Bulls vs. Hawks final score: sweet relief as All-Star Break comes following another Bulls loss

The Atlanta Hawks play the vaunted 'Hoiball', but they've been doing it longer and have better players. That was likely the case even when both teams are at full strength, and even moreso now that half the team is hurt for Chicago. They limped their way into the break with another loss after giving up over 110 points.

The Bulls defense is just abysmal, and the Hawks are a team primed to take advantage but it has been happening against any opponent. Their best defensive players are hurt, and the backups are not 'replacement level' but far below on that end. That means as a result they're trying to do way too much switching, and there's poor communication as to when they're actually going to switch. Some guys stand still, others over-help, they get caught in awful matchups whether it's in transition or if the Hawks run just a single action to make the Bulls D react.

I'm not sure how that can be fixed, honestly. It seemed like the Hawks were blowing some inside opportunities and open threes (they wound up 13-33, which was more than enough as it is) to keep things from getting even worse. But Kyle Korver sprung loose as part of a 15-2 Hawks run in a 38-point 3rd quarter and that was that. Don't worry, the 4th quarter began with a  Brooks/Hinrich/Snell/McDermott/Portis lineup so a comeback was certainly not happening.

It also didn't help that the offense had 18 mostly live-ball turnovers. Otherwise ok games from Doug McDermott and E'Twaun Moore were marred by their turnovers. Derrick Rose started the game 4/7 and had 9 of the Bulls first 15 points on a napping Atlanta transition defense, but then went 2/11 the rest of the game to finish with 14 points on 18 shots. Pau Gasol led the Bulls with 20 and scored on some pirouettes and post-ups, but that isn't great offense and his lack of mobility defensively is especially noticeable when they play Atlanta. I don't think any Bull had an absolute 'good' game, maybe Taj Gibson based on his defense alone, though, get this: he suffered a foot sprain. Awesome.

Meanwhile, the only Hawk that didn't have a good game was Kent Bazemore, who the Bulls should probably target this offseason. The Hawks are a really good team, but they're contemplating hitting a reset with Al Horford's impending free agency and have been active in trade rumors. Meanwhile the Bulls are still waiting between 8am-1pm tomorrow for the AT&T guy to come and fix their line finally.

The game ended with boos from the home crowd, Cristiano Felicio getting stripped at mid-court, and Neil Funk calling him 'Feliciano'. Enjoy your break from Bulls basketball, everyone.