Knicks Look To Rebound, Face Hawks
Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks have struggled early.
After a miserable start to the season, the New York Knicks will look to turn things around Wednesday night with a trip to the Atlanta Hawks.
Opening tip is scheduled for shortly after 8:00 p.m. ET at Phillips Arena in downtown Atlanta.
The Knicks (2-4, 1-1 road) suffered their worst loss of the season Sunday, falling 120-89 at home to the San Antonio Spurs. Outplayed in every aspect of the game, the team was inundated with boos while head coach Mike Woodson’s head was called for.
Carmelo Anthony had a season-low 16 points in the game to lead the Knicks in scoring. Andrea Bargnani also had 16 points while Metta World Peace (13pts) and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. (11pts) scored double digit points off the bench. In his return from suspension, J.R. Smith scored just five points on 1 for 9 shooting across 21 minutes.
As a team, the Knicks shot 37.8 percent including 27.3 percent from beyond the arc compared to the Spurs’ 53.9 percent and 42.9 percent. San Antonio out-rebounded New York 51-33 as the Knicks were in desperate need of a big body in the center.
Woodson eulogized the game saying his team played with “no pride†while Anthony described the loss as “embarrassingâ€. Both will hope to make a better impression against the Hawks, a team they swept during the 2012-13 season.
Atlanta (4-3, 2-0 home) defeated the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night to continue what has been a solid start to the season. New head coach Mike Budenholzer saw Al Horford – one of Atlanta’s new faces – take the team on his shoulders and force his way past the Bobcats, tallying 24 points in the process.
With the Eastern Conference beating up on itself early in the season, the Hawks currently sit third in the conference, behind the Indiana Pacers (8-0) and Miami Heat (5-3). Were the team to finish in that position come the end of the season, it would have to be considered something of an upset.
Atlanta is of course not looking that far ahead. In fact, it’s hard to imagine the team is looking any further than Wednesday’s showdown with the Knicks, an encounter they figure to have their hands full with.
New York has gotten the better of this matchup in recent years. The Knicks currently have a four-game winning streak against the Hawks, which includes last season’s three-game sweep. Furthermore, the Knicks have taken seven of the last eight meetings between the two sides.
The Knicks are without center Tyson Chandler, who left last Tuesday’s game against Charlotte with a knee injury and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. The Knicks currently face a debilitating luxury tax situation which has prevented them from signing another big body to spell Chandler.
The Hawks continue to be without guard Lou Williams who suffered a torn ACL last January, but the Atlanta Constitution-Journal is reporting that his return is getting closer after he participated in contact drills earlier this week.
New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks odds for 11/13/2013
The Hawks will enter the game as favorites thanks to a combination of home court advantage and the Knicks’ early season woes.
The spread opened at 3.5. So far this season, Atlanta (5-2-0 ATS) has fared better than New York (2-4-0 ATS) against the spread. However, New York is 6-2-0 ATS in its last eight games against the Hawks and 9-2-0 ATS in the last 11 played at Phillips Arena, which makes them worth considering on Wednesday night.
The over/under opened at 198.5 but has already climbed to as high as 200 with some sportsbooks. Both the Hawks (6-1-0) and Knicks (4-2-0) have favored the over this season. If you need more incentive to take the over, consider this: the total has gone over in 13 of New York’s last 18 trips to Atlanta.
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