Atlanta Hawks Player Grades: Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson's Performances vs the Knicks

The Atlanta Hawks have officially taken control of their series against the New York Knicks.

Does that mean that the Hawks are going to win the series? No, but they have the upper hand after a fantastic defensive game last night against the Knicks. Atlanta came into the series as the underdog, but the roles and the momentum have shifted after last night's game.

So how did the Hawks rotation grade out in the win against the Knicks?

Dyson Daniels- A

Daniels was fantastic last night, and as usual, his counting stats are not going to blow you away, but the impact that he made on defense, guarding Jalen Brunson, and his overall offensive impact as well. This was the quintessential Dyson Daniels game and showed why he is so valuable to the Hawks.

Daniels recorded eight points to go along with 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block in 33 minutes of play. The great barrier thief notched his second game of the playoffs with 3+ steals, the most such games of any player this postseason. Daniels 13 boards are tied for the second most by a Hawks guard in playoff history.

CJ McCollum- B+

McCollum was again the star of the night, but his overall second half performance is going to keep him from getting an A. Everyone will rememer the go ahead shot and McCollum has transformed into one of the stars of the postseason so far.

McCollum recorded 23 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 35 minutes of action, marking his 60th career playoff game scoring 10-or-more points. Through the first three games of the series McCollum is averaging 27.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists on .508% shooting from the field and .391% from de

Nickeil Alexander-Walker: C

Alexander-Walker continues to struggle scoring the ball, aside from a hot third quarter last night, but he is playing excellent defense still and making an impact.

Alexander-Walker tallied 14 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block in 38 minutes of play, marking his 14th career double-digit scoring outing in the postseason. If he can consistently get going with his scoring, this series could be over for the Knicks.

Jalen Johnson: B

This was probably the best game of the series for Johnson. It has been well documented how he has struggled in this series, but a near triple-double last night and a huge bucket to cut the Knicks lead to one with under a minute left give him a B.

Johnson recorded a team-high 24 points, in addition to 10 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block in 38 minutes of action, marking his first career double-double in the playoffs and becoming the first player in Atlanta franchise history to record those minimums in a single game. Johnson is just the second player in the NBA this postseason to record 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 8+ assists in a single game.

Onyeka Okongwu- C

Okongwu was not a big impact player on offense, but his defense in this game, particularly on the last sequence of the game, was fantastic.

I think Okongwu is going to be one of the more pivotal players in the series going forward and precisely for his defense. He is being singled out in some cases by Jalen Brunson and forced into 1-on-1 situations. He has done well this series on defense and is hitting the open shots he is being given. Okongwu did not have his best game offensively last night, but made imapcts in other ways.

Jonathan Kuminga: A

Kuminga continues to get better and better as this series goes on and has arguably been one of the Hawks two or three best players this series.

Kuminga recorded 21 points on 9-14 shooting, including 2-4 from deep, to go along with four rebounds, one steal, and one block in 28 minutes off the bench. Kuminga finished tonight’s opening quarter with 10 points on a perfect 1.000 FG% (4-4) and 1.000 3FG% (2-2). It’s the sixth time in his playoff career he has scored 10+ points in a single quarter and the first time on a perfect mark from the floor.

Kuminga's 10 points in the first quarter are the most by a Hawks bench player in the first quarter of a playoff game in the play-by-play era (1997-98).

Gabe Vincent: C+

Every Gabe Vincent game feels similar and that is not a bad thing at all. Vincent is playing good defense this series and hitting the shots he is taking. He was a team best +12 last night, scoring five points and he has turned into a pretty consistent role player for Atlanta.

Mo Gueye: B

Gueye played nearly 11 minutes and scored five points, going 1-3 from three point range and playing good defense. Another good game for Gueye.

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