Hawks face do-or-die Game 6. Can they contain Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, or will their scoring slump send them home?
The unfortunate reality of every NBA team is that it must come to an end at some point. For the Atlanta Hawks, elimination from the NBA playoffs is staring at them in the face on Thursday night. In a 3-2 series deficit against the New York Knicks, the Hawks must win Game Six to force a win-or-go-home Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.
In game five, the Hawks were manhandled in every aspect of the game in a 29-point loss. The Knicks' size started to prevail, and Atlanta shot very poorly from the field.
CJ McCollum has slowed down in the scoring department of the last three games, and it was most apparent in game five when McCollum scored just six points.
On top of that, Jalen Johnson looks to be bottled up by the strong Knicks defenders. Karl-Anthony Towns is starting to dominate the paint, and Jalen Brunson dropped nearly 40 points in Tuesday's loss.
So, yeah, the Hawks have be against odds in the series now, but there will be at least one more game in State Farm Arena. Atlanta split with the Knicks when New York visited State Farm Arena, but the Atlanta faithful need to make a mark on game six if the Hawks want to play another game this season.
If you're into the whole betting thing, the Knicks are only two-point favorites, which is semi-promising after the Knicks have defeated Atlanta by 16 and 29 points in each of the last two games.
It just shows that sportsbooks believe this game is more of a toss-up, which benefits the Hawks, who have to win.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, and OG Anunoby have been pests for the Hawks all series, and you can't look further than those three players as the guys Atlanta must contain in game six.
On the flip side of that, Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and CJ McCollum combining for just 40 points (like in game 5) can't happen again either, or Atlanta will almost guaranteed be sent packing.