The Hawks have won eight of their last 10 games, but they still face an uphill battle to avoid the play-in tournament because the first half of their season was such a disaster, writes Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Atlanta looked ready to establish itself among the Eastern contenders after reaching the conference finals last season, but a rough start left the team with a huge hole to climb out of. Even after the recent hot streak, the Hawks are in 10th place, four games out of the sixth spot and a chance to skip the play-in competition.
“We did it to ourselves,” Kevin Huerter said. “We know it’s a grind. We knew two weeks ago when we were eight games under .500 that it was going to take a lot to get ourselves back in the mix. It feels like we’ve only done half the job so far. Half the job is winning seven straight. It’s a good feeling to have won seven straight. I think, for us, the feeling is better knowing that we’re playing better. We’re seeing results that we’ve wanted all year. We have to continue playing like this.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat’s victory tonight means the race to be the Eastern Conference coach in the All-Star Game will be determined by Sunday’s game in Chicago, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. If the Bulls defeat the Sixers, they will be a half game better at the cutoff point and Billy Donovan will coach the game. If Chicago loses, the Heat will have the East’s best record at 34-20 and Erik Spoelstra will be the Eastern representative for the second time.
- Heat guard Victor Oladipo is working out several times a day as he tries to come back from last May’s surgery on his right quadriceps tendon, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Oladipo participated in a 2-on-2 session with teammates after this morning’s shootaround and then shot extensively before the start of tonight’s game.
- Bijan Todd of NBC Sports Washington looks at potential destinations for Wizards forward Davis Bertans, who has been a disappointment since signing a five-year, $80MM deal. Todd notes that the Thunder and Pistons have the cap room to take on Bertans’ contract, while the Celtics and Trail Blazers may also be possibilities.
Did I not just chastize a WAS local for dreaming about a Bertans/Jerami Grant trade? What is going on here?
Berti has had a poor season , but he still has value longterm.
it’s hard to match that combination of size & range, and he already showed he can put it all together late last season
Bertans has nowhere near the value of Grant, longterm or shortterm.
That would require some serious draft capital going to Detroit lol
Bertans will most likely require a protected first to be able to move
Spo is begging the Bulls to win Sunday lol
Not likely. They have no answer for Embiid. But who does? I guess the Bulls more than others as Vooch just cannot defend him. Maybe gang defense triple teams will work.
Mavericks do lol
That month of December really hurt the hawks everybody was injured or had Covid, if they get into the play in tournament they will be a dangerous team
I put together a multipart trade like a week or so ago where the Wiz end up with Wall, Buddy, Sabonis and picks and got rid of Dinwiddie and Bertans.
Beal of course ends up in Philly.
We all criticized the Bertans deal on here. I will say our little community usually isnt wrong in our reactions to most of these terrible contracts. GMs might wanna look into using this site like Bryan Coleangelo did when he tried to defend the Fultz moves.
Would be nice to see Dipo back in the league. Gotta say tho, whoever’s advising a lot of these athletes you need to shut up – ALWAYS TAKE THE MONEY! And don’t be an idiot or confrontational to the point of losing out on huge paydays. Secure the bag smh. Basically every conversation for contract talk should just have a little intro with their faces on the first few pages of the contract.
Nerlens, Schroder, Dipo, Boogie.
Cavs are 8-2 in last 10 gms. And have a favorable schedule coming up. They are three n half games out of 7th seed. So with the TD looming. Hawks are in a good position to make a run. Time to show up.
Harden ran out on Rockets. When all they did was try to please him in every way. Moreyon was basically his Sugar Daddy. Then they traded him to where he wanted to go. Now things have not gone his way. So now he wants to run away again. Why would anyone want a teammate like this oneWay Diva.
Moreyon ruined Rockets with his loveFest for Harden. So Sixers are now next bank.
You want him, good riddance.
The best deal for Ben is in Sacramento imo. You get to keep Maxey. And bring in players that make you deeper. Haliburton may not score like Harden. But long term he is a better teammate. He plays both ways. And is a lead PG that makes few mistakes. You will contend with him for 10 yrs.
If they give up Maxey for Harden they are crazy