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NBA Betting: Atlanta Hawks Season Long Handicapping 1/2/2026 vs. New York Knicks

by Spencer Toth - 1/2/2026

NBA betting Atlanta Hawks season long handicapping vs New York Knicks Kristaps Porzingis

All year long, Doc’s Sports will be breaking down every weekday Atlanta Hawks game while providing free best bets along the way. The objective is to stay on top thanks to an in-depth analysis of the ever-changing Hawks roster, and this year has been a great success as we take a 28.8 unit profit into 2026. 

On Wednesday night, the Atlanta Hawks snapped their seven-game losing skid with a blowout win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. They took a 70-49 lead into halftime before winning 126-102, led by a 34-point double-double from Jalen Johnson. Kristaps Porzingis only played 17 minutes in his return from injury, but he finished with 16 points and a team-high +22 plus/minus. The effort on defense was remarkable to watch, as the Hawks effectively rotated while playing strong small-ball lineups. The return of Porzingis from injury certainly helped their spacing on offense, but it was their defensive intensity that allowed them to secure a much-needed win. From a betting perspective, we went 2-2. We took a gutsy pick on both the spread and moneyline by taking the Hawks, which turned out to be a sweat-free winner. However, the blowout nature of the game caused us to lose our two player prop picks. We took Gobert to collect 12+ and 14+ rebounds, and he had 11 with 8 and a half minutes left in the fourth. However, he checked out and didn’t return as Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch elected to give his bench a run. 

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Tonight, one of the fiercest NBA rivalries gets renewed as the Atlanta Hawks (16-19) visit Madison Square Garden to take on the Knicks (23-10). Trae Young has tormented the Knicks over the years, including his famous 4-1 victory over the Knicks in the 2021 playoffs. However, Young has yet to taste victory for the Hawks since October, as he sat out their big win over the Timberwolves, and has gone 0-5 since returning from his knee injury. If there was ever a time and place for Young to get his mojo back, the bright lights of Madison Square Garden are the perfect spot to do so. He has spent the last 8 seasons in Atlanta and has never played with an All-Star teammate. It appears as though that trend is coming to an end, thanks to a stellar season from Jalen Johnson, but now Young is playing the worst basketball of his career. His 30.9% clip from behind the arc is the lowest of his career, while his 19.3 PPG and 8.9 assists are the lowest since his rookie season. While his cold spell on the offensive end is worrying, the even more troubling figure is the 1.5 rebounds per game he has collected. He isn’t putting the same effort on the defensive end as he did last season, as the Hawks look like a completely different team with him on compared to off the court… and not in a good way. Scheduling and a small sample size can be to blame, but the Hawks are 2-8 with Young in the rotation, compared to 14-11 when he sits. To make matters worse, the rumblings in the locker room are that no one wants to play with Young, whose poor form has tainted an otherwise successful rebuild for the Hawks. It may seem rash to say this is a make-or-break game for Trae Young and the Hawks, but with the trade rumors at an all-time high, how Young does tonight could have a huge impact on the trajectory of this franchise. He is questionable to play, but I expect him to suit up. 

Zooming in on tonight’s game, the Hawks have a real tough task on their hands with the Knicks. New York is one and a half games back of the Pistons for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, with a remarkable 15-2 record at home this season. These two sides met last week, with the Knicks taking a 128-125 victory in Atlanta. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson combined for 70 points, as the Knicks crushed the Hawks on the glass with a 55-37 rebounding advantage. That will be less of a factor tonight as the Hawks have reinforcements down low with Porzingis back in the lineup, but the Knicks still have the two best rebounding centers in Towns and Mitchell Robinson. While this isn’t an anti-Trae Young column, it’s important to note that it was a very even game with every Hawk finishing with a plus/minus between 4 and -4 except for Young’s -13 point differential.  Young will need to be better on the outside with several talented guards suiting up for New York. Dyson Daniels will do his best to stay on Brunson as much as possible, but the reality is the Knicks will be looking to get Brunson on Young whenever they can. Brunson is one of the best pure scorers in the league, averaging 29.4 PPG this season. His ability to run a very effective pick-and-roll with Towns has allowed the Knicks to surround their two offensive superstars with 3-and-D type players. Mikal Bridges is known for his midrange, but it’s no secret that he, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart do their best work on the defensive end of the court. 

In tonight’s matchup, the Hawks are coming in as 6-point underdogs against the Knicks. While I would love to tail the Hawks for a second straight contest, the reality is that the Knicks are too good at home to fade with a short line like this. The Hawks' win over the Timberwolves on New Year's Eve was impressive, but this team still has a long way to go before they can compete with the best in the league. Josh Hart is out for the Knicks, but New York had no problem dispatching the Hawks in Atlanta last week, and Hart was out then, too. New York is the better team on both ends of the court, and this short spread implies the Knicks would only be 3-point favorites on a neutral court. Given Young’s poor form and the Knicks drastic home vs. road splits, laying the points with the home team is a no-brainer. 

For the player prop of the night, we will look at the matchup between Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis loves to spread the floor as he doesn’t quite have the physicality needed to tussle with Towns in the paint. Towns will want to keep Porzingis close to the basket whenever possible, while Porzingis will look to draw Towns away and let Jalen Johnson dominate in the paint. With that in mind, we will take the over on Porzingis’s threes and the over on Towns’ points. Porzingis has +130 odds to drain at least two threes, something he did in his only game since coming back from injury. For Towns, his over/under is at 21.5 points with -105 odds on the over. This line feels a bit low for this matchup, as he will get to the free-throw line early and often, and won’t be afraid to bully his way to the hoop whenever he can. 

Pick: New York Knicks (-6) 4 Units

Pick: Kristaps Porzingis Over 1.5 Threes +130 2 Units

Pick: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 21.5 Points -105 2 Units

2025-26 Season Record:
Moneyline: 6-4

Spread: 14-11

Total: 1-6

Player Props: 22-10

Overall: 44-31

Total Units: Up 28.8 Units  

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