One opening round best-of-seven matchup in the East that is already set pits the No. 5 Atlanta Hawks against the No. 4 New York Knicks. Something has to give in this one. The Hawks return to the postseason for the first time since the 2016-2017 season. New York missed the playoffs the previous seven years.

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Hawks vs. Knicks Betting Preview

Atlanta secured the fifth seed in the East with a straight-up record of 41-31. It went 25-11 at home with a 16-20 record on the road. The Hawks closed out the regular season with a SU four- game winning streak.

Against the spread, Atlanta was 39-32-1 overall. This includes a profitable 23-13 record at home while going 16-19-1 ATS on the road. The Hawks covered in 22 of 39 games closing as favorites and they were 17-16 ATS as underdogs. The total went 34-37-1 over the course of the 72-game schedule.

Atlanta averaged 113.7 points per game behind Trae Young’s 25.3-point scoring average. It moved to eighth in the league on defense in average points allowed (110.7).

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The Knicks improved from 21-45 in 66 games last season to a SU record of 41-31 to match the Hawks. They also posted the exact same record as Atlanta at home (25-11) and on the road (16-20). They won their final three games SU as part of a 7-3 record over their last 10 outings.

New York was a far more profitable betting team than Atlanta with a 45-26-1 record ATS. This was the best ATS record in the NBA this season. The Knicks were equally as profitable ATS on the road (22-13-1) than at home (23-13). They went 18-8 ATS closing as favorites and 26-18-1 when getting points. The total stayed UNDER in 40 of their 72 games.

This remains one of the lowest scoring teams in the NBA with an average of 107 PPG. However, New York boasts the stingiest defense in the league in average points allowed (105).

Head-to-head in this matchup, New York has won eight of the last 10 meetings SU with a 8-1-1 record ATS. The total has gone OVER in five of the last six games between the two. They met three times this season with the Knicks sweeping the series both SU and ATS.

Hawks vs. Knicks Betting Odds

The series price odds for this pairing are a dead heat with each team set at -110 odds to win. That tends to favor New York given the home court advantage in this best-of-seven clash.

Neither team is expected to do much past this initial round in terms of the odds to win the Eastern Conference. The Hawks actually get the edge in that department at +2800 odds to win the East. New York’s futures betting odds to win a conference title are set at +3300.

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Hawks vs. Knicks Betting Series Prediction

Atlanta has a dynamic scorer in Trae Young. However, New York has a stout defense which is an added plus in postseason play. The Knicks also get the slight edge with the season-series sweep both SU and ATS.

This series could easily go the distance with the home team winning each game SU, and most likely, ATS. Look for New York to advance with the 4-3 series victory.

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