Atlanta Hawks schedule released for ‘Second Half’ of 2020-21 NBA season

Nearly three months after the NBA announced the “first half” schedule for all 30 teams, the “second half” schedule was still a mystery. In fact, the league waited almost as long as possible to reveal its plans for after the All-Star break, in part due to extensive postponements for several teams. Finally, however, the NBA released the breakdown of the final 36 games for the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Atlanta will wrap up the first half on Wednesday, March 3 in Orlando. From there, the All-Star break arrives, including the All-Star Game itself on Sunday, March 7. The break ends for the Hawks on March 11 with the team’s first game of the second half on the road against the Toronto Raptors (in Tampa).

The second half schedule features 19 home games and 17 road games for the Hawks, after the opposite was true before the break. Originally, Atlanta was scheduled to play 37 games in the first half, though a matchup against the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 13 was postponed due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

From a national TV standpoint, the Hawks have one game on ESPN (March 26 at Golden State) and one game on TNT (Apr. 15 against Milwaukee). Atlanta also has four NBA TV games, beginning on March 28 in Denver and including Apr. 4 against Golden State, Apr. 25 against Milwaukee and May 10 against Washington.

The Hawks face a difficult, eight-game road trip near the beginning of the second half, and that could be a pivotal swing with regard to Atlanta’s playoff chances. The journey begins on March 20 with a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers, and the trip also features games against the Clippers, Kings, Warriors, Nuggets, Suns, Spurs and Pelicans over a two-week period.

After that, the schedule lightens with 16 of the final 23 games — including seven of the final eight — at State Farm Arena. It remains to be seen as to where the Hawks will be in the standings as the All-Star break arrives, but the team’s preseason goal to reach the postseason is still attainable, even after an injury-plagued and uneven start.

While it should be noted that the possibility for additional postponements certainly exists, the Hawks are now scheduled to end the regular season with a matchup against the Houston Rockets on May 16.

In its original scheduling announcement in mid-November, the NBA indicated that May 16 was the target date to complete the regular season, and that tracks with the announced schedule from Wednesday. From there, the play-in tournament is scheduled to follow from May 18-21 and the NBA Playoffs are scheduled to begin on May 22.

The full schedule can be seen here.