Knicks Played Chess While Hawks Played Checkers in Round 1

However, the games before that led to the Atlanta Hawks’ complete collapse. Credit to Knicks head coach Mike Brown and his staff for exploiting them.

So how did the Knicks really do it?

Trapping CJ McCollum and Nickeil Alexander-Walker

New York completely iced out the Hawks’ sharpshooters in the final three games of the series.

Despite a hot start in the first three games of the series, CJ McCollum shot 15-38 from the field and hit only one three-pointer in the final three games. 2026 Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker shot just 38% in this series. The usage of Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges was vital against their perimeter shooters.

As the primary defender on NAW, Bridges helped hold him to just 11.8 field goal attempts per game. During the regular season, Alexander-Walker averaged nearly 15 tries per game.

The biggest adjustment for New York was when they changed how they defended CJ McCollum. McCollum had been targeting mismatches against Jalen Brunson, but the Knicks countered by assigning Josh Hart to him.

Hart was originally tasked with guarding Jalen Johnson earlier in the series and did a great job. However, McCollum would come off screens and seek out Brunson to get to his pull-up jumper. Hart advocated for himself in Game 4, telling the coaching staff that McCollum is his responsibility in this series.

Playing through Karl-Anthony Towns

The Knicks’ offense took a massive step forward in this series because of Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby creating difficult matchups for the Hawks. 

A major criticism of Mike Brown was the offensive usage KAT got. He exceeded expectations in this series, showing his playmaking skills, notching two triple-doubles. The only other player with multiple triple-doubles in a series this year was former MVP Nikola Jokic.

Meanwhile, KAT did a great job exploiting the coverage against him. If Onyeka Okongwu or any Hawks center were on him, he would look to drive using his strength and draw a foul. If KAT had a defender like Dyson Daniels on him, he looked to pass. However, this was an awful scenario for the Hawks because Daniels would get off Brunson, which gave the Knicks’ captain easier looks.

The Knicks exploited this matchup in Game 4, and Brunson had 39 points.

Playing through KAT also opened up the offense for OG Anunoby. He targeted Jalen Johnson to attack the rim, while Brown consistently put him in positions to score. One of the Knicks’ go-to actions was a back screen from Jalen Brunson in the corner. KAT would receive the ball at the elbow, and Brunson would set the back screen to free Anunoby for a cut to the rim. New York repeatedly used this action to exploit and counter Atlanta.

The Knicks look to build on this momentum in Round 2 against the No. 7-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.

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