[Thanks to 'Orange Juice' for today's game preview -ed.]

So the last time the Bulls were in Atlanta, they were coming off a loss to the (still) lowly Nets and I was not very pumped to go to the game.

This time around, things are looking much better ... the Bulls recently came back from a great road trip winning 5 straight, Derrick Rose made the All-Star Team (I will be repping his jersey tonight!), and I got a sweet ticket deal that puts the jacked up UC ticket prices to shame. I'm so pumped ...

... well, not exactly. Of course the Bulls had to lose two in a row coming into tonight's game, and Noah is out until after the All-Star Break. It sucks that he won't get a chance to outplay All-Star Al Horford, who is not an All-Star (except for the fact that the coaches "had" to fill a reserve center spot). Anyone who watches the Hawks knows that Josh Smith deserved to be that 2nd All-Star after Joe Johnson. And even Jamal Crawford, future sixth-man of the year, merited more consideration.

So while I don't think we're gonna get blown out like last time, I'm not very optimistic about a Bulls win tonight. The Hawks have a top 5 league home record (20-5), coming off a day's rest after beating the Clippers at home (something we couldn't do earlier this week), and no Noah to run with the athletic Hawks hurts.

But here's to hoping Tyrus plays more, goes at it with fellow athletic freak Josh Smith, perhaps in a duel of future All-Stars? Haha wouldn't that be a trip. Looking forward to an aggressive DRose taking it to Bibby and Crawford, who both can't play defense. Maybe Chris Richard can neutralize his old Florida teammate Horford. And we'll all be watching to see if Joe Johnson (who's coming off two 30-pt games) is really worth pursuing as a FA this offseason.

Who do we want to play in the first round? Cleveland, Orlando, Boston, or ... Atlanta?