Hawks vs Bulls: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups

Jackson Caudell | Apr 1, 2024

Feb 12, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) shoots against / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight might be considered the most important Hawks game of the year. 

Atlanta heads to Chicago tonight in need of a win to close the gap for the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. The No. 9 seed will host the No. 10 seed in the play-in tournament and that is a better position to be in than the No. 10 spot and having to play two road games just to get in the playoffs. The Hawks trail the Bulls by 1.5 games coming into tonight and Chicago also has the tiebreaker over Atlanta. If Atlanta can win tonight on the road, they will close the gap to just a half-game. If they lose, Chicago will be in front by 2.5 games with seven games left. The Hawks probably won't catch Chicago for that spot. They need to win tonight if they want to host that game. 

Atlanta will have the rest advantage coming into tonight's game and they might have reinforcements on the way. Jalen Johnson and Kobe Bufkin are questionable coming into tonight and both guys would be huge for the Hawks. Johnson has not played since March 18th and Bufkin has not played since March 2nd. Johnson would give the Hawks a very good two-way presence and Bufkin would be an upgrade over Trent Forrest at the backup point guard spot. Chicago also played last night in Minnesota and will be on the second night of a back-to-back.

So how do these two teams match up going into tonight?

Game Preview

Neither end of the floor has been impressive for the Hawks in their two games vs the Bulls this year, but the Hawks rely on their offense to win them games. Dejounte Murray had the Hawks offense humming but they hit a wall in the first half against Milwaukee and the Hawks could not recover. Murray has had to put the team on his back with Trae Young out and he is playing a lot of minutes. In the biggest game of the year for the Hawks, Murray is going to need to have a good night. 

Bogdan Bogdanovic might have had his best game of the season on Saturday vs Milwaukee. He scored 38 points on 12-23 shooting and also had 10 rebounds. Bogdanovic was getting it done from three and also getting to the basket and was the best player on the floor for Atlanta on Saturday. Bogdanovic and Murray can be a good scoring duo and Atlanta's offense needs them to be. 

De'Andre Hunter had two great games vs Boston this week but was not able to shoot the ball well from the floor, going 5-13 from the floor and scoring 13 points. Hunter may also be guarding DeMar DeRozan tonight if Johnson does not play. 

If Johnson plays, I believe he will start in place of Vit Krejci. Johnson looked really good in his return from his ankle injury a couple of weeks ago and Atlanta does not have anyone that can do the things Johnson can on both ends of the floor. 

Clint Capela and Bruno Fernando will split the center minutes tonight and they will both be playing crucial roles. Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond have had two big games vs the Hawks this year and Capela and Fernando will need to limit them both. Fernando brings a lot of energy to the floor every night for Atlanta and helped spark a run on Saturday vs Milwaukee. 

The bench rotation will likely consist of Fernando, Garrison Matthews, Bufkin (if he plays), and Vit Krejci (if Johnson plays). 

The Hawks come into this game 5th in PPG, 20th in field goal percentage, 7th in three-point attempts, 16th in three-point percentage, 6th in free-throw attempts, 2nd in offensive rebounding, and 15th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 8th in points per 100 possessions, 16th in effective field goal percentage, 10th in turnover percentage, 5th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 10th in free throw rate.

The Bulls are solid, but spectacular on defense. They are 15th in PPG allowed, 13th in field goal percentage allowed, and 17th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Chicago is 21st in points allowed per 100 possessions and 20th in effective field goal percentage. 

Chicago does not have one of the NBA's best offenses, but they sliced the Hawks up for 136 points in their last matchup and that is still the season high in points for them. The Bulls had four players score at least 20 points and DeRozan, Vucevic, and Ayo Dosunmu led the way for Chicago. 

The Bulls are 23rd in PPG, 18th in field goal percentage, 25th in three-point attempts, 20th in three-point percentage, 19th in free throw attempts, 10th in offensive rebounding, and 3rd in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Chicago is 19th in points per 100 possessions, 22nd in effective field goal percentage, 6th in turnover percentage, 9th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 17th in free throw rate. 

The numbers for Atlanta are still ugly on the defensive end. They are 27th in PPG allowed, 27th in field goal percentage allowed, and 28th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 26th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 29th in effective field goal percentage. 

Injury Report

Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain) is being listed as questionable tonight, as is Kobe Bufkin (left big toe sprain). Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, Saddiq Bey, AJ Griffin, and Mo Gueye remain out for Atlanta.

Because they played last night, keep an eye on the Bulls injury report later. 

Viewing and Betting information

Tip-off time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: United Center, Chicago, IL

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports Southeast, 

Spread and Over/Under: The Hawks will be underdogs on the road tonight, as they are currently 2.5 point underdogs according to the latest odds from the SI Sportsbook and the over/under is set at 222.5.

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G- Bogdan Bogdanovic

G- Dejounte Murray

F- Jalen Johnson

F- De'Andre Hunter

C- Clint Capela

If Johnson plays, I would not be surprised if he starts over Krejci and Krejci comes off the bench.

Bulls:

G- Ayo Dosunmu

G- Coby White

F-Alex Caruso

F- DeMar DeRozan

C-Nikola Vucevic