Three Things to Watch For In Tonight's Matchup With The Knicks

The Hawks are going into an important Eastern Conference matchup with the New York Knicks tonight - what do they need to do to win?

Rohan Raman | Feb 12, 2025

Jan 20, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) goes to the basket against Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

Since the trade deadline, the Hawks have gone 3-0 and looked like a much more complete team after floundering through a 1-9 stretch prior to the deadline. Their new additions of Caris LeVert, Georges Niang and Terence Mann have made a clear impact and they'll be put to the test again against a very good Knicks team.

Although Atlnata holds the series advantage at 2-1, they can clinch the series with a win tonight and it's something that could be critical for their playoff hopes. Every win in the Eastern Conference matters for seeding. Even though they are off for the All-Star break after tonight, it's an excellent opportunity to head into that break with some momentum and a renewed sense of direction.

Here are three key components of this game that could decide whether the Hawks head back to Atlanta with a win or loss:

Dyson, Keep Swiping

Daniels has been excellent as a defender all year, but he's turned a corner recently with how good he's been on offense. In his past five games, Daniels is averaging 14.6 points on 47.6/50/69.7% shooting splits to go with 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.6 steals. This is a game where he'll need to be excellent on both sides of the floor.

In his last appearance against the Knicks, Daniels fouled out. While the game result was largely decided by then, he's going to have to do an excellent job of being disciplined on a player who routinely gets to the free throw line. Brunson's coming off a poor game against the Pacers, only scoring 8 points on 4-11 shooting. He got in foul trouble against Indiana and missed a large portion of the second half. Accordingly, he'll be well-rested and ready to take on a Hawks defense that still struggles to stop teams on the perimeter. However, it should be noted that the defense is playing much better as of late. It's been a massive reason why they've stayed afloat in the wake of Jalen Johnson's injury. For his part, Daniels is one of the best individual defenders in the NBA and excellent on the perimeter. If he can frustrate Brunson into another poor performance, the Hawks have a good chance in this one.

Mo Money, Mo Problems (for New York?)

Full-stop, the Hawks do not win the Milwaukee game without Gueye. He had 15 points and 12 rebounds in that matchup while also racking up an eye-popping four blocks. It's true that the Bucks did not have Giannis, but it was an excellent game from the big man after spending most of his time in College Park for his first two seasons in the league. The really exciting thing about Gueye's strong play as of late is his shooting.

He hit one three against the Bucks and followed it up by hitting two in good rhythm against the Magic. Obviously, he has a long way to go before he can really be considered any sort of a respectable shooter or stretch big. However, Gueye shot 83.3% from the line as a 21-year old rookie and 71.4% this season. Those are pretty good numbers from the charity stripe and bear out the idea that Gueye might have some legitamitely untapped potential as a shooter. In this matchup, it will be interesting to see how much time he gets on Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns is one of the best floor-spacing centers of all time and he's having an excellent year for New York. If Gueye can survive on defense against the Knicks big man, it would provide even more evidence for the idea that he can be a significant part of the rotation next season.

Bang-Bang Georges Niang

Georges Niang's only played two games with the Hawks, but they're pretty emblematic of who he is as a player. When his three-ball is dropping, like it was in the win over Washington, he can swing a game. Atlanta needed the four threes Niang hit in their 12-point win against the Wizards, but he struggled to make a similar impact against the Magic. He only went 1-3 against Orlando from deep and was much more limited in the game. Granted, the Magic are one of the best perimeter defenses in the league, but it's still worth noting that Niang's utility on offense is really tied to his three-point shot.

Against the Knicks, this profiles as an exploitable matchup for him. New York has really struggled to limit opponents from deep and concede the worst 3P% in the NBA. However, he wasn't very successful against them when he was with the Cavs. He only connected on 1 of his 4 attempts from deep and couldn't get anything going inside the paint, finishing with five points. Hopefully, the Knicks loading up on stopping Trae Young leaves Niang open for some catch-and-shoot opportunities. He has shown himself to be very reliable on those looks throughout his career. A big night from Niang would go a long ways towards swinging this matchup for the Hawks.

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