The Atlanta Hawks just could not get anything going in an embarrassing 132-113 loss to the Washington Wizards, who had the worst record in the league at 1-15 entering the game. To make matters worse, the Wizards could not miss. CJ McCollum dropped 46 points on just 25 shots, and Alex Sarr had Hawks fans regretting the Zaccharie Risacher pick with his 27 points and 11 boards.
The onslaught by the Wiz included a first quarter where the team made its first eight threes and led by over 25 points. While Washington poured on the threes, Atlanta's offense and defense sputtered to a halt.
Unfortunately, Atlanta's struggles included Dyson Daniels’ franchise-record 70-game streak with at least one steal. This match marked the first night since December 11th, 2024 (349 days ago!) that the Aussie defender did not grab a steal.
Daniels made headlines recently for snapping Doc Rivers’ 62-game streak, and was just seven games away from beating Michael Jordan’s streak. Daniels’ run ends as the fourth-longest in league history.
This game also eliminated the Hawks from the NBA Cup Knockout stage. Heading into the match, Atlanta would have led the Wild Card race in the East with a win margin of 30+ points.
There is a silver lining to this loss
While losing by 19 points to the worst team in the league is never a good sign, this game was not a good representation of what this team is. They were sloppy to start the game and panicked when it got out of reach. This could serve as a much-needed wake-up call that the team still has a long way to go despite a good record.
In the long term, however, we may look back at this loss as a necessary sacrifice to a greater good. Why? The Wizards are one of two teams below the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA standings.
Of course, Atlanta owns the rights to the Pelicans’ 2026 first round pick after the infamous draft-night trade for Asa Newell. The Wizards are still behind the Pels for now, but this win narrowed the gap New Orleans had over the top lottery odds for this season.
If you ask Quin Snyder whether he would trade a win in this game for decreased lottery odds, he would take the deal without hesitation. But this loss could be the win that pushes Washington over New Orleans and secures a generational talent in Atlanta. No loss is good, but at least the Hawks could gain something tangible from this one.