The Atlanta Hawks are in the midst of a battle in the play-in spots in the Eastern Conference, sitting at 9th in the standings, but not far behind the Miami Heat (7th) or the Orlando Magic (8th). The Hawks have suffered a rash of injuries this season, including to star forward Jalen Johnson, and that has hurt their ability to win. While there have been bright spots for Atlanta, such as rookie Zaccharie Risacher and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Dyson Daniels. Atlanta is 28-34 heading into the final 20 games of the season.

In the latest power rankings from ESPN, the Hawks are still in the lower half of the league, checking in at No. 19, up from 20th, which is where they were in last week’s rankings. Here is what analyst Chris Herring had to say about the group:

“Wing Caris LeVert and forward Georges Niang, who came over in the De’Andre Hunter trade deadline deal with Cleveland, have both shown scoring flashes off the bench since joining the Hawks. LeVert had a dramatic, game-winning lay-in against Memphis earlier this week, while Niang has averaged what would be a career-best 14 points in Atlanta thus far. But the club has played poorly when they share the court, getting outscored by 7.6 points per 100 possessions in 196 minutes of play — a span in which the Hawks have surrendered a sky-high 120.1 points per 100 plays”

The Hawks defense has struggled quite a bit over the last four games. They have given up at least 127 points in each of those games, including over 130 points in three of them. Some of that is opponent shooting luck, but the Hawks have not played well on that end. If they are going to find a way to get into the playoffs, they will have to perform better.

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