Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks Odds, Preview, and Prediction
Hawks vs. Knicks Odds
| Hawks Odds | +7.5 |
| Knicks Odds | -7.5 |
| Over/Under | 209 |
| Date | Saturday, Dec. 25 |
| Time | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
The NBA has five marquee matchups on Christmas, beginning with the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks, who will battle at Madison Square Garden in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs. Yet, unlike last year’s playoff matchup, this contest will not feature Trae Young, Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, Derrick Rose, Nerlens Noel, and more due to injuries and COVID-19 related issues. Atlanta will be without the majority of their normal rotation in this one, leading oddsmakers to price the Knicks as 7.5-point home favorites on the spread at online sportsbooks.
Now, let’s take a closer look at Hawks vs. Knicks odds before making our prediction and pick for Christmas Day.
Hawks
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks have only played 68 possessions this season in which none of Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari, Solomon Hill, Kevin Huerter, DeAndre Hunter, Wes Iwundu, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Onyeka Okongwu, Lou Williams, and Trae Young are on the floor. The small sample size has not been pretty, with Atlanta scoring only 92.6 points per 100 possessions on offense, and allowing 119.7 points per 100 possessions on defense–both of which rank in the 3rd percentile or worse.
That being said, Atlanta pulled off a surprise underdog victory in their most recent contest against the Philadelphia 76ers. Entering play as a double-digit underdog on the road, the Hawks emerged victorious by a final score of 98-96. John Collins, Cam Reddish, and Bogdan Bogdanovic figure to be the main sources of offense for this group on Saturday afternoon. Both John Collins over 19.5 points and Cam Reddish over 18.5 points on Prize Picks present value for those more interested in player props than a side in this afternoon affair.
Knicks
New York has only four key absences on the initial injury report for this contest–”(player-popup #kevin-knox)Kevin Knox”:/players/kevin-knox-408820, Miles McBride, Nerlens Noel, and Derrick Rose. Though missing far fewer players than the Hawks, the Knicks are still no guarantee to walk away with a win in this one.
Per Cleaning the Glass, when Knox, McBride, Noel, and Rose are each off of the floor this season, New York ranks in only the 34th percentile in offensive efficiency and the 7th percentile in defensive efficiency. The return of Kemba Walker to the rotation has brought some excitement to the roster, but this is still a Knicks team that ranks 23rd in Net Rating during the month of December, including a woeful 26th in defensive efficiency–surrendering 115.6 points per 100 possessions. There are better things to do with money than bet on a team with a sub-par defense to cover a large spread in the NBA.
Pick and Prediction
The entire league was off on Friday, meaning that these teams will both be rested for this matchup. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty with this game, considering that bettors only have small sample sizes to analyze with the current available players for Atlanta. In this matchup between two uninspiring rosters, it makes sense to take the team getting points. Atlanta might not win this game outright, but they should be able to keep it close.
PICK: Atlanta +7.5 (-110)