Bulls @ Hawks Wed. March 2nd 6:00PM CST WCIU

[alucryts]

Per Swirsky - Josh Smith is out for the game with a right-knee sprain.


Good for us. Bad for Atlanta.

ya as much as i want to beat teams at their best, i will take every break we can get

[GetBuLLish]

Per Swirsky - Josh Smith is out for the game with a right-knee sprain.


Good for us. Bad for Atlanta.

ya as much as i want to beat teams at their best, i will take every break we can get

I agree, but come playoff time, I want to get the absolute best of every team.

[JordansBulls]

Per Swirsky - Josh Smith is out for the game with a right-knee sprain.


Good for us. Bad for Atlanta.

ya as much as i want to beat teams at their best, i will take every break we can get

Good for us. Also we play them 3x by the 22nd this month. So I'd take any breaks I can get right now.

[bullsnewdynasty]

Hinrich is starting per Hawks writer.

We need to dominate them in the frontcourt with Smith out.

[Cliff Levingston]

We need a win here. Cliff Levingston actually isn't worried; we don't struggle on the road as much as we struggle to keep focus against the teams that we should unequivocally beat. Atlanta isn't one of those teams so Cliff Levingston is expecting them to come in focused and ready.

Cliff Levingston is also looking for a win against Orlando, cause we're going to lose against Miami; they'll be out for blood after the recent game in Chicago.

[molepharmer]

Atlanta Hawks (36-24)

#11 Overall power ranking.............. (Chicago #5)
5-10 against Top 10 teams
#27 in possessions (92.7) / gm..........(Chicago #18 at 95.1)

Johnson 19.3, Smith 16.7, Horford 16.0 & 9.8
#27 Bench (Crawford, Hinrich)
#4 in FTM; FG% at 42.4 %

#17 in Off Rtg (106.7)............ (Chicago #2 in Def Rtg)
#23 in points (96.2) / gm.................... (#2 @ 92.2)
#12 in fastbreak pts (14.5) / gm............ (#15)
#27 in points in the paint (37.1) / gm..... (#4)
#13 in 3Pt attempts (18.5) / gm; #18 in % (34.8)
#13 in shooting % (46.1%).................... (#2 @ 42.9)
#4 in assists / fgm

#13 in Def Rtg (105.7) .............. (Chicago #16 in Off Rtg)
#7 in opponent pts (95.3) / gm............. (#18 @ 98.4)
#20 in opponent fastbreak pts / gm........ (#19)
#13 in opponent points in the paint........ (#12)
#14 in opponent shooting % (45.4%) ........ (#15 @ 46.0)
#28 in opponent TO%

Tonight’s Hawks team may be quite different from the team that accumulated those stats above. Bibby and Evans are gone, Hinrich's been added and Smith is most likely out. This is Atlanta’s first home game after a 7 game road trip. Bulls only 1-6 over the last two seasons against Hawks. So they need to focus on this game and not look ahead.

One All-Star team 98
Two All-Star team 95

Atlanta is one of only two teams with four players averaging 15 or more points per game; GSW being the other team.

[nitric0]

Smith is out? Finally a break for this team..sucks for ATL. Who starts instead of smith?

[DirtybirdGA]

Probably Al at 4 and Collins/Zaza at 5.

[illiance]

So what's their front-court rotation? Horford, Collins, Zaza and Powell? When Horford sits, they'll get next to no scoring from those guys. It really benefits us because Josh Smith is a horrendous match-up for Boozer, think an atheletic Kris Humphries. Even if he guarded Al, Boozer doesn't get out to jump shooters much and Horford is damn near perfect from mid-range.

[EL-LEONz]

I feel as though we will win but I fear a loss.

[MJ23b4_Rose2day]

I feel as though we will win but I fear a loss.

Hey, you remind me of someone

[Big Sexy]

The only big wins we have on the road this year is Dallas, Utah, Memphis and maybe New Orleans. Would be nice to take this one.

[EL-LEONz]

I feel as though we will win but I fear a loss.

Hey, you remind me of someone

[anorexorcism]

Will be easier with Smith out. I'd have leaned towards a close loss with Smith in, but as he's injured I'd like to think we win.

But at the end of the day, it's the road. You never know with our beloved Bulls.

[SeniorWalker]

I don't think I've seen a single Hawks game this year, which is odd since I've seen plenty of them in recent years. I haven't a clue as what to expect outcome wise.

[Bulltalk]

I'll take a win any kind of way we can get one. I don't care if it's ugly. I don't care if we win on a bad call at the end of the game. I don't care if Rose gets shutout and we win. Just win this one.

[MC dhaos]

I want a win so bad.

[Tetlak]

This is their first game back from a long road trip, plus no Josh Smith.

I see a W.

[imagge]

didn't know where to put this:

Rose sent James a text, the contents of which to this point were unknown. In a Sports Illustrated article out this week, Rose remembers the message reading: "I'm just hitting you up to kill all the rumors that I don't want to play with you. I'd like to play with you. I just want to win." Of course, a few days later James joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The decision surprised Rose, who said James coming to Chicago seemed like a "no-brainer." ESPN.com

[bullsnewdynasty]

Just can't let Johnson and Crawford get hot.