2014 NBA Standings: Hawks sliding in watered down East

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

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:

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