NBA Play-In Tournament: Hawks vs. Bulls prediction, odds, pick for Wednesday, 4/17

Hawks vs. Bulls Odds

Wednesday, April 17, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NBA odds here.

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks enter the play-in tournament as one of the most disappointing teams across the NBA this season. They were a preseason sharp darling to win their division outright, and instead finished behind both Miami and Orlando. The rumors were rampant around the trade deadline they may move some key pieces, only to keep the entire team in place and send a league wide memo that they would revisit all those discussions in the offseason. The Hawks seem dejected and ready to wrap it up. Even down the stretch of the season they were resting guys and lost their final game to the Charlotte Hornets, instead of getting Trae Young some game time with his core teammates. Now, the Hawks will return the pairing of Young and Dejounte Murray, who have a net negative plus-minus in their two seasons together, and will have to play without key role players in Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu. I think coach Quin Snyder is looking forward to drastic roster changes this season, and the urgency to win here will be low on the road in a tough Chicago environment.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls find themselves in quite the opposite situation as the Atlanta Hawks, and it works to their benefit. The Bulls play hard, to the final whistle, always try to win, are healthy and have home court. In their final game against the Knicks — a virtually meaningless game for Chicago — they still played until overtime and played DeMar DeRozan over 40 minutes. They try and win when they take the court, and are veteran-led with experienced coaching. The Bulls are relatively healthy and should have the core of the team that played together this season. DeRozan played the most minutes in the entire NBA and led the league in so many clutch scoring categories. I trust the talent that will be out there and the atmosphere of the Chicago crowd. I vividly remember DeRozan's daughter being a star last season for screaming during opposing team free throws and causing a bunch of misses. I hope she is courtside!

Hawks vs. Bulls

Betting Pick & Prediction

While I feel strongly about the Bulls in this spot, the market has been flat and at consensus. FanDuel opened the line at Bulls -3.5, while DraftKings opened Bulls -3. Those two books, along with many other out there, have met in the middle with a consensus juiced Bulls -3 to -112 or -115. I would play the Bulls -3 if you can find a remaining -110, but play it small because it is unlikely to have strong market value by tip off!

Pick: Bulls -3 (-110)