a decision as just trying to take time off the clock, because it could actually hurt you.”
Jeff Van Gundy Rumors
Russell Westbrook: “Jordyn, Skye, Noah [his kids]: Daddy loves you. Make sure you guys listen to mommy.” Jeff Van Gundy: “How about eating your vegetables?” RW: “They do that only sometimes.”
Sirius XM NBA: Jeff Van Gundy isn’t surprised the Warriors chose not to suspend Draymond Green. @TermineRadio | @Eddie Johnson pic.twitter.com/cqRFkLFQ00
“The Knicks have good players, but you line it up against the competition in the East, and this roster is not on the same level,’’ Van Gundy told The Post in a phone interview from his Houston home. “They could shock the world and be a playoff team, but I look at the East and I’d have to say eight to 13 is where they should be predicted. They’re not even close to a lock for the play-in. A lot has to go right.’’
”The one thing everyone can agree on, if the Knicks are to make a jump in the standings, they have to have a guy — or two guys — to build around,’’ the Rochester native said. “They still don’t have that building block, from a star player’s standpoint.’’
“I’m not being negative about those guys,’’ Van Gundy said. “Randle made an All-Star team, Barrett they hope continues to become a more efficient player. Jalen is in that category of fringe All-Star. “That being said, if you’re going to make a significant jump in the Eastern Conference — when you have [Boston’s Jayson] Tatum, [Jaylen] Brown, [Brooklyn’s Kevin] Durant, [Milwaukee’s Giannis] Antetokounmpo , [Miami’s Jimmy] Butler, and [James] Harden and [Joel] Embiid in Philly, you need a top-20 player in the league. That’s what you build around. They’re still searching for that.”
Ben Anderson: At 34, Will Hardy joins Lawrence Frank, George Karl, and Jeff Van Gundy as the third-youngest full-time head coaches in NBA history. Only Minnesota Timberwolves coaches Ryan Saunders and Sidney Lowe (both 33) were younger.
