Hawks vs. Knicks Odds
| Hawks Odds | +6.5 (-105) |
| Knicks Odds | -6.5 (-115) |
| Over/Under | 210 |
| Time | 12 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
While the Hawks' issues with the coronavirus have taken some of the luster out of this matchup, Christmas Day at the Garden between two teams that hate each other is still a contest worth getting up for.
Trae Young — perhaps the most hated man in New York besides Bill de Blasio — will miss this game with COVID-19. Which is a damn shame.
In fact, five of the Hawks' top-seven scorers will miss this game due to the virus or due to injury. Young, Clint Capela and Kevin Huerter were all placed on the COVID-19 health protocol list this week.
And De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish are out with injuries.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are missing Nerlens Noel, Kevin Knox and Miles McBride due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus — a pretty useless group compared to Atlanta's crop of top talent.
As a result, this line has moved from Knicks -1 to -6.5 as of Saturday morning. Expect the line to move even further in the Knicks' favor as the day progresses.
And the public is piling on the Knicks as a result. About 67% of the total money is on the Knicks' spread on account of the Hawks' personnel issues.
Read further to see whether the sharps are fading or following the public for the first game of the NBA's Christmas Day slate.
