A Look at the Remaining Schedule in January

(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

We all knew that this was going to be a tough month. Looking at the rest of the way, this will be a stiff tune up for what the playoffs will be like.

Jan 11th  @ Boston

Jan 13th  Washington

Jan 15th  Phoenix

Jan 18th  Oklahoma City

Jan 20th Sacramento

Jan 22nd Charlotte

Jan 25th @ Houston

Jan 27th @ San Antonio

Jan 29th Boston

Jan 30th @ Orlando

After looking at that I say “wow we play Boston 3 times this month and couple that with it twice being a back to back with Orlando”. I would love to know the reasoning behind the schedule working out that way. At any rate the schedule makers were not kind to the Hawks during the month of January. This upcoming home stand is going to be critical no matter the outcome in Boston on Monday. Phoenix is always a challenge but these are the games that the Hawks have proven that they could win at home. Other than Washington and Sacramento, every other team the Hawks play are in playoff contention however, the 5 games on the home stand are all must wins before heading back out on the road.

Earlier this season the Hawks broke their 10 year losing streak in the state of Texas with a victory in Dallas over the Mavericks. They complete the Texas triangle this month with stops in Houston and San Antonio. I would be really happy if we could some how split those two games. They finish the Texas trip up by coming home to take on the Celtics only to fly back down to Orlando the next day to take on the Magic.

This month should give some insight into whether the Hawks are going to be in contention for one of the top 3 spots in the East for the rest of the season. Luckily during the team’s recent 4 game losing streak no one other than Cleveland really played well enabling the Hawks to virtually tread water in the standings. That might not be the case if they repeat the effort they had in Orlando last night many more times the rest of this month

Tags: Atlanta Hawks