4 key Atlanta Hawks trends to keep an eye on after the All-Star break
Hawks trend No. 2: They’re supposed to win
This is somewhat in line with the point on rest versus rust. The good news is that the Hawks have a winning record when they are the betting favorite this season at 18-17. As you might have guessed, that isn’t a particularly strong record. It puts them at just seventh in the East based on win percentage.
Now, a couple of the teams above them in those standings (the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic) have only played in three games where they were favored skewing their win percentages.
They also certainly don’t go by a team’s betting record when determining playoff standings.
Still, narrowly having a winning record as a favorite while being woefully below .500 as the underdog at 8-15 isn’t the mark of a great team. It might not even qualify for ‘good team’ status. Those teams, we told you, win the games they are supposed to at a high rate and are capable of making something happen when they are doubted. As it stands, only the Milwaukee Bucks have a worse record when they are the underdog.
The Hawks have one of the easiest remaining schedules. light. Related Story
Except the difference is that Milwaukee has only been the dog 12 times, about half as often as the Hawks, and are the three-seed as the reigning champs. Atlanta is clinging to the final play-in spot just 1.5 games ahead of the Washington Wizards.
However, they are even closer to the Charlotte Hornets and the ninth seed at just 0.5 games back.
The Hawks have just 11 of their 24 remaining games at home where they are 16-14 against the spread as opposed to 10-18 on the road.
That isn’t a direct correlation to their record as favorites or dogs but it does add some context to their outlook going forward when they would need to go 18-4 the rest of the way to match last season’s winning percentage.
On a positive note, they are 3-2 against the spread in their last five games.
The wildest stat of all could be that the Hawks haven’t covered the spread in any of their losses while failing to cover in two of their wins. They are also one of just four teams whose record against the spread is within two games of their overall record joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, and New York Knicks.