Knicks will face the Hawks in the first round. Obviously a tough matchup. New York snapped Atlanta’s 13-game home winning streak earlier this week, winning a tight game with some big shots from Jalen Brunson down the stretch
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Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks looks on against the Atlanta Hawks during the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena on April 06, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
In a stunning turn of events, the New York Knicks will face the red-hot Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, which gets underway on Saturday.
The Knicks were earlier projected to face the Toronto Raptors, a team they had dominated 5-0 this season, in a 3 vs. 6 first-round matchup. However, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder flipped the script by resting all his starters against the Miami Heat in Sunday’s season finale, which led to his team dropping to the sixth seed and the Raptors moving up to the fifth seed, setting up a clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Several analysts and Knicks beat writers feel that the Hawks, with their long, athletic defenders, could pose serious problems for Mike Brown’s team.
X account KnicksMuse believes the Knicks should consider themselves “very unlucky” to have drawn the Hawks, one of the hottest teams in the NBA since the start of 2026.
“The Hawks are 22-9 since February 1st.
“Every single year we get screwed with this stuff… even with a series win, it’s a grind of a series,” wrote the account, referencing the fact that the Knicks had to similarly deal with the red-hot opponent in the Orlando Magic in last year’s first round.
SNY’s Ian Begley called the Hawks “a tough matchup,” but took solace in the fact that the Knicks snapped Atlanta’s 13-game home winning streak earlier this week.
Knicks will face the Hawks in the first round. Obviously a tough matchup. New York snapped Atlanta’s 13-game home winning streak earlier this week, winning a tight game with some big shots from Jalen Brunson down the stretch
The sentiment that the Knicks should fear the Hawks is widespread across social media.
“I’m fearing the Hawks matchup ngl,” wrote another Knicks fan on X.
Knicks beat writer Tommy Beer feels the Hawks purposedly tanked Sunday’s game to set up a clash against New York in the first round of the playoffs.
“Atlanta deciding to sit everybody today to slip to 6-seed and a date with the Knicks gives this first-round series even more juice,” he wrote.
New York Post’s Stefan Bondy was also convinced Sunday night that the Hawks tanked their game against the Heat just to draw the Knicks.
“Knicks would’ve beaten the Raptors in 4 or 5,” Bondy wrote on X.
“The Hawks aren’t scared, though. They had choice to avoid the Knicks or prioritize health. They chose health and were only East team with seeding on the line Sunday that rested most of their players. And they got the Knicks.”
The Boston Celtics also played a part in the Knicks running into the Hawks, as a shorthanded version of the 2024 NBA champions stunned a full-strength Orlando Magic, 113-108, on Sunday. A win for the Magic would have meant a Raptors vs. Knicks first-round matchup and a 4 vs. 5 series between the Cavaliers and the Hawks. Interestingly, Raptors beat writer Josh Lewenberg reported that Toronto was relieved to avoid a matchup with New York in the first round because it prefers Cleveland.
Definitely heard some cheers coming from the Raps room when Garza hit the game-winner for Boston, but RJ Barrett insists they didn’t have a preference between Cleveland or New York. He played (and beat) the Cavs in the 4-5 matchup when he was with the Knicks in 2023.
Game 1 of the Knicks vs. Hawks series will tip off on Saturday at 6 p.m. local time.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided's Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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