The Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls are getting ready to tip off in Chicago for another NBA Cup game and both teams just announced their starting lineups.

G- Trae Young

G- Dyson Daniels

F- Zaccharie Risacher

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Clint Capela

G- Coby White

G- Josh Giddey

F- Zach LaVine

F- Ayo Dosunmu

C- Nikola Vucevic

Here is a preview for tonight’s game from our own Rohan Raman:

Tonight is not only an important game for their NBA Cup hopes – it is also an opportunity to respond against an opponent that handled them during their last matchup. When these teams played on November 9th, Atlanta was in control for most of the game before Chicago stormed back and won the game due to the Hawks faltering late. The 14-3 scoring run that the Bulls went on ended up winning them the game and sealed a 125-113 loss that was simply hard to watch. In their last meeting, Chicago also won the game largely due to a team-based scoring performance. Their entire starting lineup finished with double-digit points and a positive plus/minus. Ayo Dosomnu also made a massive impact off the bench with 19 points on 7-10 shooting.

Atlanta’s inconsistency has been an issue all season. Against Golden State, they had a dismal first quarter. The Hawks shot 35% from the field and 29% from three. Golden State on the other hand was 60% from the field and 46% from three. The bench for the Warriors outscored the Hawks bench 19-3. However, this game was more of a fluke in terms of how bad their start was. That being said, they have consistently struggled in the clutch. This year, they have the 10th-fewest points in the third quarter and the fifth-fewest points in the fourth quarter.

Coming into tonight’s game, the Hawks are 11th in the NBA in PPG, 19th in FG%, 18th in 3PA, 19th in 3P%, 4th in FTA, 25th in turnovers, and 11th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 18th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 9th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 7th in free throw rate. On defense, they rank 28th in PPG allowed, 15th in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed, and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 19th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 26th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The Bulls have a pretty simple team profile – they take a lot of threes and make a good amount of threes without standing out much in other areas. They are 10th in PPG, 16th in FG%, 3rd in three attempts, 10th in three point percentage, 25th in free throw attempts, 9th in rebounding, and 21st in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Chicago is 23rd in points per 100 possessions, 12th in effective field goal percentage, 19th in turnover percentage, 28th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 27th in free throw rate. Defensively, the Bulls are 29th in PPG allowed, 29th in field goal percentage allowed, 22nd in three point attempts allowed, and 5th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Chicago is 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 23rd in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Even though the Bulls have an exploitable defense, the Hawks are going to need a strong performance from Trae Young to salt this game away early. Young has not really looked like himself as a scorer this year. In his last two games against the Kings and Warriors, he’s scored a combined 19 points on 5-19 shooting despite playing 30+ minutes in both games. On the year, he’s averaging 21.9 points (his lowest since his rookie year) and shooting a career-worst 34.1% from deep. Fortunately, he is still one of the best playmakers in the NBA and hit double-digit assists in those same games to alleviate some of the effect of his scoring dip. In a game where he has his full rotation avaliable to him, I expect him to continue to shine as a playmaker while taking advantage of the improved spacing.”