” We laughed about it. I asked him: ‘Georges, are you going to take a bloody shot tonight? Or are we just on vacation today?’ Doc Rivers first got a verbal response: You just have to watch. “Then especially to an answer in the game.
After a converted 3-point basket at the start of the fourth quarter on the Knicks’ floor, George Niang chained three misses in a row despite good shooting positions. Not enough to shake the confidence of the shooter who continued to insist. And ended up returning his next two attempts to offer three possessions in advance to his team (100-108). Before converting a 4th later in the period.
” That’s when he started pointing at me and put in his shots. It was startling for me too to be honest, but it was a great reaction from him », appreciates his coach.
This reaction is essentially linked to the good combination between the shooter and his caviar distributor, James Harden. This two-man game punished the Knicks’ defense, which preferred to focus on the ball carrier, namely the bearded man, to protect the circle as a priority, even if it meant abandoning the other at the exit of the “pick-and-pop” .
George Niang has his best career season
” I don’t know why they were playing in ‘drop coverage’. I probably haven’t seen this since college, but they were pairing up on James, which is where James and I played this pattern that really works. James found me, he was amazing at getting the leather right into my hands. My job is to shoot, I was not going to stop “Describes the strong winger.
Especially since the shooter in question is full of confidence. After the sometimes complicated 2022 playoffs at the address level, the former Jazz player displays his best career offensive production with nearly 10 points on average with 42% 3-point success. This night, he thus planted 16 points with 6/11 on shots, including this 4/9 behind the arc.
” We found something that suited us and we tried to make the best of it. I think Georges had some easy shots (note: at the beginning of the fourth). He rushed over and I told him to take his time. He got in one, then two, and that opened the game for us “, completes James Harden, best passer of the evening with 13 units.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3t2b88xZI
| George Niang | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | IND | 23 | 4 | 25.0 | 8.3 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| 2017-18 | UTH | 9 | 4 | 36.4 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| 2018-19 | UTH | 59 | 9 | 47.5 | 41.0 | 83.3 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4.0 |
| 2019-20 | UTH | 66 | 14 | 43.8 | 40.0 | 83.3 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| 2020-21 | UTH | 72 | 16 | 43.7 | 42.5 | 95.7 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 6.9 |
| 2021-22 | PHL | 76 | 23 | 43.7 | 40.3 | 88.1 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 9.2 |
| 2022-23 | PHL | 29 | 20 | 44.3 | 42.1 | 90.9 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 9.5 |
| Total | 334 | 15 | 43.8 | 40.6 | 87.8 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6.4 | |
