The Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks are primed for playoff action. Here's the matchup that could define the series.
The Atlanta Hawks were expecting someone else.
For weeks, they've seemed to be on a crash course with the Cleveland Cavaliers. It didn't work out that way. Instead, they'll be facing the Knicks:
With all due respect to Cleveland, it stands to be a more difficult matchup.
That doesn't mean it's unwinnable. The Hawks can overcome the Knicks, but it won't be easy.
Their ability to do it may rest on one matchup in particular.
Hawks need to focus on one matchup
That matchup comes at the point guard spot.
Jalen Brunson is by far the Knicks' offensive focal point. The eighth-year guard averaged 26.0 points and 6.3 assists per contest with a 58.0 True Shooting % (TS%) this season. He's one of the premier point guards in the NBA.
Yet, he can be minimized. At 6'2", Brunson is on the shorter side. His strength and low center of gravity offset his diminutive height, but when his primary defender has excessive positional length, they can hound him and limit his efficiency.
Enter Dyson Daniels.
Some teams need to deploy complex schemes to contain a player like Brunson. That often means compromising in one area to cross-guard him with a larger player, creating a mismatch elsewhere. Not the Hawks. They can sic the 6'7" Daniels on Brunson and let the rest of their guys stick to their assignments.
Is that enough to secure the win for Atlanta?
Hawks must execute offensively
Let's be clear: Brunson will still have big nights.
No scheme or individual player can singularly stop Jalen Brunson. That said, Daniels is capable of forcing him into a few bad games. Those will be opportunities for the Hawks to capitalize and steal wins.
But, they'll have to execute on the offensive end.
Partly, that's going to mean compensating for Daniels' weaknesses. His inability to shoot is going to put more stress on Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Onkongwu, and others to buoy Atlanta's three-point volume.
Such is often the case in an NBA playoff series. The one factor that could save your series creates its own problems. That's what makes a series a game of chess.
Daniels is just one valuable piece that the Hawks have. Brunson is the Knicks' Queen (strictly from a chess analogy perspective), and Daniels is the best piece to contain him (if you'll forgive the limits of this chess analogy). This matchup could define this series:
If Daniels can contain Brunson enough, it could mean a series win for the Hawks.