NBA Basketball

2026-04-06 - New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks

A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown

New York Knicks @ Atlanta Hawks
United States : NBA Basketball
Monday 6th April 2026 - Scheduled 7pm EST
12am (British Time)

Preview

Four games remain on the schedule for the New York Knicks (50-28) and the hope of chasing down the Boston Celtics for the Number 2 Seed in the Eastern Conference are dwindling very quickly. There are 3 games between those teams and the bigger concern may be doing enough to hold off the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Number 3 Seed with just a game separating the Knicks with the Cavaliers.

Some may actually feel it could be beneficial to avoid the Boston Celtics until the Eastern Conference Finals at the earliest, but the players will not be thinking about anything other than building momentum.

The New York Knicks have snapped a three game losing run by winning two in a row, but they will be aware of the kind of challenge that awaits them on Monday. Injuries are beginning to clear up, but Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to miss this game against one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.

For a while it looked like the Atlanta Hawks (45-33) could only think about earning a Play In Tournament spot and the decision to trade Trae Young was seen as one that may have meant reduced expectations. However, the Hawks were well aware of the quality of some of the younger members of the roster and Young's time was seen to have passed.

The Hawks have been in very good form since the All Star Break and the team have moved into the Number 5 Seed in the Eastern Conference and 2 games clear of the Play In Tournament spots. They have won seven of the last eight games, including the last four in a row, and Atlanta have shown how dangerous they are likely to be in the Playoffs having secured wins over both Detroit and Boston in that time.

Earning a home First Round Series is unlikely with 4 games between Atlanta and Cleveland, but the Hawks are facing them twice before the regular season ends. Those games could be seen as markers for the current First Round Series if the season was to end today, although neither team will want to give too much away.

That makes games like this important with the key players likely to be involved before the Hawks begin to cover what they can do in those games with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Of course there is every chance the Knicks could be that First Round opponent instead, but there is momentum in this Hawks team and they are at home for this game on Monday.

Both the Hawks and the Knicks have been playing well on the Offensive side of the court, but the difference here could be that Atlanta have shown a bit more bite to stop teams.

A stronger impact from the three point range also favours the Atlanta Hawks and those factors can just see this game turn in favour of the narrow home favourites.

The expected absence of Karl-Anthony Towns should give the Atlanta Hawks the edge on the boards and there is every chance they can knock off yet another top Seed in the Eastern Conference.