NBA Expert Makes Bold End of Season Prediction For Atlanta

Will the Atlanta Hawks win the Southeast division and make the playoffs?

Mar 16, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) makes a three point basket during the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

One of the least cared about things in the NBA are the races to win the division. They have no impact on the playoff race or the seeding for the playoffs and don't have much meaning, unlike the NFL. Still, the division races are going on and believe it or not, the Atlanta Hawks have a very good chance to win the Southeast division.

As of today, the Hawks are leading the division by a half-game over the Orlando Magic and 2.5 games ahead of the Miami Heat. The Charlotte Hornets and the Washington Wizards are at the bottom of the division.

Will Atlanta end up winning the division over Orlando and Miami? Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley thinks they will and he also thinks it won't even take getting to 40 wins for them to do so:

"Ever done a quick scan of the NBA's division standings? Spend too much time looking at the Southeast, and your eyes might bleed.

Things are all the way brutal down there. Perhaps the worst this league has ever seen. At this point, it's not only possible that the division winner won't have a winning record, it's entirely conceivable that it will take less than 40 triumphs to take the title.

The Atlanta Hawks have found some fight after dealing away De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanović but also bringing in Caris LeVert, Terance Mann and Georges Niang at the deadline. This still isn't a good team, but it doesn't have to be to finish ahead of an Orlando Magic team with perpetual offensive problems and a Miami Heat bunch that has appeared rudderless since the Jimmy Butler drama boiled over."

Atlanta has the 4th easiest schedule remaining in the NBA season per Tankathon, but the Hawks actually have to win some of those games. They defeated Charlotte and Philadelphia last week, but last night, they suffered an embarrassing loss to the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets were on the second night of a back-to-back and were also missing D'Angelo Russell and Cam Thomas.

This is not an exaggeration, this was probably the worst loss of the year for Atlanta when you consider the circumstances surrounding the loss. While Atlanta has lost twice to Washington this season, blown a big lead vs Portland, and lost both games to the Spurs, this loss tops those. Brooklyn was on the second night of a back-to-back giving Atlanta the rest advantage, and Brooklyn was without their top two guards. Cam Thomas was ruled out for the season over the weekend and D'Angelo Russell sat out the game. That did not matter though. Cam Johnson stepped up and scored 28 points, Keon Johnson had 22 points, and the Nets shot nearly 50% from three. While Atlanta still has control over the No. 7 seed, this is not the kind of game that they can afford to lose too many times the rest of the way.

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