Heading into the playoffs, there were many different perceived ways for this New York Knicks team to coast to a fourth-consecutive semifinal berth.
Whether it was relying on the seemingly perfected pick-and-roll play of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns or having guys like Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby live up to their freshly inked paydays, there were many hypothetical game plans discussed in regard to methods of besting the Hawks.
However, following Saturday's Game 1 win out at Madison Square Garden, it seems that the most obvious way for New York to coast to a first-round series win is by exploiting one of Atlanta's most glaring on-court weaknesses -- fastbreak defense.
Knicks must continue to capitalize on Hawks' poor fastbreak defense
On the season, the Hawks proved themselves to be one of the game's better defensive units, ranking 10 in rating (112.9) and 12 in opponent three-point percentage (35.5).
However, one of the areas of play on the less glamorous side of the ball that they struggled mightily with came in the transition department, as they ranked as the seventh-worst unit when it came to opponent fastbreak points scored (16.1 points per game).
Though the Knicks may have only been a middle-of-the-pack offense when out on the break in the regular season (ranked 14 with 15.1 points per game), Saturday night, they seemingly flipped a switch against the clearly penetrable Hawks, as they came away from the contest recording a whopping 22 points out in transition.
On the flip side, New York's defense did a tremendous job mitigating Atlanta's third-best fastbreak offensive punch, as they held them to a mere 13 points in such sets, a major drop-off from their 18.1 averages during the season.
Fortunately, this defensive stand by the Knicks was no mere anomaly, as they personally were the sixth-best team when it came to controlling an opposing club's scoring punch in transition -- a perfect matchup to take away one of Atlanta's main strengths.
Assuming they can continue to lean on their abilities to control the boards (ranked seventh with 45.6 per game) and frequently come away with loose balls (ranked eighth with 4.5 per game), there should be no doubt that Brunson and company can continue to take full advantage of this glaring weakness in the Hawks' defensive scheme.
Should this stay the case, wrapping this series within five games could very well prove to be a relative breeze.
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