Knicks Will Beat the Hawks

Author: Patrick Sullivan

Editor: Mark Awadallah

For the first time in 8 years, the New York Knicks will be participating in a playoff series. With a record of 41-31 the Knicks took the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference and are set to play the Atlanta Hawks who are the 5th seed also at a record of 41-31. Considering the play of both teams this year this should be a very interesting series that should be very competitive. In the three games they played each other in the regular season, the Knicks won all three games in part due to Trae Young’s injury in a couple of those games. The Knicks have home court advantage which should give them an edge in the series conserind fans are now allowed back at Madison Square Garden. The series is set to kick off at 7 pm est on Sunday May 23rd.

Looking at the impact players have on both teams, each team is talented in their own rights. The Knicks are led by Julius Randle who has had an incredible season thus far and have a lot of help around him whether that's in the starting lineup or the bench. In terms of the Knicks starters, RJ Barret has been constantly improving throughout the season and has been a great asset to the team. Nerlens Noel has stepped in as of late in the starting lineup due to the injury of Michell Robinson and has helped out a lot on the defensive side of the ball. In addition to Noel, Reggie Bullock has been providing the Knicks with great play on both sides of the ball. However, Elrid Payton at starting PG is a spot Tom Thibadeau should look into since he has been struggling most of the season and Derrick Rose off the bench has been in great form. Another bench player is Alec Burks has dominated some games and has been performing at a high level all year along with being very clutch in key moments. Other players off the bench who have stepped up this year include Immaunel Quickley, Frank Ntilikina, and Obi Toppin. The strong bench play all year has really given the Knicks an edge over certain teams and has led to their success.

Moreover, the Hawks are built much differently than the Knicks as they have a star point guard in Trae Young and a dominant center in Clint Capela. These are two things the Knicks don’t have but if they did they could have made that jump as a legitimate contender for the championship. Along with star Trey Young and Capela, the Hawks have consistent strong play from Lou Williams who is a great playmaker, John Collins, Danillo Gallinari, and Bogdan Bogdanovic. All of these players have averaged double digit points throughout the regular season and helped propel this team to the 5th seed.

The key to winning this series for the New York Knicks is to focus on containing Trey Young, and have great play from their starting lineup. If the Knicks can stop Trey Young from scoring and causing so many fouls, they should be able to constrain the Hawks offensively. Furthermore, the main reason the starting lineup needs to play well is because the bench has been consistently helping this team put up points, meaning if the starting lineup can play well, there's no reason the Knicks don’t win this series. The two most important players that need to perform in the starting lineup are Julius Ranlde and RJ Barret, if these two can score like they have at times this season, the Knicks are in great shape to win in a 7 game series.

Moreover, the Hawks main goals to win need to contain Julius Randle and feed Trae Young. If the Hawks can contain Julius Randle, it will force the Knicks to need other players to step up throughout the game which can make it easier for the Hawks to win. The second goal is to feed Trey Young because at times he can be unstoppable., His driving ability and three point shooting have been fantastic all year and can cripple the Knicks if they are unable to contain him. Overall, this is going to be a thrilling series and should be very close, could very well go 7 games.

Series Prediction: Knicks win 4-2

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