Knicks dominating Hawks in Game 1 without needing secret weapons show they can still level up

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Knicks dominating Hawks in Game 1 without needing secret weapons show they can still level up

Drew Maresca, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sun, Apr 19, 2026 ·

3 min read

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There were plenty of positive takeaways to be had from the New York Knicks 113-102 Game 1 win over the Atlanta Hawks . The strong play and execution of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were two of the more prominent ones. New York also won the rebounding and turnover battle, and they kept pace with the blistering speed of the Hawks offense.

Virtually the only drawback of the Knicks' Game 1 victory was a lack of Mitchell Robinson . But one can posit that this is actually a positive considering they made due without much from one of their most valuable players.

Knicks lacked major minutes from Robinson

While the Hawks lost the game, they did successfully neutralize Mitchell Robinson . By turning to a hack-a-Mitch strategy, the Hawks pressured Mike Brown into removing the big man in lieu of leaving him in and allowing his team's offensive flow to be disrupted by a constant barrage of free throws.

Brown's strategy worked, but it resulted in a less-than-stellar stat line from Robinson (three points and four rebounds in 15 minutes). However, one can expect Brown to successfully get more from Robinson—possibly inserting him earlier in the first and third quarters.

The fact that New York ran away with Game 1 without Robinson should be worrisome to Atlanta. The Knicks were 40-20 this season when Robinson grabbed 10 or more rebounds this season, according to Basketball Reference . And that obviously wasn't a factor in Game 1.

The Knicks averaged 20.9 second-chance points per 100 possessions when Robinson was on the floor this season. And Robinson was second in offensive rebounds per game (4.2) and first in offensive rebounds per-36 minutes (7.7).

This should be especially scary for the Hawks because of how dominant the Knicks are when they outscore opponents in second-chance points—a stat that is inherently connected to offensive rebounds. New York was 41-12 when they outscored their opponent in second-chance points in 2025-26. Further, they 8-2 when they outscored their opponent in second chance points last postseason.

Granted, there were limited second chance points allowed in Game 1 on the whole. New York won the battle 13-7. But it was a far cry from what the Knicks can generate on a good night. And the possibility of offensive rebounds and second-chance points looms large over Game 2 and beyond.

Knicks could also receive boost from key reserve guard

While less impactful than Robinson, Jose Alvarado is another important player who didn't impact the Game 1 win. In fact, Alvarado didn't touch the floor. But he was impactful for the Knicks when he played during the regular season.

New York was 18-10 when Alvarado played in 2025-26, and they were 16-5 when he played more than 10 minutes.

Further, Alvarado's impact was felt in multiple ways, meaning he essentially impacts the game in some way whenever he plays. He was an important part of New York's point-of-attack defense, and he also ran the pick-and-roll brilliantly with Towns.

Alvarado is even good for a scoring burst every now and then, as well. Thus, the idea that New York has another spark plug on its bench, ready to be deployed at a moment's notice should scare Atlanta even more.

Sure, New York can win fast-paced games like Game 1. But the Hawks will be in big trouble if the Knicks successfully slow the game down and get production from Robinson and Alvarado.

Like Hawks' coach Quin Snyder said "It's a little bit of pick your poison."

And Atlanta simply doesn't have the personnel to combat every threat the Knicks can throw at them.

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