Soaring Down South
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The Atlanta Hawks will come off of their road trip and right into the fire

By Joshua Buckhalter

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 07: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball defended by Bogdan Bogdanovic #13 of the Atlanta Hawks in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on January 07, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 07: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball defended by Bogdan Bogdanovic #13 of the Atlanta Hawks in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on January 07, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /
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Things won’t get any easier for the Atlanta Hawks after their 134-118 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Their record has them sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 17-21 record. With the trade deadline a month away, general manager Travis Schlenk has made it clear changes will come if a change isn’t made to their defensive effort.

That change in effort might not make much of a difference in the immediate future, however, with the Hawks heading into another brutal stretch ahead of the deadline as they will face just three teams that don’t currently qualify for at least the play-in tournament.

Atlanta is 2-1 against those teams but the loss, to the Sacramento Kings is the most recent.

A tough slate could make a turnaround before the trade deadline difficult for the Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks finish their current six-game road trip with the Los Angeles Clippers (who have lost three of their last four). They’ve gone 2-3 on the trip and are just 6-11 since the start of December. They finally got Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins back in the starting lineup for the first time since Christmas Day.

They’ll face the fourth-ranked Miami Heat in a home-and-home after the trip concludes and then will host the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks as part of a four-game homestand.

They have yet to face the Heat this season and are 0-2 against the Knicks.

Atlanta did beat Milwaukee earlier in the year but the reigning champs were without Kris Middleton in that one and Milwaukee has won seven of its last 10 including a 121-109 victory in the game that preceded the Hawks-Lakers tilt.

That back half of that stand is against the Minnesota Timberwolves and another date with the Heat, winners of six of their last eight.

The Hawks face the Hornets in Charlotte for the first time this season after beating them twice this season in Atlanta. They split their two games played in the Spectrum Center last season with the Hawks scoring 105 points in both games. Interestingly, Trae Young also played in the loss but not the win.

Their most winnable two-game stretch on paper would seem to be the Kings and 11th ranked Boston Celtics on the front of a five-game stay at State Farm Arena despite losing to Sacramento on the road on Wednesday.

They have beaten Boston already and the Celtics have lost five of their last seven games as they’ve dealt with COVID.

The Hawks end January and that homestand against the Lakers and Toronto Raptors while the Phoenix Suns kick off their February slate. That’s two of the past three NBA champions (albeit with very different personnel) and last season’s Western Conference Finals champion.

In the final week before the deadline, the Hawks will travel to face the Raptors and Dallas Mavericks before hosting the Pacers.

This is an absolute gauntlet of a stretch while trying to determine the ceiling for the current group.

Next. 5 trade deadline targets to help fix the perimeter defense. dark

We will soon learn whether or not Schlenk’s words were more than a motivational tactic.

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