The beat goes on for the Atlanta Hawks who dropped their sixth straight game in a 100-97 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night. The losing skid has all but eliminated any chance Atlanta had for capturing home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. As things stand now, the Hawks are going to have to fight to avoid falling to sixth or seventh place in the standings.
Here is a look at the Eastern Conference Standings entering play on Saturday:
Eastern Conference Standings
Team | W | L | Pct | GB | L10 | Streak |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | Pct | GB | L10 | Streak |
*1. Boston | 52 | 29 | 642 | - | 7-3 | W2 |
*2. Cleveland | 51 | 30 | .630 | 1 | 4-6 | L3 |
*3. Toronto | 50 | 31 | .617 | 1.5 | 8-2 | W3 |
*4. Washington | 49 | 32 | .605 | 3 | 6-4 | W1 |
*5. Atlanta | 42 | 38 | .525 | 9.5 | 5-5 | W3 |
*6. Milwaukee | 42 | 39 | .519 | 10 | 6-4 | W2 |
7. Indiana | 41 | 40 | .506 | 11 | 5-5 | W4 |
8. Chicago | 40 | 41 | .494 | 12 | 7-3 | W1 |
Miami | 40 | 41 | .494 | 12 | 5-5 | W2 |
Detroit | 37 | 44 | .457 | 15 | 3-7 | L1 |
Charlotte | 36 | 45 | .444 | 16 | 4-6 | L4 |
New York | 30 | 51 | .370 | 22 | 3-7 | L3 |
Orlando | 28 | 53 | .346 | 24 | 2-8 | L2 |
Philadelphia | 28 | 53 | .346 | 24 | 2-8 | L7 |
Brooklyn | 20 | 61 | .247 | 32 | 5-5 | L1 |
The Hawks are now tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for fifth place but own the tie breaker. The Indiana Pacers are one game back in seventh while Miami is two back in eighth. Atlanta’s spot in the playoffs appears to be secure with just 10 games remaining but they need to start winning games soon. The Hawks have a 3.5 game edge over both Chicago and Detroit who are currently tied for ninth.
They will get an opportunity soon as the schedule lightens over the next week. Here is a look at Atlanta’s remaining schedule.
Hawks remaining schedule
Date | Opponent | Time |
---|---|---|
Date | Opponent | Time |
Saturday, April 1 | at Bulls | 5:00 PM |
Sunday, April 2 | at Nets | 6:00 PM |
Thursday, April 6 | vs Celtics | 8:00 PM |
Friday, April 7 | at Cavaliers | 7:30 PM |
Sunday, April 9 | vs Cavaliers | 3:30 PM |
Tuesday, April 11 | vs Hornets | 7:30 PM |
Wednesday, April 12 | at Pacers | 8:00 PM |
The Hawks host Brooklyn on Sunday, the Suns on Monday and travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Hawks should be favored in all of those games but they haven’t really shown the ability to beat anyone without Paul Millsap on the floor. Friday’s loss dropped Atlanta to 0-7 on the season when Millsap doesn’t play.
The way things sounded on Friday, it isn’t guaranteed that Millsap will return on Sunday either. He continues to recover from some sort of knee ailment that has sidelined him for the last four games. Kent Bazemore is set to be reevaluated on Sunday or Monday after missing the last three contests due to a bone bruise in his knee.
Five of Atlanta’s remaining 10 games will be played at home. Only four of those are against teams that currently have a .500 or better record. The Hawks have one game remaining with the Celtics and two remaining with the Cavaliers. Boston has closed to within a game of Cleveland for the top spot in the Eastern Conference but both clubs could be resting players by the time the Hawks face them.
What is your prediction for the Hawks over the final 10 games of the regular season?