The NBA Finals are set to begin soon, and while the Atlanta Hawks aren't in it, it doesn't mean their players won't be watching intently. There are many reasons for them to tune in, and for Dyson Daniels, this upcoming series is personal.
Aside from the fact that there's likely still some bad blood between Daniels and New York following their first-round meeting, the narratives that arose from it are getting louder. They aren't all bad, though, as it's becoming clear that Atlanta's young guard did a pretty solid job at what he does best.
It's impossible to put Jalen Brunson's elite offensive attack to a complete stop, but as long as a team can slow him down, they'll give themselves a chance. That's exactly what Daniels and the Hawks were able to do, and it's the reason they're the still the only team to steal a game on them this postseason.
The NBA Finals present a chance for Daniels to claim an impressive tag
Being the most fierce competition to an NBA champion isn't something that's accomplished with ease. At the very least, it proves they're doing something right. Not only that, but being able to contain the champion's best, most impactful player over the course of the series means they're going to be in an advantageous spot moving forward.
In Game One of the first-round series, Brunson exploded for a 22-point first-half, but finished with just 28. It was still a high mark, but it showed that Atlanta made a key adjustment to put him to a halt. Ever since the first half of the series' opener, Brunson seriously struggled to find any sort of efficiency when defended by Daniels.
In Game Two, he shot just over 38% from the field, and the Hawks were able to steal an impressive come-from-behind victory, tying the series at one a piece. Game Three followed a similar script, except Atlanta got out to a hot start and won to take the series lead.
It was a telling series for both Daniels and Brunson
The Knicks won the final three games of the series, but Brunson was held to under 20 points in two of them. The only game of the final three where he scored above that mark was in Game Five, when he exploded for 39 points.
The reason he was able to have such a dominant night, though, was because of a crucial adjustment made by the Hawks. They began the game with Nickeil Alexander-Walker on Brunson, and stuck Daniels on Karl-Anthony Towns.
Brunson is a spectacular guard, and he's had an incredible postseason, but the job Daniels did on him in the first-round shouldn't go overlooked, especially considering it was his first real postseason experience.
If the playoffs conclude with him doing the best job containing Brunson out of anyone in the league, it's got to count for something.
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