Is The Atlanta Hawks Offense Starting To Peak At The Right Time Or Is It A Product Of Their Schedule?

The Hawks have been one of the best offenses in the NBA over the past 10 games, but is that a product of their schedule or are they getting hot at the right time?

Mar 23, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) shoots against the Philadelphia 76ers in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Beware of March.

One of the important rules of the NBA season is beware of what you see from teams in March and that can be especially true this season. There are quite a few teams that are tanking in the final month of the season and that is true going down the stretch here. With Duke superstar Cooper Flagg in the draft this year, teams are racing to the bottom and that can make games more non-competitive than usual. If you can face the right teams at the right time, your team could get hot and help their playoff positioning.

Which brings me to the main point of this piece and that is the Atlanta Hawks, particularly their offense. Over the last ten games, the Atlanta Hawks have had one of the best offenses in the NBA while they have gone 7-3 over that stretch. While Atlanta is still 4.5 games back of the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, they have a nice lead over Orlando, Chicago, and Miami for the top spot in the play-in tournament. They are playing well down the stretch of the season and while they are going to be heavy underdogs no matter in a playoff series against either Cleveland or Boston, it is encouraging to see them playing well as the playoffs get closer.

But is it real? Or is it all a mirage amplified by playing a manageable schedule over the past ten games? In my opinion, it might be a little bit of both.

Over the last ten games, the Atlanta Hawks offense ranks 7th in offensive rating (120.3), 7th in rebounding percentage (51.3%), 7th in effective field goal percentage (57.1%), 7th in true shooting percentage (60.4%), and 8th in pace. Trae Young is spearheading this offense, averaging 27.8 PPG and 10.9 APG, but Onyeka Okongwu (15.4 PPG and 10.9 RPG), Zaccharie Risacher (14.2 PPG on 39% from three), and Caris LeVert (14.7 PPG on 49% shooting) have all been playing well during the last ten games. LeVert continues to be a second ball -handling option for the Hawks in crunch-time/fourth quarter situations and Okongwu is getting better and is not getting enough attention.

But let's talk about the schedule.

In the last ten games, Atlanta has beaten Charlotte (2X), Philadelphia (2X), Indiana without Tyrese Haliburton (2X), and Golden State without Steph Curry. Now, the Warriors are still a very good perimeter defense without Curry, but the other matchups have been rather favorable for the Hawks. A nice test for the Hawks will be in their next game on the road against the Houston Rockets. Houston has been one of the elite defensive teams in the NBA this year and are playing as well as anyone. If the Hawks can continue to put up big offensive numbers, this could be a sign that this offense is starting to peak at the right time.

This is a transitional year for the Hawks and they are putting up these offensive numbers with their second-best player sidelined for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. While some of their recent play can be attributed to playing tanking teams, this group needs minutes together to continue figuring things out because while Atlanta hopes to get into the playoffs, they are not likely to go far without Johnson. Next year is where their eyes should be and there are signs that it could be a big step in the right direction for this franchise.

Additional Links

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