NBA announces another Hawks schedule change before Bulls game

The Atlanta Hawks are visiting the Chicago Bulls tonight, the start of a three-game road trip, and they got a key update about their future.

Atlanta is 10-11 on the road this season, and they had to skip their home game against the Houston Rockets due to inclement weather. The measure was part of a series of postponements across the league, but most were due to wildfires in California.

Ahead of the tilt against the Bulls, the NBA announced the new date for Rockets-Hawks.

Rockets-Hawks gets new date

The game will not be played on January 28. It will, of course, still take place at State Farm Arena.

This rescheduling actually gives the Hawks a brief respite. They were slated to be on a four-game road trip, with matchups against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, and Detroit Pistons.

Now, they will only face a three-game stint against the Cavs, Pacers, and Pistons.

The Hawks have faced a road-heavy slate to this point of the season, playing two more games away than at home. But that will balance out over the second half of the season.

Schedule adjustment just one potential X factor as Hawks visit Bulls

The upcoming interruption to the road trip was the good news the Hawks got on Wednesday, but not every update was positive.

The Hawks announced that Trae Young would miss tonight’s game, and it gets worse.

They will also be without De’Andre Hunter and Zaccharie Risacher as Jalen Johnson and Larry Nance Jr. remain sidelined. Kobe Bufkin is out for the season and Cody Zeller remains away from the team, but that is old hat at this point.

Being on the second night of a back-to-back with travel surely factored into the decision for Young and Risacher.

But Hunter was a late scratch before the Hawks’ win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

Johnson’s presence is sorely missed on both ends of the floor, and he is burning through his allotment of missed games to be eligible for postseason awards. That is secondary to getting him on the floor, though.

Hawks can get back to .500 on no rest

The Hawks have struggled in many scenarios this season, including on the second night of a back-to-back.

They enter this contest against the Bulls 3-4 on the season.

Given all the players they are set to be without – most notably Young – it is a safe assumption that they will not pull even in those situations. That is why they play the game. But Johnson and Young are first and second, respectively, in on-off differential, per Cleaning The Glass.