After dropping a heartbreaker on the road against the Pistons, the Hawks are back at home to face the Chicago Bulls.

This will be a game between two of the worst defenses in the NBA and the scoring could be very high. This is the first meeting of the year between the two teams.

Coming into tonight’s game, Atlanta ranks 8th in points per game, 16th in field goal percentage, 16th in three-point attempts, 17th in three-point percentage, 5th in free throw attempts , 19th in rebounds and 22nd in turnovers. By Clean the glassAtlanta ranks 10th in points per 100 possessions, 9th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 13th in offensive rebound rate and 7th in free throw rate.

Defensively, the situation is not pleasant for the Hawks. You rank 28th in points per game allowed, 19th in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. According to Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta ranks 24th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 28th in effective field goal percentage allowed. Atlanta’s defense will be challenged tonight by Chicago. The Bulls shoot 3-pointers at a high rate and have guys who can score big numbers, especially if LaVine plays.

However, the Bulls’ offense as a whole is mediocre. They are 14th in PPG, 21st in field goal percentage, 3rd in 3PA, 9th in 3P%, 19th in free throw percentage, 5th in rebounds and 24th in turnovers. According to Cleaning the Glass, Chicago ranks 25th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 20th in turnover percentage, 27th in offensive rebounding percentage and 26th in shot rate. free.

The Bulls’ defensive numbers aren’t much better than Atlanta’s. Chicago ranks 27th in points per game allowed, 26th in field goal percentage allowed, 24th in three-point attempts allowed and fourth in three-point percentage allowed. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Bulls rank 18th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 20th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Trae Young had one of his best games of the season last night and could have another big game tonight. Young scored 35 points on 11-25 shooting and 13 assists. He was 6-12 in three. The Pistons have a much better defense than Chicago and Young could have a field day against them.

Dyson Daniels had one of the most impressive games of any NBA player this year. He totaled seven steals and 18 points. He was a threat on defense and will be tasked with protecting LaVine if he plays. If he doesn’t, look for Daniels to protect Coby White.

After a career night on Wednesday, Friday was a tougher match for Zaccharie Risacher. He scored seven points on 2-7 shooting and had a tough night on both ends of the floor. There will be ups and downs with him this year and last night was a down.

Jalen Johnson had a little trouble getting going last night, but he finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. Last night he only gave one assist, something that is unusual for him.

The center position has to be better for the Hawks in this game. Clint Capela had 12 rebounds last night against Detroit, but was 3-10 from the field. Onyeka Okongwu also had a rough night, prompting Quin Snyder to give minutes to Larry Nance. Nance had a good night on offense, but defense when he was there was tough. Okongwu has been rested consecutively this year and it could just be Capela and Nance under center tonight.

The Hawks bench was outplayed last night in Detroit. Garrison Matthews, David Roddy and Keaton Wallace couldn’t find a way to get going, although Wallace only played seven minutes. They will have to be able to have a bigger impact tonight.

According Fanduel sports bettingAtlanta is a 3-point favorite tonight and the total is set at 237.5.

Playing back-to-backs with trips is difficult and this game could really go either way. Chicago is a team that loves to shoot a lot of threes and the Hawks haven’t been good at defending threes. Taking both factors into account, I like the Bulls to come to Atlanta and surprise the Hawks.

Final score: Bulls 121, Halcones 118

Additional links:

Hawks vs Bulls: Game preview, injury report, betting odds, projected starting lineups for tonight’s game

RECAP: Atlanta Hawks start slow and can’t catch up in 122-121 loss to Pistons