Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, March 22nd, 2022 

Venue:  Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Atlanta Hawks -1.5, New York Knicks +1.5; Over/Under 226.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Atlanta Hawks -1.5, New York Knicks +1.5, Over/Under 226.5

BetMGM:  Spread: Atlanta Hawks -1.5, New York Knicks +1.5, Over/Under 226.5

Hawks: 35-36, 10th place Eastern Conference

Knicks: 30-41, 12th place Eastern Conference

A classic Eastern Conference NBA matchup.  Hawks vs Knicks.  In a normal season neither of these teams are any good.  They play for city pride.  Yet this year the Hawks still have a glimmer of hope.  The Knicks still have a glimmer of Draft Day success.  The disparity is all the difference.  The problem of course is the team leaders.  For the Hawks SG Trae Young is an offensive dynamo…. And a defensive liability.  For the Knicks PF Julius Randle is the broken star who the home fans boo and he wants out.  Both were all-stars last season… both led their teams to surprising success in the playoffs… both got surpassed by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Charlotte Hornets and the Chicago Bulls after a simple off-season of improvements.  The drama will not play out nationally… as neither of these teams have stayed on anybody’s watch list.  Still it is worth a watch if you want free $$ based on a simple bet on the point spread.  A great betting opportunity at this time of the year is not when the top two teams play each other… but when two bottom place teams play each other… and one is looking forward to possibly making the playoffs and the other is looking forward to sucking enough to get a great lottery position.  Next season the Hawks will have to make big decisions on the roster. Next season the Knicks will have to make big decisions on their roster… based on who they are in line to draft.  Right now this game is a great betting opportunity for bettors looking to reload the bank roll after an arduous first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

The Atlanta Hawks have won 6 of their last ten games.  They only went 2-8 ATS.  The Hawks do not present a great betting opportunity if they keep not scoring in the manner that Vegas says they will based on point spreads.  They did not cover a 12.5 point spread against the Indiana Pacers… they did not cover  a 14 point spread against the Portland Trail Blazers.  In fact, the Hawks lost their last game to the New Orleans Pelicans who are living through the news that Zion Williamson will never even attempt to play this season.  (because he is done). Trae Young had 21 pts in the loss and Danillo Galinari had 27.  The hawks could not stand up to the onslaught of C Jonas Valanciunas and SG CJ McCollum.  The reason they couldn’t is the Hawks' star scorers are defensive liabilities.  This will always be a problem with Trae on the court.  It works with Steph Curry because Steph has been surrounded with some of the best defensive guys in the league (Draymond, Klay.. etc)... but with Trae Danillo is not competent and vice versa. 

The New York Knicks have won 5 of their last ten games.  They went 7-3 ATS during that stretch.  The Knicks are a good betting opportunity at the moment because they have nothing to worry about. They are out of the Playoffs and major changes will be coming (again) for the Knicks.  They will look to make big moves in the draft and through trades.  The Knicks saw how easy rebuilding was for Chicago… Young players out… good players in!  Don’t think for a second that a smart front office wouldn’t trade every single one of these Knicks.  They lost their last game to the Utah Jazz.  Julius Randle only had 13 points… Mitchell Robinson played the game while invisible apparently with 4 points and 3 rebounds in 25 minutes.  RJ Barret had the biggest impact with 24 points… on a terrible 8-20 shooting!  The Knicks shouldn’t have coveted Mitchell Robinsoon and RJ Barrett as much as they did this last trade deadline… They are B players at best.  RJ’s NBA future will be as third option on a good team if he ever gets the chance to be on a good team.  Still Fournier and Quickley are ready to play now… This team can beat the Hawks even after covering a spread.

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The Hawks are 35-36 on the season, but 29-42 ATS.  They have logged 37 Overs and 34 Unders.  They are 12-22 on the road.  This is a bad team on the road… They actually have a 23-14 record at home.  Traveling kills the Hawks.

The Knicks are 30-41 on the season , but 33-38 ATS.  They have notched 35 Overs and 36 Unders.  They are 15-20 in home games.

The Hawks are 7th in scoring with 112.9 ppg, 22nd in rebounds with 43.9 per game, and 4th in AST/TO ratio with 2.0.  On defense they are ranked 22nd with 112.1 ppg from opponents.

The Knicks are 27th in scoring with 106.0 ppg, 4th in rebounds with 46.4 per game, and 27th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  On defense they are ranked 8th with 106.8 ppg from opponents

Our prediction for Tuesday, March 22nd is…. Knicks 115 - Hawks 113

The Knicks will get a win.  That will naturally cover the spread as they will be underdogs. With John Collins out Julius Randle will get to go off on at the Power Forward spot.

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Atlanta:  10-24 ATS on the road
New York:  44-22 ATS in "win situation" games with point spreads between +3 and -3
New York:  3-8 ATS as a home underdog

Hawks: PF John Collins (foot) Out 

Hawks: PF Danilo Gallinari, SF DeAndre Hunter, C Clint Capela, SG Kevin Huerter, PG Trae Young

Knicks:  Nelrens Noel (foot) Out ** PG Derrick Rose (ankle) Out ** SDF Cam Reddish (shoulder) Out ** PG Kamba Walker (Knicks gave up on him) Out