From the Brooklyn Nets tripling down on the superteam concept to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers needing to win a play-in game to qualify for the playoffs, there was no shortage of unpredictability throughout the shortened 72-game NBA regular season. The Knicks will appear in the postseason for the first time since 2013 Sunday night, when they are scheduled to host the Hawks in the opening game of the best-of-seven first-round series. The fourth-seeded Knicks and fifth-seeded Hawks each finished 41-31, but New York earned the higher seed and home-court advantage by going 3-0 against Atlanta.