The Atlanta Hawks got drummed out of Philadelphia last night, looking terribly lethargic against a 76ers squad that had been stumbling before the return of Jrue Holiday.

Now they return home to face a strongly confident Chicago Bulls team, a team that has won 9 of their last 13, beating Philly twice in that span. They’ve also defeated what was the East’s top team, the New York Knicks, twice this month, including a 4-point win last night in Manhattan that observers would tell you really wasn’t that close. Even without star guard Derrick Rose, the bloom is no longer off the Bulls, who are now primed to overtake the Hawks for the #3-seed in the East if they win at Philips Arena tonight.

With little resistance from Chicago, the Knicks scrambled to put up 45 points in the fourth quarter just to shrink a 25-point lead by the end of the third quarter. The lack of a defensive pushback was, as expected, much to the dismay of Coach Tom Thibodeau. He drew a technical foul as the game got uglier, but his team was outdone on infractions as the Knicks’ Mike Woodson and star Carmelo Anthony were expelled. New York’s Tyson Chandler was also booted along with Chicago’s Joakim Noah after a fourth-quarter scrum, but a suspension for either player is unlikely coming into tonight’s game.

It will be interesting to see what energy level the Bulls have by the end of tonight’s game. Deng (41.0) and Noah (40.2) lead the NBA in minutes per game, each exceeding their averages last night. To get both players some rest, Thibodeau may rely more on ex-Hawks Nazr Mohammed and Vladimir Radmanovic tonight.

Unlike the Hawks last night, several key players on the Bulls stepped up their game to the level of their opposition. Noah clearly outclassed Chandler with a rebounding edge (12 to 8), and added 6 assists to go along with 15 points. Luol Deng (29 points) matched MVP candidate Carmelo Anthony point-for-point, and added 13 rebounds despite injuring his shoulder in the third quarter. Marco Belinelli (22 points) and Nate Robinson (11 points) did not shoot well from the field, but still produced offense by drawing trips to the line and nailing 16 of their combined 18 free throws.

Perhaps most impressive was one of the players the Hawks jettisoned via free agency. Kirk Hinrich messed around and nearly registered a triple double (16 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 turnovers), while hitting 4 three-pointers, outplaying Raymond Felton.

The T.I. that Hawks fans really want to see tonight is “Teague Inspired.” Will Jeff Teague, a listless 2-for-4 for 5 points and 4 personal fouls against the Sixers, take the reins of the backcourt offense and outwork the veteran he once had to defer to in past seasons? Without steady play from Teague, and with Devin Harris nursing his sore foot, the Hawks are pressured to rely on Lou Williams (13 points, 4-for-12 shooting, four assists, and four turnovers vs. Philly) as a lead guard for longer stretches earlier in the game than they’d like.

Teague isn’t the only starter that needs to step up and dominate a game. Atlanta has now gone six games without a single starter scoring at least 20 points. They’ll need to see “Al Scoreford,” instead of the passive player (11.0 PPG, 3.5 APG) Horford has been in the past six games. He’s combining poor and rushed shot selection (9-for-35 in his past three games) with questionable decisions to pass up layups for passes out to the perimeter. His subpar free throw shooting (57.3 FT% on the season) may be subconsciously provoking his tentative play in the post. Although he’s 7-for-9 in his last three games, he definitely needs more trips than he’s earning. Horford will need to play big against his college teammate Noah, who’s won 7 of his last 11 matchups against him (including the 2011 playoffs).

One Bull who had plenty of rest last night and will play a heavy role tonight will be Carlos Boozer. The Alaskan Assassin’s shooting percentage is a career-low 50.1 percent, and gets a quick hook from Thibodeau when his defensive effort is spotty, yet he is in the top ten in defensive rebounding percentage (27.3%). Taj Gibson plans to play despite a sprained right ankle after just four minutes of action last night, but Thibs will want to limit his playing time if he can help it.

On Friday night, the Sixers played Death by a Thousand Long-Range Jumpers early, spreading the floor and making offensive rebounds and backdoor cuts easier against the Hawks. The Bulls, leading the NBA in the proportion of long-range shots (30.3% of all shots from 16-to-23 feet) will continue that line of attack.

Josh Smith, who’s had all he could handle from Kevin Durant, David Lee, and Thaddeus Young lately, needs more help from DeShawn Stevenson and Ivan Johnson so he won’t be overspent making defensive stops at short-and-mid-range.

More than half of the Hawks’ 15 wins, 8 of their last 11 victories, have come against cellar-dwellers in Charlotte, Orlando, and Washington. While earlier wins against Western contenders were impressive, they have to show some mettle against the top Eastern Conference contenders for others to take them seriously. A convincing victory tonight could be a big first step.

Happy Holidays to All! And, Go Hawks!

~lw3