Is the Hawks’ six-game win streak sustainable success?

Do the Atlanta Hawks need to make a trade to compete in the Eastern Conference? 

After the Atlanta Hawks made a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, the expectation heading into this season was that this team would have the chance to be the “next” potential perennial contender in the conference.

However, after getting off to a 4-9 start to the season, many were quick to pump the breaks on the Hawks‘ chances in the East. Especially after it seemed as if the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls had taken substantial steps forward in their road to contention.

Striking back on that narrative, the Hawks have looked like a completely different team over the last week and a half. During that span, the Hawks have won six-straight games. They’ve worked their way back into the thick of the East standings and are currently sitting tied for 8th with a 10-9 record.

During the six-game winning streak, the Hawks have the best offense in the league, the 14th ranked defense, and the second-best net rating. They are clearly trending in the right direction but still have some of the same early-season issues that plagued them.

Overall, through the 19-game sample size, the Hawks’ offense is not what should be questioned. Despite losing nine of their first 13 games, Atlanta still had a top 5 ranked offense. It’s their defense that needed improvement to right the ship.

And it has. Instead of being a bad defense, which the Hawks were through their first 13 games, Atlanta now is a slightly above-average defense in their last six games. The big question is whether this is all sustainable for the team.

Here is the interesting part of it all – the Hawks weren’t a great defensive team last season. In fact, at the end of the regular season, they only finished with the 18th best defense. And it really didn’t improve that much in the postseason. They were the fifth-ranked defense amongst East teams in the postseason.

The Hawks still have all the elements of that unlikely conference finals run from last season. It kind of all came together at the right time last season. While many pointed at this team peaking at the right time, perhaps it was more of just circumstantial success that may or may not be able to be repeated.

Atlanta has a talented and deep team; there’s no denying that. What the Hawks have done over the past six games is impressive and was very much needed. Whether it’s sustainable or not depends on whether or not you believe in the Hawks as a true contender.

Right now, the Hawks are a good team but still have some ground to make up as a contender in the Eastern Conference.