Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks betting tips and predictions for Saturday’s NBA on ESPN game. It’s the first of five Christmas Day NBA games as the Atlanta Hawks visit the Madison Square Garden to face off with the New York Knicks. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Atlanta Hawks
The biggest news ahead of this game is the availability of Trae Young, as the star point guard has been ruled out once again due to health and safety protocols. Atlanta has done okay without their best player, they just beat the Philadelphia 76ers 98-96 on the road despite being 11-point underdogs. A total of 6 players scored in double figures leading a balanced attack and I expect a similar approach tonight with 9 players still missing due to covid. The Hawks have done a fantastic job covering on the road, they are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 and against the Knicks they’ve covered in 4 of the last 6 meetings. They’ve also gone 4-2 SU in the last 6 vs the Knicks, so there’s definitely reasons to be optimistic if you are a Hawks fan for the early tipoff here.
New York Knicks
New York is facing similar problems here with health and safety protocols, they are missing so many players that they were forced to bring back Kemba Walker. The veteran point guard exploded for 44 points, including 7 threes made in the 124-117 loss against Washington 2 days ago. Two other Knick players scored 20+ points, however guys like Evan Fournier will have to improve a lot if this team wants to win here. The Knicks have just 2 wins in their last 8 overall and have beaten only 1 of their previous 8 Eastern Conference opponents. With a home record of 6-11 this season their fans haven’t had much to cheer about, I can already see them booing if the Knicks get off to a cold start here.
The list of players missing is long in both teams, but the Hawks look to be coping with that much better. They just beat a Philadelphia team that’s fully healthy, so I think with that attitude tonight they have a chance at MSG as well. Back the Hawks to cover.
New York Knicks – Atlanta Hawks Predictions & Odds
Atlanta +6.5 Point Spread is available at -110 odds on bet365
Without multiple starters missing, including their best player Trae Young, the Hawks might struggle again scoring the ball here. In their previous 2 games they scored just 98 points in both of them and as a result the under cashed. This has also happened in 5 of their last 6 games vs Eastern Conference opponents and in their last 5 vs Atlantic Division teams. If we look at head-to-head meetings the under has been the bet in 5 of the last 6 and in the last 3 we saw an average of just 196.6 points per game. Pace wise these two rank 19th and 26th in the NBA, so I’m not expecting a fast game here. Outside of Kemba Walker who has been red hot, the Knicks also lack quality offensive players. The only way they can win this game is if the crowd gets fired with stellar play on defense. Let’s go with the under in this one.
Under 209.5 Total Points is available at -110 odds on bet365
