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The Atlanta Hawks come into this do-or-die matchup in the Play-In Tournament having lost six games in a row and are looking to turn things around when they head out on the road to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls in this Wednesday night showdown. We take a look at this matchup to make a Hawks-Bulls prediction and pick.
Atlanta (36-46) couldn't be coming into this Play-In Tournament in worse form. They have lost seven out of their last 10 games and have lost each of their last six games. This is in large part due to losing key players like Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu down the stretch.
The Hawks get to take on the DeMar DeRozan-led Chicago Bulls team that has been playing better basketball as they made their playoff push as they look to advance to the second round of this year's Play-In Tournament. The Hawks have the coaching the players to make this a tough game for Derozan and the Bulls as they look to play spoiler and score the upset in this Wednesday night showdown.
Chicago (39-43) come into the first round of the Play-In tournament on winning five of their last 10 games as well as winning two out of their last three games.
While the Bulls came up short in their most recent outing against the New York Knicks they were in their best form with DeRozan leading the charge with 30 points but had help from Nikola Vucevic and Colby White who combined for 55 points. The Bulls will be looking to get out of the first round of this do-or-die Play-In Tournament game as they play host to the visiting Atlanta Hawks in this Wednesday night matchup.
The Atlant Hawks have now lost six straight games as they limped down the playoff stretch. They now need to get back to form when they take on the Chicago Bulls in this loser-goes-home game in the first round of the Play-In Tournament.
Luckily for the Hawks they still have their two top scorers competing at the highest level. Trae Young leads the charge with 25.7 ppg with Dejounte Murray being a great compliment to the star point guard this season averaging 22.5 ppg.
It's going to be up to players like Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Andre Hunter, and Clint Capela to pick up the slack in the absence of Johnson, Bey, and Okongwu for this pivotal matchup to save their season. The way the Hawks operate with their high tempo as they look to out-score and out-pace their opponents from start to finish.
With their lack of defense, they're going to have to put this Bull's defense on their heels and force them to go score-for-score if they want to advance out of the first round of the Play-In Tournament.
The Chicago Bulls are just 5-5 coming into this first-round Play-In Tournament game against the Atlanta Hawks but they are 2-1 in their last two games with their only losing by a one-point defeat to the New York Knicks in their most recent outing. The Bulls have been operating at a high level over their last four games where they have been averaging 123 ppg.
During that stretch, it's been the DeMar DeRozan show who's been averaging 33.3 ppg to go along with 4.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.8 steals. While DeRozan has been some of the best basketball of his career, he's been getting a ton of help from Nikola Vucevic (27.3 ppg, 9.0 reb Last 3) and Coby White (22.0 ppg Last 4) where they went 2-2 in those games.
However, they will need some help from Alex Caruso (10.1 ppg, 1.7 stl), and Ayo Dosunmu (12.2 ppg) to step up in a big way if the Bulls want to advance to the second round of the Play-In Tournament to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Atlanta Hawks have some uphill sledding ahead of them going against the surging Chicago Bulls, especially without half of their starters in the lineup. The Hawks are 3-7 in their last 10 but have lost six in a row while covering the spread just three times during that 10-game stretch.
The Bulls on the other hand are on a different trajectory coming into the Play-In Tournament. They have won two out of their last three with their only loss being a buzzer-beater against the New York Knicks. They also have covered six out of their last 10 games, covering each of their last three games.
The Bulls are in a prime position to avenge their last loss against the Hawks advance to the second round of the Play-In Tournament and cover the spread in tonight's matchup.
FINAL HAWKS-BULLS PICK & PREDICTION: CHICAGO BULLS -3 (-110)
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