Atlanta Hawks 2025 NBA Cup East Group A predictions

Last year, the Hawks found themselves in a group with the Cavs and Celtics — two of the best teams in the East — as well as the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. Atlanta did beat three teams (the two top teams as well as the doormat Wizards) but tripped on a banana peel against the Bulls.

They finished the group stage with a 3-1 record, which was tied with the Celtics. The tiebreaker rules, thankfully for Atlanta, stated that the Hawks would advance to the elimination rounds over the Celtics after beating them in the head-to-head.

This year, the Hawks are once again groupmates with the Cavs and Wizards, although this time, they will be joined by reigning Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors. On paper, this should be an easier group to deal with than the one they had to navigate last season, but games are not played on paper after all.

With that said, here are game by game predictions for the Hawks in their 2025 NBA Cup run.

Hawks game-by-game predictions for 2025 NBA Cup

Game 1: Hawks @ Pacers, October 31 at 7 PM E.T.

The Pacers did make it to the NBA Finals last year and came to within one win away of winning it all. If they were bringing back the same team with a clean bill of health, then they will be favored to win this game. But the reality isn’t quite as rosy for this Pacers squad.

As one would recall, the Pacers lost Tyrese Haliburton to a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Eventually, they lost the battle and the war, as they will be without Haliburton for the entirety of next season all while failing to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Now, this is not to say that the Pacers will be a pushover and the Hawks will simply steamroll them. That simply will not be the case. As TJ McConnell showed, he can take over games if needed.

But without Haliburton, this Pacers team will not be nearly as difficult to contend with than if they were at full strength. Even then, the Hawks cannot rest on their laurels, as this Indiana squad, despite losing Myles Turner in free agency, has plenty of continuity and their locker room is clicking after the magical run they had last year.

Meanwhile, the Hawks could endure some growing pains considering how many new pieces they’ll be integrating into the squad.

But with that said, the Hawks showed in the past that they can rise to the occasion, which is exactly what they’ll be doing in their first game of the 2025 NBA Cup.

Prediction: Hawks win a close, high-scoring game

Game 2: Hawks vs. Raptors, November 7 at 7:30 PM E.T.

The Raptors didn’t make too many improvements to their team this offseason. But, theoretically, they’ll be having 2025 trade deadline acquisition Brandon Ingram finally making his mark for his new team now that he’s armed with a contract extension.

Toronto’s size, as well as growing depth, could pose a problem for the Hawks. Scottie Barnes did well against the Hawks last season, averaging 22.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in three games (two wins for the Raptors).

Expect the new-look Hawks, with Alexander-Walker providing extra perimeter defense alongside Dyson Daniels and Kristaps Porzingis being a fierce rim-protector, to handle the Raptors much better than they did last year.

Prediction: Hawks win a gritty, back-and-forth affair

Game 3: Hawks @ Wizards, November 25 at 7 PM E.T.

The Wizards are about to be one of the league’s doormats once more. While improvements are to be expected from their young core, a group that includes Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington, and Bilal Coulibaly, not to mention the potential impacts from newly-acquired Cam Whitmore and 2025 draftees Tre Johnson and Will Riley, this Washington squad is going to be bad next season and shouldn’t be expected to win more than 20 to 25 games.

The Hawks should take care of business rather handily the way they did last year when they overturned a double-digit deficit in the first quarter by turning on the jets on the defensive end in the second quarter and not looking back.

Prediction: Hawks win by 15+ points

Game 4: Hawks vs. Cavs, November 28 at 7:30 PM E.T.

Last year, in the NBA Cup, the Hawks beat the Cavs by 12 points, with the entire team showing up while holding Donovan Mitchell to just 12 points on the night. Atlanta did have Cleveland’s number early on in the season, being two of their few defeats to start the year all while knocking them out of NBA Cup contention.

While the Hawks should once again have the defensive personnel to contain the Cavs’ guards, Cleveland should be highly-motivated to do better considering how Atlanta punked them in the competition last year. With that, the Hawks might be primed for their first loss of the competition, sending them to the battle of the best second-placers while paving the way for Cleveland to win the group.

Prediction: Hawks lose convincingly

Hawks make it through to the elims, get bounced by the Cavs in the quarters

Revenge tales are some of the most interesting stories to follow, but for the Hawks, it will be one of bitterness as they see the Cavs, a team that’s looking to wash away the stench of last season as much as they could, end their run in the NBA Cup.

With the Hawks making it through to the elimination rounds by being the best second-placed team (by point differential), they will be matched up against the most dominant group-winner. In this hypothetical, that team would be the Cavs, a team that will destroy the Wizards and Raptors and beat the Pacers and Hawks convincingly.

This means that in this hypothetical, the Hawks will not make it as far as they did last year in the in-season tournament.