For the first time since the 2013 NBA season, the New York Knicks are back in the playoffs and the most impressive part about them making the playoffs this year is that they went from one of the worst teams in the league record-wise, to being the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference! 

All season long, the Knicks have been one of the NBA’s greatest storylines and the job Tom Thibodeau has done in his first season with the Knicks is quite remarkable. New York is one of the best defensive teams in the entire league and with Julius Randle emerging as a superstar big man this year, this team is not going to be an easy team to beat in the playoffs this year! 

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On the other side of things, the Atlanta Hawks also snapped their own playoff drought of three years this season and with plenty of high-level scorers and shooters, this is also a team that is going to be tough to beat. 

Both the Knicks and the Hawks have the potential to cause some headaches for the top teams in the Eastern Conference and it is only fitting that we get to see them square off in the first-round of the playoffs! 

In three regular season meetings this year, the Knicks swept the Hawks 3-0, but every single game was decided in the fourth quarter, including one game going to overtime. All of the games in this series between New York and Atlanta are going to be extremely close, which is why this series could be one of the better playoff series this year.

With that said, let’s take a look at four bold predictions for the Hawks-Knicks first-round series, including who I see coming out victorious and moving on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals!