By The Numbers: Bulls at Hawks

Time: 6:00 PM Central Standard Time

Coverage: WCIU; ESPN Radio 1000

Location: Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA; Capacity 18,729

Last Meeting: March 1, 2010—Hawks Won; 116-92

Series Record This Season: First of 3 meetings

Series Streak: Even

Records: Bulls: 41-17/Hawks: 36-24

Leading Scorers: Bulls: Derrick Rose–24.8 ppg/Hawks: Joe Johnson–19.3 ppg

• EDGE: BULLS

Leading Rebounders: Bulls: Joakim Noah–11.9 rpg/Hawks: Al Horford–9.8 rpg

• EDGE: BULLS

Leaders in Assists: Bulls: Derrick Rose–8.1 apg/Hawks: Joe Johnson–5.2 apg

• EDGE: BULLS

Leading Shot-Blockers: Bulls: Taj Gibson–1.6 bpg/Hawks: Josh Smith–1.7 bpg

• EDGE: HAWKS

Leaders in Steals: Bulls: Ronnie Brewer–1.4 spg/Hawks: Joe Smith–1.4 spg

• EDGE: EVEN

Team Points Per Game: Bulls: 98.4/Hawks: 96.2

• EDGE: BULLS

Team Opponents Points Per Game: Bulls: 92.2/Hawks: 95.3

• EDGE: BULLS

Team Rebounds Per Game: Bulls: 44.3 rpg/Hawks: 40.3 rpg

• EDGE: BULLS

Team Steals Per Game: Bulls: 7.2 spg/Hawks: 6.0 spg

• EDGE: BULLS

Team Blocks Per Game: Bulls: 5.8/Hawks: 4.2

• EDGE: BULLS

Team Shooting Percentage: Bulls: 46%/Hawks: 46.1%

• EDGE: HAWKS

Team 3-Point Percentage: Bulls: 36%/Hawks: 34.8%

• EDGE: BULLS

Team Free Throw Percentage: Bulls: 73.5%/Hawks: 78.6%

• EDGE: HAWKS

Notable Injuries: Bulls: NONE/Hawks: Josh Smith (DTD); Kirk Hinrich(DTD)

Current Streaks: Bulls: W3/Hawks: L1

• FINAL EDGE: CHICAGO BULLS

The Bulls are hot off back-to-back road wins and are heading into Hot-lanta looking to make it three. The keys to success are quite simple: play the way you have been playing. Not much adjustment is going to be needed other than to maybe compensate for slightly better talent. The Bulls also won’t have the luxury of playing with a packed house of Bulls fans on the road. The Hawks fans will show up and challenge the Bulls. To be honest it will be the first true road game for the Bulls of this five game trip.

All the Bulls need to do is let Derrick Rose off the chain early and let Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah maul on the scraps. If the Bulls can jump out to a big lead early, then the B squad can come in and manage the game the rest of the way. However the Hawks are not the Bucks or Wizards. If the Bulls lax on defense even a little bit, Atlanta will take advantage and will make the Bulls hurt.  Also, unlike the Bucks and Wizards, the Hawks are very much in the running for good playoff positioning. Atlanta will play hard and it will be a challenge for Chicago, but it will also serve as the perfect warm up game for the Magic and Heat games to follow.

There is the footnote that should Chicago win in Atlanta, they clinch a winning record on their road trip, an accomplishment that has been scarce this season.

Final Prediciton: Bulls by 6 1/2