Update: Everyone should be in for the Bulls. Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu are officially considered probable but no one is being rested for this game. The Bulls are 2-point favorites and the total is 221.5. I still like Chicago as the ATS pick and the over on the total.
The Atlanta Hawks (34-40) will face the Chicago Bulls (36-39) Monday in a contest that will likely be the 9-10 matchup in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. The Hawks are coming off a loss to the Bucks, while the Bulls are on the second night of a back-to-back set after a win over the Timberwolves Sunday. These teams have met twice already this season with Chicago winning both contests.
The Hawks will be without Trae Young, Saddiq Bey and Onyeka Okongwu, while Jalen Johnson and Kobe Bufkin are questionable. The Bulls haven’t released an official injury report but DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Coby White logged big minutes Sunday. We’ll see if anyone is rested for this game.
The Bulls are 2.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook with the total sitting at 222.5. Chicago is -135 on the moneyline while Atlanta is +114.
Hawks vs. Bulls, 8 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Bulls -2.5
Chicago is 37-37-1 ATS on the season while Atlanta is the worst team in the league against the number at 27-47 ATS. The Bulls are 6-6 ATS on the second night of a back-to-back set and 6-5-1 ATS with a rest disadvantage, while the Hawks are 8-5 ATS with a rest advantage.
The Bulls have won both meetings so far and covered this line both times. The Hawks are without a lot of their key rotation players and while they’ve held their own in some game, I think Chicago continues to have the edge here. Give me the Bulls to cover on the second night of a back-to-back set.
Over/Under: Over 222.5
These are two of the most over-friendly teams in the NBA. The Hawks are 41-32-1 to the over while the Bulls are 41-33-1 to the over. Chicago is 8-4 to the over on the second night of a back-to-back set to there won’t be much reason to believe scoring goes down unless the Bulls rest a big chunk of their rotation. Both previous meetings this season have also gone over this particular line. I’ll take the over to hit again Monday.