{"id":613130,"date":"2026-04-17T15:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613130\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:05:08","slug":"great-barrier-thief-dyson-daniels-emerges-as-key-to-unlocking-atlantas-nba-playoff-hopes-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613130\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Barrier Thief: Dyson Daniels emerges as key to unlocking Atlanta\u2019s NBA playoff hopes | NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The so-called \u201cGreat Barrier Thief\u201d will be unleashed on to one of basketball\u2019s most storied stages this weekend, as Australian Dyson Daniels storms into an NBA<\/a> playoff battle against Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

The Atlanta guard has, like his team, endured a mixed season. But both have finished strongly to make the Hawks a dark horse as the sixth-seed in an Eastern Conference bracket considered wide open.<\/p>\n

Daniels had a taste of the playoffs two years ago with New Orleans, but enters the 2026 post-season<\/a> as a key protagonist in one of the first round\u2019s marquee match-ups.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be fun, it\u2019s going be a lot, the Garden\u2019s going to be popping,\u201d he says. \u201cBut these kinds of opportunities you live for and you dream for, and the only way to prepare for it, really, is to just trust your work, trust yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hawks have played into form since trading All-Star guard Trae Young in January, led by forward Jalen Johnson and off-season acquisition Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Yet perhaps no player on the roster has the potential to turn a playoff series like Daniels, after his prominence in the team\u2019s 28-win, 15-loss run to close the season.<\/p>\n

The exclamation point was a triple double \u2013 the second of his career \u2013 in a win against the formidable Cavaliers a week ago. \u201cThere was a point in the season where we were struggling a little bit, we were losing games, but we always believed in each other, we trusted the coaches,\u201d Daniels says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played the same way the whole year, just once we started to gel and the chemistry started to come together, it really started clicking, and guys figured out their roles more and were able to flip the script and get wins going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels drives to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets. Photograph: Angelina Katsanis\/AP<\/p>\n

The Australian received the NBA\u2019s most improved player award<\/a> last season thanks to his capable offence and relentless defence, but his contribution has since evolved.<\/p>\n

Daniels is still the primary defender on the opposition\u2019s point of attack most nights, but the addition of the rangy Alexander-Walker has tempered his defensive workload. Though he is still second in the league for steals, his rate has dropped from three per game to an average of two.<\/p>\n

Daniels\u2019 three-point shooting accuracy has also sagged from last year\u2019s moderate 34%, to 19% this year. Two months ago, he had more air-balls than makes from outside the arc.<\/p>\n

Those raw numbers belie his steady all-round development, however. He has become a lethal transition player, thanks to his speed, rebounding and inside finishing, and his half-court smarts give the Hawks a flow they otherwise lack. His two-point field goal percentage is 58% \u2013 higher than snipers such as Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard \u2013 thanks to a large volume of finishes at the rim.<\/p>\n

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels dunks during an NBA game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Photograph: Sue Ogrocki\/AP<\/p>\n

Daniels may not have the touch of the league\u2019s finesse shooters, but he has found a way to contribute on offence to complement his defensive strengths. Measuring the Australian\u2019s contribution by his impact on the scoreboard when he is on the floor compared to when he is off it, he \u2013 alongside veteran guard CJ McCollum \u2013 is the Hawks\u2019 most important player, according to advanced stats site Cleaning the Glass.<\/p>\n

The New York Post recognised Daniels\u2019 influence this week when covering the challenge he will pose for the Knicks\u2019 floor general and leading scorer, Brunson, describing him as a \u201cdefensive stopper\u201d. No player has guarded Brunson more in the past two seasons than Daniels.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great defender,\u201d Brunson says. \u201cHe\u2019s very smart and he\u2019s able to use his wingspan and create havoc on and off the ball. He does a lot of great things for their team and puts them in position to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniels\u2019 Boomers teammate at the Hawks<\/a>, centre Jock Landale, is set to miss the first round series with an ankle injury. Josh Giddey\u2019s Chicago Bulls missed the post-season, and Josh Green is only playing small minutes for the suddenly-hot Chicago Hornets, a situation similar for Matisse Thybulle in Portland. Other Australians are on playoff teams, like Joe Ingles in Minnesota, and Tyrese Proctor in Cleveland, but look to be outside the playoff rotation.<\/p>\n

It leaves the Bendigo-born guard<\/a> as the main Australian attraction in the post-season. Daniels\u2019 father Ricky, brother Dash \u2013 who played in the NBL last season \u2013 and extended family will be there in New York, alongside a strong expat contingent in the Big Apple. \u201cHopefully I don\u2019t get too many requests in New York for tickets,\u201d Daniels joked. \u201cBut yeah, this is a fun time of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The so-called \u201cGreat Barrier Thief\u201d will be unleashed on to one of basketball\u2019s most storied stages this weekend,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-613130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}