The Atlanta Hawks (35-36, 12-22 away) visit the New York Knicks (30-41, 15-20 home) for an Eastern Conference matchup of two teams fighting for a postseason bid. New York has taken all three of the previous contests against the Hawks this season. The matchup will be the final time these two teams meet.
Tuesday’s tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. EST inside Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Atlanta is a 1.5-point road favorite in the matchup, and the over-under total is at 226.0 points.
What to Know – Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta enters the week having dropped two of its last three contests and losers of three straight on the road. The Hawks sit in tenth place in the Eastern Conference, safely in the playoffs for the final spot with a five-game cushion.
On offense, the Hawks are third in the conference averaging 112.9 points per game while hitting 46.7 percent of their shots from the field and 37.0% of their shots from beyond the arc. Defensively, Atlanta surrenders 112.5 points per game, 47.0% shooting from the floor, and 36.3% from the arc.
A 35-point first-quarter outburst by the New Orleans Pelicans was too much to overcome for Atlanta Sunday night in a 117-112 defeat at home. Danilo Gallinari paced the Hawks in scoring with a game-high 27 points. Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic chipped in 21 points apiece.
The Hawks are 29-42 against the spread and 10-24 ATS on the road. Atlanta is 1-8 ATS over its last nine contests and 0-6 ATS in six previous road games.
What to Know – New York Knicks
New York is on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, but the Knicks aren’t eliminated from the postseason yet. Currently sitting in a tie for 11th in the standings, a win over the Hawks would be a big boost for the Knicks’ playoff chances. The Knicks are 2-3 over their last five contests.
The Knicks score 106.0 points per game, 13th in the East, shooting 45.5% from the floor and 35.5% from deep. New York’s defense ranks fifth, limiting opponents to 106.6 points per game, 44.5% shooting from the field, and 34.5% from three.
The Knicks jumped out to an early lead after the first quarter, but the Utah Jazz stormed back and never looked back to take a 108-93 victory from New York in the Big Apple. New York was never able to get it going offensively, hitting just 37.3% of its shots. RJ Barrett led the Knicks in scoring with 24 points.
New York is 33-38 ATS with a 14-21 record ATS on their home court. The Knicks are 7-2 ATS over their last nine but just 1-7 ATS in recent home matchups.
The Pick is In
Neither of these teams are playing particularly well at the moment as both try to fight for the postseason. Atlanta hasn’t defeated the Knicks in three tries this season, so you can bet that’ll be on the player’s minds heading into the contest.
It is a tough position to be in with the play of these two squads, but something tells us the Hawks are going to come prepared to play and avoid the season sweep to New York.
Betting Pick: Atlanta Hawks -1.5
