Atlanta Hawks Receive New Updated Win-Loss Projection For The Season

How many games will the Hawks win the rest of the season?

Nov 27, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) celebrates his three-point basket in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks have had an interesting first month or so of the NBA season. They have pulled off road upsets against the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as a home win vs the New York Knicks. They are also the only team in the NBA to lose to the Washington Wizards (which they have done twice), they blew a big lead vs Portland, lost vs Dallas when they were missing Luka Doncic and Klay Thompson, and have two losses to the Chicago Bulls. There are times when the young talent on the Hawks shines through, but other times when it does not. The Hawks do play in the Eastern Confernece, so a playoff spot is still possible, but missing the playoffs is also on the table with this team.

What could the Hawks final record be? Bleacher Report's Dan Favale gave his thoughts and he does not think the Hawks are going to win a lot of games the rest of the way.

Atlanta Hawks (34-48)

"Is there another roster in the NBA that screams "34 wins, baby!" louder than that of these Atlanta Hawks?

There will be ways to improve upon this fate. Trae Young should get healthier and swish more of his threes. Bogdan Bogdanović is available again. Atlanta could make a move for another playmaker or another wing or look to consolidate its (solid) big-man rotation into a singular upgrade. It has the incentive to pursue wins, after all, with this year's pick headed to San Antonio.

Yet, while outbound draft obligations likely ensure the Hawks won't go the teardown route, they aren't nearly good enough to meaningfully buy. Their offense has underachieved even relative to imperfect personnel, and they have zero business coughing up anymore draft equity or acquiring players who eat into the court time of Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher.

Atlanta is destined to continue existing inside the in-between: That gray area in which it'll punch a play-in ticket but remain well outside the meat and potatoes of the actual postseason picture."

While this is not out of the question, there is a chance the Hawks are a better team as the season progresses. They are 8-11, but No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher is not shooting the ball consistently, the Hawks are not getting enough from their center duo of Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu, the bench for the Hawks has not been consistent enough to start the season. I think Risacher will eventually start shooting the ball well, but the other two are still question marks. How they play out might determine the Hawks overall record at the end of the season. Another thing to watch is Trae Young. Young leads the league in assists, but is not shooting the ball well to start the year. If he can put it together and get back to scoring consistently, as well as being a great facilitator, then the Hawks have a chance to be a surprise team to watch down the stretch.

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