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The Atlanta Hawks is set to face the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in the second round of the National Basketball Association Eastern Conference playoffs.Seeded fifth in the NBA Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks is surprisingly picked as favorite in their playoff match-up against the top team in the NBA Eastern Conference Chicago Bulls.

Although the Chicago Bulls has beaten the Atlanta Hawks twice in three games in the NBA regular season, in the ongoing NBA playoffs the Atlanta Hawks has shown that they are a tough team to beat.The Atlanta Hawks is picked to win over the Bulls since they have a steady core of playoff veteran players who can score and defend well against the Chicago Bulls.

One top advantage of the Atlanta Hawks in this series is shooting guard Joe Johnson, the top scorer and heart and soul of the team.Johnson had the potential to dominate this game against the Bulls since the latter do not have sufficient defenders that can stop or slow down the Hawks superstar.

If Johnson can have a scoring parade in this series it would be a headache for the Bulls.The Hawks also has in its fold reliable sixth-man Jamal Crawford, the hero in the Hawks-Orlando Magic series who can provide bench scoring and defense to the Hawks.

Like Johnson if Crawford can explode in this series it would be bad news to the top-seeded Bulls.In the power-forward position Hawks versatile center Al Horford has a slight advantage against his school buddy Joachim Noah in their scheduled playoff game.

If by chance Horford can dominate this game in both scoring and defence it would be an early night and series for the Bulls.This prediction might not be good news for the Bulls hardcore fans but as they say the game of basketball is won by good match-up and game-plan.

To win over the Hawks, the Bulls need to get solid scoring from superstar point-guard Derrick Rose who had yet to fully recover from his ankle injury.If Rose can show his form that made him a strong contender for the NBA most valuable player (MVP) race, there is a chance his team can overcome the Hawks.

The key player in this series is the performance of veteran power-forward Carlos Boozer who need to score and rebound big in this series to defeat the Hawks.It is quite hard to predict what game this match-up would end but one thing for sure, the Hawks are the favorite to roll past the Bulls in this series.