Three Goals For The Hawks After the All-Star Break

Atlanta is hoping to make a playoff push after the All-Star Break

While it is not actually the halfway point of the NBA season, the All-Star Break is seen as the first half of the NBA season. 

The first half of this season has not gone the way the Atlanta Hawks have wanted. Atlanta came into the year hoping to be a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference and while that is a small possibility, it will take a fantastic second half of the season for the Hawks to achieve that. Atlanta is not considered a contender in the NBA and while it looked like they might have been turning a corner these past two weeks, they followed it up with a couple of bad performances against the Bulls and the Hornets. 

Most of the talk surrounding the Hawks has been about what they are going to do this summer, but there is still two months of the season left. Atlanta is going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch over the next couple of months because how they perform will likely dictate how they want to approach this summer. 

So what should be the Hawks' top three goals for the rest of the season?

1. Make the Top Six in the Standings or the 7 vs 8 game in the play-in tournament

Hawks guard Trae Young vs the Bulls / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

As unlikely as it is, I don't think it is impossible that the Hawks could creep up in the standings and find some way to make the top six. I will go on the record and say that I don't think that is going to happen, but this should be the No. 1 goal for the Hawks. 

For this to happen, the Hawks are going to have to play their best basketball of the year and for the teams in front of them to fall apart. They are 6 1/2 games behind the Pacers for the No. 6 seed, six games behind Miami and Orlando for No. 7 and 8, and two games behind the Bulls for the 9th spot. For the Hawks to even make the playoffs, they would have to win two road games. 

With 27 games left, I would guess Atlanta would have to have a record of 18-9 or 19-8 the rest of the way while also hoping Indiana, Miami, and Orlando do not play well. 

While the top six is preferable, making the 7 vs 8 game in the play-in tournament is also acceptable. That would mean that the Hawks could avoid a matchup with the Celtics in the first round. While I don't think the Hawks could beat any of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are a nightmare matchup for them. An optimal scenario would be getting the seventh seed and facing the Bucks in the first round. 

2. Stay Healthy

This is totally out of the Hawks's control, but this has to be one of their goals for the rest of the season. 

While I won't defend how the Hawks are playing, it is fair to point out that they have rarely been at full strength. Their top eight of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, De'Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Saddiq Bey have not played much together at full strength this year. You can question how good that top eight actually is, but they have not been healthy. 

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3. Give Kobe Bufkin minutes for the rest of the season

I think the Hawks need to get their first-round pick more minutes. I don't know if he can become a major contributor, but it would be good for the Hawks to see what they have in Bufkin. This is not a team that is going to make a run in the playoffs, even if they were able to get out of the play-in and I think it would be worth their while to at least see what Bufkin could do with more real minutes. 

The early returns on when he has played were really good if you ask Quin Snyder: 

"I thought he did a terrific job. He took shots when he was open, which is what we want. There were a couple of possessions where most importantly... it is hard to stay in front of those guys, they are quick. You know, he was down in his stance, moving his feet, he had his hands out and moving in space and doing the things that you need to do to be a defender in this league. To be thrown in the situation that he was thrown in tonight, he was ready and we talked about this before the game, I think a lot of this has to dow with playing in the G-League. I have mentioned it before, he is watching tape and is not fortunate enough to fly on a private plane , he is in Grand Rapids looking to get the first commercial flight out the next morning and what that does is allow you time with your next coach and he has done a lot of film. A lot of what he does, he is not just down there hooping, he is getting better and being disciplined and it showed tonight and he really played well."

I understand trying to get Bufkin reps at College Park, but I think it is time for Atlanta to let their first-round pick loose and get some real rotation minutes over the next 27 games. 

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