The Atlanta Hawks are going to be back in action tomorrow night, the first time since a Monday night loss to the Lakers, and Atlanta is going to be on the road facing one of the worst teams in the NBA.

The Chicago Bulls are 1-9 to start this season and they have looked every part of that record. They have the worst defense in the league right now, and aside from rookie Caleb Wilson and third forward Matas Buzelis, there is not a lot to be excited about right now if you are a Bulls fan.

But that does not mean that the Hawks can take them lightly. Chicago had the Spurs down by 20 in the first half of yesterday’s game, and while San Antonio ended up winning, it goes to show that any team can beat another on any given night if one team plays poorly enough.

The Bulls are going to be missing star rookie Caleb Wilson tomorrow night, though, as it was announced earlier tonight, he will miss significant time.

Ahead of Friday’s game, the Hawks have released their injury report. Kingston Flemings (lumbar spasm) is questionable, while Keshon Gilbert (left knee inflammation/non-surgical procedure), Mouhamed Gueye (left foot fracture), Asa Newell (left great toe hyperextension), and Henri Veesaar (torn right ACL) are out.

If Flemings misses tomorrow’s game, expect CJ McCollum to move back into the starting lineup and for Aaron Wiggins to play heavy minutes as well. While less likely, RayJ Dennis could see minutes as well.

Looking to bounce back

The Hawks have a rare three days off, but they are still trying to focus on improving according to head coach Quin Snyder:

“Yeah, I think, you know, having, you know, the feedback that you get from games. It’s almost you find yourself compiling, you know, lists of things you need to do better. So, getting the time to work on some things, I think the key has been to prioritize what those things are. And we’ve played some teams that are really different styles, but that also allows us to see how are we against teams that switch? How are we against teams that are isolation oriented? How’s our pick and roll defense? And you can’t get better at everything at once, but you could certainly. be mindful of the things you think you need to do.”

The NBA season is still settling in, but the Hawks find themselves in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and favorable games ahead. They have to take care of business of course, but to ensure that they are a top six seed when April rolls around and they can avoid the play-in tournament, winning games against teams like the Bulls and the Bucks are essential.

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