Three Adjustments the Atlanta Hawks Must Make to Win Game Two vs. the Knicks on Monday

While game one had its moments, there are still some things Atlanta must clean up to win game two. In hindsight, the Hawks had a good chance to break through and win yesterday, but they collapsed in the second half.

Let's take a look at what areas Atlanta could improve to make a much-needed turnaround to win game two.

1. Transition defense

Apr 18, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) dribbles up court in front of Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) during the first half of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Where Atlanta went wrong yesterday was in transition, as they went cold and got beaten on the glass, leading to easy fast-break points for New York. Another aspect of the game that cost the Hawks in transition was turnovers; they allowed 18 points off turnovers, a result of not being ready to get back on defense.

Overall, the Hawks were clearly out of sync, allowing many easy scoring opportunities, largely because they fouled so much. The Knicks attempted 30 free throws to Atlanta's 19, and some of that is to be expected, given the Hawks are the road team.

However, the Hawks must figure out how to slow down Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns if they want to win this series.

2. Offensive improvement

11-0 run 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/s424S31NQa
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 19, 2026

While the Hawks had things going early, it was still clear as day that offensively, they were out of sorts. This season, the Hawks ranked in the top 10 all-time in assists per game, but yesterday they didn't continue that trend, finishing with 25 assists.

Usually, Atlanta controls the pace, playing fast and sharing the ball, but last night, they did the opposite, playing more of an isolation style. Clearly, this worked in New York's favor as the Hawks didn't get much going offensively, and CJ McCollum had an uncharacteristic game with five turnovers.

3. Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker Must Be Better

Dec 6, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) celebrates with Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) after scoring while being fouled against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The main issues in this game came from both Johnson and Alexander-Walker not playing up to their usual standards. Throughout the game, you could see Johnson at times hesitant to shoot and not his aggressive self. Despite finishing with 23 points, he shot 42% from the field, which is a 7% drop from his regular-season 49%.

Johnson's biggest issue is that, despite being a great all-around player, he lacks consistency on defense at times and struggles on offense in the half-court and around the basket, which happened yesterday.

Alexander-Walker, however, really struggled to get his shot going, shooting 35% from the field, down 11 percentage points from his usual 46%. A lot of this came from open shots as well, and nerves could be coming into play, being that this is his first playoff game on the road as a main scoring contributor.

Another area both Johnson and Alexander-Walker need to improve is the defensive end, as Alexander-Walker finished with a poor 120.9 defensive rating and Johnson finished a tick below with 119.8.

As of now, Hawks fans should not panic; it is just one game, and it was fairly close for the most part, despite some minor drop-off. With game two happening Monday night, if the Hawks can fix these issues, they will be right back in the series, take home-court advantage, and have a chance to close out the series in Atlanta.

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