Atlanta crushed their Eastern Conference rivals in Orlando not once, not twice, not even thrice, but four consecutive times en route to a series sweep this year.
This avalanche of victories ultimately propelled the Hawks above the Magic in the standings. While Orlando will be forced to battle in a brutally stacked Play-In Tournament this year, the Hawks will be sitting pretty as the fifth seed, as they finally cancel their three-year Play-In membership.
How did the Hawks do it? They cut the head off the snake by completely blanketing Paolo Banchero.
Atlanta shut down Paolo Banchero over and over again
Banchero struggled mightily against the Hawks all year long; this was no four-game outlier, either. While all players will have off nights, it's rare for them to have an off-series against a team during the regular season (or postseason, for that matter) without some underlying matchup issue. This was certainly the case for Paolo Banchero during the regular season against the Hawks in 2025-2026.
The Hawks match up incredibly well against the physical Banchero, in large part due to their lockdown guard duo of the Great Barrier Thief Dyson Daniels and the rapidly rising Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Banchero loves to switch-hunt his way into easy post-up looks. It's a colossal aspect of his isolation game. While he's just an average offensive engine off the dribble, when he's able to isolate a smaller player down low, his efficiency tends to skyrocket.
The Hawks boast a guard duo that isn't so easily bothered in the interior, unlike most of the league. Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have stymied opponents all year long, and Banchero was no different. Remove his easy looks down low against mismatches, and the result is break-a-mirror ugly offensive efficiency.
Banchero shot a dismal 30 percent from the floor and 8 percent from deep in four consecutive losses against the Hawks this year, averaging a mere 8.3 points per game (excluding free throws, of which he had plenty). Yikes.
How Atlanta can carry this advantage into the NBA Playoffs
Dyson Daniels and NAW are arguably the two best lockdown guard defenders in the entire league, and with one exception (the loaded Oklahoma City Thunder), are unquestionably the best backcourt defensive duo amongst all teams.
While Banchero is a far cry from Jalen Brunson in his offensive playstyle, look for the Hawks' defensive duo to shut down New York's fun-sized lethal offensive engine as best as can be asked for in the league.
If there was ever a nightmare matchup for the Knicks (backcourt, at least), it's the Hawks. Where they can easily dominate other teams that lack such a dominant defensive guard pair, Daniels and Alexander-Walker present a unique challenge.
While the series will no doubt be grueling for both squads, if Dyson Daniels can manage to remedy his offensive woes to maximize his defensive reps against Jalen Brunson, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Hawks find themselves in the second round in a few weeks.