Hawks’ biggest adjustment Quin Snyder must make to bounce back after Game 1 loss to Knicks

The Atlanta Hawks are down 1-0 in their series against the New York Knicks, but there are some good things they can take away from the game. The Hawks were neck and neck with them for most of the first half, going into the third quarter, but a dip in offensive efficiency hurt them toward the end of that quarter, going into the fourth.

The Knicks took advantage, and by the time the Hawks looked up, they were down 19 points. They did try to make a last-second comeback, but it was too late.

After Game 1, Quin Snyder noted that he was proud of how the team competed. Though that may be true, there are still a few tweaks that he should make heading into Game 2.

Get back to their bread and butter

The Hawks averaged the most assists in the league this season, which is where they get their success from on the offensive side of the ball. When the ball doesn’t move, and they start playing isolation ball, bad things tend to happen, especially if the shots aren’t going in.

That was the story of Game 1 for the Hawks. CJ McCollum had it going in the first half, and he was the main reason why they stayed close in the game. Some of his shots came from good ball movement, while others came from him just being a professional scorer. Once those shots stopped going in during the second half, it hurt the Hawks, and it gave the Knicks even more opportunities to score on the other end.

If the Hawks can continue to move the ball with ease and find easier shots, it opens up their offense and puts more pressure on the Knicks’ defense.

Give Karl-Anthony Towns a different look

For the most part, the Hawks did a good job on Karl-Anthony Towns, and it wasn’t until the second half that he started to get things going. There were questions coming into the series on how the Hawks would look to defend him, and they decided to give Onyeka Okongwu the matchup.

The Hawks switched the coverage in the second quarter, putting Dyson Daniels on him at times, which could be a good way to limit the two-man game between him and Jalen Brunson. The thing is, the Hawks need Daniels to guard Brunson whenever he’s on the court. That means the Hawks may want to go with someone like Jalen Johnson to give it a shot at guarding Towns at times.

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