This is the third of a series of roundtable questions I’m asking the staff here at Peachtree Hoops about the Hawks as we approach the postseason. Today’s question:
what’s the most difficult matchup that the Knicks pose for the Hawks?Wes: Mitchell Robinson stands out to me, especially in the wake of the news that Jock Landale will be re-evaluated in two weeks from his ankle injury (effectively eliminating him from this series). He’s still arguably the best rebounder in the league (21 rebounds — eight
offensive — in 38 minutes played against the Hawks this season), and his overall physicality and disruption (four blocks and four steals in those 38 minutes) has been tough for the Hawks and their thin front line to handle.
Jackson: Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT has feasted on the Hawks’ defense throughout his tenure with the Knicks, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he, not Jalen Brunson, was New York’s leading scorer in this series. Onyeka Okongwu brings nice defensive switchability for Atlanta, but his lack of size to contend with Towns and backup Mitchell Robinson around the basket could be a major Achilles heel for Atlanta in this matchup.
Malik: Mitchell Robinson without a doubt. The last time these two played, Robinson controlled the glass on both ends of the floor and the Hawks didn’t have an answer. It will be interesting to see if Jock Landale can return at some point during the series, or will Quin Snyder try to play Tony Bradley a few minutes to try to offset Robinson.
Graham: Karl-Anthony Towns is the easy answer. He averaged 28.5 points on 63% shooting from the field to go with 13 rebounds; he just dominated this matchup and the Hawks have absolutely no good answer to contain him. And if they did manage to limit him, I have no doubt that you’d see Mitchell Robinson pick up the slack with the attention on KAT; and there’s no good answer for the Hawks for Robinson’s rebounding either – it’s just a fundamental flaw of the roster the Hawks have to find some way to limit (because I don’t think offensive rebounding/second chance scoring can be stopped in this series). Elsewhere, whoever Jalen Johnson’s matchup is, he has to win it convincingly in order for the Hawks to win this series.
Hassan: Jalen Brunson is New York’s best player, Karl-Anthony Towns has given Atlanta problems in each of their four matchups this season, but I’m going to go with OG Anunoby, New York’s best defender and their third-banana on offensive end. Anunoby has averaged 18.3 points per game on 52.5% shooting from the field and 43.8% from deep in New York’s wins this season compared to just 13.4 points per game on 39.1% shooting from the field and 28.6% from three in their losses. Keeping him in check is going to be crucial for Atlanta to win this series.
Jalen Johnson drew the Anunoby assignment during the regular season series against the Knicks – with Dyson Daniels guarding Jalen Brunson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on Mikal Bridges – and held Anunoby to just 5-for-15 shooting when the two were matched up. Will this defense hold up in the postseason?
All in all, I’m going into this series with the assumption that Brunson and KAT are going to get theirs every night, so the swing factor for Atlanta (in addition to winning the rebounding battle, as noted by my fellow writers) is going to be limiting the ‘other guys’ – and Anunoby is at the top of that list.
