Jalen Johnson didn’t attempt to gown up the Atlanta Hawks’ season-ending loss to the New York Knicks, calling the second precisely what it felt like after a 140-89 defeat in Game 6 at State Farm Area.
“Clearly the loss continues to be recent and undoubtedly happy with this group,” Johnson stated. “This can be a studying expertise for us. We’re rising. We’re going to develop from this. We’re going to undoubtedly be higher from it.”
The Knicks managed the sport from the opening minutes and constructed a lead that reached as excessive as 61 factors, turning the competition into probably the most lopsided playoff losses in current reminiscence.
Johnson acknowledged how troublesome it was to attach the Hawks’ general season success with the way in which it ended. “Clearly it’s sort of robust to check out all these issues proper now,” he stated. “However happy with this group and happy with all the things we have been in a position to do.”
Atlanta completed the common season with 46 wins and earned the Southeast Division title, however the postseason uncovered the hole between consistency and playoff execution.
For Johnson, the sequence was additionally his first actual expertise as a central determine in a postseason run. “High-quality,” he stated when requested about his feelings in the course of the sequence. “Clearly there are ups and downs emotionally and simply determining easy methods to navigate these and proceed to remain current.”
He emphasised that the expertise will form his offseason preparation. “There’s plenty of issues that I’m going to take again this summer season and undoubtedly dive into extra,” Johnson stated. “Identical to yearly, I proceed to work on my sport, proceed to return again with one thing new.”
Atlanta struggled to match New York’s bodily depth all through the sequence, some extent Johnson additionally acknowledged. “That was it,” he stated. “It was simply an depth. They ramped up and we have been unable to match it.”
The Knicks’ potential to use stress defensively restricted Johnson’s effectiveness throughout the sequence, forcing turnovers and contested possessions that disrupted Atlanta’s rhythm.
Regardless of the frustration, Johnson pointed to the inspiration the workforce constructed in the course of the common season. “I feel we did an amazing job simply laying the inspiration of what we’re about, who we’re as a gaggle,” he stated. “Simply proceed to study from this sequence, study from all the things about it, the nice and the unhealthy.”
He additionally addressed the halftime deficit in Sport 6, the place Atlanta trailed by 47 factors. “I don’t actually have any phrases for that,” Johnson stated. “It’s clearly disappointing, clearly sucks. It was only a robust place to be in.”
Wanting forward, Johnson framed the offseason as a continuation of development slightly than a reset. “All people has the identical mindset of simply attempting to get higher,” he stated. “I’m enthusiastic about what’s to return.”
