Scheduling data proves Hawks have gotten unfavorable hand from NBA

The Atlanta Hawks have 14 back-to-backs on their 2024-25 schedule. That is slightly below the league average this year, which is 14.9 back-to-backs per team.

While the league average rose, the Hawks’ number of back-to-backs is a significant break from the NBA. The Hawks have averaged 19.3 back-to-backs per season over the last 20 years (393 total), per HoopsHype’s Sam Yip on August 28.

That is the most in the league in that span and quite telling.

The league has supposedly gone out of its way to reduce the number of back-to-back games teams played in a single season in hopes of reducing load management and injuries.

The Hawks had the seventh-most games on no rest in 2023-24, per Statmuse. Working backward from 2023-24 to 2018-19 (Trae Young's first season), the Hawks have had the seventh, 16th, third, 17th (Eastern Conference Finals), third, and 25th-most games played after zero rest days.

The Wizards are the only team with more appearances in the top three in that span.

Notably, the Hawks have made the playoffs in three of those seasons, two of which came amid fewer games played with no rest days in between.

The NBA has tweaked the rules for 2024-25 so that teams will have off after marquee games. The changes have led to a slight uptick in back-to-backs from 2023-24. But it all puts the Hawks and their experience with injuries in a bit of a different light.

Blame is often levied against players, coaches, and the training staff when injuries occur.

But the fatigue of travel and back-to-back games is obviously significant for the league to take the measures it has.

That does not mean that the Hawks would have won a championship if they were, say, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have had the fewest back-to-backs and have come away with three titles in four trips to the NBA Finals in that 20-year span.

Of course, two of their three championships came at the end of the late Kobe Bryant’s tenure. 

The other was during the polarizing Orlando bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which came after the season was stopped and cut short. 

There are a lot of other factors that go into teams consistently remaining competitive. Health is one of them, and fatigue is inextricably linked to that. That is why the Hawks still need a little luck to take advantage of a “lighter” schedule this coming season.

Hawks can get off to fast start in 2024-25

The Hawks are fortunate in that they face non-playoff teams in five of their first six games. Two of those games will come against the remade Washington Wizards.

Washington employs former Hawks president Travis Schlenk, now their VP of player personnel. They also signed former Hawks forward Saddiq Bey in free agency and did enough to woo Alexandre Sarr before the 2024 NBA Draft that he avoided working out for the Hawks.

The Wizards selected Sarr No. 2 overall, one pick after the Hawks drafted Zaccharie Risacher.

Their lone opponent coming off a postseason appearance is the Oklahoma City Thunder. That game is on the road versus an OKC squad that includes All-Defensive Teamer Alex Caruso.

At home for four of those first six outings, a potential 5-1 start to the season is not out of the question. It would not only be nice, it should be the Hawks’ goal because the schedule tightens up considerably after that.

The early trend reverses, with four of their next six opponents coming off playoff runs. 

Another team, the Chicago Bulls, has played the Hawks tough over the past few seasons, though they are also entering a new retooling phase.

Still, the Hawks will play a total of 13 playoff teams -- including Dejounte Murray and the New Orleans Pelicans twice -- in their first 25 games, including two matchups against the world-champion Celtics. That should give the front office a good idea of just what this team is.