The New York Knicks surprised many experts over the course of the season, but were temporarily presented in the first playoff round by the Atlanta Hawks. What’s next in the Big Apple? The most important questions.
Why was the series against the Hawks so clear?
Before the series began, many experts identified the duel between fourth and fifth placed in the Eastern Conference as a potential coin tossing series that could amount to a seventh game. In the end, the Knicks and the Hawks even ended the season with the same record. Instead, it was really clear from game 3 onwards.
On the return of playoff basketball at Madison Square Garden, Hawks star Trae Young decided Game 1 with a game winner, Game 2 then became the only Knicks win in the series. The fans were already chanting “We Want Brooklyn!” In the streets afterwards, although this duel would not have been possible until the Conference Finals. Even in this game, some of their best players gave cause for concern, game 2 was by no means a dominant performance.
From now on, some of these could be seen in Atlanta. The last three games of the series were decided by a difference of more than 10 points, the Hawks presented themselves as the more versatile, simply better team. They were able to exploit the weaknesses of the Knicks, which they in turn could not do on the other side (such as the consistent attacking of Young).
The Knicks and especially their all-star Julius Randle, who was honored as the most improved player of the season during the series, lost their luck at the worst possible time. Randle (18 points, 29.8 percent FG) was a shadow of himself over the series, whereby the not particularly strong Knicks offense was lost the central fixed point.
