New York Knicks: 3 Adjustments to make before Game 2

New York Knicks: What changes can be made to avoid falling behind 0-2 in the series?

The New York Knicks lost a heartbreaking game 1 to the Atlanta Hawks by the score of 107-105 in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd on Sunday night. They’ll now need to win 4 of their next 6 games in order to prevail and make it to the Eastern Conference semifinals, a place they haven’t been since their last postseason appearance in 2013.

Although a 0-1 hole isn’t ideal, there are still some positive takeaways. Rookies Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin both played spectacularly in their first taste of playoff action, combining for 15 points on 6-10 shooting (3-4 from three) while coming off the bench.

RJ Barrett struggled with his shot all night (6-15) but he helped swing momentum back towards the Knicks’ way when he finished a ridiculous dunk over Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, easily one of the best plays of the 20-year old’s brief NBA career.

A loss is still a loss, however. Fans know that this current Knicks team won’t go down without a fight, so the energy level should be even higher for the next matchup against Atlanta. There are also some adjustments to be considered.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau will have to make some modifications to his current minutes distribution and style of play if the Knicks are going to pull this series out, especially down the stretch of close games.

Here are three major changes that should be made before the start of Game 2 on Wednesday night.