The Atlanta Hawks’ season has been one full of ups and downs. The season started with little hope due to the lack of supporting cast around star point guard Trae Young, but thanks to the emergence of defensive wizard Dyson Daniels, dynamic small forward Jalen Johnson and rookie sensation Zaccharie Risacher, the Hawks have been one of the more intriguing teams in the NBA this season. The Hawks being without their first-round pick this year, due to the Dejounte Murray trade, forced them into a win-now mode. Atlanta currently sits at seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 35-37 record and has all but secured a spot in the postseason. The final quarter of the regular season will determine the final seeding and decide the Hawks’ opponents come the end of the regular season.
The Hawks’ roster has changed from the start of the season to where they are now. The most notable is the lack of Johnson. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in what has been a breakout campaign for him, averaging 18.9 points and 10 rebounds a game before his injury. Alongside Johnson’s absence, dynamic sixth-man De’Andre Hunter was traded to the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline. Hunter has taken a leap this season, scoring 17.8 points per game on 46.8% from behind-the-arc.
To make up for the losses of Hunter and Johnson, veteran forward Georges Niang and explosive guard Caris LeVert have been integral members of the rotation. Both Niang and LeVert were acquired in the Hunter trade and have averaged 13.6 and 16.8 points per game since joining Atlanta, respectively.
The Hawks are coming off the back of two close wins over the Indiana Pacers. The first game, on March 6 was a 124-118 win where Young exploded for 22 points and 16 assists to lead the Hawks to the win. Niang was a heavy contributor, leading Atlanta in scoring with 24 points. The game was characterized by the Hawks allowing the Pacers to get out to a strong lead and eventually clawing themselves back to the win.
The game on March 8 was much different from the prior. The Hawks started the game extremely hot, erupting to a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter. Atlanta was led by the guard pair of Young and LeVert who scored 13 and 10 points in the first quarter, respectively. Young got banged up late in the third quarter and without their star point guard, the Hawks started to flounder. Despite Young returning near the start of the fourth quarter, Atlanta’s lead was severely diminished. The Pacers earned their first lead since the first minute of the game with 7:06 remaining in the game. The final minutes of the game were very tight with neither team able to pull away, but the Hawks stayed strong. Led by nine points from Young in those seven minutes, Atlanta led 119 to 116 with six seconds remaining in the game. The Pacers drove up the floor needing a three-pointer to tie the game, but Pacers all-star forward Pascal Siakam drove for a lay-up which effectively won the Hawks the game. On Women’s Empowerment Night, the Hawks stayed strong and won the game 120-118 and made their record 30-34.
After two straight wins, the Hawks are riding momentum for the late season run in. The Hawks currently hold the third easiest strength of schedule in the NBA, determined by the winning percentage of remaining opponents. The weaker opponents are highlighted by the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trailblazers who are either not in a position to make the postseason or have sabotaged their team such that they are now actively trying to lose (Dallas Mavericks.). Thanks to an easier schedule, Atlanta should be poised to not fall out of a play-in position with a slim chance of securing an automatic playoff spot, currently sitting 5.5 games back of the sixth-placed Detroit Pistons.
The Hawks have been one of the more intriguing teams of the NBA this year and have a chance to make a late-season surge to earn an automatic playoff spot for the first time since the 2020-2021 season.