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Stephen A. Smith explains why there's a lot on the line in a Hawks vs. Knicks series: "Heads will roll"
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- Stephen A. Smith explains why there's a lot on the line in a Hawks vs. Knicks series: "Heads will roll"
The New York Knicks head to the playoffs as the number three seed in the Eastern Conference. As such, the Knicks have home court advantage in their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks .
However, the top Las Vegas sportsbooks have listed the Hawks as the shortest underdogs among the four playoff matchups that have been finalized. That means that among the four underdogs, they have the best chance of pulling off the upset.
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Hopefully, that does not happen because, according to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith , losing to the Hawks in the opening round of the postseason will have big consequences for the Knicks.
"You cannot go home in the first round at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks," said Smith on his show. "It cannot happen… If you lost to Boston, that would be different. If you lost to Detroit, that would be different. If you lost to an offensive juggernaut like a Cleveland Cavaliers squad who are suspect defensively, that would make sense. You cannot lose to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round if you are the New York Knicks . If they do, heads will roll and it should."
Atlanta is the third hottest team since the All-Star break
The Knicks entered this season as the favorites to win the Eastern Conference because of the injuries suffered by Jayson Tatum , Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard . However, instead of earning the top seed in the East, the Knicks were overtaken by the Celtics for the number two spot halfway through the season, and they never recovered.
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And so now, instead of playing one of the play-in winners, they are matched up against an Atlanta Hawks team that had the third-best record in the league since the trade deadline at 20-6.
Although the Knicks beat the Hawks 2-1 in their regular-season series, both wins were by winning margins of just 3 points, meaning they had a hard time matching up against Atlanta. With more at stake in the postseason, the Hawks could become an even bigger problem for the Knicks.
"You better not lose," Stephen A. added. "I don't believe they will. I'm picking the Knicks. I have faith, but you cannot lose this series. If they lose this series, change is coming. It is simple, and it should, damn it. I ain't apologizing for that to nobody. Excuse the double negative. Nobody."
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Absolute worst-case scenario for the Knicks
While he did not talk about heads rolling if the Knicks lose to the Hawks, former three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner Lou Williams sees the Hawks as a very dangerous opponent for the Knicks and thinks that an upset is very much possible.
"This is the absolute worst case scenario for the New York Knicks," said Williams on "Run it Back". "They are playing against an Atlanta Hawks team that was dead on arrival but resurrected themselves, got back in contention and got a guaranteed spot. The most important thing of all, they're still playing with house money."
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Maybe Stephen A. Smith is just exaggerating. Perhaps Lou Williams is just biased because he used to play for the Hawks. No matter how you dissect the series, it's still number three versus number six and the Knicks should be much better than the Hawks. On paper, that's what it says. Hopefully, that holds true when the series commences.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
