Atlanta Hawks: The schedule does not get any easier until the break.
The Atlanta Hawks have lost six of their last seven games. They are ninth in the Eastern Conference and if things don’t turn around soon, they are going to slip further down the standings before the All-Star break.
The problem for the Hawks is that their schedule does not get any easier in the ten games they have left before the break. They have no relief on the injury front with none of the notable players listed as out returning any time soon.
If the Hawks are not careful then they will lose a good portion of the next ten games. If this happens, then the Hawks have very little chance of controlling their own destiny when it comes to playoff seeding.
The Atlanta Hawks will need to play a lot better to negotiate this stretch.
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To say the Hawks cannot afford another fourth-quarter flameout as they had against the Indiana Pacers is an understatement. This was the second night of a back to back, meaning that the injury-depleted Hawks simply ran out of legs.
However, that all has to be in the past now. Of the next ten games, the Hawks are away for eight of them. They play two back-to-backs and otherwise are playing every second day in this shortened season.
Then you get the quality of the opponents. The Hawks play the Boston Celtics three times in eight nights, the Miami Heat twice, and the Denver Nuggets. They do have some “easier” games on the schedule though.
Their next game is against the New York Knicks who always seem to trouble the Hawks. Mid-way through they play the Cleveland Cavaliers who have already beaten the Hawks this season. The other two teams should be beatable for the Hawks as they play the Orlando Magic and the plucky OKC Thunder.
There is a possibility that the Hawks end the first half of the season with an 11-25 record which is certainly not ideal. However, if they can muster up five wins, then they will go in with a 16-20 record which is recoverable when the season restarts.
Next. Exploring a John Collins trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. dark
In order to do this, they need to win against the Cavaliers, Knicks, Thunder, and Magic while stealing one of the Celtics game. With the injuries that they have to key players, this could be a tall order.