Hawks Clipped

The latest Bulls chapter brought them to a place where home-court advantage doesn't exist a whole lot.  Just as I suspected would happen during my last post, a good portion of the Philips Arena crowd, which is supposed to be for the Atlanta Hawks, was pulling for the visitors instead.  I'd go so far as to suggest that the majority of fans left happy about a 105-92 Bulls win, which was Tom Thibodeau's 200th for his career.

At the beginning, Kyle Korver seemed bent on creating Hell for his former team, knocking down three three-pointers in the first quarter.  However, the Bulls found their own offense and had the game tied at 31 after the opening 12 minutes.  After that, the offense remained balanced and the defense cracked down when it needed to.  Whenever the Hawks appeared ready to break through during a run, the Bulls answered Thibodeau's call to crack down on defense and go after the ball like it was the final available turkey for Thanksgiving.  Meanwhile, Korver didn't hit another three until late in the fourth quarter.

The ball actually changed possessions quite a bit, so it's not like the Bulls did a much better job at limiting turnovers than the Hawks did, recording 13 to Atlanta's 16.  They won the battle of points in the paint 38-36, but lost in points off turnovers 21-17 and in fast break points 20-8.  That's a pretty ugly night if you expect clean basketball.

The real difference was in shooting.  The Bulls were 51 percent from the floor as opposed to Atlanta's 44 percent.  They also did better than the Hawks from behind the three-point line (48-33) and the free throw line (87-77).  As a result, Atlanta continued the slump it's been in recently and is now tied with New York for the final playoff spot in the East.

Six Bulls scored in double figures, led by D.J. Augustin (surprise, surprise) and his 23 points.  Half of Augustin's eight field goals were three-pointers and he shot 3-of-4 from behind the line.  Kirk Hinrich and Jimmy Butler each scored 17, Joakim Noah had a double-double of 10 and 10 and Taj Gibson added 10 points and seven rebounds.  There were also plenty of dunks and rainbow shots to keep the Bulls contingent entertained.

Even though very little difference exists between the third and fourth seed in the East this year, the Bulls still pride themselves on finishing with the best record they can.  Thibodeau has always prided himself on that and it's part of why he has 200 wins in a little less than four seasons as a head coach.  His defensive philosophy and unwillingness to surrender any game under any circumstances have brought him a reputation bested by few coaches in the league.  He and his players believe they're title contenders even when the rest of the world doesn't.  If they can somehow shock everyone this postseason, well, that would say it all.

The Bulls will next play the Milwaukee Bucks, a candidate in the Jabari Parker/Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes, at the United Center Friday.  They might seem like a team easy to beat, but Thibs won't let his team think so.  As far as they're concerned, all 29 opponents pose some kind of threat, so the Bucks will be taken as seriously as the Heat.  It's just who the Bulls are, so take it or leave it.