Game #8 Preview: Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls

[Thanks to 'Duhon's Hangover' for today's game preview. Some news: Gooden is a game-time decision for tonight -ed.]

After a miraculous 1.7% chance, Derrick Rose is performing beautifully for the both the Bulls and my Fantasy team.  He is averaging 17.7 pts, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists with only 7 NBA games under his belt and sporting a pretty PER of 16.6.  He is the true bright spot in this ragtag group of players we call the Bulls, even with a crowded backcourt Rose was getting 30+ minutes a game while veteran guards Hinrich and Gordon suffered.  The quagmire in the backcourt finally began raising a lowly "Mission Accomplished" banner when Larry Hughes got injured during pre-season, and recently Kirk Hinrich tore a ligament in his thumb which will sideline him for 3 months. This is a tough blow to die-hard Hinrich fans but, it does clear the way for Ben Gordon to start and he has been shooting lights-out (49.5% FG% and 45.9% from beyond the arc, TS% of 63%!) with a PER of over 20!  For the first time in Gordon's career, he has not had a slow start in the beginning of the season and this could lead the way for him to average anywhere from 20-24 ppg, and a fat new contract.

Another notable injury is Josh Smith, who tweaked his ankle after trying to block a shot into the 200 level against the Raptors.  When we talk about monsters, I mean we aren't talking about Cloverfield, but we are talking about a guy who was averaging 14 pts 10 boards, 3 blocks. J Smooth has nothing to hide, you want the camera on him at all time because he will put on a Sprite Dunk Contest the second he powders up and checks in. His frankenstein athleticism [ed. note: I'm not sure how athletic Dr. Frankenstein was, but his monster was pretty unathletic. AaronGray-esque, even] and defensive aggressiveness has led the Hawks to a 5-0 opening record with an average of 96PPG.  The Hawks have a double digit point differential (10.2) in those 5 games, which means they have been winning with defense this year. Without J Smooth, Woodson will have to look at these guys:

"Above Average" Joe Johnson continues to summon his popular vote with his all-star caliber numbers early in the season. In reality, fantasy leagues out there who drafted Joe Johnson in early 2-3 rounds look like Jose Calderon drafters of last year, okay maybe not to such a degree, but Joe is shooting a blistering 50.5% from the field, making it rain 44% clip from beyond the arc, and filling the bucket 25 ppg.  He will be a tough cover for the Bulls, but with Gordon playing so well lately, whatever point total Joe puts in, it will most likely be negated.

"Babyface" Al Horford proved his toughness against the Celtics last year and was the only rookie to nearly average a double-double.  Though he has gotten of to a slow start than most Hawk fans would have liked, he is still putting up solid numbers of 9 and 9 and providing tough interior defense. If Drew Gooden starts, he should be able to hold his own against Horford and draw him outside around 18-20ft range and give D. Rose enough time to operate. This matchup should also be a draw.

Mike Bibby just needs to play like he did with the Kings and distribute and score when he sees the opportunity.  This is an interesting match up for Rose as he should be able to just punish the slower less agile headband wearing Bibby. Hopefully Barbosa gave Bibby the number to the nice frame store for the poster Rose put on him.

Marvin Williams, has been seen as disappointment as the 2nd pick in the 2005 draft which meant the hawks missed out on some perennial superstars in Deron Williams, Chris Paul (MVP anyone?), Andrew Bynum, and Danny Granger.  Although not a bad player, he has not shown his true potential as a NBA player and maybe makes Mike Woodson want to revoke Childress' visa soon.  I would think Deng has an advantage over the athletic Williams, who still doesn't have much of an offensive game.  Deng is coming into his own the past few games and is getting his offensive rhythm back, though he was burned by Lebron the last game (who hasn't?) he has been playing inspired defense lately and coming up with timely and key buckets in all of our wins. 

Zaza will be playing at center and moving Horford to PF, I like his eyebrows and his hair looks soft. Whether if Gray or Noah start, they should be able overwhelm the stagnant Zaza with energy and hustle.

The Bulls came off of a good weekend where they dismantled the high powered Suns offense and held them to a paltry 83 points. We can handle the inside-outside threat that is Suns offense which leads to believe that we can handle the Hawks just the same.  They were going toe-to-toe with the Cavs, but simply ran out of gas as the King took over.  As Sam Smith pointed out in this recent blog, it's a bit of poetic justice as MJ would punish the Cavs in his heyday.    We do have enough options and defensive matchups to keep the Atlanta on their toes but the real difference comes down to the bench.  We have enough firepower off the bench to really put a dent into the Hawks 2nd line.  They have the likes of Speedy Claxton, and Mo Evans, while we have Nocioni, Thomas and Thabo. 

As mentioned by Doug Thonus in his latest podcast, the Bulls have the 5th toughest schedule in the NBA, and if you take out the losses to the Bulls, the teams they have played combine for a record of 19-10.  I give VDN props for keeping the Bulls boat a float at 3-4.  This season could have easily started totalitarian Skiles-esqe 0-7, but VDN has managed to keep the Bulls competitive in all but two games (@BOS, @CLE). Every win is crucial as the Bulls embark on a brutal west coast trip next week, and a win against the upstart Hawks would be a good start.

Catch the game on Comcast Sports Net at 7:30 pm CST in the United Center. 

Prediction: BULLS-98, Hawks-93

Randoms:

• Mike Woodson runs a tough transition defense but his center key piece is Josh Smith? Will the Bulls be able to exploit this in the Bulls faster pace floor game?
• Noce seems to look even more lost on defense than last year. How is this possible?

The enemy is literate:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Peachtree Hoops