Game Time: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 

Venue:  State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  

Fanduel:  Spread:  

ESPN:  Spread: 

Bulls: 39-23, 2nd place Eastern Conference

Hawks: 29-32, 10th place Eastern Conference

An Eastern Conference matchup that checks all the boxes for an exciting game.  These two teams are separated by 7 spaces in the standings… but position by position the skirmish could become a full on battle.  The Bulls are led by a real deal dark horse MVP candidate.  SG DeMar Derozan has been hitting shots and positively impacting the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs for just over a decade of NBA action.  He was an undervalued Pac-12 player out of USC that was taken 9th in the 2009 NBA draft.  Demar instantly became a big time scorer in Toronto, but after 7 season the team swapped DeMar for Kewhi Leonard who wanted out of San Antonio.  In the 4 seasons in San Antonio DeMar was largely forgotten about… Who exactly watches Spurs games when they aren’t contending?  Then came this season.  He moved to the Bulls in a sign and trade (after the Lakers passed on a potential trade for him, in favor of Russell Westbrook).  This season with the Bulls DeMar has found a complete other gear!  He now averages 28.2 ppg, 5 rpg, 5 apg. Perfect numbers for a SF/SG.  Paired with PG Zach LaVine and Center Nikola Vicevic and DeMar is now firmly the best pickup by any team the last several seasons.  The Bulls went from cellar-dweller to top-two in the conference seemingly overnight.  Over at the hawks the story is different.  The Atlanta Hawks best season in 15 years was last season.  They road young star PG Trae Young into the playoffs and then made a deep, tough run.  Trae is a gifted scorer and passer… but he needs much more of a complete team around him.  This was on full display this season when the Hawks came crashing back down to earth.  If this roster loses too many role players to Covid or Injury they instantly lose.  The problem of course is that Trae is a short stack on defense.  He pours in points on one end, but needs lots of support on the other.  Plus Trae is a volume shooter… so while you may see him hit Steph Curry style deep 3-pointers… he also desperately needs his cohorts to crash the offensive glass to try to get second opportunities off the 10-20 misses per game. That is why SF De’Andre Hunter’s health and availability is so key to this team’s winning games.  De’Andre is a true 2-way player who affects the outcome on every level.  PF John Collins is out at the moment with a heel injury.  John is a huge part of this squad… but the Hawks really missed the moment by not trading him at the trade deadline.  John Collins is a good player and a big, athletic body… but in his 5th NBA season is simply not scoring as well as he did last season or the year before.  Mired in 10th place the hawks need every win to keep a “play-in” spot.  Expect big changes to the hawks this offseason.

The Chicago Bulls have won 6 of their last 10 games.  They are on a two game losing streak to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat.  The Miami Heat was the last team in the league the Bulls wanted to lose to, the fumble dropped the Bulls from 1st place to 2nd place and vaulted the Heat to a two-game lead.  Those are the big opportunities the Bulls can not let slip. The Bulls did go 6-4 ATS during the stretch… fans in the United Center are beginning to buzz about the potential return of SF Patrick Williams, PG Lonzo Ball, and SG Alex Caruso… that extra quality depth will make all the difference in the Playoffs if they can get and stay on the court.  

The Atlanta Hawks have won only 4 of their last ten games.  They only went 4-6 ATS.  They Hawks have unfortunately been the whipping boy of the Boston Celtics.  The Celtics have been on the rise since the New year and whopped the Hawks by 10 pts on Feb 13th and 9 pts in the hawks last game.  The Hawks are in a weird pattern where they beat teams like the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers but split or lose to the playoff bound teams… They have to shake this off if they expect to even be IN the play-in tournament for a playoff spot.  There simply are not enough terrible teams to coast any longer.  

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The Bulls are 39-23 on the season, but 36-25-1 ATS.  They have logged 32 Overs, 29 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 15-14 in road games.

The Hawks are 29-32 on the season, but 27-34 ATS.  They have notched 33 Overs and 28 Unders.  They are 18-13 in home games.

The Bulls are 8th in scoring with 112.4 ppg, 27th in rebounds with 43.2 per game, and 8th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9.  On defense they rank 18th while allowing 110.5 ppg from opponents.

The Hawks are 9th in scoring with 112.2 ppg, 20th in rebounds with 44.3 per game, and 4th in AST/TO ratio with 2.0.  On defense they rank 19th while allowing 111.5 ppg.

Our prediction for Thursday, March 3rd is….  Bulls 118 - Hawks 112

The Bulls will win because PF John Collins is out.  The Hawks can’t stand up to Vucevic on the front line with Danillo Gallinari and Clint Capela.  The spread before you bet will make the final determination… but everything points to Bulls by 6 and the Over.

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Bulls: SF Patrick Williams (wrist) Out ** Pg Lonzo Ball (knee) Out ** SG Alex Caruso (wrist) Out

Hawks: PF John Collins (heel) Out ** PF Onyeka Okongwu (concussion) Quest ** SG Lou Williams (hip) Quest

Bulls: SF DeMar DeRozan, PF Javonte Green, C Nikola Vucevic, SG Zach LaVine, PG Ayo Dosunmu

Hawks: PF Danilo Gallinari, SF De’Andre Hunter, C Clint Capela, SG Kevin Huerter, PG Trae Young

Bulls

Points: DeMar DeRozan 28.2

Assists: Lonzo Ball 5.1

Rebounds: Nikola Vucevic 11.6

Steals: Alex Caruso 1.9

Blocks: Nikola Vucevic 1.2

Hawks

Points: Trae Young 27.9

Assists: Trae Young 9.3

Rebounds: Clint Capela 12.1

Steals: Malcolm Hill 1.3

Blocks: Onyeka Okongwu 1.4

Bulls:  Billy Donovan

Hawks: Nate McMillan