The Atlanta Hawks Are Playing with House Money

Since the All-Star break, the Atlanta Hawks have been soaring. The Hawks are playing with house money, and they know it.

While Atlanta had expectations of being a playoff team before the season, those expectations wavered throughout the season. It was an up-and-down season for the Hawks, but they are peaking at the right time.

A big story for the team is its record since the All-Star break. The Hawks’ 20-6 record since the break is the third-best mark in the NBA. This run has allowed the Hawks to clinch the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference standings and face the New York Knicks in the first round.

With everything that has transpired this season, it’s easy to say Atlanta has yet to realize its own potential. 

A Leap of Faith for Atlanta

Since the All-Star break, the Hawks are averaging 121 points per game, fourth in the NBA. A big reason why is the emergence of Nickeil Alexander-Walker as a scorer. He’s had three games of 30+ points since March 16. In fact, since then, Alexander-Walker is 12th in points per game, averaging 24.6.

Another big storyline for Atlanta has been Dyson Daniels‘ three-point shooting. In his last 10 games, Daniels is shooting 41.7% from three. Additionally, he is averaging 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals over that stretch with a +15.0 plus-minus. 

During this Hawks run, guard play has been an important factor. Where Atlanta is hurting, though, is depth at the center position. 

Adjustments and Acclimation

It was a heated season series between Atlanta and the Orlando Magic. This season, the Hawks swept the Magic 4-0 with a combined margin of victory of +60. Along the way, there have been heated scuffles between the two teams.

Towards the end of their final matchup on April 1, Goga Bitadze committed a hard foul on Jock Landale. After review, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant 2 foul, and Bitadze was ejected from the game. Meanwhile, on April 2, Landale was ruled out for at least 2 weeks due to an ankle injury.  

Since Landale’s injury, the Hawks have signed Tony Bradley to a contract. In doing so, Atlanta also waived Caleb Houstan to make room. Bradley made his Hawks debut versus the New York Knicks on April 6, and it didn’t go too well. In just four minutes, he shot 0-2 from the field with two rebounds and one turnover.

After the game, Head Coach Quin Snyder admitted he put Bradley in a tough spot.

“I put Tony [Bradley] in a really difficult position,” Snyder said.

Since Bradley’s debut, Atlanta has chosen to roll with Mo Gueye as the backup center behind Onyeka Okongwu. In all fairness to Bradley, he has familiarity with both Snyder and the Hawks organization. 

Bradley spent time with Snyder during his first three seasons from 2017 to 2020. He also spent time with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G-League affiliate, during the 2024-2025 season.

Nothing to Lose

The reality is the Hawks have nothing to lose. Simply returning to the playoffs this season is a step forward for the franchise. 

With the playoffs around the corner, Hawks star Jalen Johnson talked about the focus of late-game execution.

“I think for us, our biggest thing is just continuing to execute at a high level, especially with games coming down to the wire,” he said.

Atlanta has turned their focus to the playoffs, as they will avoid the play-in tournament for the first time since the 2020-2021 season. With such an inexperienced group, there will be many lessons to learn for the future.