The Atlanta Hawks are officially the hottest team in the league after extending their win streak to 10 games in Monday night’s action against the Orlando Magic.
This game, a heated conference rivalry between two potential Play-In teams, had been on fans’ radars for some time now, as this game was scheduled to be a “Magic City Night” to celebrate one of Atlanta’s most iconic cultural beacons. After San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet, among others, aired his disagreements on the NBA’s partnership with the adult entertainment industry, the night was “canceled.” But the promotion still went on – they just removed the words “Magic City.”
The Hawks’ failed promotion set the stage for a drama-filled game, but alas, this was not a very competitive match. The Hawks pulled away to a 10-point game in the first quarter and never looked back, eventually extending their lead to 29 points by the third.
The streak came after making a smart (yet embarrassing) move
The win streak began on February 22nd, when Quin Snyder finally made the decision to bench Zaccharie Risacher. While it’s bad optics to bench the first overall pick from just two drafts ago, the change was necessary. Risacher was in a cold spell; CJ McCollum stuck out like a sore thumb on a Hawks’ bench with no defense; the starting five lacked primary creation outside of Jalen Johnson. By swapping Risacher for McCollum, the Hawks created a balanced starting and bench lineup.
Risacher was never supposed to be a traditional star. When Atlanta drafted him in 2024, they dreamed of him becoming something closer to Trey Murphy III or a supersized Klay Thompson rather than the next Jalen Johnson.
Risacher was starting alongside Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, and Onyeka Okongwu. While this win streak has proven this squad has some juice (and even more potential), there is a lack of self-creation present. Johnson can create his own shot, but the other three youngsters struggle to consistently generate good looks. But creating good looks is precisely what McCollum does (and is the opposite of what Risacher does.)
McCollum has filled the role of secondary scorer, while Risacher has been relied upon to bring defense and rebounding to a second unit that fails to show up in the “effort” stats.
The Hawks finally leaped from the ninth to the eighth seed with this victory. (In classic Atlanta sports fashion, the club did not rise a single spot in the standings over the first nine games of their win streak.)
With their ideal starting five figured out, an easy rest-of-season schedule, and the power of momentum behind them, the Hawks are in an ideal spot moving forward.