Analyst demands Hawks unleash fast-break offense and defensive chaos to outmaneuver the Knicks and secure a crucial playoff series win.
One NBA analyst has urged the Atlanta Hawks to "pick up the pace" to eliminate the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2026 playoffs.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wants to see the Hawks play faster against the Knicks moving forward.
"The Hawks aren't built to win a half-court series," Buckley wrote. "Trading Trae Young for financial flexibility might've been the right long-term angle, but in the short-term, it left Atlanta severely compromised in terms of something-out-of-nothing creators and ignitable shotmakers.
"The flip side is that the Hawks are supposed to be chaos-creators on defense and Formula 1 racers in the open floor. In Game 1, they were neither. They had the fourth-fewest steals of the weekend (five) and nine fewer fast-break points than their opponent (22-13).
"Atlanta needs more live-ball stops that it can turn into runouts and transition chances. Because if this series comes down to cunning and creativity in the half-court, then the Hawks won't stand a chance."
The Hawks were fifth in the NBA this season in pace. Pace factor is an estimate of the number of possessions per 48 minutes by a team.
Atlanta lost Game 1 to New York 113-102 but won Game 2 107-106. CJ McCollum scored a game-high 32 points to lead the Hawks back from a 14-point second-half deficit and tie the series 1-1. Game 3 is set for Thursday night in Atlanta.
McCollum is happy to be back in the playoffs after playing for the lowly New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards.
"It's exactly what we thought it would be in terms of role and being able to contribute towards winning on a good team," McCollum said. "We talked about situations, we didn't want to keep moving around and needed to find somewhere that we could make a home."
The Hawks haven't won a playoff series since 2021. That's the year they went to the Eastern Conference Finals.
It will be fascinating to see if Atlanta can upset New York again. The Hawks beat the Knicks in the first round of the 2021 playoffs in five games as the lower seed.
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