Las Vegas Remains Skeptical Of Atlanta Hawks In 2021-2022

Following the announcement of the NBA regular season schedule on Friday, sportsbooks began releasing their projections for the upcoming season.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Despite proving many doubters wrong in 2021, oddsmakers remain skeptical of the Atlanta Hawks. Following the regular season schedule announcement on Friday, Caesars Sportsbook released their odds on regular season win totals for every NBA team.

The Brooklyn Nets are projected to have the best record with 54.5 wins (allowing people to wager either over or under that number). Further down the list is the Atlanta Hawks, with an over/under of 46.5 wins.

At first glance, that seems like a marked improvement upon last season's 41 wins. However, it's important to remember that the NBA only played 72 games last season and are returning to their usual 82-game format in 2021-2022. 

As it stands, that would put the Hawks tied with the Celtics for the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference. The Nets, Bucks, 76ers, and Heat are all projected to have higher win totals. To many people, that may seem fair. But to Hawks fans, it may come off as disrespectful to the Eastern Conference runner-up last season.

The Hawks did not make any splashy free agency moves, but they successfully locked up John Collins and Trae Young, the top priority of the summer. Not to mention they are bringing back Lou Williams who showed out during the playoffs.

There is no reason for Hawks fans to get too worked up over this news, as games are decided on the hardwood, not on paper. In fact, flying somewhat under the radar might benefit the Hawks throughout the regular season. You can count on us for daily updates as we are just over six weeks until the first preseason game.