Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks Preview, Game Notes, & Prediction

Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks Preview

The Good Guys’ Lineup:

The Bad Guys’ Lineup:

Who?: Chicago Bulls(50 – 19) @ Atlanta Hawks (40 – 30) 3-6 9-1

When?: March 22nd, 2011; 8:00 PM (Eastern Time)

Where?: Philips Arena (Atlanta, GA)

How?: TNT(National Televised), 99X FM(97.9 radio), ESPN Radio (National Radio)

Chicago Bulls Blog: Pippen Ain’t Easy, Blog A Bull, By The Horns

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Injuries:
Chicago: None to report.
Atlanta: Players are hurt/banged up  but all are expected to play.

Bulls vs. Hawks Season Series:
The Hawks will face the Bulls will face the Chicago Bulls for the third and final time this month and season. Both teams have split the two games so far, each winning in their respected home court. The Hawks won the first meeting (in Philips Arena) without Josh Smith in one of the best Hawks’ games of the year. The Bulls won the second meeting (in United Center) and blew out the Hawks team even without Carlos Boozer and Josh Smith “healthy”.

Cool Facts :

The Hawks have won six straight home games against the Bulls.

Al Horford and Joakim Noah were teammates iin the University of Florida where they won back-to-back championships together.

Kirk Hinrich played the Bulls from 2003 up to 2010. He is the Bulls’ all-time leader in 3 point field goal made and attempted. He also ranks 4th in assists and steals.

Jamal Crawford who was drafted by Cavaliers was traded to the Bulls on draft night, spending his first four seasons in Chicago.

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Like you read, the season series is tied up 1 to 1. Whoever wins this one, wins the season series. Even though the Hawks have beaten the Bulls earlier this season, it still doesn’t look good for them. Since their first win against the Bulls (March 2nd), the Hawks have gone on to go 3-6 in their next 9 games. Also since that game,  the Bulls have gone on to go 9-1 in their next 10 games. Basically, the Hawks are one of the more struggling playoff teams and the Bulls are one of the hottest teams, if not the hottest team, in the entire NBA.

Both teams are fairly healthy. Boozer and Gibson are banged up, but they did play their last game. Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Joe Johnson have injuries that are bothering them, but they are all playing. No excuses for either team in this one.

The Bulls did play last night, but only one player (Luol Deng) played more than 30 minutes. The Bulls blew out the Kings early (and won by 40!), so their starters got to rest in the 4th quarter. Fatigue shouldn’t be much of a factor here.

According to Michael Cunningham (@ajchawks), Coach Drew will opt to go with the Hinrich-Johnson-Williams-Smith-Horford lineup. The Hawks are 1-3 when using that lineup this season.

What (or who) to watch out for:

• Front-court match-up. Boozer & Noah vs. Smith & Horford. All 4 are capable to make an All-Star team. Only Horford did this season, but all 4 have the skills to make it next season. On paper, I would gladly take Smith & Horford since they are younger and have more potential but Boozer and Noah are players that play to their strengths and know their limits. If Josh can play smart and limit the number of jumpshots he takes, it would greatly benefit the Hawks.
• Hinrich guarding Rose. Hinrich knows Derrick Rose pretty well and has played some pretty good D in the past two meetings, can Hinrich limit and slow down D-Rose?
• Joe Johnson. He has had career games against the Bulls and there really isn’t a player on the Bulls that can stop him. Can Joe Johnson take over and carry the scoring load?
• Jeff Teague. Will he play? He received a DNP-CD last game and only garbage minutes the game before. I would love to see Teague play the backup point guard minutes tonight. I don’t want to see Jamal playing point guard. Jamal can’t defend Rose whatsoever. I’m not sure if Teague will be able to defend Rose either, but he can’t be any worse than Jamal.
• Milestone Watch: Jamal Crawford needs 8 more Field Goals Made to put his career total to 4000.

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Prediction: I want to be wrong with this prediction. I think Bulls win solidly by at least 8 points. I don’t expect the Hawks to win this one since the Bulls are clearly the better team, but I would love to see Atlanta play up to their potential or close to it. If I see the Hawks giving a fight and not backing down from the challenge, I’ll be satisfied.