It’ll be the first meeting between the two franchises since their postseason battle, paving the way for a fun night. Atlanta, though, has extra weight to carry heading into the highly-anticipated matchup.<\/p>\n
New York isn’t close to being the only contender Atlanta plays during that stretch<\/p>\n
Just before their early-season battle with the Knicks at MSG, they’re set to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. Woah.<\/p>\n
The good news for Hawks fans is that this new-look squad – ever since last season’s trade deadline – has shown a tendency to play up to their competition. Contenders hate facing this resilient Atlanta squad.<\/p>\n
Teams who operate mostly in transition can tire out their opponents, exposing real weaknesses along the way. Especially during the long regular season.<\/p>\n
This ability can help Atlanta during this stretch. They plan to be among the top teams in the Eastern Conference, so they can’t let any of these matchups go to waste. Every win will matter once the year gets close to completion – especially if the standings are as competitive as they’re anticipated to be.<\/p>\n
The thing is, once they take on these three undeniable contenders, and then face the reigning champions, their strength of schedule doesn’t lighten up.<\/a> At least not for a little bit.<\/p>\n The Hawks will certainly be battle-tested during this stretch<\/p>\n The two opponents on deck following Atlanta’s first-round rematch are the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.<\/p>\n While Atlanta finished above both squads last season, each of them will look drastically different this time around – for different reasons.<\/p>\n Miami added Giannis Antetokounmpo – the two-time NBA MVP who spent the first 13 seasons of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks.<\/p>\n Indiana is anticipating the return of franchise star Tyrese Haliburton, who hasn’t played since tearing his achilles in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n If the Atlanta Hawks can win more than they lose during this stretch, they’ll send a clear early message to the rest of the league<\/a> that they’re here to contend.<\/p>\n
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