A quick preview of the Atlanta Hawks final game against the Chicago Bulls, fresh after the unforgettable quadruple-overtime game on Friday.
After making history on Friday night with the third highest-scoring game of all time in terms of combined points, the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls will face off again. Let’s hope it doesn’t go to quadruple overtime again, as I’m not sure my heart could take it.
However, one part of Friday’s legendary marathon that it would be nice to see repeated is an incredible game from Trae Young.
Young produced the only 45-point, 15-assist game by a rookie on Friday against the Bulls, which is also only one of four 45-point, 15-assist games in NBA history. The only players other than Trae to produce such an astonishing line are James Harden, Isiah Thomas and Gail Goodrich.
It must be noted that it’s unlikely Friday’s game against the Bulls would’ve gone to overtime had John Collins been healthy. There’s no word on whether Collins (who was out due to flu-like symptoms) will return to action on Sunday against the Bulls to exact some revenge on Chicago.
Just like Friday, this would honestly be a terrific loss for the Atlanta Hawks to take, as it would push them to only 2 games behind the Bulls in terms of draft odds.
The sweet spot in this year’s draft is to attain top-four “seeding” as one of the four worst teams in the NBA. The odds have been flattened, so this lottery will likely be complete pandemonium in the worst (or best, depending on your viewpoint) way, but letting the Bulls pass Atlanta by in draft seeding might seem like a classless move, but that’s just how good young cores are built – as well as a heaping helping of luck.
Either way, it will be interesting to see how the Atlanta Hawks respond after Young played 55 minutes and multiple players expended vast amounts of energy over extended minutes in Friday’s quadruple-overtime game.
One thing’s for sure, Vince Carter will NOT be playing 45 minutes again. Probably.
Tip-off for this game is early on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST.