The Hawks currently sit two games under .500 after losing to the Mavericks last night for the second time in as many weeks. Taking a look ahead, the next fourteen days consist of several tough matchups, but Lloyd Pierce just has to keep his bunch within reach of the playoffs as Atlanta waits on De’Andre Hunter, Kris Dunn Bogdan Bogdanovic to get healthy.
2/12: vs. Spurs
2/13: vs. Pacers
2/15: @ Knicks
2/17: @ Celtics
2/19: @ Celtics
2/21: vs. Nuggets
2/23: @ Cavaliers
2/24: vs. Celtics
The two Western Conference games, San Antonio and Denver, are both against playoff-caliber teams as the Spurs and Nuggets are currently sixth and seventh — respectively — in the standings. Three games against the Celtics, who are fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, could be damaging to Atlanta’s playoff hopes if they were to lose all of them, especially since the Hawks are within one game of the fourth seed — currently eighth. The Pacers and Knicks are both hovering right around 12 wins, same as Atlanta, and would be huge wins for the Hawks’ confidence going forward.
The Hawks are better than the Cavs and Knicks, but as we’ve seen this season, they shouldn’t be taken lightly. Cleveland is a high-energy team that gave Atlanta fits earlier in the year, and the same goes for the Knicks, who recently traded for Derrick Rose. They beat Atlanta in the same week as Cleveland — part of a four-game losing streak for the Hawks. If Lloyd Pierce’s group can go 5-3 over the next two weeks, it will go a long way later in the season when Atlanta starts to get healthier.
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