The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks each were Cinderella stories the last time they opposed each other in the NBA playoffs.

Only the Hawks qualify for that moniker this time around.

The Knicks will begin a championship-or-bust pursuit when they host the Hawks in the first game of a best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series Saturday night.

The Knicks (53-29) earned the third seed in the East after recording their most wins since the 2012-13 season. The Hawks (46-36) finished in sixth place and clinched the final guaranteed playoff spot after racking up their most victories since the 2015-16 campaign.

But a successful regular season isn’t the goal for the Knicks, who reached the Eastern Conference finals last year for the first time since 2000 yet fired head coach Tom Thibodeau three days after being eliminated by the Indiana Pacers.

Thibodeau directed New York to four playoff berths in five years dating back to 2020-21 — or as many postseason appearances as the franchise made from 2001-02 through the 2019-20 seasons.

During a rare radio appearance in January, Knicks owner James Dolan said he believed the Knicks should “want to get to the Finals and we should win the Finals.” New York hasn’t won the NBA title since 1973 and hasn’t reached the championship round since 1999.

The Knicks did raise a trophy this season when they won the NBA Cup in December. But the team didn’t hoist a banner commemorating that championship — and any momentum generated by the title run disappeared during a 2-9 skid from Dec. 31 through Jan. 19.

The Knicks went 28-11 the rest of the way, including 15-10 against teams that either made the playoffs or participated in the play-in tournament.

“At the end of the day, we’ll be judged on what we do on this run,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said.

Expectations were lower for the Hawks, who never built on their deep playoff run in 2021. Led by polarizing point guard Trae Young, Atlanta beat the Knicks in five games that year on its way to reaching the conference finals for the second time since 1970.

The Hawks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2022 and 2023 before getting knocked out in the play-in tournament in 2024 and 2025. The Young era ended Jan. 7, when he was dealt to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

At the time of the trade, Atlanta was 18-21 and sitting in ninth place in the East. But the Hawks won 28 of their final 43 games — including 20 of 26 following the All-Star Break, the third-best record in the NBA.

While Young played in just five games for the Wizards due to back and quad injuries, the 34-year-old McCollum averaged 18.7 points per game while Kispert collected 9.2 points per game as a key reserve over a combined 80 games.

“We’ve added stuff, we’ve taken stuff out, we’ve kind of evaluated what works, what doesn’t work and what’s going to work for this group,” McCollum said.

–Field Level Media

The NFL Draft is just a few days away, and it’s a foregone conclusion that Fernando Mendoza will be the No. 1 overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders.

But who goes No. 2 overall at the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh?

That’s still up for some debate, as the New York Jets own the keys to when the draft actually begins. There’s been plenty of debate between Texas Tech defensive end David Bailey and Ohio State EDGE Arvell Reese.

The Jets have plenty of needs, including a franchise quarterback. Unfortunately, after Mendoza, a quarterback doesn’t exist. That means the Jets are likely to get defensive-minded head coach Aaron Glenn a difference maker on defense.

On popular prediction market site, Kalshi, Reese is more likely to be the No. 2 overall selection as of Friday evening.

He’s 59% to be the No. 2 overall selection at 61¢. Bailey is 43% to be the No. 2 overall selection at 48¢. Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. is <1% – a true long shot.

There’s actually some debate here – and that favors Bailey, who is the less likely player to be selected by the Jets at No. 2 overall.

After a dominant first three seasons at Stanford, Bailey cemented his NFL Draft stock by showcasing his ability in 14 games at Texas Tech. He had career-highs in almost every category, finishing the season with 52 total tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. Of course, that was good enough for a consensus All-American.

Reese’s story is just as impressive – but much different.

As a true freshman, Reese appeared in just six games for the Buckeyes. In 2024, Reese played in 16 games for the national championship winning team, recording half a sack and 3.5 tackles for loss. In his final season, Reese exploded onto the scene at Ohio State. He had 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He joined Bailey as a consensus All-American.

Most organizations would prefer Reese’s age, which is just 20 years old. Bailey isn’t a dinosaur at 22 years old, but extending Reese on his second contract before he’s 25 years old is very ideal. That maximizes the window for how great players can be in one organization.

They’re also similar in size – but Reese had some real naysayers at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis because of his unorthodox pass rushing style.

There’s plenty of reason to believe that Reese should be the No. 2 overall pick. But the value on Bailey makes sense, especially if the Jets don’t feel comfortable with drafting a player that could be perceived as a bit of a tweener.

The Colorado Avalanche are prohibitive favorites in their first round Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings, which begins with Game 1 on Sunday at Denver.

The Avalanche (55-16-11, 121 points) won the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record. They also led all teams with 302 goals and have a gallery of stars led by NHL-leading goal scorer Nathan MacKinnon, who tallied 53 times on the season and finished with 127 points.

Colorado’s Martin Necas reached 100 points (38 goals, 62 assists), while defenseman Cale Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner, had 20 goals with 59 assists.

Colorado’s calling card is a relentless attack with speed and skill.

“We’ve always been a dangerous offensive team, whether we’re finishing top five in the league, usually because of some of the players that we have and the way we play and the style we play,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We tend to create a lot of offense, so that’s something we’ve been proud of over the years.”

Goalies Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood shared the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is awarded to the goaltenders who play at least 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals each season. Colorado gave up 203.

The Kings (35-27-20, 90 points) have the fewest points among the 16 playoff teams but came alive late by going on eight-game point streak (6-0-2) before dropping their season finale. Los Angeles scored 225 goals but allowed 247.

These are the Stanley Cup playoffs, though, when first-round upsets have become legendary.

“They have the good players; they finished first in the regular season but we’re a scrappy team. We keep it close with everybody and that can really frustrate them,” Los Angeles defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “If we play our style, it’s going to be a tight series, it’s going to be tight games, so we’re looking forward to it.

“In the playoffs it comes down to that, it comes down to one shot. You never know which way it’s going to go. We have the utmost belief in our group of guys that we can pull off anything.”

Colorado’s production goes well beyond MacKinnon, Necas and Makar. Brock Nelson had 65 points (33 goals, 32 assists) and Nazem Kadri, who was acquired at the trading deadline from the Calgary Flames, had a combined 50 points (16 goals, 34 assists).

Kings coach D.J. Smith, who took over on an interim basis March 6 when Jim Hiller was fired, knows what his team must do to have a chance.

“We’re going to have to weather the storm,” said Smith, who played 34 of his 45 career NHL games with the Avalanche in 2002-03. “There are going to be times when they’re really going to come at us.

“They have five, six, seven of the best players in the world over there, but the one thing we’ve always been able to do is play defense. We’re going to have to defend real hard and then when we get opportunities we’re going to have to sting them.”

Kings forward Artemi Panarin delivered 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) for his new team in 26 games after he was acquired from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4. Adrian Kempe had 73 points (36 goals, 37 assists), and Quinton Byfield had 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists).

–Field Level Media