{"id":1908629,"date":"2026-04-29T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T07:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1908629"},"modified":"2026-04-29T10:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T07:00:14","slug":"how-serious-are-these-knicks-well-find-out-in-game-6-in-atlanta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1908629","title":{"rendered":"How serious are these Knicks? We\u2019ll find out in Game 6 in Atlanta"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NEW YORK \u2014 No one has questioned the New York Knicks\u2019 resiliency or what they look like when they\u2019re desperate.<\/p>\n

For two years now, New York has punched back when pushed into a corner, much like boxer Diego Corrales did against Jose Castillo<\/a>. See the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics series last year. See the Atlanta Hawks series this season.<\/p>\n

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The Knicks have won two straight games in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the latest a 126-97 clipping of the Hawks<\/a> in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead. The opportunity to put this too-close-for-comfort series to bed is Thursday.<\/p>\n

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Great.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll find out just how serious the Knicks are very soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just understand what the situation is,\u201d said Karl-Anthony Towns, who flirted with another triple-double in Tuesday\u2019s win. \u201cThe toughest game to win is the one that ends someone\u2019s season. We have to be super disciplined. We have to execute at the highest level that we have in this series. We have to be ready for a really tough game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This season, New York has made many fans bang their heads against a wall. Just when it looked like the Knicks had the answers to the test, beating teams in dominant fashion, they would fail the same test with the same answers, by either losing or playing down to the competition. A bad loss would follow a big win. A bad stretch would cap a nice stretch. A \u201cWTF\u201d quarter would come after a flawless one. So on and so on.<\/p>\n

At times, there was a lack of focus. Other times, it felt like a lack of seriousness. The Knicks have been hard to figure out because of their inconsistencies. They\u2019re talented individually, and that\u2019s why they\u2019ve often ended games as the victors, even if the process left you wanting more.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not surprising that they\u2019ve dominated Atlanta in two straight games. It\u2019s also not surprising that New York needs, at least, six games to put this series to bed. From one game to the next, or every two games, the Knicks can look unrecognizable. That can\u2019t happen Thursday. Not when it\u2019s clear who the better team is, and not when the Knicks get a chance to end the first round on the same night their next potential opponent can do the same.<\/p>\n

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The Knicks have no reason not to end this series in Game 6. None. They have Atlanta figured out, as the last two victories have been decided almost from the opening tip-off.<\/p>\n

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New York knows that limiting turnovers and controlling the boards keeps the Hawks from flying around. It knows that hounding CJ McCollum with a big guard squashes Atlanta\u2019s half-court offense. It knows that throwing two defenders at McCollum forces the rest of the Hawks to beat it in a way they haven\u2019t been able to this series. It knows that making Atlanta defend multiple actions in a possession is the best way to generate points. It knows the Hawks don\u2019t have an answer for Towns. It knows Jalen Brunson can take over a game on his own.<\/p>\n

The Knicks know all of these things after three games of trial and error \u2014 and there was a lot of error \u2014 led to them falling behind in the series 2-1. They\u2019ve now got every answer for what Atlanta can toss at them. The Hawks made adjustments after their Game 4 butt-whooping, and it didn\u2019t matter. The talent discrepancy was obvious before a shot was taken in this series. It\u2019s only been more obvious as New York has executed and learned its opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not comfortable at all,\u201d Miles McBride said. \u201cWe know we have a game to play down there. It\u2019s a tough environment, and they\u2019re a tough team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Jose Alvarado argues with referee Justin van Duyne after a foul call in Game 5. (Brad Penner \/ Imagn Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It would be easier to believe that if there hadn\u2019t been examples to the contrary this season. We\u2019ve seen the Knicks lose to the Sacramento Kings. We\u2019ve seen them trail a depleted Golden State Warriors team that started someone named Malevy Leons by 21 points, only to eke out a win. We\u2019ve seen them down by 18 points to the Utah Jazz. We\u2019ve seen them squeak out a one-point win over the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n

New York also dominated the Denver Nuggets this season. It went toe-to-toe with the Oklahoma City Thunder. It handled the Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n

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The Knicks can beat anyone. They\u2019ve also shown themselves to be vulnerable against opponents who don\u2019t have the status.<\/p>\n

They could easily be bored with the Hawks. During the five games played in this series, they\u2019ve already crumbled twice in a row. The Knicks could very well not go into Thursday with the urgency that the situation requires. It\u2019s on them to change that narrative and show that the playoffs do, in fact, provide a greater sense of awareness inside that locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the playoffs,\u201d guard Jose Alvarado said. \u201cEvery little detail counts. We have to stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the heels of another dominant win, New York is saying all of the right things. Doing them is another.<\/p>\n

The Knicks have told on themselves. They\u2019ve shown just how much better they are than the Hawks. The only thing that can stop them is themselves.<\/p>\n

Their fans shouldn\u2019t be able to see their team play inside Madison Square Garden for over a week \u2014 assuming the No. 2 seed Celtics take care of business against the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks should put this series to rest Thursday in Atlanta and start preparing for a second-round rematch in Boston.<\/p>\n

There shouldn\u2019t be a Game 7, not based on what we\u2019ve seen over the last two games. And not if the Knicks are serious about being true title contenders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 No one has questioned the New York Knicks\u2019 resiliency or what they look like when they\u2019re desperate. For two years now, New York has punched back when pushed into a corner, much like boxer Diego Corrales did against Jose Castillo. See the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics series last year. See the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1908629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1908629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1908629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1908629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1908629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}