Knicks flipped switch to neutralize Hawk’s strategy that was a growing problem

It was as if a switch had flipped coming out of halftime in Game 1, as the Knicks neutralized a Hawks strategy that was hurting them more than anything else.

Most on-ball screens involve a smaller ball handler and bigger center or forward to try to create an opening or force a switch and create a mismatch. But the Hawks utilized a less common version during the Knicks’ 113-102 win to open their Eastern Conference first-round series Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Atlanta frequently ran small-small actions — a guard screening for another guard — and it gave the Knicks fits defensively in the first half. It was particularly effective in the second quarter, when the Hawks shot 9-for-18 from the field and 5-for-7 from 3-point range as they erased an 11-point deficit. But the Knicks adjusted and cleaned it up in the third quarter, when the Hawks shot just 8-for-21 from the field and 2-for-7 from 3-point range while the Knicks rebuilt their lead.

“Their small-small pick-and-roll also is a problem,” coach Mike Brown said after the game. “And our guys did a pretty good job of defending that the right way in the second half. It kind of got away from us early in the game, and they got some open looks from it, but our level of physicality without fouling was really good in the second half, as well as our communication with their small-small pick-and-roll.”

Usually, the small-small actions involved CJ McCollum and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. It was a good way for the Hawks to target Jalen Brunson, who primarily was guarding McCollum and largely is considered the worst Knicks defender.

During that first half, Brunson had a particularly rough time staying with McCollum, who got a plethora of open looks. McCollum scored 12 of his 26 points in the second quarter. It created a few open looks for Alexander-Walker, too, though he wasn’t as efficient at capitalizing on them.

But Alexander-Walker shot a stellar 39.9 percent from 3-point range this year, taking a high volume of them (8.1 per game). It would behoove the Knicks not to bank on him continuing to miss quality shots.

“The way they do it, they got to the point where they mastered it, and they’re really good at it,” Brunson said after practice Sunday. “Them being able to slip out of screens and get to the point where they’re ready to go and their feet are set and ready, they’re really good at it. We just gotta be ready to be more physical. At the same time, communicate a little better, just making sure we’re not giving them the space. I think a lot of teams that have multiple ball handlers do that because it’s a very unique action that can put one of the two in space.”

The Hawks do have multiple capable ball handlers. Their strength is in their quick guards and wings rather than their bigs.

It’s an area that presented the Hawks with an opportunity to find one of their only on-paper advantages in this series. The Knicks’ 3-point and perimeter defense was inconsistent and was a talking point all year, though it got better by the end of the regular season. Often, miscommunication was at the heart of it.

For one half, it was exposed.

“I think we can get better on our communication, especially on guard-guard [actions],” Josh Hart said Sunday. “For the first game, it was solid, but we have to be better.

“For sure, I think we can clean it up. That communication of small-smalls, not allowing them to get [McCollum] and [Alexander-Walker] open shots. They’re talented players. Obviously, you just try to get them to shoot as many contested shots as you can. So the communication’s got to be better. The physicality was good, but we have to ramp that up. … I think they do a really good job of spreading into those screens and slipping out, those kinds of things.”

The strategy has big-picture ramifications, too. It’s something the Knicks will have to deal with if they meet the Celtics in the second round.

“That’s something that Boston does an amazing job of, and I feel — I won’t say they started it, but they really elevated it,” Hart said. “And it’s a copycat league. And you see that and say, ‘OK, how can we figure that out? How can teams do that?’ So it’s a little unnatural. I think the best way to guard those and negate those open looks is communication.”

So far, the Hawks’ small-small actions are not a big Knicks issue. But it’s surely something they’ll continue to throw at them.