The Knicks Are Looking To Stay Inside The Top 4 Of The East
With Jalen Brunson Questionable, Here's Our Hawks vs Knicks Preview
The New York Knicks will likely be without Jalen Brunson heading into their home game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Brunson injured his knee in New York’s previous game against the Cavaliers and didn’t return. Therefore, the Knicks could be even more shorthanded for this matchup.
On the other hand, the Hawks don’t want to hear it. Their star player, Trae Young, is currently out with a torn radial collateral ligament in his fifth finger in his left hand. He had to undergo surgery and won’t be back until early April at the earliest.
Atlanta has lost two consecutive games and has fallen to 26-34. The playoffs are looking almost out of reach at this point.
The Hawks have already lost to the Knicks twice this season, despite both of those games being in Atlanta. Now, we’ll head to New York for the third and final meeting between the Knicks and Hawks.
With many backups getting opportunities in this game, the Knicks are still favorites at -4. Meanwhile, the total is currently sitting at 217.5.
Here’s our Hawks vs Knicks preview for this mid-week battle at Madison Square Garden.
Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks 
Date, time:
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Hawks vs Knicks Preview & Trends
The Atlanta Hawks have 26 wins straight up. However, they’ll underachieved so badly that they’ve only won 19 games against the spread in 60 games this season.
On the other hand, the Knicks have gone 31-28-2 against the spread this year, squeaking by a profit for New York bettors. The Knicks have also watched their games hit the Under in 38 of 61 games this season, while the Hawks have hit the Over in 32 of 60 games this year.
New York is 20-11 at home, while the Hawks have an 11-18 record on the road.
Is Atlanta Missing Leadership?
Let’s be realistic here. The Atlanta Hawks aren’t winning enough games to make the playoffs. Sure, they could sneak in via the NBA In-Season Tournament, but the team isn’t good enough to escape opponents like the Celtics, Bucks, or Cavaliers.
With Trae Young out of the lineup, the Hawks don’t have anyone to rely on right now.
Atlanta’s developing Kobe Bufkin, who looks like a promising player in the league. The Hawks are also getting stellar minutes from Saddiq Bay and Bruno Fernando. But Atlanta ultimately conceded this season when they didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline.
Now they’re stuck losing games without their best player on the floor.
Next year, Atlanta needs to look at finding a key veteran or two who can help change the culture of this team.
Jalen Brunson’s Knee Injury
Just as Julius Randle and OG Anunoby took the next steps in their recoveries, Jalen Brunson injured his knee to begin Sunday’s game against the Cavaliers. He didn’t return and had many Knicks fans on the edge of their seats, biting their nails off.
It turns out Brunson has a knee contusion. X-rays came back negative. But it’s probably still unlikely that Brunson will play against the Hawks. The Knicks must ensure Brunson is 100% before throwing him back out there.
Miles McBride played very well in Brunson’s absence, earning 16 points in 47 minutes. He might have to do the same against Atlanta alongside Josh Hart, who just added a triple-double for the Knicks.
New York has the most depth it’s had in years. That depth will likely have to step up if Brunson misses more time down the stretch.
Another Head-to-Head Over!
If you’ve been reading the NBA headlines in sports betting, you’d see many games have been going Under over the last couple of weeks.
Something’s got to give in this one.
The Knicks are scoring 118.9 points per 100 possessions and averaging 32.4% of offensive rebounds this season. New York’s the best team in the NBA at earning offensive rebounds and will take on a Hawks squad that has given up 27.6% of offensive rebounds.
The Hawks have also allowed 120.3 points per 100 possessions and a league-worst 57.7% effective field goal percentage. No matter if Brunson is playing or not, the Knicks should still add buckets easily in this game against the Hawks.
On the other hand, Atlanta’s offense is still above average. The Hawks have scored 118.6 points per 100 possessions and have added 29.9% of offensive rebounds on their own.
Atlanta won’t earn as many second chances as the Knicks and could see a slight drop off in foul shot attempts. But the Knicks still allow a 55.4% effective field goal percentage and only earn 13.5% of turnovers per game.
The Hawks will get quality looks themselves that should be knocked down.
In the previous two head-to-head matchups, the games have gone Over the total. We don’t see why this game wouldn’t either.
This won’t be one of the best NBA games today, but it’ll be a thriller if you like offense. The Knicks are still fighting for a top-four seed in the NBA East standings and have the depth to sustain success this year.
It looks like the Knicks lucked out on the Jalen Brunson NBA rumors about his injury. But other guys will likely have to step up while he heals. Brunson might be a game-time decision, but with or without Brunson, the Hawks vs Knicks preview has the Knicks and Hawks going Over the total of 217.5.
Hawks vs Knicks Preview
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