Atlanta went into the NBA season planning on contending. They’ll have to settle for being breathtakingly average.
In a season that has seen remarkable parity in the NBA, the Hawks are setting the standard for mediocrity. A completely even record against both conferences, scoring just one fewer point than they’ve allowed over 78 games and they’ve been within a game of .500 since Jan. 21. They haven’t won or lost more than two straight games in over ten weeks, and have alternated wins and losses since March 13.
Atlanta is 8-9 since Quin Snyder took over as head coach, and in those 17 games they’ve scored just one point than they allowed in total. They’ve been in 8th place in the Eastern Conference – not 7th, not 9th – every day since Jan. 18. The only way they differ from absolutely average is that their 7th-ranked offense is a lot better than their 22nd-rated defense.
They beat the Mavericks in overtime on Sunday thanks to a late foul by Kyrie Irving.
11 days ago, they lost to Minnesota when John Collins fouled Karl-Anthony Towns in the final seconds.
It all evens out for the Hawks.
The 8th seed and its accompanying two chances to qualify for the playoffs is far from secure, however. Atlanta goes to Chicago for a huge game with the 10th place Bulls, who would clinch a tiebreaker and leapfrog over the Hawks if they win. And Toronto is also 39-39 overall and 24-24 in the East, but they’ve outscored their opponents by 1.4 points per game. Atlanta has the tiebreaker, but the Raptors could slip past them.
So the perfectly average Hawks need to play above-average to control their own playoff fate. Our guess is they go 2-2 in their last four games. It’s the law of averages.
