Atlanta Hawks (37-21) Chicago Bulls (31-28) Game Preview

(Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Hawks will finish up the second night of a back to back tonight against the Bulls in Chicago. The Eastern Conference playoff picture between the bottom four teams is so close that any of these match ups could be a playoff preview.

Joakim Noah is most likely out tonight versus the Hawks and Tyrus Thomas was traded to the Bobcats at the trade deadline. Rookie Taj Gibson has played well since Noah has been out. The Bulls lose a lot of athleticism when Noah is not in the lineup and are even thinner up front without Thomas.  The Hawks should look to exploit this tonight. The Bulls are firmly aware of Josh Smith’s talents as he recorded a triple double in the last meeting.

Derrick Rose is a match up problem for everyone in the league and the poses a real threat to the Hawks as he will look to attack Mike Bibby relentlessly. The Hawks will have to come up with a team effort defensively tonight. They can not afford to go through parts of this game when they do not defend. You can sometimes get away with that at home but it isn’t going to happen in another team’s building. The Hawks road record (14-14) indicates that they have tried that approach recently.

I’m hoping for a better overall defensive effort tonight as a good way to kick off the month of March. It felt like February was a truly up and down month. The March schedule appears to be a lot easier but the Hawks have to get back to handling the teams they are supposed to on the road and beating everyone at home.

*Injury Update – Joakim Noah is definitely out for tonight’s game and Luol Deng will be a game time decision with a swollen knee per ESPN.