NBA: New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The New York Knicks travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks. Both teams will play less than 24 hours since their previous game, making this event a durability contest. The Knicks are 10-9, while the Hawks have a slightly better record, 11-9, meaning they could be direct rivals for the playoff seed at the end of the year. These two sides met in the playoffs last year, and Atlanta won that series. Though, the Knicks are determined to get even, regardless of the venue and the time.

Preview

New York Knicks (10-9, +165) lost against the Phoenix Suns in Madison last night, 118-97. This was yet another pale performance in their hot and cold streak, during which the Knick posted subsequent triumphs and defeats. The spoiled fans in Big Apple are already becoming frustrated, which only increases the pressure on the players.

Against the Suns, the Knicks had terrible productivity. They would hit just 37% of field goal attempts and have miserable 13 assists. On the other side the Suns were 55.7% from the field, and they’ve shut down Julius Randle, limiting the big fella to only nine buckets.

Without him, NYK was decapitated, and they couldn’t establish the usual flow, putting the pressure on the backcourt that played underneath the expectations. Kemba Walker had 17 buckets and was the top scorer among the hosts; Immanuel Quickley dropped 16 off the bench. Fournier and Barrett combined for 21 points.

Atlanta Hawks (11-9, -205) have seven wins in a row, erasing the poor start of the month. Back then, the Hawks had one hell of a schedule, with lots of road games, all of them against the title contenders – Nets, Suns, Warriors, Jazz, Nuggets.

The offense is getting its pace back, and they’ve scored at least 110 points during this streak. On the other side, the defense has also stepped up, not allowing the rivals to score more than 106 points in the latest five games. There is one more thing we need to add. All seven wins came by a double-digit margin.

Last night, Atlanta trashed the Grizzlies in Memphis, 132-100. Trae had 31 points and 10 dimes, missing only four of his 16 shots from the field. Clint Capela added 23 buckets with 17 boards with three blocks, while John Collins dropped 21 buckets and 8 assists. The two big guys combined 19 hits in 25 shots. Overall, the Hawks were 58.4% of shooting from the field.

Head to Head

The two sides didn’t meet this year, but they had quite a rivalry back in the 2020/21 campaign. The Knicks won all three regular-season matchups, yet the Hawks responded in the playoffs, eliminating the Knicks in the first round in five games. It was a ferocious series with Trae Young waging a personal war with the Knicks’ fans. And eventually winning in the end.

Prediction

New York is unstable, while on the other hand, we have the Hawks on fire and playing at home. This shouldn’t be a problem for them to win, and furthermore, to cover the spread, which is currently set at -4.5. The Hawks are one of the best teams in the NBA, with only the Suns having a longer victory streak, at the moment. So go with the hosts covering the spread. The odds on that are -110, pretty good, considering that the risk is pretty low.

Pick: Hawks -4.5