The New York Knicks are an offensive buzzsaw. They’ve led the NBA’s top-ranked unit (122.8 points per 100 possessions) for much of the season. That offensive prowess helps fuel their best point differential (plus-7.8) of the last 20 years. But if not for the surging Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks may still hold the top offensive spot.
Atlanta took down New York inside Madison Square Garden during the Emirates NBA Cup Quarterfinal Wednesday night with a 108-100 victory, battering the Knicks on the defensive end. New York managed its lowest offensive rating (101) of any game this season against the Hawks. It crumbled in the second half especially, shooting 22.7 percent (5-of-22) on 3-pointers.
The Hawks’ Defense Is Finding An Identity
Across the last two weeks, the Hawks have played to the tune of a top-eight defensive group (108.8 defensive rating). They’re a fast, perimeter-oriented group that thrives on chaos and confusion. The Hawks force the fourth-most turnovers of any team (15.1 percent turnover rate) and rely on length, size and heat-seeking off-ball rotations to cause offensive disfunction.
Jalen Brunson tallied his second-lowest point total of the season, scoring 14 points on 15 shots and adding eight assists. He’s been a phenomenal offensive weapon all season and the fulcrum of an elite offense. His per-game scoring dipped from last season, but he’s still averaging 24.7 points and 7.8 assists on a career-high 61.9 percent true shooting percentage.
New York’s two-man combo of Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns has decimated defenses throughout the season. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby provide deadly secondary creation on the wing off of those stars’ orbits. They’re a slow-paced, methodical offense, averaging 12.5 seconds before the shot (29th-fastest, per Inpredictable).
Against Atlanta, though, the Knicks’ scoring leader was Josh Hart. He dropped 21 on an 81.5 percent true shooting alongside eight boards and six assists. That’s his highest-scoring game of the season. He’s New York’s one-man transition offense, creating easy buckets with his speed, strength and incessant motor.
Atlanta Forced New York Out Of Its Comfort Zone
Ideally, New York would like to bash and bludgeon offenses in the half-court. It’ll pick matchups, isolate Towns in space and spam ball screen actions for Brunson. The league’s premier pick-and-roll duo frequenting that action above all else makes sense. Few teams have sped the Knicks up like Atlanta did.
Against the Hawks, teams average 11.5 seconds before their shot, the fifth-fastest of any team. Atlanta’s cavalry of aggressive, swarming wings force the issue, dictating how offenses can attack. They lunge for steals, and aggressively switch and hedge to coax offenses into shooting before they’re ready.
Note the hounding pressure on this possession in the third quarter. Dyson Daniels and Clint Capela push up against Brunson and Towns. Zaccharie Risacher nearly nabs a steal, opening a driving lane for Hart, but Daniels saves the play at the rim. Atlanta moved the Knicks away from their bread-and-butter action.
dyson daniels is such a monster pic.twitter.com/j9BzHsJKBO
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) December 13, 2024
The Hawks allow 1.08 points per possession on opposing transition chances, the 12th-lowest of any team. Daniels and Jalen Johnson especially clogged passing lanes for the Knicks, and challenged finishes with their range and ground covering.
Like a defensive coordinator drawing up stunts to fool a quarterback, the Hawks threw hedges and showed bodies at Brunson on the ball all night. Take this next possession, beginning with Daniels picking up Brunson full court. Trae Young shows and tries for the steal, speeding up the play and eliciting an early clock stepback as Atlanta hoped.
more dyson full court work pic.twitter.com/nYvFjF6YpI
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) December 13, 2024
The Knicks begin the action with Brunson beckoning for two screens up top. De’Andre Hunter jumps out to frazzle Brunson before passing him off to Capela, who forces a difficult midrange jumper.
the hawks switch so brazenly pic.twitter.com/6032S79g0y
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) December 13, 2024
Atlanta switched without fearing matchups, electing to play one-on-one instead of scrambling in rotation. None of this would be possible without Daniels, the on- and off-ball lynchpin of the defense. He’s having a historic year, leading the league in steals (3.0) and deflections (6.3) per game.
He screams around the court as an off-ball defender, plugging gaps, protecting the rim and weaving through screens. Acting as Brunson’s primary defender, he held Brunson to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting, according to NBA matchup data. At 6-foot-7 with a near 6-foot-11 wingspan, Daniels’s mobility, short-area quickness and length blend to bother Brunson more than most defenders can.
dyson was stellar against brunson all night pic.twitter.com/sE1hnXjHgc
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) December 13, 2024
Johnson tallied two steals and two blocks, leaving his prints on the game as a rim protector and havoc defender. Whether it was Daniels or Johnson guarding Brunson and digging in, the Hawks and their length effectively removed Brunson from the game — at least compared to his typical impact. Bridges and Anunoby combined for 34 shots on a frigid 44.7 percent true shooting mark, too.
Even Young contributed defensively, finally tapping into his awareness and anticipation to survive on defense. He’s no longer the complete sieve of a few years ago. Young will always struggle because of size limitations, but his physicality and sound positioning provide just enough resistance for the Hawks to dive-bomb the ball.
focus on trae young throughout this defensive possession pic.twitter.com/RWWyT7yeek
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) December 13, 2024
The Hawks Haven’t Reached Their Ceiling Defensively
Towns still caused problems for Atlanta, scoring 19 points and snaring 19 rebounds. Especially in the first half, the Hawks simply lack the frontcourt girth to handle him. Capela can’t stick with Towns on the perimeter, where he loves to drive from the top of the key. Onyeka Okongwu and Johnson can’t move him in the paint. But Atlanta swarmed him on drives and forced other players to beat it, which they could not do.
To reach their defensive ceiling, the Hawks will need another shot blocker to anchor their defense. Head coach Quin Snynder has installed the bones of an elite defensive scheme built around his players’ strengths and weaknesses. Even when the players lag behind, the game plan often covers for them.
Despite their success, the Hawks play quite a few limited defenders. Offenses can exploit Okongwu, Young, Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic all in different ways. The Knicks confused Bogdanovic with off-ball motion, exploiting his weaknesses as an off-ball defender. But because the Hawks loaded up on New York’s main threat, the breakdown resulted in a low percentage Precious Achiuwa three.
hawks will play the math game pic.twitter.com/Wy9ZI659TH
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) December 13, 2024
Atlanta shut down New York’s most potent two-man dance, forcing the others to prevail. Long, switch-heavy defenses present problems for a Knicks team so reliant on Brunson for perimeter initiation. Bridges and Anunoby are excellent complementary pieces, but neither thrive as creators higher up the offensive pecking order. At his best, Towns may provide enough individual offense to remedy this in most matchups.
Far from their eventual defensive ceiling, the Hawks extinguished a white-hot New York offense like no other team has this year. Snyder has orchestrated a suffocating defense by featuring his players’ versatility and range. His Utah Jazz defenses were routinely elite. When Atlanta finds an eventual anchor, it’ll invalidate offenses like the best units in the league so often do.
