Hawks vs Knicks: Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Today's Game

Can a resurgent Hawks team keep their win streak alive in a big-time showdown at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks?

Jan 20, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) is guarded by New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

As usual, the matchup between the Hawks and Knicks is one of the most entertaining in the league. Atlanta took the first two games of the season series, knocking the Knicks out of contention for the NBA Cup in the second game. However, New York exacted some revenge in the last meeting of these teams by getting a 119-110 win behind 34 points from Jalen Brunson. Atlanta has the chance to clinch the season series with a win tonight. That would be extremely helpful for their chances of making the postseason - they currently sit at the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Fortunately, the Hawks are entering this one with some positive momentum. They're 3-0 since the trade deadline and the new acquisitions of Terence Mann, Georges Niang and Caris LeVert have quickly carved out impactful roles in the rotation. In their last game, Atlanta's 54 points from their bench unit helped them hold off two 30+ point performances from Paolo Banchero (31) and Franz Wagner (37). Mann hit two big threes and LeVert had five points in the fourth quarter, powering the Hawks to 11 of their first 14 points in the clutch.

This is going to be a tough opponent to best, but these are the types of games the Hawks are going to have to win if they want to be a meaningful part of the postseason picture. By winning this game, they can head into the All-Star break with a realistic shot of going on a run over the last two months of the season and punching their postseason ticket.

Game Preview

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 8th in the NBA in PPG, 17th in FG%, 16th in 3PA, 24th in 3P%, 2nd in FTA, 28th in turnovers, and 10th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 20th in points per 100 possessions, 18th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 14th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 5th in free throw rate.

Currently, the Hawks rank 26th in PPG allowed, 27th in field goal percentage allowed, 22nd in three-point attempts allowed, and 24th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 13th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 27th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

In contrast to their previous opponent, New York has some serious offensive firepower. The Knicks rank 5th in PPG, 3rd in FG%, 26th in 3PA, 5th in 3P%, 18th in FTA, 23rd in rebounding, and 3rd in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, New York ranks 2nd in points per 100 possessions, 4th in effective field goal percentage, 4th in turnover percentage, 9th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 11th in free throw rate.

They're also largely an excellent two-way team with some struggles on the perimeter. The Knicks rank 9th in PPG allowed, 20th in FG% allowed, 5th in 3PA allowed, and 30th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, New York ranks 15th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 24th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Trae Young is coming off one of his quieter offensive games. Orlando's defense did an excellent job on Young, limiting him to 19 points on 6-17 shooting. He went 1-8 from three, but there is a real opportunity for a bounce-back against a New York team that has given up the best percentage from deep in the NBA. Young's gone over 23 points in each of his last three games against the Knicks and always comes into this matchup with something to prove. It'd be hard to expect his shooting woes to continue.

One interesting component of this matchup is at the center spot. Karl-Anthony Towns is fresh off a dominant 40 pt, 12 rebound game against the Pacers. This is going to be a difficult matchup for Atlanta to handle, especially with Jalen Johnson out. I'd expect the Hawks to use both Onyeka Okongwu and Mo Gueye to slow Towns down. At 6'11, Gueye has the size to matchup with a true seven-footer in Towns. This could be a game where he has an extensive role after playing 15 minutes against Orlando on Monday.

Although Brunson had 34 in his last game against the Knicks, Dyson Daniels is going to make it a challenge for him to get to his spots. Daniels fouled out of the last game against New York and he's been playing some of his best basketball on both ends of the court. In his last five games, he's averaging 14.6 points on 47.6/50/69.7% shooting splits to go with 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.6 steals. Although he isn't taking a lot of threes, he's choosing his spots well and showing a lot of confidence when he does shoot them. He's struggled on offense against the Knicks, shooting 16.7% from deep and only scoring 8.3 points. If he can turn that trend around, it should be massive for Atlanta's chances of winning this one.

Another Hawk whose had an excellent stretch of games recently is Zaccharie Risacher. Our very own Jackson Caudell wrote about Risacher's improvements recently and had this to say:

"The past six games have been different for Risacher. He scored 30 points on 11-14 shooting in a game vs the Cavs, scored 17 points in a loss vs Indiana, 17 in a win over Detoit, 13 in a win over Milwaukee, and last night he had 18 points in a win over the Wizards. In five of the last six games, Risacher has shot 79%, 55%, 56%, 60%, and 67% from the field. In the month of February, Risacher so far has averaged 14.2 PPG on 56% shooting from the floor and 38% from three."

It wasn't a banner game for him against the Magic as he only scored 11 points, but he looked excellent as a playmaker. He dished out four assists and went 1-2 from deep. His three-point shot has finally started to match up to his projection and it'll be interesting to see if he can keep that going against the Knicks. Risacher had the best game of his young career against the Knicks earlier this year, scoring 33 points in a comeback 121-116 win.

From a larger perspective, Atlanta's bench has been critical to their success. Although it's hard to expect the Hawks to eclipse 54 bench points, the Knicks do not have a ton of depth. Miles McBride, Landry Shamet and Cam Payne had excellent games off the bench for New York in their win over the Pacers. It's going to be up to Atlanta's second unit to slow New York's reserves down and keep them from losing the non-Trae Young minutes by an egregious amount.

Injury Report

Trae Young (right Achilles tendinitis) is probable while Vit Krejci (lower back contusion) and Larry Nance Jr. (right knee injury) are out. Clint Capela (personal) is off the injury report.

For New York, Mitchell Robinson (ankle) has been ruled out of Wednesday's game while O.G Anunoby's avaliability has not been released. He was questionable on Tuesday against the Pacers before being ruled out.

Odds

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, New York is a 8 point favorite in tonight's game and the over/under is set at 241.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER. 

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Georges Niang

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Knicks

G- Jalen Brunson

G- Mikal Bridges

F- Josh Hart

F- Precious Achiuwa

C- Karl-Anthony Towns

Related Links

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