Are the Hawks a Legitimate Playoff Threat or Just Playing An Easy Schedule?

Atlanta fell behind by as many as 16 points in the first half of their matchup vs the Bucks, but Atlanta dominated from there, winning by 18 and putting more distance between themselves and Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Play-In Race.

This was the fifth straight win for the Hawks and for the first time since December, their record is above .500 and they are now only 2.5 games behind Philadelphia for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks came into the season with high expectations, but after making several big trades and a rough start to the season, they were completely written off.

I am not here to tell you that the Hawks are all of a sudden a success. The season should still be considered a disappointment (for now) given the high preseason expectations, but since the All-Star break and the emergence of Jonathan Kuminga, the Hawks are being talked about again.

Playoff threat?

Since the All-Star Break, the Hawks are 6-1 and all six of their wins have been by double digits. They beat the 76ers (without Joel Embiid or Paul George), the Wizards twice, Brooklyn, Portland (missing three players), and Milwaukee last night. It is not an impressive slate of wins admittedly, but the numbers show how dominant of a stretch this has been for Atlanta.

Over the past seven games, the Hawks are third in the NBA in net rating, 8th in offensive rating, third in defensive rating, 5th in assist percentage, 2nd in REB%, 5th in TOV%, and 7th in pace. Atlanta, Charlotte, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio all have a 6-1 record over the last seven games and Atlanta now has a positive point differential.

Each season in the NBA, there are teams in February and March that pile up gaudy numbers and records against bad teams that are tanking and then when they get in the playoff or play-in, they flop.

From now and until the playoffs/play-in tournament, that is what we need to figure out about the Hawks.

They still have a number of games against teams that are either tanking or could be tanking towards the end of the season, but they also have games against some of the best teams in the Eastern Confernece, including the Celtics, Pistons, Cavaliers, and Knicks. If the Hawks make the playoffs, they will be facing one of those four teams in the first round and neither is a promising matchup for them.

While he did not play last night, could Jonathan Kuminga be the difference maker for the Hawks?

Kumigna has been fantastic in his three games. He tallied 20 points on 7-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench in Sunday's game vs Portland. In his three games with the Hawks Kuminga is averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 26.4 minutes off the bench.

He is the fourth Hawk in franchise history to average 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, 3+ assists, and 1+ steal in their first three games with the team, joining Antione Walker (2004-5), Glenn Robinson (2002-03), and Dominique Wilkins (1982-83).

Right now, I do think that the top teams in the Eastern Conference are poor matchups for Atlanta. The Hawks have struggled with the Pistons this year and their defense and rebounding will likely overwhelm the Hawks. The Knicks, Cavaliers, and Celtics also present tons of issues for the Hawks. Given that the Hawks would almost certainly face one of these teams in the first round, I think it would be an up-hill battle to be really competitive in a playoff series this season.

While I still have my doubts about the Hawks being a playoff threat, this is all about the future, and there is no doubt that the Hawks have won this trade with the Warriors. They were able to get Kuminga for only Kristaps Porzingis, who was hardly ever available for the Hawks. Kuminga has shown that he might be a part of that future, and if he can continue to play like this, Atlanta's future gets that much brighter. My opinion might change over the course of the next 19 games, but I think the Hawks' future is exciting, even if they might not be an actual playoff threat this season.