Preview, predictions, TV and injury report for tonight's Chicago Bulls v Atlanta Hawks game

In a six-game Monday NBA schedule, perhaps the most important of all will be the meeting between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, two direct rivals in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The stars of the game will be DeMar DeRozan and Dejounte Murray.

The Hawks will serve as visitors with the great news of Jalen Johnson's return from injury. The Georgia franchise is 10th in the East with a 34-40 record, in the last playoff spot but with a comfortable lead over the 11th-place Brooklyn Nets at 29-46. What makes this game so important is that the Chicago Bulls are the team directly above the Hawks, and at stake is home-court advantage in the head-to-head matchup in the elimination tournament.

The Bulls, meanwhile, are 9th. They own a 36-39 record, and losing the game against Atlanta would leave their rival very close in the fight for that 9th spot. The 8th is Philadelphia 76ers with a 40-35 record, but they are likely to make a push with the imminent return of Joel Embiid.

Expert predictions (Possible lineups and result).

The main predictions for tonight's game have the Chicago Bulls slightly ahead of the Atlanta Hawks as the favorite to win, simply by virtue of being the home team. However, it is a very difficult matchup to predict.

In addition, the potential lineups will be as follows:

Schedule and TV.

The game will be played at 8:00 PM ET, and can be followed on NBCS-CHI and BSSE.