How the Hawks went from deadline sellers to the Knicks’ first-round playoff opponent
Not even two months ago, the Atlanta Hawks were 27-31. They had traded away cornerstone scorer Trae Young and star center Kristaps Porzingis in a matter of weeks. Nobody was thinking about the playoffs for this rebuilding bunch.
Not outside of the Hawks’ facility, anyway. But then something unexpected happened. The Hawks, with a young and versatile core finally getting its chance to shine, ...
Not even two months ago, the Atlanta Hawks were 27-31. They had traded away cornerstone scorer Trae Young and star center Kristaps Porzingis in a matter of weeks. Nobody was thinking about the playoffs for this rebuilding bunch.
Not outside of the Hawks’ facility, anyway. But then something unexpected happened. The Hawks, with a young and versatile core finally getting its chance to shine, started winning.
And winning and winning and winning. And now, the resurgent, sixth-seeded Hawks are standing in the way of the third-seeded, championship-hopeful Knicks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. “They’re good at adjustments, clearly, being able to have a pretty big trade midseason and then adjust to being the team they are now,” Knicks star Jalen Brunson said ahead of Saturday night’s Game 1 at Madison Square Garden.