The Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls will meet Wednesday evening in the 9-10 play-in game in the Eastern Conference, with the winner advancing to face the loser of Heat-76ers for the final playoff spot in the conference. The Hawks finished the regular season on a six-game losing streak, while the Bulls went 5-5 in their last 10 games. Chicago won two of the three regular season meetings between these two teams.
Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu have all been ruled out for the Hawks. The Bulls have been missing Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams for some time now, while Ayo Dosunmu and Andre Drummond are both considered questionable.
The Bulls are 3-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook with the total set at 221.5. Chicago is -148 on the moneyline while Atlanta is +124.
Hawks vs. Bulls, 9:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Bulls -3
Both Atlanta and Chicago are back in the play-in tournament after taking part last year. The Hawks actually won their first game and became the No. 7 seed, while the Bulls won the 9-10 game but failed to beat the Heat in the next elimination game. Chicago went 18-22-1 ATS as the home team this season with a 8-13 ATS mark as the home favorite. The Hawks were one of the worst ATS teams this year. They were 14-26 ATS as the road side and 10-17 ATS as road underdogs.
Even with Trae Young back for Atlanta, I don’t think the Hawks have enough with three key rotation players sidelined. The Bulls have adapted to life without LaVine and have been playing slightly better basketball going into the play-in tournament. Take Chicago to cover.
Over/Under: Under 221.5
Both teams trended to the over in the regular season. The Hawks were 46-35-1 to the over while the Bulls were 45-36-1 to the over. Neither team is particularly great defensively, but Atlanta’s offense might be in a bit of a funk with some guys missing. Even though two of the three meetings between these sides went over this number, both of Tuesday’s play-in games finished under their totals. I like the under to hit in this contest.