How the Hawks went from deadline sellers to the Knicks’ first-round playoff opponent

Dyson Daniels, the defensive ace who will be tasked with guarding Brunson in this series, remains among the NBA’s best on that end.

“When all the trades were finalized, and we had our whole team and we knew what our team was going to be moving forward for the rest of the year, I think that’s when we grew together,” Johnson said ahead of Game 1.

“It wasn’t the prettiest at first, and we figured things out. Everybody came in just wanting to learn one another.”

Before the mid-February All-Star break, the Hawks ranked 17th in defensive rating (114.9) and 25th in opponent scoring (118.6 points per game).

But since the All-Star break, the Hawks rank second in defensive rating (108.6) and ninth in opponent scoring (110.5 points per game).

Part of that is because the Hawks played a light schedule during their turnaround.

But the Hawks’ passing of the torch to an athletic group brimming with potential — Johnson, Alexander-Walker, Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu and Jonathan Kuminga were all relatively recent top-20 draft picks — has made them a more well-rounded and dangerous team.

“They get out in transition just as good as any team, if not the best,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said.

“Their athleticism. Their length. They’re very aggressive on the offensive glass. Their size and athleticism allows them to switch when they want to defensively and try to do some things defensively, because of their versatility.”

Young, now of the Washington Wizards, became a villain to New York sports fans when he led the Hawks to a first-round victory over the Knicks in 2021 — a five-game series in which he averaged 29.2 points per game.

Expect this year’s Hawks to approach things differently.

“We’re really grateful to have this opportunity,” Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said. “We’ve earned it. And we want to embrace it collectively. When you approach it that way, I think it takes the pressure off any one player.”

But that doesn’t mean underdog Atlanta should be taken lightly.

“I feel like we’ll be a problem for anybody,” Johnson said.