Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks Prediction, 5/23/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Atlanta Hawks vs New York Knicks

Date: Sunday, May 23, 2021

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Atlanta (+1.5)

Madison Square Garden is the site where and the New York Knicks (41-31) will take on the Atlanta Hawks (41-31) on Sunday. New York opens this contest as 1.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 217.

The Atlanta Hawks played the Houston Rockets and notched a win by a score of 124-95 in their last contest. Atlanta ended the contest having earned a 54.4% FG percentage (49 out of 90) and buried 7 out of their 21 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Hawks made 19 of 26 tries for a rate of 73.1%. When it comes to rebounding, they collected 56 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 32 assists for the contest while creating 15 turnovers and having 10 steals. Concerning defense, Atlanta allowed the other team to go 33.7% from the floor on 31 of 92 shooting. Houston distributed 25 assists and had 8 steals for the matchup. On top of that, Houston collected 43 rebounds (11 offensive, 32 defensive) and added 8 blocks. Houston finished 75.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of their 20 tries. They also knocked down 18 of 63 tries from beyond the arc.

Onyeka Okongwu is one player who came through for the matchup. He left the arena with 21 points on 10 out of 13 shooting. He saw the court for 32:54 minutes and also snagged 15 rebounds. Okongwu finished the game shooting 76.9% from the field and distributed 3 assists. An additional guy that had an impact in this contest for the Hawks was John Collins. He grabbed 4 rebounds in his 16:20 minutes played. He ended up going 71.4% from the floor in the game by shooting 5-of-7 (15 points). At the conclusion of this game, Collins wasn't able to notch an assist.

Atlanta heads into this game with a win-loss record of 41-31 so far this season. The Hawks are connecting on 37.3% from downtown (895 of 2,402) and 81.2% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 113.7 points per outing (13th in the NBA) while shooting 46.8% from the floor. They are giving up possession 13.2 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 19.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Atlanta is collecting 45.6 rebounds per game and has earned 1,737 assists for the season, which has them ranked 19th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. Defensively, the Hawks have forced 12.3 turnovers per game while drawing 19.8 fouls. They give up 34.9% on 3-point shots while they are 12th in the NBA in points per game allowed (111.4). The Hawks defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 46.3% (886 of 1,422) and they surrender 42.7 boards per game as a unit. They are ranked 11th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,754 surrendered so far this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the New York Knicks got the win with a final of 96-92 when they faced the Boston Celtics. The Knicks were able to pull down 37 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 41 in this contest. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while getting 7 steals in the matchup. The Celtics were called for 19 fouls in the game which got the Knicks to the free throw line for 19 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 78.9%. Pertaining to 3-point shots, New York converted 13 of 27 tries (48.1%). When the final whistle was blown, the Knicks ended up going 34 for 79 from the field which had them shooting 43.0%. The Knicks allowed the Celtics to knock down 35 of their 86 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.7% for the matchup. They finished the game shooting 26.8% from behind the 3-point line via 11 of 41 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 15 from the free throw line (73.3%). In regard to how they attacked the glass, New York allowed Boston to collect 46 overall (9 on the offensive side).

RJ Barrett was important for the Knicks in this game. He made 7 out of 12 for the game for a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and had 4 rebounds. Barrett tallied 22 points in his 33:10 minutes on the court and accumulated 2 assists in the game. Another guy who was a determining factor for New York was Julius Randle. He ended up with 7 dimes in 37:29 mins on the hardwood, and he put in 5 of 17 from the floor. Randle walked away from this one going 29.4% from the floor and also notching 20 points and 7 rebounds.

New York has a win-loss mark of 41-31 on the season. As an offensive team, the Knicks are shooting 45.6% from the field, which ranks 21st in the NBA. New York has totaled 7,706 points on the year (107.0 per game) and they pull in 45.1 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 21.4 times per contest (29th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.9 times per game. The Knicks are responsible for committing 20.5 personal fouls per game and they hit 78.4% from the free throw line. The Knicks on defense are ranked 1st in the league in PPG surrendered with 104.7. They have relinquished 23.6 dimes and 44.1 rebounds every game, which is 6th and 16th in the NBA. The New York defense allows 33.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (864 of 2,565) and their opposition makes 76.1% of their foul shots. They are forcing their opponents into 12.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.0% from the field (1st in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Atlanta (+1.5)

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