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2014 NBA Standings: Hawks sliding in watered down East

Atlanta has lost six of their last 10 games since Al Horford went down and are starting to slide in the East Standings.

Julian Finney

The Atlanta Hawks have gone 4-6 since losing Al Horford to a season ending injury and have started to slide in the East Standings as a result. The Hawks are still in fourth place and above .500 but how long they can stay there is anybody's guess at this point. Atlanta is 12 games behind first place Indiana and 13 games ahead of last place Milwaukee. Even more important, the Hawks are just 4.5 games ahead of ninth place Charlotte.

Here is a look at the current East Standings heading into Sunday's action

Eastern W L PCT GB
1. Indiana Pacers 32 7 .821 0.0
2. Miami Heat 29 11 .725 3.5
3. Toronto Raptors 20 18 .526 11.5
4. Atlanta Hawks 20 19 .513 12.0
5. Washington Wizards 19 20 .487 13.0
6. Chicago Bulls 19 20 .487 13.0
7. Detroit Pistons 17 23 .425 15.5
8. Brooklyn Nets 16 22 .421 15.5
9. Charlotte Bobcats 17 25 .405 16.5
10. Cleveland Cavaliers 15 25 .375 17.5
11. New York Knicks 15 25 .375 17.5
12. Boston Celtics 14 27 .341 19.0
13. Philadelphia 76ers 13 27 .325 19.5
14. Orlando Magic 10 30 .250 22.5
15. Milwaukee Bucks 7 32 .179 25.0

Naturally the Hawks have seen a downturn in their numbers since Horford went down. This picture would look much worse if not for two spirited home wins over Indiana and Houston.

In 29 games before Horford's injury Atlanta had an offensive rating of 104.7 and an effective field goal percentage of 52.6. In the 10 games after Horford's injury the Hawks offensive rating has tumbled to 100.2 and their effective field goal percentage to 48.1. The defense has also taken a serious hit. Atlanta's defensive rating with Horford was 102.3. That has climbed to 103.1 in the 10 games since his injury.

Mike Budenholzer said that it would take some time for his team to figure out how to play without Horford on the court and they are clearly still searching for answers on many levels. However, if things don't turn around soon it could present Danny Ferry with some difficult decisions to make in and around the February trade deadline.

Here is a look at the upcoming schedule for the Atlanta Hawks:

Date Opponent Time
Monday, January 20 Vs Miami 5:30 PM SportSouth
Wednesday, January 22 @ Orlando 7:00 PM SportSouth
Friday, January 24 Vs San Antonio 7:30 PM SportSouth
Saturday, January 25 @ Milwaukee 8:30 PM SportSouth