Atlanta Hawks vs Chicago Bulls: Injury Report

The Atlanta Hawks have released their initial injury report ahead of their big NBA Cup matchup vs the Bulls

Nov 9, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder reacts on the sideline against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

After spending three games out on the West Coast, the Atlanta Hawks wrap up their four-game road trip in the midwest. Atlanta is going to resume NBA Cup play tonight vs the Chicago Bulls and it is a big game when it comes to the NBA Cup Standings. Ahead of the game tomorrow, Atlanta has released its initial injury report. It is a clean injury report for the Hawks. The only player listed was Cody Zeller, who is not with the team.

Clean injury report for the Hawks on Friday for the NBA Cup game in Chicago.

G League: Barlow, Gueye, Lundy (injured)

Not with Team: Zeller https://t.co/PsVLZm0fmt

— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) November 21, 2024

Right now, the Hawks find themselves all alone at the top of East Group C. They are the only team to have not taken a loss and have wins over the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards. They face the Cleveland Cavaliers next week in the final game of the first stage of the NBA Cup and if Atlanta finds a way to beat both the Bulls and the Cavs, they would advance to the next stage of the NBA Cup in what would be a huge surprise around the league.

For Atlanta to do that though, they are going to have to play better than they did last night vs Golden State.

More often than not in Hawks losses, it is the defense that costs the Hawks more than their offense, but their defense played pretty well last night, especially after the first quarter. It was the offense that could not find its way last night. There have been plenty of games where the Hawks let their opponents have a big night shooting, but this was not one of those nights.

Atlanta's offense could not find its rhythm all night long. The Hawks shot 33% from the field and 26% from three and it is hard to point to any good performances from anyone. Atlanta finished with a horrible 86.9 offensive rating in the game and a 42% true shooting percentage. Golden State has one of the NBA's best defenses, but the Hawks offense was a no-show and they could not get shots to fall.

When the Atlanta Hawks have lost basketball games this year, you can usually point to a single quarter as the reason why. They were outscored 38-17 in the third quarter in the loss to the Blazers on Sunday, they scored only 15 points in the 4th quarter in a loss to Chicago and tonight vs the No. 1 team in the Western Conference, Atlanta was outscored 41-22 in the first quarter. Golden State only outscored Atlanta 79-75 the rest of the way, but the damage was done already. Atlanta's offense was non-existent the whole night and Golden State cruised to a 120-97 victory over the Hawks.

The defense was bad in the first quarter, but the offense was the main issue. The Hawks shot 35% from the field and 29% from three. Golden State on the other hand was 60% from the field and 46% from three. The bench for the Warriors outscored the Hawks bench 19-3. It was a really rough first quarter for Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu, De'Andre Hunter, and Kobe Bufkin and it ended up being a rough game.