East Notes: Hawks, Dejounte Murray, Knicks, Cavs

Hawks

Coach Quin Snyder is looking for the Hawks to play with more cohesion in Game 2 vs. the Celtics on Monday.

Atlanta outscored Boston 55-38 in the second half of the Game 1 loss.

“Our offense has to help our defense,” Snyder said, via Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Some of that will be as simple as making an open shot, and not having to defend in transition. And then there’s other things. We’ve battled our spacing. And we’ve got to continue to really drill down on that, and be unbelievably precise with where we are in the court. And that’ll let us play together.”

• Guard Dejounte Murray said the Hawks just have to focus on building on their second-half surge. “You take that second half when we competed and make it momentum going into Game 2,” he told reporters.

Knicks

Coach Tom Thibodeau said the Knicks understand they will have to do a better job defending star guard Donovan Mitchell, whose 38-point eruption nearly lifted the Cavaliers to a come-from-behind win in Game 1.

“We know we’re gonna have to play a lot better than we did [Saturday night],” Thibodeau said. “He’s a tough cover. (We will) take a look at the film. See how we can improve. We know we’re going to have to be tougher, play better.”

• The Knicks’ victory marked their first playoff road win since 2013.
• They will also be looking for more offense from more than just Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. In Game 1, RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley combined to shoot a miserable 3-of-21 from the field, as note by Zach Braziller of the New York Post. 

Cavaliers

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the Cavs will need more from their bench in Game 2 vs. the Knicks. In Game 1, the reserves went just 4-of-13 shooting for 14 points.

That’s compared to the 37 points scored by the Knicks’ bench.

“Obviously our bench has to give us a spark,” Bickerstaff said. “We have to find a way to manufacture some buckets. How do we create for one another? And how does our bench support our starting cast? At some point in time, we got to find a way to put the ball in the basket. That unit kind of struggled there.”

• Could the Cavs possibly give veteran wing Danny Green a look in Game 2? We discussed that and a whole lot more in the latest Cavs on the Break podcast. Listen here.
• The Cavs cancelled media availability after initially scheduling it for Sunday afternoon. They will practice and meet with the media again on Monday.
• In case you missed it, you can check out my Game 1 Dribbles right here.