New York Knicks vs Atlanta Hawks betting tips and predictions for Saturday’s NBA game. Two Eastern Conference foes renew their rivalry tonight as the New York Knicks travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
New York Knicks
Even the New York Knicks weren’t able to stop the red hot Phoenix Suns last night as they lost 118-97 at Madison Square Garden. Julius Randle had an off night with just 9 points and the Knicks shot just 37% from the floor as a team, while allowing the Suns to shoot 55%. New York has now exchanged wins and losses in their last 6 games and are currently 10-9 on the season which is good enough only for the 8th seed in the East. This could be a concern for Knicks fans as they’ve played only the 26th toughest schedule so far and have a Net Rating of -0.6 after 19 games. They’ve also covered the spread just once in their last 5 games and are currently on a 3-game losing streak against the Hawks. Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson could miss yet another game as the duo has been listed questionable once again by the Knicks medical staff.
Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta is finally playing like we expected them to after last season’s playoff run. They’ve won 7 games in a row and have covered the spread in 6 of those. They caught a lucky break last night against the Memphis Grizzlies when Ja Morant injured his knee. Trae Young and co. took advantage and beat the Grizz by 32 points. It was the third game in a row in which Young scored 30 or more points as he led the way with 31 and 10 assists. With the win the Hawks have actually climbed over the Knicks to 7th in the East standings. They’ve been especially good at home lately winning their last 5 games and against Eastern Conference teams they’ve covered in 5 of their last 6 games.
Games between these two teams are always intense, especially after last season’s playoff series. The Knicks will want to get revenge for that, but right now they are just not playing winning basketball. Atlanta has won 7 straight and I expect them to add to their winning total tonight at home. Back the Hawks to cover.
Atlanta Hawks – New York Knicks Odds
Atlanta Hawks – New York Knicks Predictions
Atlanta -4.0 Point Spread is available at -110 odds on bet365
During their win streak the Hawks have scored at least 110 points in all 7 games. They also have 4 games of 120+ points and last night they torched the Memphis Grizzlies for 132 points on the road. They are the 2nd best three-point shooting team in the league, draining 37% of their attempts from deep. Tonight they face a Knicks team that’s only 19th in defensive rating this season and is coming off a game in which Phoenix scored 118 on them at home. One area in which they are not good defensively is defending the perimeter as they allow their opponents to score on 34.8% of three-point attempts. Going up against the 2nd best three-point shooting team in the NBA sounds like trouble. If we look at the last 10 meetings between these two, they are averaging 226.7 points per game so I think we can expect a offensively minded approach from both coaches tonight too. Let’s back the over.
Over 218 Total Points is available at -110 odds on bet365
