Hawks – Bulls

The Atlanta Hawks will host the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night in the NBA.

The Hawks (2-2, 1-0 home) have arguably the worst roster in the NBA this season, but they have been better than expected so far. After a slow start, the Hawks managed to win their last two games against the Cavs and the Mavs, mainly due to playing with a lot of energy. While it`s true that the Hawks had an easy schedule so far, it won`t get much tougher tonight against the Bulls, and Atlanta will feel this is a good chance to go over .500.

The Bulls (1-4, 0-3 away) are one of the worst teams in the league themselves, and have been poor in this start of the season with only one close win and 4 losses – including a 29 point blowout at the hands of Charlotte last night. Chicago`s poor form is taking place despite Zach Lavine having an incredible start to the season (29.8 PPG on 54% shooting), something which he won`t be able to sustain. On the other hand, injuries to important players definitely played a part.

Bet on ATL Hawks vs CHI Bulls and get your 100% (120 Eur) freebet at LSbet now!

Team news: The Hawks will continue to miss Collins, Anderson and Hamilton, while Poythress will also be out after suffering an injury early against Dallas. The Bulls will still be without Markkanen, Valentine and Dunn, but now they will also miss Portis, creating a big problem at the PF position.

While the Hawks don`t have a lot of talent, neither do the Bulls, and Atlanta has two key advantages tonight. First of all they play at home, and secondly the Bulls are back to back on the road – always something to look out for in the NBA.

The Hawks have looked really good in the last two games, as their effort and energy, along with having some good three point shooters, fully made up for their overall lack of quality.

The atmosphere at the State Farm Arena was excellent in Atlanta’s home opener against Dallas, it definitely help them to come back from a big deficit, and could help them again tonight against the young Bulls.

Look for the Hawks to come out fired up right from the start, and their intensity and energy should be too much for a Bulls team which is back to back on the road – thus unlikely to maintain an intense rhythm of play.

My tip will be the Hawks to win straight up. The handicap is tempting, but the Hawks are not quite good enough to be trusted to cover a 6 point spread against anyone. As such, I will go with the simpler and much more secure straight win. Prediction: Atlanta Hawks – Chicago Bulls 122 – 110.

Pick: Hawks
Odds: 1.50 @ William Hill
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 4
Event date: 27 October