Professional sports handicapper Jeff Grant previews Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls at the United Center

Atlanta picked up a 100-88 win in Game 4 of its series against Chicago due to out-hustling the opposition. "They just played harder, getting to loose balls, second effort," Bulls guard Derrick Rose stated on Monday. Hawks forward Josh Smith was one of the key ingredients to the victory, leading the squad with 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. "We're always trying to stay in his ear, but obviously when he's going to the basket and making it easy for himself, we just try to keep encouraging him," Joe Johnson stated. "When he's playing like that, it's almost impossible for a team to beat us." Atlanta is 24-22 ATS in road games this season.

The Hawks snapped an eight-game home losing streak in second round games with a 100-88 win over the Bulls in Game 4. Atlanta is in the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the third straight season, the second-longest active streak in the Conference. The team will need to continue getting contributions from its key players, including Al Horford and Joe Johnson, who scored 20 and 24 points respectively. Atlanta also held a 56-40 edge in points in the paint, 15-10 in second chance points and 16-8 in fastbreak points.

Chicago has played 44 best-of-seven series, with 18 of those series tied 2-2 after four games. The Bulls are 8-10 in series that were tied 2-2 after four games. Rose will continue being the focal point in serving as the league MVP, scoring 34 points in Game 4's defeat, after pouring in a career-best 44 while leading the squad to an easy win just days earlier in Game 3. "I was just missing shots," he said. "Looking at film, I missed a ton of layups - layups I normally don't miss." He averaged 25.3 points and 9.0 assists per game versus Atlanta this year, but has raised his scoring in the playoffs, by collecting 29.4 points a night. Chicago is 26-19 ATS at home this season.

The Bulls are now 10-7 all-time against the Hawks in the postseason, including 2-1 in the previous three series meetings. Chicago is 6-3 versus Atlanta in the Windy City and 4-4 down south. It's important for the team to start fast in tonight's game due to allowing the Hawks to knock down nine of their first 11 shots in Sunday's loss. The good news is, Atlanta led by just a field goal after the first 12 minutes, even though it shot .542 from the floor in comparison .421 for the Bulls.

Bettors will likely back the Hawks due to their 7-3 ATS mark as an underdog, while the Bulls are 3-8 ATS as a home favorite.
 

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