The Chicago Bulls play host to the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center on Wednesday night. Here’s a Hawks vs Bulls prediction.
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are coming into the Play-In tournament low on confidence as they lost their last six games and their last game was a 157-115 loss to the Pacers on Sunday. Dejounte Murray led the team with 32 points on 13 of 19 shooting, Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18 points while Mouhamed Gueye chipped in with 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks off the bench. As a team, the Hawks shot just 43 percent from the field and 12 of 36 from the 3-point line, but they were always playing from behind in this one after allowing the Pacers to explode for 49 points in the first quarter. Things only got worse in the second half where the Hawks got outscored by 71-43 to suffer one of their worst defeats of the season.
Chicago Bulls
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls have been doing it tough as they’ve lost eight of their last 13 games overall and they will be hoping to bounce back after falling painfully short to the Knicks in a 120-119 overtime road defeat on Sunday. DeMar DeRozan led the team with 30 points, five assists and four steals, Nikola Vucevic added 29 points with 11 rebounds and three assists while Coby White chipped in with 26 points on 12 of 18 shooting. As a team, the Bulls shot 48 percent from the field and eight of 31 from the 3-point line as they squandered an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter to allow the Knicks to extend the game, only to come up just short in overtime as DeRozan missed the game-winner with just 2.1 seconds left on the clock.
Chicago Bulls Team Facts
- The underdogs have won each of the last four games between the Hawks and Bulls.
- The Bulls have covered the spread in each of their last seven games as favorites against the Hawks following a loss.
- Each of the Bulls’ last five home games against the Hawks following a road loss have gone UNDER the total points line.
Atlanta Hawks Team Facts
- The Hawks have lost each of their last eight games at United Center following a road loss.
- The Hawks have failed to cover the spread in seven of their last eight games as underdogs against Central Division opponents.
- Eight of the Hawks’ last nine games against Eastern Conference opponents have gone OVER the total points line.
Hawks vs Bulls prediction
The Hawks are still a little shorthanded with Saddiq Bey, Seth Lundy and Onyeka Okongwu all out, while the Bulls are keeping eyes on Ayo Dosunmu and Andre Drummond for this one. It wouldn’t be totally shocking if the Hawks pulled off the minor upset in this spot. However, the Hawks have been a mess for a while now, and they must be low on confidence after suffering a sixth straight defeat to cap off a disappointing regular season. This should be a close one, but the line is short enough, so I am taking the Bulls to take care of business at home.