Bulls-Hawks Preview

The Bulls advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2007 when they defeated the Indiana Pacers in a series that was played a lot closer than many experts expected. In the process, the Pacers gave teams that moved further in the playoffs some good footage on how to play the Bulls on both ends of the court to get them out of their offensive rhythm and break down their defense. Game 1 of tonight's series against the Atlanta Hawks (7 p.m., TNT, ESPN AM 1000) should not be looked at as another tuneup for the Eastern Conference finals. The Hawks survived their own tough series with the Orlando Magic and pose some matchup problems for the Bulls.

The big questions for the Bulls are how Derrick rose and Carlos Boozer are recovering from their respective injuries. Rose showed little signs of wear from his ankle injury against the Pacers. But Boozer has been subject to scrutiny for his largely ineffective play since the playoffs began, even after it was revealed that he was suffering from turf toe. EW know Rose is taking the court tonight. Boozer is also expected to play.

The Hawks need to go with a big frontcourt to mitigate the Bulls front line of Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. Keeping Noah from feasting on offensive rebounds is key if the Hawks expect to play the Bulls tight in this series, which means expect the larger Jason Collins to be assigned to Noah while Al Horford tests out Boozers turf toe. A big concern for the Hawks is the health of point guard and former Bull Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich is nursing a hamstring injury and if he can't go, coach Larry Drew may have to start another former Bull and Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Jamal Crawford, at point guard.

If that happens, the Bulls advantage on the bench will only get better. Expect more minutes in this series from Taj Gibson and Kurt Thomas to spell Boozer, while Omer Asik, who was held back by coach Tom Thibodeau in the PAcers series, will see extended minutes against Atlanta.

The X-factor, of course, is Rose. If he's recovered sufficiently from that ankle injury, he's going to be even harder to defend as non one on the Hawks has the speed to keep up with him in transition. Expect a raucous Bulls crowd to and Blackhawks to be ready to support the home crowd, while Jim Cornelison is expected to give everyone a jolt by singing the National Anthem tonight.

Our pick: Bulls in five, but it's going to be tough.