Atlanta Hawks In Danger Of Missing The Playoffs
The Atlanta Hawks are in big trouble. With nine games to go in the regular season, Atlanta has the potential to miss the playoffs completely.
Usually around this time, teams are fighting to get home court advantage and clinching playoff spots in their respective conferences. However, the Atlanta Hawks are fighting to stay in playoff contention.
The Hawks are currently on an seven-game losing streak, coming off a loss to the Brooklyn Nets who hold a record of 16-57. This is the worst record in the NBA. During this losing streak, the Hawks have missed some important players in important games.
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Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore, and Thabo Sefolosha have all missed games due to injury in these past few outings. All three players were out against the Nets.
To make things worse, yesterday it was announced that Paul Millsap will miss then next three games after being diagnosed with left knee synovitis, and they’ll also be without Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore again. Millsap has been very beneficial to the Hawks this season, averaging 18.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game.
The Hawks are 0-8 without Paul Millsap this season. He’s without a doubt the Hawks’ best player. Sefolosha and Bazemore aren’t the best Hawks players, but they’re the best on the team at perimeter defense. They make a difference even when they aren’t scoring. The Hawks suffer offensively, so without their three best defenders, they can’t hang their hats on the one area they’re good at. In order to start winning games, the Hawks have to be exceptional on both ends.
Atlanta is currently tied with the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks with a record of 37-36. This means that it’s possible for the Hawks to jump all the way down to the 7th seed by the end of this week.
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Luckily for the Hawks they have the tiebreaker. The Miami Heat are placed at 8th in the standings, and could possibly be in Atlanta’s current position by next week, if things roll in the right direction for them. The Hawks don’t have the easiest schedule remaining. The Hawks play the Cavaliers twice, the Celtics, and the Pacers before the season ends. Those are tough teams to beat even with a healthy roster.
One can only imagine how many games the Hawks could lose without three of their defensive specialists and their best player. Some fans would love it if the Hawks missed the playoffs and went for a high draft pick.
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But I can assure you that Coach Budenholzer is trying his best to keep the Hawks in playoff contention.