The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks were two of the most surprising teams in the NBA in the 2020-21 NBA season. Now, they will be matching up in the first round against each other.
The Knicks won the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and will have homecourt advantage. They ended a seven-season playoff drought in the process. The Hawks, who won the Southeast Division, snapped a three-year playoff drought of their own.
READ MORE: NBA Playoffs: 4 bold predictions for #5 Hawks vs. #4 Knicks first-round series
New York swept the regular-season series 3-0, so you know Atlanta will come ready to snap that losing streak. These teams have a little different style of play, but their numbers overall are pretty similar.
Will the Knicks be able to physically overpower the Hawks to a first-round playoff victory? Or will Atlanta surprise some people and move onto the second round?
With that being said, here are four X-Factors for the series that will help determine a series winner.
