The Hawks got a big win last night on the road vs the Chicago Bulls and are back for a one game homestand vs the Detroit Pistons, who remain one of the worst teams in the league. The Hawks were able to welcome back Jalen Johnson and Kobe Bufkin last night, but they will not be welcoming any of their other injured players back tomorrow.
Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, Saddiq Bey, AJ Griffin, and Mo Gueye remain out for Atlanta.
The Hawks really needed to win last night vs. Chicago and that’s what they did. Atlanta overcame a slow start in the first few minutes of the game to dominate the rest of the way vs the Bulls. Atlanta never really had to sweat last night and now they are only a half-game behind the Bulls for the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Conference. That might not seem like a big deal, but if Atlanta ends up at No. 10, that would mean that they would have to win two road games just to get into the playoffs. It was a very good win for Atlanta and a very consistent effort from start to finish.
In almost every game, if you hit 12 more three-point shots than the opposing team, then you are going to win unless something disastrous happens. Atlanta shot well in every quarter except the fourth and never let the Bulls back in the game. Atlanta finished the game 19-40 (48%) from three and Krejci, Dejounte Murray, and Garrison Matthews were all lethal from three last night. Atlanta has shown the ability to be one of the better three-point shooting teams in the NBA and it was the biggest difference in why they won the game last night.
The Hawks are 2-0 against the Pistons this season and given some of their more difficult games down the stretch of the season, they need to win this game.
