Atlanta Hawks look to force Game 7 with Chicago Bulls
The Atlanta Hawks were surprise upstarts against the No. 1 seeded Chicago Bulls but the Bulls can finish this series off in Atlanta Thursday May 12. Derrick Rose did what he had to do to get the Bulls up three games to two by pouring in 33 points and playing more aggressive in Game 5 despite several nagging ailments.
Chicago is a 3.5-point, -160 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 179 in basketball picks.
The Atlanta Hawks have been able to give the Chicago Bulls everything they can handle. When they play on their home court in the Phillips Arena, they do not have much of a home court advantage. The fan base for the Hawks is small and the Chicago Bulls fans have invaded the arena for the other games the Atlanta Hawks have hosted.
The Hawks will run out a starting five led by Joe Johnson as their premiere shooting guard. Johnson is averaging 19 points per game and he has been the difference in the two Hawks wins. Johnson scored 33 points when the Hawks won in Game 1.
Al Horford and Josh Smith have controlled the boards for the Hawks in this series. Horford is pulling down 10 plus rebounds per game and Smith is grabbing nine. The Bulls Joakim Noah leads both teams on the boards with 11.3 rebounds per game and Carlos Boozer has averaged nine rebounds per game.
Derrick Rose has been the leader of the Bulls all season and the point guard has not let up as the NBA Playoffs have progressed. The Bulls can go only as far as Rose can take them. Las Vegas has lowered their odds to win it all to 4-1 but they may not match up well with the Miami Heat.
