Projecting the Hawks Starting Lineup, Rotation, and Defensive Assignments Against the Knicks In the NBA Playoffs

For the first time since 2021, the Atlanta Hawks have avoided the play-in tournament and are in the top six of the Eastern Conference. They have been in the playoffs since then, of course, but they have been stuck in so-called play-in purgatory for the past four seasons, and finally broke through with a team that is a dangerous threat to win a series.

Just like 2021, the Hawks are going to face the Knicks in the first round, but these teams are much different than five seasons ago. That New York team was not as good as the one the Hawks are about to face, as they were just two wins away from the NBA Finals last season. The Knicks are viewed as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference, and this is going to be quite the challenge for the Hawks.

The playoffs are different than the regular season and this is coaching comes into a focus, with lineups and rotations decisions.

Rotation Projection

Quin Snyder Atlanta Hawk — Apr 12, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder during the second half against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Starting lineup:

G- Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G- CJ McCollum

F- Dyson Daniels

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Onyeka Okongwu

The starting lineup is not going to change for the Hawks in the playoffs. This has been one of the best starting fives in the league since McCollum entered the lineup in February and there is no reason to make any changes just because it is the playoffs.

These five guys are likely to see major minutes because it is the postseason and the Hawks bench is a question mark, which we will get into.

The Hawks and Knicks played three times this season, but only once since the Hawks remade their team and added McCollum, Jonathan Kuminga, and others.

In terms of who guards who in this series, we only have one game to work with, but to start, you can expect McCollum to guard Josh Hart I would imagine. McCollum is the weakest (though not horrible by any means) link on the Hawks defense and his job will be to not let Hart effect the game with his offensive rebounding and three point shooting. He was a non-factor in the Hawks matchup last weeke with New York, but he is the kind of role player that can swing a series.

Nobody can shut down Jalen Brunson, but Dyson Daniels guards him as well as anyone in the league. Brunson is one of the most clutch players in the NBA, as he showed in last week's game and this is going tobe a tough cover for Daniels, though he is one of the NBA's most elite perimeter defenders.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is not as good as Daniels, but he is excellent and I think he will guard Mikal Bridges as he did last week. Jalen Johnson will guard OG Anunoby, who the Hawks were willing to let shoot last game (10 attempted threes), and Onyeka Okongwu will guard Karl-Anthony Towns, who is going to be one of the X-Factors of this series.

As far as the bench rotation, Atlanta played Jonathan Kuminga, Gabe Vincent, Zaccharie Risacher, Mo Gueye, and Tony Bradley (for 3:34 in the first half) last week against New York and I think the rotation is on the bench is not going to change much.

Kuminga is athletic and can be used to guard Bridges or Anunoby off the bench and Vincent is a playoff veteran who can hit shots and guard fairly well.

If Jock Landale has not returned from his ankle injury, Mo Gueye is certain to see some minutes each game of this series, but it will be interesting to see if the Hawks deploy Tony Bradley at all to try and help mitigate Mitchell Robinson and his rebounding ability. That was clearly the plan last week, but it did not go well in the 3:34 that Bradley played. Does Quin Snyder return to the well once again? If Robinson is a problem, he might be forced to if Landale has not come back.

Will Zaccharie Risacher play? He did in the last game vs New York, but was absent the next game against Cleveland. Snyder mentioned an ankle injury as the reason Risacher did not play, though he was not on the injury report.

If the Hawks feel like they need shooting or there is foul trouble/injury, it is possible Corey Kispert gets minutes, though Snyder has not played him much as of late. A longshot, but not impossible candidate for playing time is Buddy Hield. Hield has not been a part of the Hawks rotation since being acquired at the deadline, but he scored 31 points against the Heat on Sunday and shot 7-11 from three. I don't anticipate him playing at all in this series, but it is worth mentioning.

The starting lineup is set in stone, but the bench and how they are used will be interesting. Let's see what happens for the Hawks in game one of this series and how Snyder and his staff adjust after that.