Knicks dismiss talk that Hawks roster is more skilled

The prevailing theory is the Hawks are the more talented team than the Knicks. That thinking led to preseason predictions the Hawks, after their big free agency, would be a playoff team and the Knicks a bottom-feeder.

Seventy-two games has not changed the sentiment, especially with Atlanta soaring at a 27-11 clip since making the coaching change to Nate McMillan on March 1. Knicks starting center Nerlens Noel, who embodies the Knicks’ grit, thinks “talent’’ is in the eye of the beholder, as Tom Thibodeau’s Cinderella club hosts Sunday’s Game 1 of their first-round series.