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Atlanta Hawks vs Chicago Bulls: A potential play-in battle
The Atlanta Hawks are visiting the Chicago Bulls at United Center on Monday.
The Hawks are safe in the play-in zone
The Atlanta Hawks are in tenth place in the Eastern Conference with a 34-40 record and have a 5.5-game advantage over the next team in the standings, the Brooklyn Nets. After winning four straight games, the Hawks lost 122-113 to the Milwaukee Bucks. Atlanta is the team that shoots the most field goals per game in the league with 92.8 but converts only 46.6%, which puts them 20th in the NBA. In the absence of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray is the best player on the team, averaging 22.7 points per game.
The Bulls have split the last 10 games
The Chicago Bulls are ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 36-39 record. They have won two of the last three games and are coming off a 109-101 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Chicago is 18th in the league, shooting 46.8% from the field, and two spots lower, shooting 36% from three-point territory. DeMar DeRozan leads the Bulls with 23.4 points per game.
Betting Trends
Chicago has covered the spread in 5 of the last 6 games against Atlanta. The Bulls are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 games overall and 2-6 ATS in the last 8 home games. The Hawks are 4-1 ATS in the last five games overall and 1-4 ATS in the last five road games.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both Atlanta and Chicago can be labeled as underachievers this season, but they are still in the playoff conversation. The Bulls have a 1.5-game advantage over the Hawks, and it is very unlikely that they will move anywhere in the standings, which means that these two teams will face each other in the first round of the play-in tournament. The Bulls have been struggling with injuries all season long, with Lonzo Ball being out for more than a year and Zach LaVine being shutdown for the season as well. The Hawks are still without their top scorer, Trae Young, but they are playing very well. Recently, they beat the Celtics twice in just a couple of days, and we are going with the Hawks to cover the -3.5-point spread.
