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

The Chicago Bulls face the Atlanta Hawks in Georgia this Monday night. Less than 24 hours since their last game, the Bulls have to take on yet another challenge, only this time on the road. Billy Donovan has problems again, because the starting point guard, Lonzo Ball, won’t be available. Ball is in health and safety protocols, which is a big blow for the guests from Illinois. As for the Hawks, they are already experiencing massive trouble due to the same reason, with Trae Young out, plus several other big-time contributors.

Preview

Chicago Bulls (20-10, TBA) beat the Indiana Pacers last night at United Center, 113-105. Truth be told, the guests from Indianapolis were hit by injuries, making it easier for the Bulls to claim this victory. It was the third consecutive for Donovan’s crew, all of them at home. Previously, they would beat the Lakers and the Rockets.

When looking at the overall statistics, you would never tell that the Bulls had an easy task. Pretty much all the parameters were similar, but the difference was that the hosts scored when mattered and had several bursts that created the difference.

Zach LaVine had 32 points hitting five threes and posting five assists and boards as well. DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, while Nikola Vucevic posted a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, missing three of his 10 shots. Overall, the bulls were rational and pretty efficient in the key stretches.

Atlanta Hawks (15-17, TBA) lost three of their past four games, with the most recent taking place on Christmas Day. The New York Knicks were better than the Hawks in Madison, 101-87. Hosts dropped 20 threes, which was the difference-maker on the court.

The Hawks couldn’t do too much without Trae, especially because the Knicks shut down Bogdanovic, who scored only eight points shooting 2-for-12 from the field. Delon Wright and John Collins were the leading scorers with 20 points each, combining for seven threes in 10 attempts.

Clint Capela had six buckets and nine boards, while Cam Reddish added 10. After falling behind 10+ points in the second period, the Hawks didn’t have a chance to get back in the game and threaten the Knicks. The offense was one-dimensional, without creativity, and that was, in fact their biggest problem throughout the night.

Head to Head

This is the first meeting between these two sides in this campaign. In the previous one, we saw Hawks’ domination, as they swept the Bulls, beating them all three times. The first game in Illinois ended with Atlanta winning 124-104 and, after that, posting 120-108 and 108-97 victories.

Prediction

This time, the Hawks won’t win. They have too many problems with absent players, and even though the Bulls have the same issues and a short time for recovering, in our humble opinion, they are the favorites. All the matchups are in their favor, especially those involving DeRozan and LaVine. Bogdanovic, who needs to score at least 20 for the Hawks to win this one, will be against these two guys, who are much better than him right now.

Pick: Bulls win