Four Keys to Hawks Beating Bulls Tonight

The Chicago Bulls are considered underdogs as they enter Sunday evening's game against the Atlanta Hawks. However, do not let Chicago's losing record fool you. Atlanta and Chicago are trending in opposite directions, and the Bulls are well-positioned to win tonight. Below are our five keys to victory for Atlanta.

Perimeter Defense

Atlanta's defense has significantly improved from last season. They have elevated from a bottom-five defensive rating to 11th in the NBA. The only problem is they are without several key players tonight.

Dejounte Murray and John Collins are out, while De'Andre Hunter is considered questionable. So unless Atlanta's reserves step up on defense, Bulls guards Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan are going to eat tonight.

Offensive Attack

Atlanta has an unhealthy shot diet. They rely too heavily on the midrange and often settle for three-point shots. Fans wouldn't mind the outside shots if Atlanta weren't last in the league in made three-pointers.

To make matters worse, Atlanta ranks 27th in free-throw attempts. Since Atlanta cannot make outside shots, they must attack on offense and force their way to the line where they shoot the league's fourth-highest percentage (82.1%).

31 for Trae pic.twitter.com/xuAx6yNsDG
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 10, 2022

Trae Young

Atlanta's success will largely be predicated by Trae Young's performance. The All-NBA guard is trudging through the worst shooting slump of his career. However, there may be some reason for optimism.

Young went off for 33 points during Friday night's loss to Brooklyn. Without Murray on the floor, Young can fall back on the pick-and-roll heavy style of play he is most comfortable with after four seasons in the league.

Turnovers

For all of Atlanta's problems, they do a great job of limiting turnovers. Despite their frenetic pace, Atlanta only turns the ball over 13.5 times per game (third-best in the league).

There is a direct correlation between games where Atlanta turns the ball over at a high rate (such as the Brooklyn game) and losing. The margin for error is so slim for Atlanta; they cannot afford to exceed 13 turnovers tonight.