2011 NBA Playoff Predictions: Bulls vs Hawks
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Eastern Conference first round is in the books, and the top-seeded Chicago Bulls are set to take on the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in semifinal showdown for the right to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 1 is scheduled for Monday night at 8:00 ET in Chicago.
The Bulls finished the 2010-11 NBA season with the best overall record, and were expected to dominate the Indiana Pacers in their opening round matchup. While the Bulls won the series 3-1, they really struggled to get going in the first four games of the series. Chicago won the first three games of the series despite trailing in the fourth quarter in each of those games. Chicago finally looked like the team everyone expected to see in the playoffs with a 116-89 win in game 5, and it will be interesting to see if they can build off that performance.
The Hawks first round matchup put them up against the Orlando Magic, who absolutely crushed Atlanta in the playoffs last year. That didn’t seem to matter to the Hawks, who went on to beat Orlando in six games. Atlanta boldly decided that they were going to single cover Dwight Howard and force him to beat him on his own. The strategy paid off, but if they try that same strategy against Derrick Rose and the Bulls, they likely won’t be around for much longer.
Chicago won the season series 2-1, but very easily could have won all three games. The Bulls let a huge lead slip away in the second half. Atlanta ended up winning the game 83-80, but it got ugly in the next two games. Chicago won the second game 94-76 and then followed that up with a 114-81 win in Atlanta.
The Bulls got an unbelievable performance from Rose in the opening round. Rose averaged 27.6 points and 6.2 assists, but he can’t do it on his own. Luol Deng averaged 18.6 points a game, but for the Bulls to really dominate this series they need to get more out of forward Carlos Boozer. Against the Pacers Boozer averaged just 10 points a game, 7.5-points less than he averaged in the regular season. While keeping Boozer in check will be a huge part of the Hawks game plan, the guy they have to watch out for is reserve Kyle Korver, who hit big three after big three for the Bulls late in games against the Pacers.
The Hawks first round star was reserve Jamal Crawford, who averaged a team best 20.5 points a game in just under 30 minutes of playing time. While Crawford will play a huge role in the Hawks chances of pulling off the upset, I believe they are going to need a big series out of all their stars. Chicago is one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, and in order to beat them you have to get scoring from all over the floor. That means Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford all have to play well.
Prediction: Bulls Win in 5 Games
I think the Hawks will be able to steal a game at home, but I’m not giving them much of a shot at all at winning this series. The Bulls really matchup well against the Hawks, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up winning this series in four.
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