The way the Atlanta Hawks ended their 2025-26 campaign was underwhelming, but it wasn't as nightmarish as many initially believed. They got sent home by the New York Knicks in six games, but even pushing them to six is quickly looking like a miracle. They've suddenly become the most dangerous team in basketball.
Since Atlanta took them down in Game Three of the first-round to take a 2-1 series lead, New York has won nine straight games. They've been perfect in nearly every aspect since trailing to the Hawks, which is leading many to believe that this Atlanta squad is better than most people realize.
The Hawks shouldn't hang their heads after being eliminated by them
The way the series ended was truly an outlier. Yes, after Game Three, it was clear New York found something capable of putting Atlanta to bed, but it didn't mean the Hawks went out without a fight. They showed just enough resillience for fans to still be excited about the impressive trajectory they're on.
They shouldn't have even been in that position, either, but the way they saved the season with their March heroics shouldn't go overlooked. It was a historic month for Hawks basketball, and it wasn't led by just one guy. They had a whole group buy-in, moving the ball as well as they ever have nightly.
Atlanta led the league in assists per game all season, which is not only a testamant to the guys on the roster, but to the coaching staff led by Quin Snyder. They were incredibly connected as a collective, and Knicks fans weren't entirely happy when they got the news they'd be taking them on in Round One.
Tha fact that those two squads met in the first-round was a little ridiculous. If the fully-healthy Orlando Magic were able to take care of business against the Boston Celtics' third-unit at the end of the regular season, the earliest the Hawks and Knicks could've met would've been the Eastern Conference Finals.
Them meeting in the first-round was a blessing in disguise for New York
If anything, the early meeting awakened something in both franchises. For the Knicks, it's obvious. They found out in Game Four that they needed to run their offense through Karl-Anthony Towns. They've done it since, and to no surprise, they've plowed through the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks, however, take maybe an even more valuable lesson with them following the defeat. The Knicks exposed several crucial weaknesses in Atlanta's roster construction, and now they have an entire offseason to take a step back and address them.
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