Just what kind of challenge do the Knicks have on their hands?
The Hawks are one of the NBA’s hottest teams, surging in the second half of the regular season.
The consensus is the Knicks ended up with a harder first-round opponent with them instead of the Raptors. After the All-Star break, the Hawks’ winning percentage (.769) was third best in the NBA.
So, how did this young, spunky upstart get here?
It all starts with the Trae Young trade. He had been the face of the franchise since he arrived in the league. For Knicks fans who remember how Young tormented them in their 2021 first-round series, it must be hard to fathom how he held the Hawks back. But midway through this year, the Hawks decided it was time for a fresh start.
Before they traded him, they were actually better without him than with him — they were 15-12 without him compared to 2-8 with him.
The move — sending Young to the Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert — was a conscious decision to begin building around their young core — breakout stars Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker along with Onyeka Okongwu and defensive ace Dyson Daniels.
Without the ball-dominant Young, the Hawks offense became much more free-flowing and provided much more opportunity for Johnson and Alexander-Walker.
They averaged 22.5 and 20.8 points per game, respectively — both career highs. Alexander-Walker had never averaged more than 11.0 points per game over a full season in his career.
And without Young, there were no longer any glaring defensive weak links. They were 16th in defensive rating (114.9) before the trade. After the trade, they were seventh (111.1).
Then there is McCollum, who at the time of the trade seemed like a salary throw-in. But he emerged as a veteran glue guy who helped bring a young core together. Hawks coach Quin Snyder said McCollum “settled” the team. He averaged 18.7 points in 41 games with the Hawks, providing valuable shotmaking ability but not as ball dominant as Young.
“CJ has been a huge part of our turnaround since the trade,” Snyder said earlier this year. “His scoring, playmaking, and leadership have been invaluable.”
Another trade acquisition, Jonathan Kuminga, has provided a new punch off the bench.
Now, for the caveat: Part of this rise has been the result of a soft schedule.
Their best stretch started Feb. 22 and went through the end of the regular season — they went 19-5.
But only three of those wins came against true playoff (non play-in) teams — the Pistons, Celtics and Cavaliers. The Pistons were without Cade Cunningham, the Celtics were without Jayson Tatum and the Cavaliers were without Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen.
So, for how much they’ve been a changed team after their trades, much of it came against weak opposition. The Knicks will soon find out just how dangerous they are.
