The Atlanta Hawks' First Four Games After the All-Star Break Could Define The Last Part Of Their Season

Atlanta opens their post All-Star Break Schedule with a games vs Orlando, Detroit, and two vs Miami.

Jackson Caudell | Feb 19, 2025

Feb 10, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) drives to the hoop past Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva (23) in the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

While most regard the All-Star break as the halfway point in the NBA season, the season is actually more than half over. There are fewer than 30 games left this season for the Atlanta Hawks and while it might be a bit of a stretch to say that the playoff hopes for the Hawks rest on the first four games of their post All-Star Break schedule, I would argue that there is some merit to that discussion as well.

The Atlanta Hawks are one of several teams that are vying for a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference and to avoid the play-in tournament. Heading into Thursday's matchup vs the Orlando Magic, the Hawks are four games out of 5th place (Milwaukee Bucks), three games out of 6th place (Detroit), and a half-game out of 7th place (Orlando). The Hawks have a very important four-game stretch to open the next part of the season. They face Orlando on Thursday, Detroit on Sunday, and then two matchups with the Miami Heat. Atlanta would love to come out of that stretch either 3-1 or 4-0 and put themselves in a good position when it comes to the playoffs.

While the Hawks are 1-0 against the Magic already this season, they would be one game closer to clinching the season series vs Orlando if they can defeat them on Thursday night at home. With the two teams so close to each other in the standings, every game is going to count and the Hawks face the Magic three times over the last 27 games. Winning that season series would be important and they could get closer to it on Thursday.

Atlanta will then face Detroit on Sunday and it will be the final meeting between the two teams. The Pistons lead the season series 2-1 and would clinch the tiebreaker over the Hawks if the win in Atlanta on Sunday. The Hawks can't afford to let that happen and any hope of jumping the Pistons in the standings gets really hard if they lose on Sunday.

The Hawks and the Heat have only faced each other once this season, an Atlanta victory back in December. If Atlanta can win both games against Miami next week, they would win the season series and own the tiebreaker. The next time the Hawks and Heat would see each other is on March 27th in Miami.

There are obviously 23 other games on the rest of the schedule, but these next four are of great importance to Atlanta. They can either put themselves into the discussion for the No. 5 or 6 seed or they could see themselves fall behind this logjam of teams and be destined for another season in the play-in tournament.

This Hawks season was always about the future and seeing how the pieces of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Onyeka Okongwu fit around Trae Young. Johnson's season-ending injury is not changing that. I don't think "temporarily trapped" is quite how I would describe the Hawks heading into the final two months of the season for that exact reason.

What should be encouraging for the Hawks is how Daniels and Risacher are playing right now. Risacher is having the best month of his career, shooting 55% from the field, 41% from three, and he has had six double-digit scoring games and he has only shot below 50% from the field once this month. Maybe even more impressive for Risacher is that he is taking care of the basketball. In seven games this season, Risacher has only two turnovers.

Daniels has been one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA all season long, but he has been playing well on the other end as well. He is averaging 17.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 5.7 APG on 53% shooting from the field and 64% from three. He still has things to improve upon but this has been a bright spot for the Hawks.

Most have written the Hawks off since the Johnson injury, but the improved play of Daniels and Risacher to go along with the additions of Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Terance Mann have Atlanta set up for a potentially sneaky run to the playoffs.

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