The New York Knicks have a big advantage against the Atlanta Hawks on paper. And Thursday delivered news that backup center Jock Landale will miss at least two more weeks, leaving the Hawks with only one traditionally-sized big man in Onyeka Okongwu.
The Knicks, and six-time NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, officially have no excuses left to dominate their first-round playoff opponent – at least in the paint. But Mike Brown isn't bought all the way into that line of thinking, and he has pretty good reason for it.
Knicks catch major break with Landale missing next two weeks
Landale is a legitimate NBA center who contributed a ton to the Memphis Grizzlies' endeavors ahead of their deadline reshuffle. The Hawks are in a tough spot now that they're being forced to face the Knicks in Round 1 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs without him.
Even though Okongwu generally excelled against the Knicks this regular season, shooting 11-23 from behind the 3-point arc in three total games, it's tough to say that any one big man is going to be enough to stifle both Towns and Mitchell Robinson.
Okongwu's 6'10" frame helped him average 7.6 rebounds per game this season, but Towns led the league in that category and Robinson's dominance on the offensive glass is well documented over the course of the last several postseason runs by the Knicks.
Brown downplayed the extent to which the heights of the members of the Hawks frontcourt measure their abilities when asked about the size advantage, according to the New York Daily News' Kristian Winfield.
"The excuse that Atlanta is small at the center spot, I don't buy it. Because it's your approach to the game and the things that you do out there. So he can impact the game on both sides defensively with his athleticism, and then offensively with the way he shoots it and the way he [grabs] offensive rebounds," Brown told reporters after practice in Tarrytown on Wednesday.
Any and all of the Knicks' playoff success in recent years has been led by Jalen Brunson, who is the team's captain for good reason. But Robinson and Josh Hart have had indelible impacts on first round series, like those against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers, particularly because of their rebounding prowess.
The Hawks' lack of size was already setting the Knicks up well to find that same kind of success in this series, allowing them to control the possession battle, and the matchup at-large, in turn. But Landale getting taken out of the picture makes New York's biggest advantage grow even larger.
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