Projected starting lineups for Friday’s game
“We’ll see, but today was a good day,” Bulls forward Taj Gibson said to reporters on Thursday after practice about his status for Friday’s game. Gibson didn’t play in the Dallas game due to a sore ankle. It was the same ankle he had surgery on two summers ago.
If Gibson doesn’t start or play again on Friday, Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg could look to starting Paul Zipser once again and have Nikola Mirotic — who returned on Tuesday after a battle with strep throat — come off the bench with Rajon Rondo and Doug McDermott.
Assuming Gibson does decide to give it a go on Friday night, here’s a projected look at the starting lineups for the game, starting with the Bulls.20
Projected starting lineup for the Chicago Bulls:
Michael Carter-Williams, Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson (if he’s a scratch, Paul Zipser) and Robin Lopez
Projected starting lineup for the Atlanta Hawks:
Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha and Paul Millsap
Next: Bulls at Hawks: How to watch/listen to Friday's game in Atlanta
Prediction
Once again, the Hawks have beaten the Bulls six of the last seven times they’ve taken the floor against one another.
I don’t think the trend ends on Friday.
The Hawks have lost just twice since Dec. 28 and sitting among the top four teams in the Eastern Conference, despite trading Kyle Korver away to the East’s best team. They current sit two games behind Boston for third and four games behind Toronto for second in the East.
Nothing about the Bulls right now says they win, other than they’ve beaten some good teams this season. (They’ve also been swept by the Dallas Mavericks, so there’s that, too.)