Bulls vs. Hawks roster snapshot and game preview: it's a mid-off!

and dueling 'trading with Lakers?' teams

Why aren’t the Hawks better than they are? Or at least better than the Bulls?

I had high hopes with this roster improving after hiring Quinn Snyder late last season:

They have been missing Jalen Johnson since Thanksgiving, going 4-10 in those games. He returns tonight. That probably isn’t close to everything wrong. I’m assuming it’s because Trae Young has been poor and the entire team revolves around his offensive ball dominance and defensive deficiencies.

Kind of like a better Zach LaVine? Young always seems to stink against the Bulls, and he may not play tonight but that may not be the worst thing for the Hawks.

Trae is represented by Klutch, like LaVine, and also like Dejounte Murray. So lo and behold, there are now Shamsy rumors that Murray could be on the move to the Lakers instead of LaVine. Being cheaper and a more well-rounded player, I’d expect the asset price for Murray to be higher than LaVine.

Injury Report: As mentioned, Young is questionable.

For the Bulls, Vucevic makes his first appearance on the injury report in a long time, questionable with a hip issue. Adama Sanogo is available and active!

Schedule factor: Same rest for both teams, with Hawks traveling from Atlanta while the Bulls have been at home for a while now.

Betting line: fairly even and fluctuating, Bulls are currently -105 to win, implied final score: CHI 117, ATL 118

Game Time: 7 central. Come back tonight for the OPEN THREAD.