2026 NBA Playoffs - East First Round - #3 New York Knicks vs #6 Atlanta Hawks (ATL leads 2-1)

[RAPSinCAPS]

I'm just glad the hawks gotta deal with them and not us

[NYPiston]

The hawks starting 5 actually all have been on playoff teams before..just with much reduced roles. I think KAT will be a tough matchup for them and interesting to see if OG can put the clamps on JJ

That's what I mean, outside of McCollum their lineup is inexperienced compared to the Knicks in terms of prominent roles on playoff teams. The Knicks are loaded with playoff experience, they're going to be tough to deal with in the playoffs.

[bon]

This is the better matchup for Atlanta and actually a solid one overall. This won't be an easy series. I can see this going 7 with Knicks' talent winning out

[HMFFL]

Knicks are the favorable matchup over the Cavs. Even if the Knicks sweep the Hawks. Watch out for the Cavs!

[DaGawd]

Knicks are the favorable mstchup over the Cavs. Even if the Knkcks sweep the Hawks. Watch out for the Cavs!

yall scared of playoff harden!?

[ReggiesKnicks]

Knicks in 6

[KnicksGadfly]

Knicks are the favorable mstchup over the Cavs. Even if the Knkcks sweep the Hawks. Watch out for the Cavs!

yall scared of playoff harden!?

don't forget playoff mitchell too

[jayu70]

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[kg01]

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Hey, how'd that work out for the eggsperts last time?

[DaGawd]

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Hey, how'd that work out for the eggsperts last time?

had a majorly talent devoid team last time it was a miracle we finished 4th that year but point taken

[durden_tyler]

The Knicks have the toughest first round opponent but i have them going all the way to the Finals. Is that weird?


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[Threezus]

The Hawks/Knicks are on the same side of the bracket as Boston.

For some reason i thought it was always best ranking played the worst ranking if you moved on to the next round. Which is why i was thinking if we won being ranked 6th we would get Pistons. Not sure why i had that in my mind or why i was thinking that. Sucks for us then celtics gonna be the toughest opponent for anyone imo.

Huh?? That's not what you said (see above). You said you'd "much rather go the Knicks route" because it leads to Detroit, which is what Chuck corrected you on because the " Knicks route" leads to BOS, not DET.

But even if we go with your revisionist thinking that there's no set route but rather it's always re-ranked best against worst each round, then (all else being equal) you'd still be the "worst" in round 2 thus still get Detroit no matter if you beat NYK or CLE, so your logic still doesn't make sense.

Yes by my original thinking i wanted the Knicks and then Detroit. Which in my mind had us being the worst 2nd round team and then getting to play Detroit. Which to me is the better outcome of who i prefer to face.

To me the toughest team any team can face in the east is the Celtics. So since i now know the Knicks route goes against the Celtics in round 2 since i got corrected on the playoff brackets. Then to me that sucks for us because facing the Celtics is the worst outcome and toughest opponent to face.

Hopefully that helps you understand what was said a little better? Im guessing you have detroit as the tougher team to face of the 2 is why you thought it was weird i wanted detroit? For me it's the Celtics for sure that vet experience and proven pedigree is gonna be a nightmare for anyone to handle. So i would have much rather faced knicks and detroit if my original thought of how the playoffs worked was correct. But knowing we get Celtics now if we can beat the knicks that sucks for round 2 to me for the hawks XD

[KnicksGadfly]

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Hey, how'd that work out for the eggsperts last time?

I can’t remember. It was so long ago and we kept looking for you in the playoffs and couldn’t find you

[Mamba Mentality]

This series is going to be a dogfight but I'll take the Knicks strictly based on their playoff experience. Anything less than 6 or 7 games will be disappointing.

[Chuck Everett]

Jalen Johnson needs to play like Deni last night in this series. The only problem is, he's going against OG Anunoby. That's going to be a tall order.

[DaGawd]

This series is going to be a dogfight but I'll take the Knicks strictly based on their playoff experience. Anything less than 6 or 7 games will be disappointing.

i think the games will be close, but anyone expecting a long series might be disappointed

[shmeakone]

I think this series will warm up the Knicks well for the Celtics and give them an advantage in the semi's..

[bisme37]

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[Froob]

Knicks 7

[Lemmie_live]

Word on the street is that ATL is piping Knicks chants in during their practice to prepare for Knicks fans booing them while there home. Sounds like we already won the battle just gotta win the war