Atlanta Hawks Player Grades: Jalen Johnson, CJ McCollum's Performance Against New York

What grades do the Hawks players deserve after their game one loss to the Knicks?

Apr 18, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) is guarded by New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) during the first half of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Game one goes to the home team.

Atalnta came into the day hoping to steal game one on the road against the Knicks, but they were not able to due to some poor shooting and not enough defense. There were some good performances, solid performances, and subpar performances from the Hawks nine man rotation tonight and here is how I graded them following the loss.

Jalen Johnson: B-

Johnson finished the game with 23 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, but as an All-NBA caliber player and the best player on the team, more is going to be needed.

Johnson lacked enough juice when the Hawks needed him in the halfcourt and did not take advantage of some early mismatches. This is his first playoffs under a spotlight like this and the Hawks need more from their star forward.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker: C

Alexander-Walker scored 17 points on 6-17 shooting and did not impact the game in any meaningful way on either side of the court . The Hawks need him to have a higher level of shot making and make life more difficult for the Knicks when they have the ball. I expect him to bounce back, but this was a rough performance.

Dyson Daniels: B-

The raw point totals won't blow anyone away, but Daniels still had 11 assists and nine rebounds to go along with his four points. His defense was pretty solid and he came away with three steals in the game.

Again, the point totals are not mind blowing, but Daniels was one of the few impact players that the Hawks had tonight and I think he can still be better going forward.

CJ McCollum: B

McCollum had a A+ in the first half, but a second half stinker pulled this grade down.

McCollum looked fantastic to start, scoring 17 points in the first half, but only nine in the second and shot 4-10. He was not awful by any means, but when the Hawks halfcourt offense dried up in the second half, McCollum could not get them out of their rut and flowing again.

Onyeka Okongwu: B

Okongwu had a solid performance tonight, scoring 19 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and shooting 4-6 from three.

Okongwu is having to deal with the size of the Knicks as a team, but he did a solid job tonight on both ends of the floor. Not a perfect night, but not one where there are glaring holes.

Jonathan Kuminga: C-

Kuminga played 27 minutes and did not have a signficant impact on this game at all. He scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds while shooting 3-7 from the field.

Kuminga can be a mixed bag on most nights and when he is shooting the ball well and defending, he can swing a game, Tonight though, he did not do anything exceptionally well and given the Hawks lack of talent on the bench, they need Kuminga more than one may realize.

Gabe Vincent: C

Vincent scored two points in close to 15 minutes of game action tonight and was a -8 when on the court. Expectations are low for him, but he did not hit any big shots or plays in general.

Mo Gueye: B

Gueye was probably the top bench guy tonight, with all of that having to do with his defense. He guarded Karl-Anthony Towns well in the post and contributed three points and three rebounds on the other end. He is the Hawks backup center right now and given the advantage the Knicks clearly have in that area, Gueye held his own tonight.