Atlanta Hawks Game Preview: Jan. 20 Chicago Bulls
The Atlanta Hawks return home Friday night to take on the Chicago Bulls. What should you look out for in that match-up?
It’d be best not to talk about last basketball game the Atlanta Hawks played. It was not a fun basketball game. In fact, it was an awful basketball game. The Hawks fell to the Detroit Pistons 118-95 in one of their worst performances of the season.
A 42-18 first quarter doomed them from the start. They got outrebounded 60 to 32. They allowed the Pistons to shoot 40 percent from three-point range and they shot just 38.5 percent from the field. At least Paul Millsap played well!
It was just one game. The sky is not falling. The Hawks still have a 24-18 record and would be the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference if the season ended today. One blowout loss to a mediocre team is not a reason to panic.
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Now, back-to-back blowout losses to mediocre teams might be a reason to panic. The Hawks welcome the Chicago Bulls to Atlanta for a Friday evening tussle in Phillips Arena. The Bulls are an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in silly putty.
They started the season off well enough, but recently they’ve revealed themselves to be a seriously flawed team. The Bulls have a tenuous grasp on a playoff spot at the moment. They currently stand as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 21-22 record.
They’ve lost four of their last six games, recently losing to the lowly Dallas Mavericks.
The Bulls have struggled the most on offense. Their offensive rating is ranked 19th in the NBA, as they score just 107.1 points per 100 possessions
The big question surrounding this team before the season even began was whether or not they would have enough three-point shooting. A team with Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, and Jimmy Butler doesn’t exactly scream “three-point shooting efficiency”. As it turns out, those questions have been answered exactly as the pundits expected. These Bulls can’t shoot.
As a team, Chicago makes just 31.7 percent of their three-point attempts. They attempt just 20.3 threes per game. Both those marks are the worst in the NBA. Not great, Bob.
These teams have played once all ready this season. Atlanta came away with a 115-107 victory, despite Jimmy Butler’s 39 point outburst. That game was played on Nov. 9. Plenty of things have changed since then.
Can the Hawks put their loss to Detroit behind them or will Chicago give them back-to-back losses?