NBA Matchups: April 30

NYK @ ATL | BOS @ PHI | DEN @ MIN

New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks

Team Totals: Knicks 107.8, Knicks 105.8

Injury Report: Josh Hart (Q, back), Jock Landale (O, ankle)

Hawks projected starters: C.J. McCollum, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu

Knicks projected starters: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns

Offensive Ranks: Hawks 15th (15th halfcourt), Knicks 4th (7th halfcourt)

Defensive Ranks: Hawks 8th (8th halfcourt), Knicks 10th (14th halfcourt)

Snyder quotes: Said the Knicks played great defense and it never allowed them to get it going, said they have to impose their will more on the offensive end, said McCollum having a bad game isn’t just about individual performances, said they need better perimeter defense and may double-team more, said they have to be better on the boards, said they will have different looks to throw at Brunson.

Brown quotes: Said they played well and they know ATL can play better, said they prioritized boxing out, said KAT and OG “were monsters” on the boards, said they expect the Hawks to be desperate in Game 6, said they have to finish around the basket when the Hawks are staying home on shooters, said they took care of the ball, said Brunson was phenomenal in the fourth, said they are trying to move KAT around to keep them from putting two on him, said Anunoby impacted the game at a high level that the stat sheet doesn’t show, said OG has been extremely consistent for them in the playoffs, said the Mitch-KAT lineup was good and he wanted to go to it to keep the Hawks off balance and “we’ll keep mixing it up.”

Stats and notes:

*The Knicks really owned the edges in Game 5 to keep the Hawks off the boards and also kept the Hawks from running on them, keeping them to 89% of plays in the halfcourt. New York also crushed the Hawks in the halfcourt, and they were also able to run a little more. The Knicks valuing the ball has really given them a leg up, and I’d expect the Hawks to ramp up their blitzes/doubles to put pressure on them. The Knicks also didn’t foul in Game 5, and they have the edge there for FTAs per game in the series (26.8 to 22.0). Atlanta has also missed a lot of jumpers in this series, and generally hasn’t played well aside from a few runs to get a couple of wins. I’d expect the Hawks to finally have a good game.

*Jalen Brunson was excellent for the first time in the series with his 39/3/8 line in 35 minutes. The Hawks flipped the matchups to put Nickeil Alexander-Walker on him, and they were also more effective with Brunson on defense. They were using him on Dyson Daniels and playing him more up in coverage when Dyson was setting screens, and it seemed to work well. The Hawks might be flipping the matchups, but either way, it was a very encouraging game for Brunson. Plus, the close-out factor should work in his favor.

*The Hawks don’t have any great options to put on Karl-Anthony Towns. They went with more Dyson Daniels on him, and it just wasn’t a great look, giving the Knicks so many size advantages. New York still could run more offense through KAT, and it was nice to see his minutes finally spike. There will be some adjustments, but there aren’t great answers for the Hawks. It should be a big night for KAT.

*OG Anunoby is going to play a ton of minutes, and Mike Brown just can’t take him off the court. The matchup isn’t all that great, but he’s the heavy favorite to lead the Knicks in minutes. He’s solid.