How the Knicks Could Actually Sweep the Hawks in the NBA Playoffs

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) reflects before the game against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks enter the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 3 seed for the second straight year. Like the Detroit Pistons in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, New York will be taking on an upstart rising No. 6 seed in the East's first round. This year, it'll be the Atlanta Hawks, the team that famously eliminated New York in the 2021 postseason.

Of course, Trae Young was the villain that April. Young would famously lead the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals, but it was clowning the Knicks at Madison Square Garden and eliminating Tom Thibodeau's surging squad in five games that made him a household NBA name.

Young was traded this past January, so he won't be a factor this go-round. In fact, New York has the chance to flip the script completely and get sweet revenge in the form of a clean four-game sweep of Atlanta in 2026.

Knicks must slow games down to a crawl to sweep the Hawks

Quin Snyder's run-and-gun principles have stuck around past Young's departure, with Jalen Johnson becoming the new high-volume table-setter on the break. Besides Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, and Zaccharie Risacher all get up and down the floor. C.J. McCollum is the lone halfcourt specialist of the bunch. In 2025-26, Atlanta was No. 5 in possessions per game (100.1), No. 2 in fast-break points per game (18.4), No. 2 in field goal attempts per game (92), and No. 6 in overall PPG with 118.5 this past season.

Mike Brown needs to have his defensive specialists, mainly Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart, in front of Atlanta's ball-handlers by the halfcourt line, stifling as many fast breaks as possible. Of course, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson need to keep up with Okongwu as well. As long as the Knicks aren't allowing long rebounds en masse, there's enough athleticism and durability in the rotation to keep up.

On the other end, Jalen Brunson, could work in isolation on clock-killing possessions to slow any momentum they build against him in defensive mismatches. Brunson led the NBA in clutch points during the 2025 postseason with 56. He's proven in this setting.

The Knicks have the mental and emotional edge in Games 1 and 2 playing at the World's Most Famous Arena, but New York could have Atlanta on the ropes by Game 3 by proving the Hawks' halfcourt offense is still a work in progress. Just like last year's Pistons, who the Knicks dispatched in five games while holding them to 89.6 points per 100 halfcourt plays, per Cleaning the Glass.

This time around, with another year under their belt for New York's core, a sweep is very possible.