NBA Picks & Predictions: Hawks vs. Knicks (Saturday)
It’s playoff time in the NBA on Saturday, as we begin the race to 16 victories in the quest for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. At 1:00 p.m. ET, the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers tip off their Eastern Conference Series at Rocket Arena on Amazon Prime Video, followed up by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets at 3:30 p.m. ET and Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks at 6:00 p.m. ET, with the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers meeting at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA picks & predictions for Saturday, April 18th’s game Hawks vs. Knicks.
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Saturday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions: Hawks vs. Knicks
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Atlanta Hawks (+185) at New York Knicks (-225) | O/U 216.5 (-110/-110)
The Hawks hung on to the six seed in the Eastern Conference, finishing just a game higher than both the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic to avoid the Play-In Round. Atlanta was tied with the Toronto Raptors, but lost the tiebreaker due to head-to-head record.
Atlanta gets a crack at the New York Knicks, the No. 3 seed, which finished 30-10 at Madison Square Garden. The Hawks were just 22-19 on the road, too.
The Hawks dropped three of the final four games of the regular season, including a 108-105 loss at State Farm Arena in Atlanta as a 1.5-point favorite while the Under (226.5) cashed. Jalen Brunson went for 30 points and 13 assists with three 3-pointers in that victory for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns was good for 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block, as well. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was good for 36 points, while Dyson Daniels (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Jalen Johnson (21 points, 11 rebounds) chipped in with double-doubles in a losing effort.
This is the fourth time these teams have met in the postseason. The Knick won in five games in 1971, while sweeping a series in 1999 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In 2021, the Hawks won in five games in the first round, and Atlanta hopes to tap into that magic again.
Let’s take the Knicks laying the points, and we’ll go low on the total in Game 1. This could be a rather defensive series throughout.
Picks: Knicks -5.5 (-105) & Under 216.5 Points (-112)
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