The Knicks entered the season as one of the clear favorites to come out of the east. The Celtics and Pacers lost their respective stars to injuries, the Bucks had let Damian Lillard go, and the eventual one seed Pistons weren’t viewed as true contenders.
That left the eastern conference largely in the hands of the Knicks and Cavs, and with New York’s improved bench, many expected the Knicks to finally go all the way.
53 wins and the third seed are a strong season by any measure, but given the expectations for the Knicks’ year, their season left a hint of disappointment. Questions about Karl-Anthony Towns’ fit and an offense that relies too heavily on Jalen Brunson highlighted doubts surrounding their title odds.
Still, this team was a veteran team built for a deep postseason run, and they had the advantage for a playoff rematch against the Hawks. The Hawks had an impressive second half of the season but were yet to prove their ability against the league’s contenders, and it seemed like the Knicks wouldn’t have much of a problem against them.
Atlanta is giving the Knicks a run for their money
After a convincing double-digit win in game 1, it felt like New York was in fact one of the Eastern Conference favorites. But the tone of the series quickly shifted when Atlanta was able to eke out a one-point win in game 2 and took the series lead with a CJ McCollum game-winner in game three. Now the Knicks are playing in a deficit on the road for game four and face the brink of elimination.
Even if the Knicks manage to turn this series around, the first few games of the playoffs have shown that they have quite a few problems to address. Their bench, which was reinforced before the year, is unreliable yet again, producing a very inefficient 30 points in game three.
Miles McBride led the reserve unit with 15 points, but he shot just 35%. As for the starters, Mikal Bridges followed up a rough game two with an abysmal -26 and 0 points, while Josh Hart finished with just 2 points on 1-9 shooting.
With most of New York’s cap space tied up for the foreseeable future, an early playoff exit would all but force Leon Rose and the front office to make a big move in the offseason.
There is still plenty of time for the Knicks to alter their postseason trajectory, but the Hawks look poised to crush a devoted Knicks fanbase yet again with another first-round victory.