Why Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby are the players the Hawks Should Worry About Most

While Jalen Brunson is the headliner, there are two other players on the Knicks that may prove to be a bigger mismatch for the Hawks

Apr 9, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) celebrates after hitting a three pointer during the first half against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images | Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

The NBA play-in tournament got off to a roaring start last night with the Hornets/Heat and Suns/Blazers matchups and if those games are an indication of what the NBA playoffs are going to be like when this weekend starts, It should be a fantastic two months of basketball.

When the first round begins this weekend, perhaps the most interesting first round matchup is between the Hawks and Knicks. The Knicks came into the season as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference and have kept that title this season, while the Hawks have remade their team completely since the start of the season and ended the last few months looking like one of the NBA's best teams. New York is favored and deservedly so, but the Hawks are not going to be a pushover.

Last week when the two teams played, it was an excellent, close game that came down to huge plays in the fourth quarter. Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson took the game over and scored 17 points in the final quarter, including the go-ahead bucket with under a minute left. Brunson is going to be an All-NBA selection and possibly win clutch player of the year and understandably gets all the headlines when one talks about how good New York is.

However, I think a case could be made that the Hawks are built to stop Brunson more than some other players on the Knicks. In previous matchups, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby have given the Hawks fits, and they are the two players I am watching closely when this series begins.

Why are they so impactful?

Apr 6, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) passes the ball against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

This point gets beaten to the ground a lot in any Hawks analysis, but Atlanta is smaller at the center position than some teams and the Knicks have two big guys that they can use to win the matchups inside, That starts with Karl-Anthony Towns and I think that the Knicks are going to be running a lot of stuff through him, at least to start, which is something that we saw when the two teams met last week.

While Towns was only a +2 in his 32 minutes last week, he finished the game with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists while shooting 9-12 from the field. With the Hawks having Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker as their perimeter defenders to bother Brunson, the Knicks may elect to have Towns do more.

In the first matchup between these two teams back in December, when the Hawks looked much different mind you, Towns dropped 36 points and picked up 15 rebounds against Okongwu in that game. Towns did not play in the Hawks 111-99 victory over the Knicks in January.

OG Anunoby seemingly does not get the credit that he deserves as a perimeter defender, but he is the top defender on the Knicks and guards the opposing teams best player most nights. In their matchup last week, Anunoby was a +10 in 36 minutes and scored 22 points, shooting 4-10 from three.

The Hawks seemed content on letting Anunoby shoot the threes and that is going to be something to watch this series. If he is hitting them, how will Quin Snyder adjust?

Defensively, Anunoby did a great job on Jalen Johnson. Johnson has not been the No. 1 option on a team in the postseason before and this is going to be a huge test for him. He has gone against Anunoby before of course, but the playoffs are where everything gets turned up a notch and Johnson is going to have to deal with one of the top defenders in the NBA for potentially seven games.

Jalen Brunson is a terrific player and is going to get his shots and have his moments, no matter who is guarding him. However, I think the tougher matchups for Atlanta are Towns and Anunoby and if both players leave their imprints on this series, it is tough to see the Hawks being able to advance to the next round. If the Hawks can minimize their impact, pulling off the upset is possible.