Atlanta Hawks' Schedule Breakdown and Record Predictions for January
The 22-8 Atlanta Hawks have officially put the NBA on notice with their stellar play in December.
The month isn’t quite over for Atlanta, which has one more contest on Dec. 30 against the Cleveland Cavaliers before the new year. But the team has firmly established itself as a member of the Eastern Conference elite with a 13-2 mark in the final month of the year. The Hawks are playing together as a team and shocking teams that possess more individual talent than they do.
Can Atlanta give their fans an encore performance in January?
To do so, the team will have to keep up its effort for the entire month. The Hawks’ December schedule was clearly segmented, with an easy slate of games between Dec. 2 and Dec. 13, followed by a murderer’s row of league powers from Dec. 15 to Dec. 30. However, in January, difficult games come throughout the month.
At first glance, January looks like an ideal time for the Hawks to gain ground in the standings. The combined records of their opponents during the month (217-263, .452) is markedly worse than it was in December (238-246, .492). But with how well Atlanta played to close 2014, it will have more of a target on its back going forward.
Let’s see how these factors will play out for the Hawks in the month of January.
Jan. 1 Through Jan. 7
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Key Matchup: Jan. 7 vs. Memphis (W)
Atlanta will end a difficult week of games with a home contest against the 22-8 Memphis Grizzlies.
This should be a very good game, considering how similar the Hawks’ and Grizzlies’ starting lineups are.
Point guards Jeff Teague and Mike Conley are two of the league’s most underrated point guards. The interior duo of Paul Millsap and Al Horford will meet its match in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Shooting guards Kyle Korver and Courtney Lee have both been lighting up scoreboards with their long-distance accuracy in 2014-15, and DeMarre Carroll and Tony Allen bring toughness and defense to the small forward position.
I like the Hawks’ chances to take down the Grizzlies for a variety of reasons. First, the game is at Philips Arena, where the Hawks are 13-3 on the season. Also, Randolph may not be 100 percent. He’s missed four straight games with a knee injury, and he doesn’t yet have a timetable for his return, per RotoWorld. Lastly, Atlanta will be looking to avenge (what I predict will be) two tough losses against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Other Games: Jan. 2 at Utah (W), Jan. 3 at Portland (L), Jan. 5 at Los Angeles Clippers (L)
The 10-20 Utah Jazz have a lot of young talent. Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Alec Burks, Trey Burke, Dante Exum and Rudy Gobert are all under 25 years old and have great potential.
Unfortunately, none of them are truly in their prime. The Jazz might give the Hawks some trouble in Utah, but expect Atlanta to take care of business and come away victorious.
The Hawks will travel up to Portland to face the 24-7 Trail Blazers the next night in a game that doesn’t look too good for the Hawks.
The Trail Blazers typically play well on their home court, and this year is no different—Portland hasn’t lost at the Moda Center since Nov. 28. Point guard Damian Lillard is a better player than any Hawk, and if the game comes down to the wire, it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping him, especially on the second night of a back-to-back.
Two nights later, against the 20-11 Los Angeles Clippers, it’s going to be another difficult contest for the Hawks.
Point guard Chris Paul and power forward Blake Griffin are a devastating one-two punch, and they nearly held on for a win in Atlanta on Dec. 23. They’ll get their revenge in a close home win over the Hawks this time.
Record: 2-2
Jan. 8 Through Jan. 14
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Key Matchup: Jan. 11 vs. Washington (W)
You know how the Hawks passed that huge test in December when they won five in a row against the Chicago Bulls, Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Clippers?
That tough stretch of games is similar to what the 21-8 Washington Wizards have to face at the end of December into the beginning of January.
The Wizards have played the easiest schedule in the league so far, according to Basketball Reference’s strength of schedule statistic. But, starting Dec. 29, they’ll play the Rockets, Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs (twice), New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Bulls (twice) and Hawks in a span of 17 days. Seven of those 10 games are on the road.
With the Hawks at home and the Wizards worn down from their stretch of death, I predict the Hawks to get a quality win here to help their playoff positioning.
Other Games: Jan. 9 at Detroit (W), Jan. 13 at Philadelphia (W), Jan. 14 at Boston (W)
Outside of the Wizards game, there isn’t anything close to a marquee matchup on the schedule for the Hawks during the second week of January.
The 6-23 Detroit Pistons may have achieved some addition by subtraction by waiving Josh Smith, but they still don’t have what it takes to defeat the Hawks.
According to head coach Brett Brown via ESPN, the 4-25 Philadelphia 76ers aren’t tanking. Make of that what you will, but either way, Philly won’t beat the Hawks. You know a team is bad when its best win is a four-point victory over the 14-17 Miami Heat sans Chris Bosh.
The Hawks will wrap up their week going to Boston to face the 10-18 Celtics, who recently traded their best player, point guard Rajon Rondo, to the Dallas Mavericks. All Boston got in return was role players and draft picks, so it’s hard to see the Celtics stopping the Hawks’ five-game winning streak.
Record: 4-0
Jan. 15 Through Jan. 21
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Key Matchup: Jan. 17 at Chicago (L)
The Hawks are no longer the hottest team in the NBA—that spot has been taken by the 21-9 Chicago Bulls.
After Atlanta’s 93-86 win over Chicago on Dec. 15, the Bulls have rattled off six straight victories. The Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors and Wizards were three of their victims. In fact, if it weren’t for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah being out for Chicago against the Hawks, the Bulls might be sporting a 10-game winning streak right now.
Both the Hawks and the Bulls will be playing the second night of a back-to-back on Jan. 17, but the strength of their opponents the game before are vastly different. The Hawks will have battled the East-leading Raptors, while the Bulls will have taken down the Rondo-less Celtics with ease.
I expect the Hawks to fall to the red-hot Bulls in Chicago on Jan. 17, assuming both teams remain relatively healthy.
Other Games: Jan. 16 at Toronto (W), Jan. 19 vs. Detroit (W), Jan. 21 vs. Indiana (W)
Atlanta squares off against the 23-7 Raptors in a big matchup the night before the Bulls game. The Raptors have managed to keep the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed despite playing the last 14 games without star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, who is out indefinitely with a groin injury.
According to RotoWorld, DeRozan “may have a shot” to make it back by the All-Star break in mid-February. Naturally, that means he probably won’t be available when the Hawks play the Raptors. Expect a close Atlanta win in Toronto.
The other two games are home contests against the Pistons and the 11-20 Indiana Pacers. Detroit is still lacking in the talent department, as are the Pacers. The Hawks will take care of business in both games.
Record: 3-1
Jan. 22 Through Jan. 31
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Key Matchup: Jan. 23 vs. Oklahoma City (L)
Is a healthy Thunder squad the toughest opponent the Hawks will face all season? Maybe.
Oklahoma City holds a pedestrian 15-16 record but is 7-1 when both of their superstars (Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook) finish the game healthy. Durant’s ankle injury has him out of the lineup for the time being, but he’s already participating in team shootarounds, according to ESPN’s Royce Young. He should be back to his high-scoring ways in four weeks when he faces the Hawks.
The Thunder might be the only team that can say it has two of the top five players in the NBA, and I’m not sure even the Hawks’ excellent chemistry will have what it takes to knock them off in this game.
Other Games: Jan. 25 vs. Minnesota (W), Jan. 28 vs. Brooklyn (L), Jan. 30 vs. Portland (L), Jan. 31 vs. Philadelphia (W)
After the Oklahoma City game, the Hawks will continue their homestand against the 5-24 Minnesota Timberwolves. Much like the Jazz, Minnesota has stockpiled a boatload of young talent that isn’t seasoned enough to compete with a well-oiled outfit like Atlanta.
You may be confused to see a home loss against the 13-16 Brooklyn Nets. Don’t misunderstand this as me saying the Nets are a better team than the Hawks, because they aren’t. As Atlanta’s 107-77 home loss last Friday against the 15-16 Milwaukee Bucks showed us, it’s possible for good teams to play bad games. That’s what I think will happen here.
The two last games of the month are also at Philips Arena, against the Trail Blazers and the 76ers.
Portland has a fantastic starting lineup, led by Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge. They are also 11-5 on the road, so expect the Trail Blazers to pull out a close victory on Jan. 30.
The 76ers game will be the second night of a back-to-back for both teams. As implied before, Philly just doesn’t have much talent on its team. The Hawks should win handily.
Record: 2-3
January Recap
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The remainder of the regular season will only get tougher for the Hawks, starting in January.
Now that teams know how good Atlanta is, they'll put more focus and energy into games against the Hawks. Atlanta will have to stay on top of its game and relatively healthy to keep in contact with the Eastern Conference's top seed.
The Hawks are currently in the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference. With a relatively easy slate in January, that will still be true a month from now.
Overall Record: 11-6
Note: All statistics are from Basketball-Reference.com and updated through Dec. 28, unless otherwise indicated.
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