After falling to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday in the Play-in Tournament, the Atlanta Hawks find themselves in a “must-win” scenario on Friday at home. They will face the winner of the Chicago Bulls/Miami Heat matchup with a trip to the Eastern Conference playoffs on the line. Atlanta split the 2024-25 season series at two wins apiece against both squads. How do the Hawks match up with the Heat and Bulls? Let’s explore both possibilities.
Examining Hawks Play-In Tournament Matchup with Heat/Bulls
Can the Hawks and Bulls Stop Each Other?
On Tuesday, the Magic imposed their will on Atlanta defensively, holding the visitors to just 95 points. However, if the Hawks face the Bulls in the Play-In on Friday, the game will likely be more of an offensive track meet. Both squads finished inside the top three in pace and top six in points per game, but they are tied for 18th in defensive rating. There was certainly no shortage of fast-paced scoring in their regular-season matchups. On Dec. 26, the Hawks beat Chicago 141-133 in regulation behind a 50-point fourth quarter, erasing a 21-point deficit.
Both squads score in bunches but do so in different ways. Atlanta looks to pound the ball in the paint, ranking third in the association at 54.7 points in the paint per game. In contrast, the Bulls attack from a distance, they take and make the third-most threes in the league this season. The Hawks run a lot of pick-and-roll for Trae Young to make reads going downhill, whether the result is scoring on a floater or an alley-oop to Onyeka Okongwu or Mouhamed Gueye. Chicago wants to push the pace and find shooters like Coby White, Kevin Huerter, and even Nikola Vučević through driving and kicking.
White and Josh Giddey, who averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 9.3 assists after the All-Star break, are the Bulls’ main scoring threats. Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher will likely guard the backcourt tandem and must keep the Bulls guards from getting to the paint too easily. This matchup likely comes down to which squad can put up more resistance defensively.
Heat Will Look to Wear Out the Hawks
Similar to Orlando, the Heat want to slow down the game and let their strong half-court defense dictate the pace. They finished ninth in the NBA with a 112 defensive rating this season.
Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell, and Andrew Wiggins lead Miami’s defense. Adebayo’s lateral quickness at 6-foot-9 allows him to switch onto guards to defend the pick-and-roll. The Hawks also struggled across the season series against Miami’s 2-3 zone defense. They only managed to score over 112 points one time across the four matchups. Surprisingly, Young averaged just 17 points per game on 35% shooting against the Heat this season. Atlanta will need a better performance from its All-Star point guard to take down Miami.
On paper, Atlanta matches up well defensively with the Heat. Daniels defends Tyler Herro, and Onyeka Okongwu covers Adebayo, who only managed 15.8 points and 8.5 boards in the season series. However, Mitchell hurt the Hawks offensively off the bench over the final two regular-season meetings. On Feb. 26, he scored 20 points with 5-5 shooting from deep and added 16 points on 4-5 from downtown on March 27. If Mitchell is hot, the Hawks need Caris LeVert, who had seven points on 3-11 shooting against the Magic, to counter his production.
Atlanta is certainly capable of beating the Bulls and Heat in the Play-In. With a young team looking to build, playoff experience can go a long way in developing talent for the future.
Photo credit: © Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
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