As the season starts to wind down, the Atlanta Hawks are hitting their stride.
Atlanta currently sits with an 11-game winning streak as of Thursday. During the run, the Hawks are dominating opponents on both ends. Over the past 11 games, the Hawks have averaged 124 points per contest. Defensively, Atlanta is allowing under 107 points on average amid this recent spree of success.
As a result, the win streak has allowed the Hawks to move above .500 for the first time since December 20. It’s their longest win streak since the 2014-2015 season, when the team won 19 in a row.
Despite this recent tear, the Hawks still have not been able to move up much in the standings.
When the streak started on Feb. 22, Atlanta was ninth in the Eastern Conference. Over 10-plus straight wins later, the Hawks now only sit at eighth in the conference standings. For comparison, when Atlanta won eight games in a row during the 2020-2021 season, they moved from 11th in the Eastern Conference into the fourth seed.
So, what gives? Why has this streak resulted in minimal movement in the standings?
Hawks Dug Themselves A Deep Hole
As much as a winning streak can turn a season around, a losing streak can bury a team in a deep hole.
For the Hawks, a seven-game losing streak put them in a hole they are just now digging out of. It did have a great start to the season. Atlanta was a top-five seed by the end of November, but the losing streak caused them to slip to 10th in the Eastern Conference, where they have been most of the season.
An NBA season will always have its ebbs and flows. It is difficult to be consistently good throughout a six-month regular season.
That being said, a losing streak can be demoralizing if it results in falling in the standings. Because the losing streak in December sank the Hawks in the standings, it would be hard to work their way back up.
The good news: Atlanta is very close to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. As of Thursday, it’s just 1.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors for fifth in the standings.
Everyone Keeps Winning
While the Atlanta Hawks are winners of their last 11, other teams above them are also winning at a high rate. The Southeast Division is on a hot streak altogether.
Both the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, who sit above Atlanta in the standings, are 7-3 in their last 10 games. The unfortunate part for the Hawks is that teams above them in the conference are also continuing to win.
Atlanta needs help to move up in the standings, and they aren’t receiving it from other teams.
Something to note: The Hawks are 7-0 against Orlando and the Philadelphia 76ers, but 1-6 against Miami and the Toronto Raptors. In the event of tie-breakers, this becomes critical to mention. Atlanta does match up with the Heat and Magic one more time each during their final six games of the regular season.
The Bright Side
The main criticism of the Atlanta Hawks’ winning streak is that it has come against bottom-feeder teams.
Atlanta has notably played both the Washington Wizards and the Brooklyn Nets twice during the streak. However, you can only play those who are in front of you. Every team plays each other at least twice.
The best part about a winning streak is the momentum it carries. There have been a lot of moving parts to the Hawks’ roster this season, but everyone appears to be settled in.
The defining move that started the streak was head coach Quin Snyder’s benching of Zaccharie Risacher in favor of C.J. McCollum. In 183 minutes together, the lineup of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, McCollum, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu has a net rating of +34.9. Furthermore, the lineup has an offensive rating of 130.6 and a defensive rating of 95.6 for the year.
McCollum moving to the starting lineup hasn’t hurt bench production either. Since the winning streak started, the Hawks are 10th in bench points at 39.3 per game. This is despite the fact that Atlanta is near the bottom in bench minutes during that time.
Going forward, Atlanta is hoping its recent momentum will lead it to make some noise when the playoffs come around.
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