The Hawks have lost seven games in a row.
The bad news? They've dipped all the way down to the 10 seed in the East, only one game above the Milwaukee Bucks – nearly out of the Play-In picture entirely.
The worst news? These losses have taken place (in part) against teams that fans would've expected a sizable victory against – namely, the Hornets and the Bulls (twice).
Missed opportunities against such easier opponents have led the Hawks straight to an upcoming 4-game stretch against four very competent teams that threatens to grow their losing streak to 11 games by the end of next week.
The Hawks are slated to play the Timberwolves, Knicks, and Raptors (twice) in a 6-day span. These teams are well above .500, and each have aspirations of a deep playoff run. While the Raptors are the biggest surprise here, note that they've already bested the Hawks twice this year.
Hawks have a chance to redeem themselves from earlier this season
While the Hawks will be getting their first look against the Timberwolves, they've already battled head-to-head with New York and Toronto.
The loss to the Knicks last week was tantalizingly close for the Hawks as far as snapping their (at the time) 5 game losing streak went – losing by one possession is always a brutal way to end an evening, especially against their heated rivals in New York.
Meanwhile, the Raptors (shockingly) offer an even more difficult challenge. While few around the league believed them to be legit this year, they've simply proved the doubters wrong time and time again, currently sitting at a pristine 20-14 in the fourth seed.
Toronto dismantled the Hawks with their versatility and length by a combined 32 points in their first two matchups this season, proving to be too much for the lite-sized Hawks to handle. If the Hawks are to right the ship in the upcoming double-header, they will need a leave-it-all-out-on-the-floor effort from Kristaps Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu to hold down the interior. Perhaps more importantly, they'll need supersized contributions from forwards Zaccharie Risacher and Jalen Johnson on the glass and in the paint.
While these upcoming battles with New York and Toronto are no doubt a tall task, victory in even 2 of 3 occasions would mean everything for the Hawks. This team has fallen far below where they should be without Porzingis. With a full center rotation, the Hawks are primed to regress to their projected spot in the middle of the playoff race – and this could be the kick-start the team needs.