NBA: Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Chicago Bulls host the Atlanta Hawks tonight at United Center. Trae and his Hawks need to accelerate in the remaining part of the campaign if they want to reach one of the top six places that leads to the playoffs directly. Right now, Atlanta is eighth and still records mixed results. On the other side, the Bulls are in the mix for the top seed in the East, battling with the Miami Heat and sharing the No.1 place. Each and every game for them has a big importance, so we might expect them to be sharp and motivated at the highest possible level tonight.

Preview

Atlanta Hawks (28-30, +155) won the latest two events before the All-Star break began. Nate McMillan’s unit was better than the Cleveland Cavaliers at home, 124-116, before defeating the Magic in Florida, 130-109. As usual, this unit plays in waves, and they either win or lose in streaks.

We’ve seen them solid in Orlando, with Bogdan Bogdanovic leading the way with 23 points. The Serbian sharpshooter was 9-for-13 from the field, hitting four threes with six assists. Trae had one point fewer, with six assists too, while De’Andre Hunter scored 14 buckets.

The Hawks imposed their own tempo right away, creating a double-digit distance right at the end of the opening period. They were shooting very well from the deep, making 18 of 33 attempts, which is 54.5%. Also, they had 28 free throws, more than double that the hosts.

Chicago Bulls (38-21, -180) finished the first part of the campaign with five consecutive triumphs, beating the Hornets on the road, before posting four victories at home. The first was against the Timberwolves, then the Thunder, the Spurs and at last vs. Kings.

In all of those events, the top scorer of the Bulls was DeMar DeRozan, who currently rides a seven-game streak with 35 or more points scored. He is the first guy in Chicago to do such a thing after Michael Jordan and one of the few in the league over the past several years who did this.

Chicago was better than the Kings, 125-118, with DD dropping 38 buckets, and adding six boards and assists too. Zach LaVine was right behind, with 31 points, six dimes and five rebounds, while Nikola Vucevic delivered a double-double with 21 buckets and 10 boards.

Head to Head Games

The Bulls won both of the previous meetings this season. The first was in Georgia, 130-118, and the second in Illinois, 131-117. These two events took place on December 27 and 29.

Prediction

As you could see, the Bulls apparently have favorable matchups on the court, with LaVine and DeRozan being much better than their guards on the other end. That is why the Bulls scored 261 points combined in the previous two events. The way we see this, Chicago is a much better team, with two players who are scoring 30 or more points each, plus, there is one very dominant guy under the rim. Meanwhile, the Hawks are inconsistent, and they can’t respond to Chicago’s offensive pressure, which is why we have to bet on the hosts.

Pick: Chicago wins -180