The Atlanta Hawks got out-classed by the Lakers in their last game, but they've got a nice bounce-back opportunity tonight against a young Bulls team still finding their identity.

It'll be the first time the Hawks take on Chicago this season and it's an opponent that's given them some trouble over the years. Coby White and Ayo Dosonmu both proved to be difficult matchups for the Hawks to handle, but they have both moved on to other destinations. Now, Atlanta will have to focus on stopping a new Bulls core featuring Caleb Wilson, Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey.

However, they won't get a chance to face off against Wilson. He'll be out for tonight's game with a hand injury, meaning that Atlanta's got a dramatically easier task ahead of them. It'd be foolish to underestimate a team that has pushed both the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers in recent games, but this is one of the Hawks' best opportunities to find some offensive cohesion, iron out their defense and exit the United Center with a win.

Looking ahead, they've got a road matchup with the Bucks after this before heading down to OKC to take on the Thunder in what will be another big test for this Hawks roster. Tonight's game is also their second of NBA Cup action, meaning that the Hawks could be in a good position to challenge Boston for the group unless

That all starts with taking care of buisness tonight against Chicago. How can they get the win?

Game Preview

Start Fast Early

One of the biggest disparities in this game is effectiveness from deep. Atlanta takes the 3rd-most attempts from beyond the arc and cashes 35.2% of them (15th in the NBA). The Bulls take the eighth-most attempts and convert on only 28.9% of them. On a night-to-night basis, this team cannot usually rely on three-point volume to keep pace with opponents.

Atlanta's 19th in 1st quarter points, but they've been really good in the second quarter. They are 2nd in the NBA in 2Q points per game (33.1 points) while also being 2nd in FG% and 4th in plus-minus during this frame. The Hawks should be able to establish an advantage in the second quarter and ride that momentum to a win.

Protect the Paint

Chicago's center room is very interesting. They traded for Nic Claxton in hopes of making him the starter, but he's been sidelined with injuries to start. While he's returned, Jalen Smith has already entrenched himself as a valuable rotation big for the Bulls.

Smith's averaging 24.8 minutes a game while putting up 12.8 points and 7.4 rebounds on 64.6 TS%. He's actually leading the league in 2P%, making 72.1% of his shots from inside the arc and shooting 36.7% from deep on respectable volume. After getting outmatched by Walker Kessler against LA with a 21 point-10 rebound double-double, it's going to be important for Onyeka Okongwu, Jock Landale and Zuby Ejiofor to have a better approach against Smith and take advantage of the minutes when he's not in the game.

That could show up in two areas of the game. Smith is averaging a DREB% of 19.7% this season and he's saving a whopping 3.4 rim points per 100 possessions. That's in the 100th percentile this season. It's good that the Hawks have been one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the league (3rd in OREBs per game) because Smith isn't going to make it easy for them. Furthermore, Chicago is also 30th in paint points conceded per game. That's probably because Smith is the only player on the roster who can reliably defend the rim. It's going to be very important to place a lot of pressure on the rim this game and take advantage of the Bulls' deficiencies in that area.

Go After Giddey

On both ends of the court, there are a lot of opportunities for the Hawks to target Josh Giddey. Those opportunities are only going to increase with Caleb Wilson out.

Giddey's got a modest usage rate of 19.2% this season, but he accounts for 35.6% of the team's turnovers. He's 19th in turnovers per game with 3.2 turnovers a night and he's also been catastrophically bad as a shooter by only canning 28.6% of his shots from deep and 41.9% of his shots from the field.

His defense has been extremely lackluster. Giddey's averaging a stop percentage of 1.2%, which is in the 6th percentile relative to his position. The Bulls are 7.7 points per 100 possessions better on defense when he sits. This is great news for aggressive drivers like Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but also bodes well for Kingston Flemings. Flemings might draw Giddey on a few possessions and although Giddey has the height advantage, he shouldn't be able to prevent Kingston from getting to his spots on the court.

Injury Report

For Atlanta, Kingston Flemings is questionable while Asa Newell, Keshon Gilbert, Mo Gueye and Henri Veesaar are all out. Chicago will be without Caleb Wilson and Tobe Awaka while Dailyn Swain and Norman Powell are both questionable.

Betting Lines (via FanDuel Sportsbook)

Spread: Hawks -6.5 (-110), Bulls +6.5 (-110)

Moneyline: Bulls +205, Hawks -250

Total points scored: 246.5 (over -110, under -110)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Projected Starters

Hawks

G - Kingston Flemings

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G/F - Dyson Daniels

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Bulls

G - Josh Giddey

G - Matas Buzelis

F - Isaac Okoro

F - Jalen Smith

C - Nic Claxton

Final Score Prediction

The Bulls are down Caleb Wilson, missing their third-string center and could be without Norman Powell as well right after a tough loss against the Spurs. Conversley, Atlanta's got their rotation mostly intact and they've got the edge in terms of high-end talent. I think this will be a pretty comfortable win for Atlanta. The Bulls might show some fight late to make it a bit closer, but I expect the final score to reflect the gap in talent.

Hawks 129, Bulls 110