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Playoff basketball is back at the Garden on Saturday as the New York Knicks open their first-round series against the surging Atlanta Hawks.
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With each team looking to land the first punch, my Hawks vs. Knicks predictions expect Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Atlanta to turn Game 1 into a thriller.
Find out more in my NBA picks for April 18.
Our best Hawks vs Knicks SGP for Game 1
Following the All-Star break, the Atlanta Hawks boasted the seventh-best offensive rating (119.8), second-best defensive rating (109.5), and third-best net rating (10.3). Given the team’s recent success and advantage from the perimeter, I’ll take the Hawks to cover a modest spread on the road.
The New York Knicks closed out the final 10 games of the regular season with the slowest pace in the Association, while Atlanta ranked 15th. Both teams finished with Top-12 defensive ratings and didn’t give up many points down the stretch. This one could get chippy, so I’ll bet on defense and pace dictating the final score.
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Nickeil Alexander-Walker has reached 21+ points in 10 of his last 14 games, and he also lit up the Knicks for 28 points per game across his last three matchups against them, scoring 21+ in each. Don’t expect Alexander-Walker to regress in the playoffs.
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