The Knicks have gone to six games in the first round in each of the last three seasons, but not all six-game playoff series are created equally.
While the Sixers and Pistons fought tooth and nail for all six games (especially Detroit), there are six-game series that aren’t as competitive as it sounds.
This was certainly that series.
Here are some stats. Do with them what you will:
- The Knicks outscored the Hawks by 105 points in this series. It’s the most lopsided six-game series in NBA history.
- The Hawks’ starting lineup had a +20.3 net rating in 391 regular-season minutes, the second-best high-usage lineup in the NBA. In this series? -14.4 in 86 minutes.
- The series had a +18.1 net rating. LOL.
- It was the third time this year the Knicks won a game by at least 49. In the first 79 seasons in franchise history, the largest margin of victory was 48 points.
- In the two games the Knicks lost, they either were tied or had the lead in the final minute.
- In 288 minutes in this series, the Knicks trailed for just 48:49. Outside of Game 3, the Hawks led for just 8:20 across the other five games. In total, Atlanta held a lead for just 17% of this series.
- The Knicks held a 10+ point lead for 129:25, or 45% of the series.
- The Knicks held a 20+ point lead for 56:29, or 19.6% of the series.
- The Knicks spent more time with a 20+ point lead than they did trailing in a six-game series.
Game 6 was one of the most baffling blowouts I’ve ever witnessed. I was busy in the second half, and I worried about a close
game turning my night into a worrisome mess, but it was over well before I turned the game off. Even better, the Celtics and Sixers are bogged down in a Game 7 on Saturday for the right to face the Knicks on Monday.
But enough about how jaw-dropping Game 6 specifically was. This is about something different.
After Game 3, the vibes were rancid. I don’t need to go too in-depth on how we felt at that moment, but the vultures were circling on the entire franchise. There was also a certain vibe heading into Game 4.
“Jalen Brunson is being exposed by Dyson Daniels.”
“CJ McCollum is the next great Knicks villain.”
“Mikal Bridges is soft.”
“Quin Snyder is coaching circles around Mike Brown.”
“Even if they get through this series, the Knicks will get smacked by Boston in Round 2.”
There’s a million other quotes I could pull, but it was all falling apart. CJ McCollum looked like the Black Mamba, for crying out loud. The 2024-25 Clutch Player of the Year was torpedoing the team in the final two minutes. Everything was just awful.
And then the Knicks beat the Hawks in each of the next three games by a combined 94 points. They practically spent 90% of the final three games with a 15-point lead. It was never, ever competitive after the buzzer sounded on Game 3.
What the hell happened?
Aside from the Hawks being complete and total fools’ gold, what happened was that a lion stopped playing with its food. Don’t believe me? Look at the stylistic changes after Game 3:
- Mike Brown played lineups without Brunson or Towns (excluding garbage time) for 22:47 across the first three games. The final three games? 3:15.
- After three games of Brunson trying to get his game off on Dyson Daniels, the Knicks moved to a more KAT-centric offense… until Daniels switched onto him, in which case Brunson took over again.
- No longer did the Knicks allow McCollum to get easy switches onto Brunson. They threw a variety of bodies at him, from Josh Hart to Mikal Bridges to Jose Alvarado.
- The defensive intensity. Not easy to quantify, but just watch the highlights and you’ll see.
Would a sweep have been more satisfying? Absolutely, nobody wants to deal with stress in the first round. But this wasn’t a typical six-game series. As much as you never quite felt safe until the very end, there was never a doubt in the world.
As soon as Game 3 ended, with the reports of emotions pouring out in the locker room, a switch flipped. It was exactly what the Knicks needed.
We know how inconsistent this team is. They went from looking like contenders to playing the worst defense in the sport for over a month before finishing the year with the second-best defensive rating in the final three months. We know they tend to sulk into bad habits. We know that the consequence of having a coach like Mike Brown, hired to be a stark difference to Tom Thibodeau, will trust his bench way too much.
After Game 3, the bench was tightened, the defensive scheme was shifted, the physicality increased, and the Knicks resembled a boa constrictor tightening around the entire city of Atlanta’s neck. No more Trae Young, no more 2021, this is the legacy of Knicks-Hawks now. Big difference between the way both teams act: rolling the dice on the Hawks logo at halftime wouldn’t have been disrespectful enough. That performance warrants a dump on that logo. Take notes, Rayford.
Those McCollum heroics gave them the kick in the ass they needed. And if they get to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, we’ll have him and the Hawks to thank.
