Why Hawks are primed to slay Knicks giant in 2026 NBA Playoffs

The Atlanta Hawks have found themselves in a first-round matchup against the New York Knicks, and it has brought back memories of the 2o21 matchup between both teams. At that time, it was Trae Young who walked into Madison Square Garden and slayed the Knicks, but this time, it will take a collective group of players to do so if they want to advance to the next round.

The Knicks have been a steady team all season, and while it’s obvious that they have the necessary pieces to make a deep run, there are still times when they can get in their own way. For the Hawks, this current team looks completely different from the one at the beginning of the season, but the system and principles stayed the same, which led them to a top-six seed.

If you look at any national outlet or your average Twitter/X Joe, many have the Knicks winning the series. It’s understandable why many would predict that, but nobody is talking about why the Hawks are in a prime position to upset the Knicks in the playoffs.

The Hawks are coming into the playoffs hot

From the last week of February to the end of the regular season, the Hawks have been the hottest team in the league. They went 19-5 during that stretch, and they had one of the best offensive and defensive ratings in the league. Most people will say that the Hawks’ hot streak was due to their poor schedule, and there is some truth to that. They played several teams that were rather looking at their lottery odds than winning games, and some playoff teams that were missing their key players.

At the same time, they had some convincing wins against some of the better teams in the league, and most of the losses were close games (except the Houston Rockets loss).

In the last week of the season, they played the Knicks down to the wire and almost made a huge comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers to steal a road game. This team has shown over the past few months that they can stick with anybody, and if they can keep that momentum they had, it’ll be interesting to see what they can do in the first round.

The series isn’t that lopsided as many think

Many were wondering why the Hawks didn’t play their starters in the last game of the regular season to push for the No. 5 seed to face the Cavs. In the end, it didn’t seem like the Hawks felt there was a big difference between facing the Cavs or Knicks, which makes sense.

The Hawks have played both teams fairly close this season, but as for the Knicks specifically, most of their games have come down to the final possession. In their first matchup against the Knicks, it was a three-point loss. A week later, they faced off again (Knicks were without Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns), and the Hawks won 111-99. The last week of the regular season, the Knicks won by three points again.

The postseason is always different from the regular season, but the latest matchup was the biggest indicator of the series possibly not being a wash. That’s all the Hawks need to get to four wins first, and a few things would need to go in their favor for an upset.

Are the Knicks trustworthy?

In a playoff series, or in any game, you should never solely focus on the opposing team having hiccups more than you going out and doing the right things to win. For the past few seasons, the spotlight has always been on the Knicks, and though it’s mostly because they’re one of the popular teams in the league, the talent they have on the team doesn’t always match what they can achieve on the court.

Just like any other team, the Knicks have weaknesses that can be exploited, and if the Hawks can continue to exploit them, they can win the series. Outside of Jalen Brunson, nobody knows what you’ll get from Karl-Anthony Towns on a game-by-game basis. Mikal Bridges can get lost in the offense, and Josh Hart will give you consistent defense, but not much on offense at times.

With all of those things combined, the Hawks could seize the moment and get a big upset against the Knicks in the first round.

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