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The Atlanta Hawks (24-23) travel to face the Chicago Bulls (21-24) on Monday, January 23, with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m. ET. The Hawks have gone 7-3 over their last 10 games to find themselves eighth in the Eastern Conference rankings, setting themselves up for a play-in game if the season were to end today. Chicago will look to take a 2-1 series lead over the Hawks with a win on Monday night, with their last victory over Atlanta coming in a dramatic buzzer-beating fashion back on December 21.
Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee) is probable for the Hawks and Onyeka Okongwu (hamstring) remains questionable for Monday night. As for the Bulls, Goran Dragic (illness) is listed as questionable while Javonte Green (knee) and Lonzo Ball (knee) are out for tonight’s matchup.
The Bulls enter as a 1-point home favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 239.5.
Hawks vs. Bulls, 8 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Hawks +1 (-110)
The Bulls are 11-10-1 ATS at home this season while the Hawks are 10-13-1 on the road. However, Atlanta has been the better team versus the spread as of late, going 4-1 overall in their last five games. The return of Bogdanovic should give them a nice scoring boost in the rotation, and they should be motivated to avenge their previous loss back on December 21, which came off an Ayo Dosunmu buzzer-beater. Both matchups have been tightly contested between these two teams, but Atlanta is a slightly higher-scoring team (116.0 PPG) and should eke out a win.
Over/Under: Over 239.5
Both of the previous two matchups between these teams this season were decided by two points or less, and they each resulted in a combined total of 245 and 228 respectively. The Hawks and the Bulls (114.8 PPG) both are top 15 scoring teams in the league, but rank in the bottom half in scoring defense. I expect a high-scoring output from each team and with a substandard defense on display, it should set up for a large point total. The Hawks have finished over the point total in 15 of their 24 road games this season, and four in their last five overall. Take the over again in Monday’s matchup.