The unrelenting schedule is about to backpick the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks have to be feeling pretty good about themselves after Monday’s road win over previously unbeaten Miami. That is, if they had time to feel good about themselves.
After the win, the Hawks boarded a plane for a three-hour flight to Chicago. They probably got into their hotel around 3 a.m. local time, grabbed some Z’s and awoke for a morning walkthrough before returning their hotel rooms, likely to nap until the bus to the United Center.
Waiting their for them will be the Bulls, who have been sleeping in their own beds since Saturday and had a day off after Sunday’s 104-64 demolition of Memphis that looked like an AAU game. Ronnie Brewer’s plus-minus for that game was plus-48.
Atlanta’s last visit to Chicago came in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In Game 5, the Hawks led by a point early in the fourth quarter before Derrick Rose took over and sparked the Bulls to a pivotal win.
The Hawks lost Game 6 at home and were denied a trip to the conference finals. Since the 
NBA expanded from divisions to conferences in 1970, Atlanta never has been to the conference finals.
In the playoffs, Hawks coach Larry Drew benched Marvin Williams, started Zaza Pachulia and slid Josh Smith to small forward and Al Horford to power forward in an effort to combat Bulls bigs Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer. It will also be interesting to see if Drew uses the zone – which stifled Miami on Monday – to slow down Rose.
This is Chicago’s first game vs. an East opponent. The Bulls could be shorthanded in the backcourt as Richard Hamilton (groin) and C.J. Watson (elbow) are day to day.
In the playoffs, Collins started at C, not Zaza.