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

Can the Hawks extend their hold over Group C in the NBA Cup with a win over Chicago?

Rohan Raman | Nov 22, 2024

Apr 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Javonte Green (24) defends Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) during the second half during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images / David Banks-Imagn Images

In this story:

Atlanta Hawks

After a disappointing blowout loss at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, the Hawks need to get back on track with a win against the Chicago Bulls tonight. On paper, the Bulls are one of the more middling teams in the NBA. They are currently 12th in the Eastern Conference and seem poised to eventually be one of the worst teams in basketball. However, the Hawks cannot afford to overlook them. Atlanta's 7-9 record is a hair above the Bulls' 6-10 record. The separation in the standings (5th for Atlanta, 12th for Chicago) is only because the East has been rather bad outside of the top two teams. If Atlanta cannot find a way to slow down players like Zach LaVine, Coby White and Nikola Vucevic, the Hawks could experience a severe drop in both the standings and their NBA Cup ho

Fortunately, the Hawks should have their full rotation available to them. Cody Zeller is the only player who has been ruled out for Atlanta due to not being with the team right now.

So what are the key matchups tonight? Let's preview the game.

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 11th in the NBA in PPG, 19th in FG%, 18th in 3PA, 19th in 3P%, 4th in FTA, 25th in turnovers, and 11th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 18th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 9th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 7th in free throw rate.

These numbers mostly took a dip against Golden State due to it being a blowout, but Atlanta's rebounding and free throw attempts actually improved. The rebounding battle could be a big factor in this game - the Bulls are ninth in rebounds per game, but have a putrid offensive rebounding percentage of 23.6%. Therefore, if Atlanta can play up their offensive rebounding percentage, it will give them more shot opportunities for their talented offensive duo of Trae Young and Jalen Johnson. The ability of Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu to thrive on the offensive glass could be a critical subplot of this game.

That being said, the Hawks' ability to consistently defend the three-pointer is going to be their biggest question mark until further notice. The game against the Warriors was definitely a step back in this area. Outside of Steph Curry, who is going to make his threes regardless of the defense, the Hawks let Andrew Wiggins and Buddy Hield hit 3 three-pointers of their own. Even though the Warriors only shot 35% from deep as a team, they hit six threes in the first quarter and got out to an early 19-point lead that allowed them to take Atlanta out of the game early.

Currently, the Hawks rank 28th in PPG allowed, 15th in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed, and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 19th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 26th in effective field goal percentage allowed. That could be a problem against a team like Chicago, who has Zach LaVine, Coby White and Nikola Vucevic connecting on over 39% of their attempts from deep on good volume.

The Bulls have a pretty simple team profile - they take a lot of threes and make a good amount of threes without standing out much in other areas. They are 10th in PPG, 16th in FG%, 3rd in three attempts, 10th in three point percentage, 25th in free throw attempts, 9th in rebounding, and 21st in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Chicago is 23rd in points per 100 possessions, 12th in effective field goal percentage, 19th in turnover percentage, 28th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 27th in free throw rate.

Defensively, the Bulls are 29th in PPG allowed, 29th in field goal percentage allowed, 22nd in three point attempts allowed, and 5th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Chicago is 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 23rd in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Even though the Bulls have an exploitable defense, the Hawks are going to need a strong performance from Trae Young to salt this game away early. Young has not really looked like himself as a scorer this year. In his last two games against the Kings and Warriors, he's scored a combined 19 points on 5-19 shooting despite playing 30+ minutes in both games. On the year, he's averaging 21.9 points (his lowest since his rookie year) and shooting a career-worst 34.1% from deep. Fortunately, he is still one of the best playmakers in the NBA and hit double-digit assists in those same games to alleviate some of the effect of his scoring dip. In a game where he has his full rotation avaliable to him, I expect him to continue to shine as a playmaker while taking advantage of the improved spacing.

Despite the loss, Jalen Johnson recorded another double-double (15 points, 14 rebounds) while hitting three of his five attempts from deep. He has been great to open the season for Atlanta and I do think this could be a big game for him. Chicago does not really have a good answer for slowing him down. Torrey Craig is a fine rotation wing, but Johnson should be handily favored in that matchup.

When it comes to slowing down Chicago, Dyson Daniels is likely going to see extensive time on Zach LaVine. It should be a good opportunity for a rebound performance. Although he's had a phenomenal season so far that all but certifies he will end up on an All-Defensive team if healthy, he did not hvae a banner night against the Warriors. Daniels did not have a steal and could not slow down Curry as he put up 23 points and eight assists on 7-10 shooting from the field. Things should be a little easier against LaVine, but not by much. The Bulls' star is coming into the game averaging 22 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists on a staggering 43.2% from deep on eight attempts a game. He has been absolutely incredible from deep this year and Daniels is going to be a massive part of slowing him down.

Big performance from DeAndre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic on offense are going to be central for this rotation to take advantage of a leaky Bulls defense. Bogdanovic has not quite rounded into his form as a lights-out shooter, but tonight is an excellent opportunity to get his three-ball going. Hunter has been excellent as a shooter this season, hitting 38% of his six attempts a night. His length and defensive instincts are also important to Atlanta on the other end of the floor. If both look good against Chicago, I would expect this to be a reasonably straightforward win for the Hawks.

If the Hawks need a spark tonight, I do think this could be a Larry Nance game. He can stretch Vucevic out a bit because he demands attention as a shooter and brings tough rebounding to any lineup he is a part of. Both are going to be helpful against this Bulls team and make it easier for the Hawks to operate.

Injury Report

Cody Zeller (not with team) is out.

For Chicago, Adama Senogo, Lonzo Ball and Patrick Williams are out. Coby White, EJ Liddell and Torrey Craig are all day-to-day, but expected to suit up.