In the NBA there are not to many regular season rivalry matchup. One that is identifiable is the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta is coming off a big road win over the Boston Celtics, and have defeated the Knicks twice this season. With New York being banged up look for the bench play to be key. Cameron Payne is coming off an 18 point game, and Miles McBride put in 16 in the first matchup against Atlanta. Back the Knicks on their home floor.

The Hawks play in streaks and now are on the ascent with wins in three straight and four of five after taking out the Celtics in a wild OT affair on Saturday night. Trae Young appears to have tapped another rich vein of form as he has led Atlanta in scoring eight times in the last nine games, topping out with 43 in last Tuesday's win vs. the Suns. Atlanta is also doing damage recently on the road, with back-to-back away wins at Chicago and Boston. Meanwhile, save a recent blowout of the Bucks, the Knicks have looked mostly flat in January, with just three spread covers their last nine amid some growing defensive concerns for Tom Thibodeau. Play Hawks.

Jalen Johnson had 13 rebounds and three assists in his return from a shoulder injury Saturday against the Celtics. The most encouraging stat was that he logged 38 minutes. He is averaging 10.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game for the season, so we are getting a bit of a discount for this line. He has produced 22 combined rebounds and assists in both of his previous games against the Knicks this season, making this over even more appealing.