New York Knicks vs Atalanta Hawks prediction for Thursday’s game two of the Eastern Conference playoffs first round at Madison Square Garden In New York. After losing game one, the New York Knicks host the Atalanta Hawks to try to tie the series. Follow on for our free prediction and betting tips.
New York Knicks
It was expected for this series to be a close one as both teams have the same win-loss record in the regular season. The knicks, however, didn’t expect to lose game one at home and face the challenge of losing their home-court advantage. It was a tale of two halves as both teams shared the lead in both halves but the final say was for the Hawks.
The knicks were below their season average from the arc of 39.1%. They made ten of 30 shots but wasn’t enough to take them to the finish line. J. Randle had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Randle has been one of the best players for the knicks in recent games.
Atalanta Hawks
It has been a win against the odds for the Hawks in game one. Atalanta are one of the most dynamic teams in the NBA and play very high-intensity defense that obliges the opponents to commit turnovers like was the case in game one when the Knicks had 11 turnovers to the Hawks just six.
Trae Young was the game’s top scorer with 34 points accompanied by ten assists and seven rebounds. Young is his team’s leader in scoring with 25.3 points per game. If the 23-year-old continues the series in this form, the Hawks will have very good chances of qualifying for the next round.
Key Stats
New York Knicks vs Atalanta Hawks Prediction
As we see in the statistics of both teams, they are very similar in every aspect of the game. We think the key players for both teams, Julius Randle for the Knicks and Trae Young for the Hawks will decide who wins this series depending on their form.
We think this will be another close match. It is difficult to pick the outright winner but we think the Knicks will be more determined to win and tie the series before traveling to Atalanta for the third and fourth games.
We predict Under 213.5 points. We believe Trae Young will be the key player again but the defense will be harder on him this time thus we think he will score under 25.5 points.
New York Knicks vs Atalanta Hawks Betting Tips
Under 213 points 1.90 at bet365
Trae Young to score under 25.5 points 1.83 at bet365