Atlanta at Chicago

The Atlanta Hawks took advantage of an Orlando team that wasn't as good as in the past couple of years, and also some favorable matchups. This series vs. the Bulls won't offer those same opportunities. Now that Chicago has their sea-legs under them, so to speak, I expect to see them at their best especially during game one at home. Chicago owns a 25-18 ATS mark at home this season and they really socked it to the Hawks 114-81 in their last meeting in Atlanta and beat them up badly at home in their previous matchup as well by an 84-76 score. The Hawks have not covered a conference-semifinals game in their last eight tries, while the Bulls are 22-11 ATS this season vs. winning teams. They are also 26-16 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points. Chicago claims the opener.