The Hawks have floundered, bobbled, and tumbled their way to a hardly surprising play-in worthy record of 30-31.
At season's dawn, it wouldn't have been a far cry to picture the revamped Hawks roster – fresh off a Dyson Daniels MIP and DPOY runner-up campaign, touting a 2nd year 1st overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, a renewed Jalen Johnson from his shoulder injury, and having recently acquired Kristaps Porzingis – as a potential title contender.
In fact, it was ESPN who mocked the Hawks as the 4-seed in the East, behind only the Knicks, Cavs, and Magic in a preseason way-too-early mock playoff projection. Far have the Hawks fallen, and the season appears lost, save for the tantalizing Pelicans/Bucks pick on the horizon.
Or is it? As hope appears lost, Adam Silver has granted the Hawks an absolutely picture-perfect gift to end the season.
The Hawks boast the 4th-easiest rest-of-season schedule in the entire league. Better yet, they boast the easiest schedule in the Eastern Conference, with a minimal 0.469 SOS (compare this to the opposite end of the spectrum: Denver Nuggets, 0.557 SOS; the difference is quite notable).
The Hawks must avoid their far-too-frequent error as they move up
While Atlanta can rejoice at this excellent news, it comes with a massive caveat: the Hawks have been notorious victims of playing up or down to their opponents' skill level all season long.
On the one hand, the Hawks have made contenders struggle to dispatch of them all year long – even winning some such games in miracle fashion, such as the back-to-back Cavs and Sixers victories in late November, with the win against Philly coming in double overtime.
On the much less desirable other hand, the Hawks have played down to the level of lottery teams far too often. Worst amongst the lot are the triple crown defeats against the now fully tanking Chicago Bulls, with Chicago running circles around Atlanta at every turn each night.
If Atlanta hopes to remain in the chase for a playoff spot – especially if they hope to secure homecourt advantage for at least one play-in tournament game – they need to capitalize on the gift Adam Silver has given them.
Atlanta's window of opportunity extends until March 23rd. On the 25th, a brutal stretch of games will once again ensue, pitting the Hawks against the Celtics twice, Cavs twice, and one-off bouts against other heavyweights such as the Magic, Knicks, and Pistons.
This next month is critical for Atlanta - win as they should, and a valuable playoff series that offers much-needed experience to a young team looms on the horizon. Lose, and the season is lost, bereft of their own draft pick.