So…How Real Are These Hawks?

Let's look under the hood to see just how legit the 20-6 closing stretch from Atlanta really was.

Good morning! The Knicks will play a playoff game in four days. React appropriately.

So…How Real Are These Hawks?

Before we embark on a week’s worth of analysis picking apart New York’s impending first round series with the Atlanta Hawks, let’s start with a little bit of history.

The playoff series that ended the Knicks’ feel good #WeHere season five years ago might be the most recent postseason bout between these two franchises, but it isn’t the only one. Most of you probably remember the 1999 Finals run that contained two incredibly memorable series wins over the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers, but sandwiched between those hard fought triumphs was a four-game shellacking of the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

That series was significant for two reason - one good (for the Knicks) and one bad (for the Hawks). For New York, that was only their second four-game series sweep in franchise history, coming exactly 30 years after their first four-game sweep against the Bullets in 1969. Place your bets now on the Knicks sweeping whoever they play in the conference semis three years from now.

For the Hawks, that loss was effectively the end of an era. Even though they never made it to a conference finals during that run, the franchise had been a bastion of consistent competence, with that East semis loss marking their 18th postseason appearance in 22 seasons. Starting in 2000 though, they’d miss the playoff for eight consecutive years before Mike Woodson helped bring them back to respectability, leading to 10 straight playoff appearances from 2008 to 2017. That eventually ended, they bottomed out, got Trae Young, and on to 2021 we went.

Similarly to 1999, the first ever Knicks Hawks series also came in the midst of one of New York’s glory eras. The year was 1971, Atlanta’s first season in the East despite relocating from St. Louis two years earlier. They weren’t good, finishing 10 games under .500, but that was enough to finish fourth in the conference, which earned them a first round date with the Knicks.

Coached by Knick legend Richie Guerin and led by Hall of Famers Lou Hudson, Pete Maravich and former Knick Walt Bellamy, the Hawks stole Game 2 at the Garden before eventually going down in five games. The good vibes didn’t last long though, as New York suffered perhaps their most disappointing defeat of that era, losing to Earl Monroe and the rival Bullets despite Washington being barely over .500. That summer, Monroe was traded to the Knicks, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Which brings us to today, and hopefully a return to the sort of series we saw in 1971 and 1999. Speaking of history, past precedent says New York should be in good shape. Since the NBA playoffs expanded past four teams per conference more than 50 years ago, the Knicks have never lost as the third seed or higher.

But will that continue? There’s a reason more than a few national pundits will tap Atlanta as the most likely East team to spring an upset in round one, which brings us to a tale of two seasons.