Hawks vs. Knicks, 5/22/21 NBA Playoffs Predictions

Hawks vs. Knicks Game 1 Prediction

The Knicks are 1.5-point home favorites versus the Hawks for Game 1 of the NBA conference quarterfinals at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday night. Will the Knicks cover that number or are the Hawks the better play?

Game Snapshot

501 Atlanta Hawks (+1.5) at 502 New York Knicks (-1.5); o/u 215

7:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, May 22, 2021

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York

Atlanta Hawks DFS Notes

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan said that De'Andre Hunter has not suffered any setbacks and that he will speak to the team trainers and see if Hunter's minute restriction can go up. Hunter scored 14 points in 24 minutes in the teams' regular season finale against the Rockets, and has looked good in practices ever since. So much though, that he may be able to see his minute restriction lifted, or at least increased, for Sunday's Game 1 against the New York Knicks. We should know more as we get closer to tip off.

New York Knicks DFS Notes

Julius Randle, Jerami Grant and Michael Porter Jr. are the final selections for the Most Improved Player award for the 2020-2021 season. Porter Jr. was already pretty good in the playoffs and we saw his improvement coming from a mile away, while Jerami Grant would have had a better shot had Detroit not rested him so much. Julius Randle, however, went from 19.5 points per game last season to 24.1 this year, with a more important stat being his 1.0 to 2.3 triples made per game on a drastically improved 41.1% from that range. These numbers led the Knicks to the No. 4 seed in the East, so Randle deserves the MIP Award in every way.

Hawks vs. Celtics Playoffs Prediction

The Hawks are 0-6-1 against the spread in their last seven games versus the Knicks and are 1-4 against the number in their last five games in New York. They’re also 0-5 against the spread in their last five road games and are 2-7 at the betting window in their last nine playoff games as an underdog. On the other side, the Knicks are 16-5 against the spread in their last 21 games as a home favorite and are 9-3 against the number in their last 12 home games.

NBA PLAYOFFS PREDICTION: NEW YORK KNICKS -1.5