3 Reasons the Chicago Bulls Will Demolish the Atlanta Hawks Tonight

The Chicago Bulls have been bad with a 2-6 record to start the season. But tonight they make a statement against a very beatable team.

The Chicago Bulls are off to a terrible start for a team that claimed they were playoff ready in the offseason, but there’s just too much talent on this roster to be concerned just yet. Basketball is a game of runs, in the short run (as we saw last night), and in the long run too.

Tonight offers an interesting matchup against Trae Young and the 3-3 Atlanta Hawks. While it’s far too early to call a game a “must win,” it’s high time for a statement game and tonight is going to be that night. The Bulls have the ability to beat this young Hawks team by a handy margin and I predict they’ll do just that for these three reasons.

1. The Bulls played their best basketball against an elite team just last night.

While they inevitably dropped the game, the first half of last night’s game against the Lakers was the best of the season. Why? One word: Defense. It actually existed last night, holding elite scorer Anthony Davis to 2-of-9 shooting by halftime, and adding 11 steals to their total over the course of the whole game. The defensive intensity dropped dramatically in the 4th quarter, contributing to the erasure of a 19-point Bulls lead.

In fact, the Bulls sit at 7th in the league in steals as a team through 8 games and the Hawks are 22nd in turnovers, coughing up the ball an average of 17.7 times per game. That should translate to some easy transition baskets and some high-flying Zach LaVine dunks. The Hawks sit at 24th in the league in offensive rating, so keeping up the defensive pressure should prove much easier so long as the Bulls come with a comparable effort, despite tired legs.

2. The Bulls will win big at the power forward position.

John Collins was suspended 25 games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, which means ex-Bull Jabari Parker is set to slot into the starting power forward spot and I, for one, am not buying the “revenge narrative.” It’s true they’re coming off a big win against the San Antonio Spurs where Jabari contributed 19 points, but he’s shot 62.9% from the field the past two games for the Hawks, an unsustainable number for a career 49.2% shooter.

And as much as I’m not buying the “revenge narrative,” I AM buying stock in Lauri Markkanen, or at least I’m willing to bet he’ll see less floor time in this one if he just doesn’t have it again. The eye test certainly suggests that Jabari Parker can’t play defense and the stats support it, with a .094 in Defensive Win Shares that puts him 60th among qualified forwards in the NBA, among names like Maxi Kleber and Daniel Theis. Lauri can’t be as bad as he’s been so far this season, and if he can revive just a bit of the magic from his 35 point, 17 rebound game 1, he should be in for a big night. If he isn’t taking advantage, Thaddeus Young has been playing great and Jim Boylen has played him over Lauri down the stretch multiple times this season already.

3. They’re angry and hungry for a win.

I’ll admit, this one is tough to justify objectively, but with recent comments by Wendell Carter Jr. (see below) and Zach about the team’s effort, this team is just plain ready to start winning. It’s important for Bulls fans to keep in mind that this is a young team that hasn’t had winning as part of their culture yet, and that there are new faces that are just now hitting their groove. The defensive scheme to begin the season has changed dramatically for the better and the offense hasn’t looked half bad in spurts recently. Poor individual play has been a drag on the offensive end, in my opinion, but the motion and movement on offense looks much improved from the Fred Hoiberg days.

My official prediction for the final score tonight? 115-90 Bulls, making a statement that the league better look out.