Atlanta Hawks host Chicago Bulls Saturday evening
By John Buhler
The 22-15 Atlanta Hawks will host the 22-12 Chicago Bulls at Philips Arena Saturday. Tipoff is at 5:00 PM ET and the game will air on Fox Sports Southeast.
The Atlanta Hawks look to continue their winning ways when they host the streaking Chicago Bulls Saturday evening at Philips Arena. While the Atlanta Hawks handled the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night, 126-98, the Bulls are 1.5 games ahead of the Hawks in the Eastern Conference standings. Chicago has won their last six games and sit only 3.0 games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the East.
Saturday evening will mark the first time these Eastern juggernauts will play this season. Atlanta took two of three from Chicago last year, but the Bulls won the final head-to-head game last season, 91-85. The Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls have four games on this year’s schedule. Could how these two teams play against each other decide who the No. 2 seed is in the East behind Cleveland?
The East is still so tightly packed, as all eight teams in the playoff position have at least 20 wins. Atlanta is one of five teams in the conference that have at least 22 wins. Nine clubs have a winning record and the 10th place Charlotte Hornets are only one game under .500.
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Looking at their season splits, the Chicago Bulls have done most of their damage at home in the United Center, where the Bulls are 16-5 on the year. However, they have played only 13 games away from the Windy City this season and boast a 6-7 record on the road. Perhaps that is an advantage that the Atlanta Hawks can exploit on Saturday evening?
Realistically, the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls are two of five teams along with the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and the Toronto Raptors that are fighting for playoff positioning between the No. 2 and the No. 6 seeds.
Only 2.0 games in the standings separates these five clubs, so every game Atlanta plays against these four other teams is especially important should the Hawks want to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals again in 2016.
Since this is the first meeting of four between these two Eastern Conference foes, we will have to pay close attention to how the Atlanta Hawks handle the deep frontcourt of the Chicago Bulls and how a Fred Hoiberg led team differs from that of a Tom Thibodeau team.
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The Bulls likely won’t fight as intensely under Hoiberg like they had to under Thibodeau, but expect a strong Eastern Conference matchup Saturday night at Philips Arena. Let’s Go Hawks!