CHICAGO -- The shooting has been largely awful from both sides but if you're looking for fireworks, the kind where the animosity is as thick as the hot Atlanta air, the Hawks-Knicks series is where you'll find it.
Except for Game 3, which got away quickly from the Knicks before losing it at 105-94, the previous two games were contentious, hard-fought thrillers that could have gone either way.
Having seen the "no harm, no foul" version of the NBA playoffs during the 80s and 90s, I am bewitched by the thought that through the course of three games thus far, the Hawks and Knicks have infested their first-round match-up with a combined 114 angry fouls.
I don't advocate for violence but I'm also not a fan of the lovey-dovey, hugs and kisses, and jersey swaps that the young players do these days.
What's up with that?
The dislike that New York and Atlanta have for each other is genuine. It's made for TV and I am giddy.
Atlanta is up 2-1 right now, and much as I love the Knicks and all things orange and blue, I don't see how New York can win three more games and advance to the second round.
Remember Julius Randle, the Knicks leader who, at one point during their fabulous season, was thrown around as an MVP candidate?
WELL, HE PULLED A MAGIC TRICK AND DISAPPEARED IN FRONT OF 15,743 FANS AT THE STATE FARM ARENA IN ATLANTA.
Randle went 2-for-15 from the field and 2-for-7 from 3 in the Knicks' demise today.
Through three games and 108 minutes played, he has made only 13 of 54 shots (24 percent) and 6-of-20 triples (30 percent).
This is not the kind of output a team expects from a key player who is making $18.9 million this season.
The Hawks, on the other hand, are getting the most out of the modest $6.5 million their (super?) star is collecting this season. And that's been the clear difference why this series is going Atlanta's way.
Trae Young is better than advertised, averaging 27.7 points per while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from long distance.
Unlike other ball dominant point guards, he has shown the facility to share the ball as shown by his 10.3 assists per game. Once a care-free, reckless playmaker, Young has grown into a mature leader.

Derrick Rose is having a career renaissance in the Big Apple (24.3 points, 4.7 assists per) but outside of Alec Burks and the occasional bursts from Reggie Bullock, D-Rose doesn't have adequate reinforcement.
Trae Young does.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, DeAndre Hunter, Kevin Huerter, Lou Williams, Clint Capela, John Collins and Danilo Galinari have pooled together 72.3 points per outing.
Ultimately, Trae's rise and Randle's fall is the toxic mix that will lead to the Knicks' elimination.
Even so, this New York-Atlanta spat will be worth watching through three more games.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT. Given up for dead, by me at least, the Celtics showed some pulse early today and stunned the Nets, 125-119, at the TD Garden.
It took a 50-point effort from Jayson Tatum for Boston to hold off Brooklyn, whose three stars --- Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving -- combined for 96 points.
The series is still 2-1 though in favor of Brooklyn.
Game 3 was a death rattle for the Celtics, not a resurrection. I still see the Nets facing the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round.
Speaking of pushbacks, the Clippers road win at the American Airlines Center was most impressive.
Led by Kawhi Leonard's 36 points plus 29 more from Paul George, Los Angeles amazingly turned a 30-11 deficit into a 118-108 Game 2 victory.
This marvelous 29-point swing shows the Clips' championship potential.
But is this sustainable?
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