Hawks @ Knicks Predictions: Julis Randle under 25.5pts for a Prop Play

Trae Young had a fine game for the Hawks in Game 1 but does Zach Rainey think he can repeat his performances and lead the Hawks to a 2-0 series lead? Let's take a look...

I’ll start this article off by saying this: I’m glad the New York Knicks are back in the NBA Playoffs.

The league is just better when certain teams are good, and the Knicks are one of them. I would lump them in with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks marked the first time since 2012-13 that the Knicks were in the playoffs.

Game 1 didn’t turn out how Knicks fans hoped, with Trae Young hitting a go-ahead layup late in the game to earn Atlanta the win.

Everything I’ve been reading about Game 2 says to back the Knicks, and that Julius Randle, the heart and soul of the Knicks, will play much better in this one. The Knicks scored 105 points in Game 1 after averaging 124 points against the Hawks in the regular season.

One thing that also comes with big-name teams like the Lakers and Knicks is that the public is likely to be all over them, and we see that here. The Knicks are getting 68 percent of spread bets and 83 percent of the money. On the moneyline, the Knicks are getting 82 percent of the bets and 98 percent of the money.

I do hold a Hawks to win the series ticket, so I likely won’t be placing a bet in this series personally until later and if I get into a position where I can hedge.

Everyone says the Knicks HAVE to play better in Game 2 because what we saw in Game 1 “isn’t who they are.”

I totally disagree. The Hawks have the better personnel going down the lineup and in my opinion are the deeper team. The Knicks also likely won’t be as fortunate to watch Danilo Gallinari go 3-for-11 and 1-for-7 from three again.

I also think that the more De’Andre Hunter plays and gets himself acclimated to game speed again, the advantage goes even more toward Atlanta. Before getting injured, he was Atlanta’s second-best player early in the season and I think we start to see that again from him the more time goes on.

The longer this series goes, the more worn down the Knicks are going to get. While Randle was awarded most-improved player yesterday, it doesn’t change the fact that he led the league in minutes per game and that the offense runs through him.

If it wasn’t for Alec Burks going off for 27 points off the bench, the Knicks likely get blown out in Game 1 and I don’t expect Burks to sustain that type of output. On the flip side, I don’t expect Lou Williams, who shot 6-of-9 for Atlanta in Game 1, to be that efficient going forward either.

I’m not going to take a side in this game because of my futures ticket, but will take Julius Randle under 25.5 points. It’s been a great turnaround season for the Knicks and Randle was at the helm of it all, but I think the minutes start to catch up with him.

You can get under 25.2 at -110 at BetMGM, -115 at PointsBet and -106 at 888Sport, BetRivers and Unibet.