The Chicago Bulls (18-45) and the Atlanta Hawks (22-41) will square off in the Windy City for a Southeast vs. Central Division collision. The tip is set for 3:30 PM ET and will be televised on FSN and WGN. The Bulls have resumed their winning ways in this series after seeing the Hawks snap a five-game winning streak against them in Chicago in January. Most recently, the Bulls traveled down to the ATL two days ago where they defeated the Hawks 168-161 in a four-overtime thriller. Chicago closed as a one-point underdog.
Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls Overview
Atlanta Hawks
As a result of the many overtime escapades on Friday, the Hawks found themselves relinquishing a four-game cover streak against the spread. Overall, Atlanta has played .500 basketball in their previous four matches going 2-2 SU.
Chicago Bulls
As a result of their heroics in Atlanta, Chicago comes into this contest going 5-1 both straight up and against the spread in their last six games. What appears to be a late-season surge, the Bulls have shown that they are not ready to tank just yet in hopes of attaining a high pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. This is a bit of revelation that has swept across the league with the play of Cleveland, New York, and now Chicago (who are three of the worst teams in the NBA) as of late.
Reasons To Back Atlanta
Despite what transpired on Friday, Atlanta still owns a considerable edge in offensive production as they procure 112.1 points per game (15th in the NBA) which is 7.3 points greater than Chicago’s 28th-ranked scoring offense which produces just 104.8 points per game. Moreover, Atlanta’s bench also produces 8.9 more points per game compared to Chicago’s bench. These two narratives justify a play on Atlanta standing alone. However, given the motivation factor that will also come with the Hawks looking to avenge the four-overtime loss, the Hawks will focus their approach to utilize these two advantages to atone for what happened in the ATL on Friday.
Reasons To Avoid Chicago
Did Chicago throw everything it had at Atlanta to get the win on Friday? That is the huge question mark surrounding this team. Hard-fought wins are known to take more out of a group than perhaps a bitter loss on many occasions as they can be exhausting, to say the least. Unfortunately for Chicago, they are tasked with facing the very team that they likely expended all their energy to beat in their follow-up. Given the highlighted motivation that Atlanta may harbor to redeem themselves against the Bulls, Chicago is a team worth fading here even if they own the most recent win.
- Get more details: Atlanta at Chicago NBA Match-up
