Don't look now, but the Atlanta Hawks are primed to make a playoff push off the strength of their current six-game winning streak and the superb performances of point guard Trae Young.
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The Hawks beat the Boston Celtics 108-92, and are now tied for a play-in spot at 10th in the East. They are just one full game behind the Celtics who are the current eighth seed.
During this winning streak, they've managed to take down the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat, currently the leaders in the East.
It was only a couple of weeks ago that the Hawks season was already being written off, but led by their All-Star point guard Young, who was this week named NBA Eastern Conference Payer of the Week for the second time this season, Atlanta is now looking like a viable threat heading into the second half of the season.
The Hawks have won 6 games in a row.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 29, 2022
They’re now tied for a play-in spot at 10th in the East. pic.twitter.com/Eyrr4cmfJd
Young won the Player of the Week honors for helping lead the Hawks to a 4-0 record in that time span while averaging 31.3 points, nine assists, and four rebounds on shooting splits of 46.4 percent from the floor and 47.6 percent from beyond the arc. He began the winning streak with two double-doubles, giving him 21 for the season, which ranks fourth among all guards and second in the East behind James Harden.
Against the Celtics, he finished with 21 points, six assists and nine rebounds.
When you look at Atlanta's season there are some eerie similarities to last season's run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Last season, under then-head coach Lloyd Pierce, the Hawks were once again languishing with a sub-.500 record nearing the midpoint of the season. Sitting in the 11th seed with a 14-20 record, it was looking like the Hawks would miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, so the franchise decided to move on from Pierce and installed Nate McMillan as interim head coach on March 1.
The team immediately went on an eight-game winning streak once McMillan was appointed - their longest of the season.
The Hawks posted a 27-11 regular-season record under McMillan and earned the No. 5 seed in the NBA Playoffs. Atlanta beat the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers in the first two rounds of the playoffs before falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the Eastern Conference finals.
It marked only the second time in their Atlanta history the Hawks played in the conference finals.
The Hawks' success during this current run isn't all due to Young, however.
The reserves have played a massive part, especially Onyeka Okongwu (18 points off the bench against Sacramento). Okongwu has filled in nicely when Clint Capela has been out for Atlanta. He's doubled his season scoring average to 9.8 points per game from last season's 4.6.
"Guys are focused. We are trying to turn this thing around."@TheTraeYoung x @AnnieFinberg pic.twitter.com/PvllWzH8VK
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 29, 2022
The Hawks, at least in recent seasons, have had a top-ranked offense. Last season, they were ninth in the league in offensive rating. This season, they're second. On the defensive end is where they've struggled in 2021-22.
For the season, they're ranked 27th in the league in defensive rating, however, over the course of this winning streak, they're tied for eighth with the Chicago Bulls.
“I felt like the only thing that was keeping us from where we want to be was really the defensive end,” Capela has said. “We’re able to score 130, 140, but other teams against us are doing the same thing, which doesn’t always give us a great chance to win."
"I feel like we kind of just throw the dice or throw the penny and by doing this now, by improving defensively, we’re giving ourselves a better chance to win. When you keep a team under 100 points, especially for a team as good offensively as us, it’s huge. That’s what it’s going to come down to."
They did just that against the Celtics on Friday night. Boston scored just two total points in a span from the 9:42 mark of the fourth quarter until Celtics' coach Ime Udoka cleared his bench with 2:56 left in the game.
The Hawks are surging, and not a moment too soon either, according to head coach Nate McMillan.
“We still have injuries and trying to get guys back, but we’re playing basketball that gives us a chance to win games now."
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