Five Takeaways From Hawks Loss to Bulls
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On Monday night, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks 110-100. Chicago now leads the season series 2-1, which could mean a lot for the postseason seeding of both teams.
Last night was another example of one step forward, two steps back. After ratting off a winning streak in mid-January, Atlanta has now dropped two straight games. Below are our five biggest takeaways from the road loss.
Slow Start
Monday night started off on a bad note for Atlanta. First, Onyeka Okongwu (hamstring tightness) was ruled out of the game, then De'Andre Hunter (acute asthma) was scratched at the last minute.
To make matters worse, Atlanta got off to a slow start. They outscored Chicago 21-17 in the first quarter but were trounced 40-27 in the second quarter. Chicago did not have an insurmountable lead, but Atlanta did themselves no favors in the first half.
Turnovers
One of the main reasons Atlanta fell behind early was their uncharacteristically sloppy play. Before last night, Atlanta was top-three in turnovers (only 12.9 turnovers per game). By halftime, Atlanta had already turned the ball over 13 times.
After the break, Atlanta tightened up on offense, only committing five turnovers. But Chicago's swarming defense was felt all night. Despite being short-handed, Atlanta's defense was solid. This time their offense is to blame.
Trae Young
After an interminably long shooting slump to start the season, Trae Young snapped out of it in mid-December. However, Young is beginning to fall back into another offensive rut.
Last night, Young was 0-5 from deep. He has made just one three-pointer in the previous four games. Since January 18, Young has shot a head-scratching 1-16 from deep. Compound the poor shooting with six turnovers, and it's unsurprising Young had a -21 plus/minus last night.
DeMar DeRozan
As a hoops fan, it has been so much fun to watch DeMar DeRozan take his game up a level since arriving in Chicago. However, Hawks fans are probably tired of seeing DeRozan's best work take place against Atlanta.
Last night, DeRozan led Chicago with 26 points. Through three games against Atlanta this season, DeRozan has scored 26, 28, and 34 points. The two teams face off for the final time in the regular season on April 4, and it's fair to already be worrying about DeRozan.
Post Play
Without Okongwu in the rotation, many people expected Atlanta's frontcourt to take a hit. However, Clint Capela and John Collins played great. Capela led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Collins tallied 11 points and nine rebounds.
Atlanta won the rebounding battle and outscored Chicago in the paint. There were not many bright spots in last night's game for Atlanta, but the team's big men should be applauded.
