Hawks vs Bulls: Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Can the Hawks bounce back from their loss to the Pistons and get a win at home vs Chicago?

Nov 8, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) moves the ball up court next to Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images / David Reginek-Imagn Images

After a narrow loss to the Detroit Pistons last night, the Atlanta Hawks are back in action tonight at State Farm Arena tonight hosting the Chicago Bulls. It is a challening portion of the schedule, as the Hawks are playing another back-to-back with travel.

Atlanta was feeling good after upsetting the New York Knicks on Wednesday, but they got down by as much as 24 in the loss last night vs the Pistons. That early defecit was too big to overcome and though the Hawks had the lead late, they could not stop Cade Cunningham at the end and lost by a point.

The injury report for this game is going to be huge. Because they played last night, Atlanta has yet to release theirs. Chicago will be waiting to see if star guard Zach LaVine is able to give it a go tonight, as he is questionable with a right adductor strain. Because they played last night, Atlanta could have guys out tonight.

Game Preview

This is going to be a game between two of the NBA's worst defenses and the scoring could be very high. This is the first meeting of the year between the two teams.

Coming into tonight's game, Atlanta is 8th in PPG, 16th in field goal percentage, 16th in three-point attempts, 17th in three-point percentage, 5th in free throw attempts, 19th in rebounds, and 22nd in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 10th in points per 100 possessions, 9th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 13th in offensive rebounding rate, and 7th in free throw rate.

Defensively, it is not pretty for the Hawks. Theya re 28th in PPG allowed, 19th in FG% allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed, and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 24th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 28th in effective field goal percentage allowed. Atlanta's defense is going to be challenged tonight by Chicago. The Bulls shoot three's at high rate and have guys that can put up a big number, especially if LaVine plays.

The Bulls offense as a whole is just middling though. They are 14th in PPG, 21st in field goal percentage, 3rd in 3PA, 9th in 3P%, 19th in free throw percentage, 5th in rebounding, and 24th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Chicago is is 25th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 20th in turnover percentage, 27th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 26th in free throw rate.

The defensive numbers of the Bulls are not much better than Atlanta's. Chicago is 27th in PPG allowed, 26th in field goal percentage allowed, 24th in three point attempts allowed, and 4th in three point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Bulls are 18th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 20th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Trae Young had one of his best games of the season last night and could have another big game tonight. Young tallied 35 points on 11-25 shooting and 13 assists. He was 6-12 from three. The Pistons have a far better defense than Chicago and Young could feast against them.

Dyson Daniels had one of the most impressive games any player in the NBA has had this year. He totaled seven steals, as well as tallying 18 points. He was a menace defensively and will be tasked with guarding LaVine if he plays. If he does not, look for Daniels to guard Coby White.

After a career night on Wednesday, it was a tougher game for Zaccharie Risacher on Friday. He scored seven points on 2-7 shooting and had a rough night on both ends of the floor. There are going to be ups and downs with him this year and last night was a down.

Jalen Johnson took a little bit to get going last night, but finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. He only had one assist last night, something that is not regular for him.

The center position has to be better for the Hawks in this game. Clint Capela did have 12 rebounds last night vs Detroit, but was 3-10 from the field. Onyeka Okongwu had a tough night as well, leading to Quin Snyder giving minutes to Larry Nance. Nance had a nice night on offense, but the defense when he was out there was rough. Okongwu has rested on back-to-backs this year and it could just be Capela and Nance at center tonight.

The bench for the Hawks was outplayed last night in Detroit. Garrison Matthews, David Roddy, and Keaton Wallace could not find a way to get going, though Wallace only played seven minutes. They will need to be able to have more of an impact tonight.

Injury Report

The Hawks have yet to release their injury report for tonight's game. It will be out this afternoon.

For the Bulls, Lonzo Ball is out, while Zach LaVine and Torrey Craig are questionable.

Update (1:00 p.m. ET): De’Andre Hunter (right knee injury management) is out again tonight against Chicago. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kobe Bufkin, Vit Krejci, and Seth Lundy remain out for the Hawks.

Odds

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, Atlanta is a 3-point favorite tonight and the total is set at 237.5.

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G - Trae Young

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Clint Capela

Bulls:

G - Coby White

G - Josh Giddey

F - Zach LaVine

F - Patrick Williams

C - Nikola Vucevic

Additional Links:

RECAP: Atlanta Hawks Start Slow And Can't Catch Up In 122-121 Loss to Pistons