Soaring Down South
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The Atlanta Hawks are on pace to pull off a rare feat this season

By Joshua Buckhalter

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: Head coach Nate McMillan of the Atlanta Hawks reacts to a play against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena on March 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. 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 Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: Head coach Nate McMillan of the Atlanta Hawks reacts to a play against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena on March 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. 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 Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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If the Atlanta Hawks (31-32) continue at their current pace, they will be able to lay claim to a relatively uncommon accomplishment. Winners of their last two in a row, Nate McMillan’s squad is 10th in the Eastern Conference but tied in win percentage with the eight-seeded Charlotte Hornets and ninth-seeded Brooklyn Nets.

They visit the Detroit Pistons on Monday, who have won their last two as well, but kick off what is the second-easiest remaining schedule in the NBA.

The Hawks won the first meeting 122-104 even if it did come in October.

More importantly, facing Detroit makes it less likely that the Hawks have this rare accomplishment taken off of the table in a season that has been filled with its fair share of twists and turns.

There is one thing the Atlanta Hawks have done this season that very few teams have

As it stands, the Hawks along with the Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to play an overtime game this season. Both teams have played 63 games and, yet, neither has had to plan an additional five minutes in any of them. At the same time, five other teams have played just one overtime game this year.

Of those five, four are in the Western Conference, and the Chicago Bulls are joined by the Portland Trail Blazers in going 0-1 in theirs.

So just how rare is it what the Hawks and Cavs are on pace to do?

The Los Angeles Clippers pulled off the feat last season. But, before that, the last team to do it was the 2011-12 Phoenix Suns who happen to be one of the teams to go 1-0 in overtime mentioned above.

Those are the only two teams to finish a season having played zero minutes of overtime basketball in the regular season in the last decade. The last time before that was in 2004-05 (Houston Rockets) and that was three seasons after the instance that preceded it.

Related Story. Danilo Gallinari has filled-in admirably. light

In total, there have only been five such occurrences in the last 26 seasons.

That’s as far back as NBA.com’s archives kept track. Even if it wasn’t, that is more than enough of a sample size to qualify this as a rare accomplishment. It’s also not likely very high on anyone’s list of important things; it’s just an interesting aside.

They do need Kevin Huerter to check out fine from his shoulder injury that forced him out of the win over the Washington Wizards on Friday.

Next. Bogdan Bogdanovic has returned to form. dark

With John Collins back in the mix, and the schedule turning favorable, they have a pretty good chance at making it happen.

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