Three Potential First-Round Opponents For Knicks To Be Cautious Of

The New York Knicks ought to keep an eye on the bottom of the Eastern Conference's playoff bracket.

Dec 27, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) shoots over Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Make no mistake about it- the New York Knicks are still generally in control of their own destiny in maneuvering their way to the regular season's end. They're tied with the Boston Celtics for the second seed and two and a half games above the Cleveland Cavaliers, inspiring a strong belief that they'll still be in a top-three position when the schedule concludes 10 outings from now and lock in home-court advantage for the first round of the postseason.

While the on-court talent continues churning out wins in their chase for No. 50, fans should start surveying the rest of the eastern field in analyzing their favorite potential playoff matchups. The Knicks are still steps ahead of any of the conference's middlers and up-and-comers, but a few challengers stand a chance at making that initial matchup more difficult than it has to be.

There's still a few too many weeks left to determine finalized standings, leaving frontrunners like the Knicks to parse through the closely-compressed band of teams lumped between positions six-through-10. And while New York's carved through some local rivals with ease, the squad presently slated to make the trip to Madison Square Garden would make for the toughest technical draw.

Can the Hawks be Handled?

The entire East seems to have been riding their own separate heaters throughout March, but no group has been able to match the Atlanta Hawks' pure desire to separate from the rest of the pack over recent weeks. They've won 13 of their last 14 thanks to one of the league's deeper rotations and the game's best defensive and second-best overall net rating over that span.

They stand as a fairly-convincing six seed with enough momentum to lap the Toronto Raptors for the next-highest spot in the conference's totem pole. And with the efficiency that new-star Nickeil Alexander-Walker's learned to pair with volume shooting, Atlanta's well-rounded attack has a clear shot at making any playoff matchup take longer than a favorite may anticipate.

The Knicks have a pretty dominant defense of their own, though, as they've been destructive-enough on that end to notch a top-five rating over the course of the entire season. They have a history with the Hawks, memorably succumbing to Trae Young during their last postseason clash in 2021, but he's moved on to the Washington Wizards, and platoon attacks like the Hawks' scheme have normally folded beneath the weight of a star closer like Jalen Brunson.

The Hawks shoot the three well, up to 36.9% as a team on real volume, giving them a chance to hurt the Knicks away from the basket. But given their lackluster rebounding, expect another big Mitchell Robinson series to aid league-leading board-snatcher Karl-Anthony Towns in the event of a matchup.

Must the Heat be Defanged?

No local opponent offers nearly as much recent momentum as the Hawks. Regular season trends and success have never seemed to bother the Miami Heat, forcing contenders like the Knicks to constantly wonder whether they've finally run out of magic.

The obvious answer to such a query is "yes." They've gone first-round-and-out two years in a row while taking just one singular game, and no more Jimmy Butler implies that there's no head to this snake worth truly fearing in the clutch.

Dec 21, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) looks to drive past New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

They've still been weird through 2025-26, with Bam Adebayo memorably netting one of the season's signature moments by scoring 83 points on a record number of free throws drawn and made, but he's had little stable help by his side all season long. Tyler Herro's appeared in just 24 games entering the schedule's final few weeks, Norman Powell's All-Star bid has taken an uninspiring turn down an inefficient path and head coach Erik Spoelstra continues shuffling the Heat's young corps in and out of his lineups.

Voodoo magic conspiracies aside, Miami's a middle of the road-to-below average half-court team, and their league-leading pace is just the sort of trait that's been known to dry up when the postseason slows down. They may be annoying for the Knicks to deal with by familiarity alone, but these are no dark-horse contenders.

Should a Trip to Buzz City be Booked?

While the Hawks have taken the conference's monthly crown as the most formidable team as of late, such a title belonged to the once-derelict Charlotte Hornets shortly after the new year's turn.

They've won 22 of their last 28 in escaping the eastern doldrums, and despite recent hiccups have maintained an elite offense of their own between LaMelo Ball's circus shot-making and Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller's youthful scoring punches. 123.7 makes for the game's best offensive rating of the last 15 games, as does their 16.2 net rating.

Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) shoots the ball in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

This is one of the less-mathematically-likely draws of the bunch, as the Hornets currently occupy the tenth seed amidst their months-long struggle to escape the shadow of Southeast Division-mates above them in the ranks.

Should such an outcome shake out this way, though, expect Ball to give the Knicks' slew of perimeter defenders fits. No matter how closely they smother him, he's due to make a few wild heaves over a two-week span. But by that same sentiment, locating Brunson stopped will be similarly-challenging, especially considering the Hornets' relatively-shallow guard room.

New York would be favored against Charlotte, just as they would against Miami and Atlanta. That's the advantage that comes with occupying a favorable seed for so much of the season, though; the Knicks have demonstrated a level of durability that few peers can match, and their assortment of starting-caliber difference makers and two-way threats are practically built for playing and winning bigger games.

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