Jalen Brunson and the Knicks must fend off a challenge from the surging Hawks to return to the conference finals.
New York finally reaches the postseason it’s been waiting for, eager to get past the Hawks and anyone else in their pursuit of a Finals bid.
This probably wasn’t the first-round matchup the Knicks had in mind, after beating down Toronto 5-0 in the teams’ season series. Atlanta didn’t seem bothered by the prospect of facing New York, resting starters in the season-ending loss to Miami and flipping the 5-6 seeds with the Raptors. This will be a tougher challenge for the Knicks, who went 2-1 vs. Atlanta but got outscored by six points in the meetings. As well as New York played down the stretch, (12-4 from March 9), the Hawks were just as hot (22-9 after Feb. 1).
Series schedule
Here’s how to watch the Knicks vs. Hawks series:
All times Eastern Standard Time
- Game 1: Hawks at Knicks | Saturday April 18 (6 ET, Prime Video)
- Game 2: Hawks at Knicks (TBD)
- Game 3: Knicks at Hawks (TBD)
- Game 4: Knicks at Hawks (TBD)
- Game 5: Hawks at Knicks (TBD)*
- Game 6: Knicks at Hawks (TBD)*
- Game 7: Hawks at Knicks (TBD)*
* = If necessary
Regular-season results
Dec. 27: Knicks 128, Hawks 125
Jan. 2: Hawks 111, Knicks 99
Apr. 6: Knicks 108, Hawks 105
Top storyline
A wolf in KAT’s clothing. Jalen Brunson was an MVP candidate when he faced Atlanta, averaging 29.3 points and 7.8 assists. But sidekick Karl-Anthony Towns might have been a runaway winner of that award if he had been able to face the Hawks on a nightly basis. The Knicks center averaged 28.5 points on 63% accuracy and grabbed 13.5 rebounds in two meetings, qualifying for a mythic 60/50/90 shooting club. Combined, they put up an extra 11.6 points compared to their overall averages.
Towns is a load for just about any defender Hawks coach Quin Snyder could throw at him. Atlanta has lengthy wings to mess with the Knicks center if he spends too much time at the arc, but getting deep into the paint, Towns can punish Onyeka Okongwu or other bigs (Jock Landale, Atlanta’s biggest body, has been out with an ankle injury).
Keep your eyes on
Switching gears. The Hawks like to play fast – they ranked fifth in pace during the regular season to the Knicks’ 25th. And yet New York bracketed Atlanta in efficiency, scoring more points per 100 possessions (118.9-115.1), giving up fewer (112.2-112.6) and building a better net rating (6.6-2.5). Neither team lives at the foul line, ranking near the league’s bottom in free throws attempted and made. The Hawks ranked third in fast-break points to New York’s 14th, though, so they’re more likely to push tempo, regardless of playoff traditions.
One more thing to watch for each team
For Knicks: New York’s rotation has been a topic all season and its most frequently used starting lineup – Brunson, Town, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart – didn’t produce nearly the mismatches or results many expected, including coach Mike Brown. The bench is strong with a trio of Miles McBride, Landry Shamet and Mitchell Robinson who probably will eat up most of the available minutes in tighter playoff mode.
For Hawks: What would any team of Hawks be without formidable wings? Jalen Johnson (6-foot-8), Dyson Daniels (6-foot-7), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (6-foot-5) would give migraines to most opponents. But the Knicks’ triumvirate of defense-first counterparts – Anunoby, Bridges and Hart – are well-equipped to meet that challenge.
As a result, Atlanta’s X-factors might wind up being natural-born scorer CJ McCollum at point guard and Jonathan Kuminga off the bench, Remember how effective an unleashed Kuminga was when Golden State turned in desperation to him last spring vs. the Rockets?
One key number to know
11.0 – The Hawks outscored their opponents by 9.7 points per 100 possessions after the All-Star break. That was the fifth best mark in the league and up from minus-1.3 per 100 (19th) prior to the break. That differential of 11.0 points per 100 possessions was the biggest post-break improvement for any team in the last 27 years.
Generally, postseason success has correlated more with how well a team played early in the season than late. But over those 27 years, there have been six other playoff teams that were at least eight points per 100 possessions better after the break than before. Five of those six teams (including last year’s Warriors) won a playoff series and three of the six overachieved in the playoffs, meaning that they won more series than they should have (based on their seed). The 2003-04 Pistons (thanks to a trade with the Hawks) were 8.9 points per 100 possessions better after the break than they were before and went on to win the championship as the 3 seed in the East.
The Hawks’ post-break schedule was relatively weak (cumulative opponent winning percentage of .461), and the one post-break meeting between these two teams (April 6) was won by the Knicks, ending the Hawks’ 13-game winning streak at home.
–John Schuhmann
The pick
KNICKS in six. By record, by stats and by their own growing confidence, the Hawks are rolling and a threat to torch this 2025-26 Knicks season. But New York gets it, and will keep a short leash on this series. Thinking ahead to Boston in the East semis would be a fatal mistake but they know it. The Towns-Brunson combo will torment Atlanta’s defense, and Robinson is good for an extra 4-5 possessions per game, which can break backs in the playoffs.
* * *
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
