Knicks Take Care of Business in Atlanta

Early in the first quarter of game six, the Atlanta Hawks, who were facing elimination, led the New York Knicks 9-5. If you were anything like me you were probably muttering to yourself, "Great, I guess we're going to have a game seven at Madison Square Garden after all."

Fortunately for us Debbie Downers, the Knicks had other plans. They outscored the Hawks 35-6 the rest of the quarter and 43-21 in the second to take a commanding 83-36 lead into the locker room. It was the most dominant half of playoff basketball in the history of the NBA. 

And the Knicks didn't stop there. They kept their foot on the gas in the second half and increased their lead to 117-64 going into the fourth. When it was all over, the Knicks routed the Hawks 140-89. It was the third largest margin of victory in a close out game in the play-by-play era.

To be honest, I thought New York would win this series in six, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they'd put that kind of ass whoopin' on them. The Knicks outscored the Hawks 380-284 over the last three games. The last time the city of Atlanta was that badly destroyed, Sherman set it on fire. 

So how did the Knicks do it? How did they go from losing games two and three by a single point to completely dominating games four, five and six? And make no mistake about it, this was domination in the strictest sense of the word. The Knicks margin of victory over the Hawks in this series was 105 points. To put that into perspective, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder's margin of victory over the Phoenix Suns was just 69 points. And the Thunder swept their series, mind you.

Defense was the key. In these playoffs, the Knicks have the second best defensive rating at 103.9. Only the Detroit Pistons, at 102.9, are better. This turnaround didn't begin once the postseason started; it began on January 21 with a 120-66 mauling of the Brooklyn Nets. Since then, New York's defensive rating has been the second best in the NBA.

But the biggest reason for the Knicks success lies with Mike Brown. After game three, he made the adjustments that finally unleashed this offense. Jalen Brunson got Karl-Anthony Towns involved and KAT, for his part, became the distributor in chief; a point center, if you will. Over the last three games, Towns had two triple doubles and 26 assists. Only Nicola Jokic averaged more assists, and his team was eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

I said this playoff series was a microcosm of the Knicks regular season, and it turned out to be that way. When their offense clicked, they looked like a team that couldn't be stopped; when it stalled, they looked like a team that couldn't get out of its own way. And therein lies the paradox, and the challenge. Whoever they play in the second round, they must remember what they did right in this series and carry it over into the next if they want to advance.

As for who they play, we'll know that soon enough. The Philadelphia 76ers forced a game seven against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden Saturday night. If the Sixers win, the Knicks will have home court; if the Celtics win, they'll open on the road.

If I were the Knicks, I'd much rather play Boston. With the Celtics you know what you're getting: a team that lives and dies with the three pointer. When they go in, they win; when they don't, they lose. In the three games the Celtics have won in this series they've shot over 35 percent from beyond the arc; in the three games they've lost, they shot under 30 percent from there.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, presents all kinds of matchup problems for New York, starting with their center Joel Embiid. The Sixers are 24-14 when Embiid plays; 21-23 when he doesn't. Two years ago when the Knicks beat the Sixers, Embiid, was injured and the Knicks still struggled to contain him. This postseason, he appears to be fully recovered after having surgery to remove his appendix. Playing alongside Tyrese Maxey, the most underrated guard in the league, Philly could definitely win.

The way I see it, Leon Rose built this roster specifically to beat the Celtics. With OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges on the wing, New York would have the advantage over Boston. Against Philly, it's anybody's guess who would prevail.

Typically, I don't like projecting ahead. After all, the Hawks thought the Knicks would be an easier team to beat and look what happened to them. All I'm saying is when you look at both teams objectively, the Sixers scare me; the Celtics not so much.

Knicks Need To Treat This Game As a Must Win

Generally speaking, I hate the term must win; it's the most overused and abused term in sports. For the record, the only "must wins" are elimination games, when losing means your season is over. I'm making an exception in this case. Game five against the Atlanta Hawks is a must win for the New York Knicks.

No, the Knicks season will not be over if they lose tonight at the Garden, and yes, they are more than capable of beating the Hawks in Atlanta in game six and closing them out in their building in game seven. But why on Earth would the Knicks want to subject themselves to that kind of pressure?

To be clear, the Knicks have been the better team in this series. They've played a total of two bad quarters - the 4th in game two and the 1st in game three. But that was enough to lose both games by one point a piece. In the two wins, New York has outscored Atlanta by a combined 27 points. You could make the argument that had they not taken their foot off the gas in game two and not gotten off to such a slow start in game three, the Knicks would now be awaiting the winner of the Celtics / Sixers series. 

Unfortunately that didn't happen, and here we are tied at two. In many respects, this series has been a microcosm of the Knicks season. One minute hot, the next cold. It's amazing to think that the same team that routed the Nuggets in Denver barely beat the Nets in Brooklyn. They have been the ultimate enigma for a fanbase that has often times been frustrated by the lack of consistency on the court. 

And that is why it is absolutely imperative that the Knicks not fall behind 3-2 going back to Atlanta. Even with all their talent and resolve, there is no guarantee that they would force a game seven. And should they lose this series, it will be a very long offseason for this team, I can assure you. Mike Brown will almost certainly be fired and Leon Rose would be forced to make some drastic changes to the roster. To put it another way, the Knicks aren't just fighting to beat the Hawks; they're fighting to stay together as a core.

So how do they accomplish both? By remembering what they did right in game four. I wrote at the start of the series that the Knicks had to get Karl-Anthony Towns involved. They did so in game one and most of game two. But then they forgot about their big man in the 4th quarter of game two and the Hawks mounted a comeback. The Knicks recovered from a slow start in game three to take a three-point lead but couldn't hold it because, once again, they didn't go to KAT when it counted. Jalen Brunson turned the ball over in the closing seconds and that was that.

In game four, however, the Knicks put on a clinic. It was one of their better games of the season. They started strong and they finished strong. Towns was, by far, the best player on the court, recording the fourth playoff triple double in franchise history. He had plenty of help. O.G. Anunoby had a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Brunson and Deuce McBride chipped in 19 and 11 points respectively. As a team, the Knicks had 23 assists, and led for 94 percent of the game. But perhaps the most important stat was that New York did not allow Atlanta a single fast-break point through three quarters. 

The Knicks need to bottle that performance and bring it with them to the Garden tonight. Every chance they get they need to put the ball in KAT's hands and let him do his thing. Because when they've done that, when they've let KAT be KAT, the Hawks have had no answer for him. None. I've heard of mismatches, but this one takes the cake. Mike Brown has to make it abundantly clear to his captain that in this series, he needs to defer to his center. It doesn't mean Brunson can't contribute; he did, after all, have 19 points in the last game. But the fact is the Knicks offense is more fluid and diverse when he plays off the ball, and conversely, it grows stagnant when he hogs the ball.

So, to sum up. The Knicks need to get off to a fast start, they need to get the ball to their big guy, and they need to keep their foot on the accelerator. If they do those things, they'll be one step closer to a rematch with the Celtics; if they don't, they'll be one step closer to the most disappointing playoff defeat since the last time they lost to the Hawks in 2021.

We all remember how that felt.

64-2

For seven quarters, the New York Knicks had the Atlanta Hawks right where they wanted them. They had beaten them in game one of their best of seven series 113-102, and led them 91-79 going into the fourth quarter of game two. They were on the verge of going up 2-0. Outside the Garden, the fans were chanting "We want Boston," in anticipation of what looked like a four-game sweep. And then everything came crashing down. Atlanta outscored New York 28-15 over the final 12 minutes to eke out a narrow one-point win.

It was a devastating loss to a team many, myself included, thought would be a very tough opponent. Going into last night's game, the Knicks were 64-1 in the playoffs when taking a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter. Make that 64-2.

How could this have happen? How did a team as experienced as the Knicks unravel against a team that was making its first appearance in the postseason in seven years?

There was a lot of blame to go around, starting with:

1. Mike Brown: For 11 minutes, Brown inexplicably took his two best scorers - Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns - both out of the game, and went with a lineup that consisted primarily of Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson. During that span, the Knicks were outscored by seven points. In another bizarre move, Brown elected to call a timeout with 2:43 left in the fourth quarter and New York in possession, leading 100-99. Brunson was driving to the basket when the whistle blew. That timeout would come back to haunt the Knicks as they were unable to stop the clock with 5.6 seconds left in the game, forcing Bridges to take a last second desperation shot that hit the rim and bounced away.

2. The Bench: Apart from Robinson (13 points and 7 rebounds) and Clarkson (7 and 5), the bench was MIA. Alvarado, Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet were a combined 0-7. McBride's performance was particularly disappointing, as the Knicks are counting on him to be the primary scorer off the bench. At least Alvarado was a plus 5; everyone else was a minus, including Robinson, who was a team-high minus 10.

3. Free Throws: After going 25-30 (83%) from the free throw line in game one, the Knicks went 17-27 (63%) in game two. Anunoby missed two critical free throws late in the fourth that could've given his team the win. The Knicks are not going to beat the Hawks missing that many free throws.

4. Jalen Brunson: I wrote before the series began that for the Knicks to advance Brunson could not be the only scorer on the team. And for the first three quarters of last night's game, the Captain was a ball distributer, assisting on seven baskets. But then in the fourth quarter, he became a ball hogger. Towns, who scored 14 points in the third quarter, took only two shots in the fourth. The Knicks offense stalled and had their worst output of the season.

The good news is that all four of these issues can and will be addressed going forward. Brown, hopefully, will not sit both Brunson and KAT at the same time, and will use his timeouts more judiciously; the bench, especially McBride, won't be so anemic; the Knicks will do much better from the free-throw line; and Brunson will get the ball to KAT instead of trying to win the game on his own. More good news: despite their fourth-quarter collapse last night, the Knicks are defending very well in this series. Their defensive rating of 108.7 is eighth among the 16 teams in the postseason. Atlanta, by comparison, is 10th. The Knicks did not lose because of their defense; they lost because of their offense, or lack thereof.

Which leads me to the bad news. Thanks to their malpractice, the Hawks now have the home-court advantage as they head back to Atlanta for the next two games, where they are 17-4 over the second half of the season. That means New York will have its work cut out for it trying to get a split. 

This is what happens when you don't take care of business; you give your opponent a lifeline. The Knicks could've had a stranglehold on this series; instead, they're in for the fight of their lives.

A fight they could well end up losing. 

Knicks Playoff Preview (Round One)

For the fourth season in a row, the New York Knicks are in the playoffs; and for the third season in a row, they've won at least 50 games. Without question, this is the best team since the one Pat Riley took to the finals in 1994.

And like that '94 team that didn't have to face Michael Jordan, this Knicks team was the prohibitive favorite to come out of the East going into the season. That's because both Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum suffered Achilles injuries and were presumed out for at least a year.

Well, a funny thing happened. While Haliburton never came back, Tatum did, making a Boston Celtics team that was already having a surprisingly good year without him an even more imposing threat. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Detroit Pistons, the team the Knicks beat in the first round last year, came out of nowhere to win 60 games. Oh, and I almost forget to mention that the Atlanta Hawks, who went 21-9 over the last 30 games, deliberately tanked their last game so they could fall to the 6th seed and play the Knicks in the first round.

So much for a glide path to the finals. If this Knicks team is going to win its first championship since 1973, it is going to have to do so while going through a gauntlet that would make walking through a mine field seem like a stroll through the park.

The good news is that they should have more in the tank than last year's team. Under Mike Brown, the starters averaged roughly three minutes less per game than they did under Tom Thibodeau. More good news: from January 21, only the Oklahoma City Thunder had a better defensive rating than New York: 109.1 to 109.4. For the season, the Knicks were a league-best +11.7 in the fourth quarter, the highest ever recorded in the modern play-by-play era. Over the last three postseasons, Jalen Brunson has more 40 point playoff games (8) than Nikola Jokic (6) or Anthony Edwards (5); and Karl-Anthony Towns had more double doubles this season (56) than Jokic (55).

Now the bad news? The Knicks two best scorers (Brunson and KAT) also happen to be their two worst defenders. And while this year's team is better than the one that went to Eastern Conference finals last year, it has also been plagued by inconsistencies. The same team that routed the Nuggets in Denver also barely survived the Nets in Brooklyn. I have written about this several times and it bears repeating: the Knicks are capable of going all the way to the finals; they're also capable of being ousted in the first round. And the most frustrating thing about them is that you don't know which team will show up Saturday night at the Garden.

Notwithstanding those concerns, what are the keys to the Knicks beating the Hawks? It comes down to three.

1. Get KAT involved early and often. As good as the Hawks were in the second half, they have no one who can guard Towns in the paint. The Knicks must get the ball to him, no excuses. He is capable of dominating this series. 20 plus points and 14-15 rebounds per game is a must for New York to advance. 

2. Control the boards. It's no secret that when the Knicks win it's usually because they out-rebound their opponents, particularly on the offensive glass, and this leads to second or third shot attempts. This is where Mitchell Robinson factors in. I expect Brown to play him and Towns together on the court, especially in the fourth quarter. If New York controls the boards, they will win this series.

3. Don't let Brunson shoulder all the load. While there's no doubt Brunson will be the best Knick in the series, he can't beat the Hawks all by himself. Other players, like Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Deuce McBride will have to step up and contribute on the score sheet. The Knicks averaged 27.4 assists per game this season; to beat the Hawks, they are going to have to meet or exceed that average.

In case you haven't noticed, the Knicks have a history of drawing tough first-round opponents in the Leon Rose era: The Cavaliers in '23, the Sixers in '24 and the Pistons last year. The Hawks are no exception. Contrary to what many in the fanbase are saying, this will not be a quick series, or an easy one. They won't say it publicly, but to a man the Knicks would much rather have played the Toronto Raptors.

That being said, the Knicks, if they bring their A game, should dispense with Atlanta. If they don't, heads will roll. New York in six.

Here's how I see the rest of the first-round matchups going:

Eastern Conference: 

Detroit over Orlando in five. The Magic bludgeoned a flawed Hornets team in the Play-In just for the privilege of playing the Pistons.

Boston over Philadelphia in five. Even with a healthy Joel Embiid this would've been a heavy lift for the Sixers. Without him, it's impossible.

Cleveland over Toronto in five. The Raptors caught a break when the Hawks tanked in their last game. It won't make enough of a difference against the Cavs.

Western Conference:

OKC over Phoenix in five. The Thunder needed an easy first round opponent to defend their title. They got one in the Suns.

San Antonio over Portland in six. I'm probably giving the Trail Blazers more credit than they deserve, or maybe it's because this is the first postseason for the Spurs in seven years.

Denver over Minnesota in six. I know the Ant Man has historically done well against the Joker, but there's something about this Nuggets team that makes me think this could be their year. Plus, I have them in the finals against the Knicks.

Houston over Los Angeles in five. This would've been a great series if Luka and Austin Reaves had been healthy. Without them, the Lakers are toast.

As in past years, if the Knicks advance, I'll preview the second round. If they don't, my pick is the Nuggets to win it all.