All 15 ESPN Analysts Pick Chicago Bulls To Defeat Atlanta Hawks In Tomorrow's Play-In Game
The Hawks are used to being picked against in the playoffs, especially from ESPN. The majority of ESPN analysts picked the New York Knicks in the first round three years ago and the majority picked the Miami Heat a year ago in the play-in.
The times are not changing this year.
In their predictions for every NBA-play-in game, all 15 ESPN analysts opted to take the Chicago Bulls over the Atlanta Hawks in tomorrow's game. Atlanta will be missing Jalen Johnson, Saddiq Bey, and Onyeka Okongwu, but it is still a little surprising to see everyone pick Chicago.
The Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers will play in the No. 7 vs No.8 game on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN, while the No. 9 Chicago Bulls and the No. 10 Atlanta Hawks will play at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Hawks and Bulls matchup has been set for some time, but the 76ers and Heat are officially in the play-in, making for one of the most interesting play-in games since the NBA started the tournament.
Atlanta has never lost a game in the play-in tournament and they are plenty familiar with playing in it. Two years ago, they beat Charlotte and Cleveland to get to the playoffs, then lost in five games to the No. 1 Miami Heat. Last year, they beat Miami in the first play-in game, then lost in six games to the No. 2 Boston Celtics. Trae Young has played very well in the play-in games and Atlanta is going to need him to be the best player on the court for both games. Atlanta lost the season series to the Bulls but won the most recent matchup in Chicago.
The Hawks could win both games and get to the playoffs, but they are going to have to play better than they did down the stretch. Let's see what happens on Wednesday.
