3 Teams that are worse than the Trail Blazers despite their records

Atlanta Hawks

This isn't just recency bias after watching the Blazers come back to beat the Hawks 106-102 on March 13. Atlanta is frozen as an average team - one good enough to compete for a playoff spot but not good enough to win a championship. That's the last place you want to be as an NBA franchise.

The Hawks are 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, which would give them the final spot in the play-in tournament. It doesn't get much more mediocre than that.

Dejounte Murray was acquired from the Spurs for a package that included two first-round picks and two pick swaps. Atlanta has already realized that a backcourt of Murray and Trae Young doesn't work, and it put Murray on the trade block less than two years later. Shortly after that, rumors about the Hawks' willingness to trade Trae popped up.

De'Andre Hunter is in the first season of a four-year, $90 million contract. He's a fine player but nothing more. Bogdan Bogdanovic has two more years on his deal with a team option for 2026-27. Clint Capela is owed more than $22 million next season. Atlanta's first-round pick last summer, guard Kobe Bufkin, has only appeared in nine games.

When Young is healthy, the Hawks may have more win-now talent than the Blazers. But watching Anfernee Simons go toe-to-toe with Murray (not to mention Deandre Ayton scoring 33 points and grabbing 19 rebounds) in a win over Atlanta puts even that in question.

And outside of maybe Jalen Johnson, Atlanta doesn't have a young player with the superstar upside Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe possess.

The Hawks could sneak into the postseason this year, but they're spinning their wheels and going nowhere. Even with 10 fewer wins, Portland is in a much better situation and wouldn't trade places with Atlanta.