Expect Julius Randle to Continue Dominance of Hawks
By Peter Dewey
For the first time in eight years, playoff basketball will return to the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, when the New York Knicks take on the Atlanta Hawks tonight.
New York is looking to continue what has been a magical season, as the Knicks defied all expectations and claimed the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference by winning 16 of their final 20 games. Despite that run, Vegas hasn’t been giving the Knicks much respect, and today's opening game is set as a -110 pick'em at WynnBET.
New York swept the season series between the two teams, and it mainly had to do with the performances that Julius Randle put up in each game. Randle, who has a player prop projection for points set at 26.5 in this one with the over (-120) being favored to under (+100), has played his best basketball against Atlanta this season.
Over the Knicks’ three games against the Hawks, Randle averaged 37.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists. Here’s a look at his stat lines from each of the matchups:
Jan. 4: 28 points (11-of-19 FG, 0-of-5 3P FG), 17 rebounds, nine assists
Feb. 15: 44 points (14-of-22 FG, 7-of-13 3P FG), nine rebounds, five assists
April 21: 40 points (11-of-21 FG, 6-of-8 3P FG), 11 rebounds, six assists
My goodness. Atlanta hasn’t had an answer for Randle this year, as he’s shot 58.1 percent from the field against the Hawks despite having to deal with Clint Capela protecting the rim. John Collins and Capela have proven they aren’t capable of covering Randle on the perimeter, while DeAndre Hunter is too undersized to handle Randle in the post.
The Knicks will likely go to their All-Star early and often, and the fact that his projected point total is so close to his season’s average has me confident that he can hit the over.
This season, Randle has put up 24.1 points per game, and he’s been even better at home where he averaged 25.5 points in 36 games. Already the NBA’s leader in minutes per game, you can bet Randle will be out there as much as he can with the Knicks trying to take a 1-0 lead in the series.