The Hawks did what they needed to do on Wednesday, squashing the Bucks at home to preserve their slim margin over the Nets. Tonight they find themselves with another opportunity to make some real headway in the East, as they can knock the Bulls 4 games off the pace and, depending on what happens in Indiana between the Pacers and Nets, find themselves in with either a 1.5 game lead over New Jersey (with an Indy win), or staring at pretty much a two-team race to the finish (as a Pacers loss will knock them, like Chicago, too far back at 3.5 out with only 10 games to play).

This Bulls team has given the Hawks fits in Chicago, but their previous trip to Philips Arena resulted in one of the most dominant wins by Atlanta this season. What to expect tonight?

First things first, Mike Bibby is playing, which is a huge sigh of relief for Atlanta fans after he aggravated his thumb injury late in Wednesday's game. Dude is a gamer, and he knows what's at stake. I imagine Mike will get plenty of rest for his body once the season ends, but for now, it's going to take a lot more than a sore thumb to keep him off the court.

In talking to Hawks coach David Fizdale in our Breaking Down The Bulls segment today, he talked about the importance of keeping the Bulls off the offensive glass. Drew Gooden, who always seems to play well against the Hawks, was a beast on the boards in Chicago's win on Tuesday; keeping him in check will be one of the top priorities for the Hawks tonight.

The guys on the team know what's at stake. Josh Smith talked about it today after shootaround - it's hard not to pay attention to what the other teams are doing, but as long as the team controls their own destiny, they just have to focus on getting done what they need to get done.

Hopefully tonight they'll do just that.

Come down to Philips to check out all the action for yourself.

See you there!