Capture the Flagg: The Spurs should be thankful for Hawks losses this holiday season

If you look at NBA standings for the Eastern Conference, you'll see the Atlanta Hawks on the fringe of a playoff spot at No. 7. That's incredibly misleading.

At 7-10, the Hawks are obviously not a good team, but their record -- and standing in a bad conference -- doesn't tell the full story of how bad they actually are. If teams were ranked by net rating instead of record, the Hawks would be 11th in the East, which falls outside of even the play-in tournament. The same goes for their average point margin, which is down to minus-5.1 after the Hawks lost their last two games by an average of 18.5 points.

No one is happier to hear this than the San Antonio Spurs, who own Atlanta's first-round pick in next summer's draft from the Dejounte Murray trade.

Atlanta's futility allows San Antonio to chase wins without completely abandoning a tank for the elite talent that exists in the upcoming draft. If it was completely up to the Spurs, they'd be doing a terrible tank job at 9-8. The Hawks allow them to dream.

Now, there's for sure work to be done. The East is so bad that the Hawks rank higher in their conference than the Spurs do with a better record in the West. San Antonio is just a half-game away from sliding out of a play-in spot itself. But if the Hawks continue to stink it up, they'll start to fade too. And that means the Spurs can at least try to compete for the playoffs unencumbered by the thought of missing out on a lottery pick. That's a beautiful place to be in.

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

The latest updates on Cooper Flagg.

Nov. 22 (at 17 Arizona): 24 pts, 10-22 fg, 2-5 (3-pt fg), 6 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk

It was a one-game week for Flagg and the No. 12 Blue Devils, but it wasn't a game they could take easy. The Arizona Wildcats were ranked No. 17 ahead of Friday's game.

No matter. Duke strapped up and held Arizona to under 40% shooting, including just 26% from three, and rode a game-high 24 points from Flagg to a 69-55 win on the road.

This was Flagg's second career 20-point game after he scored 26 against Kentucky a week earlier. Both games were against ranked opponents, which is encouraging to see him bring his best for the biggest games. Especially knowing No. 1 Kansas is coming up this week. It was also Flagg's first true road game.

Phoenix Suns guard and former Duke star Grayson Allen was able to attend the game in Tucson and had high praise for Flagg before the game: "It’s like he does pretty much everything on the court to impact the game. He could be a guy that has 15-5-5-5 ... He looks like a really good teammate and good guy to play with."

Former Duke No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero was also complimentary of the freshman: "You can tell he just plays really unselfishly for the betterment of the team. And that’s what you want from your best player. He’ll lead them to high heights this year. And I’m excited."

Tank Ranking

1. Washington Wizards (2-13)

It's almost staggering how much worse than Wizards have been the last three weeks than they were opening week. But with three rookies playing significant minutes, it shouldn't be a surprise. Their losing streak is up to 11 straight games.

2. Philadelphia 76ers (3-13)

Joel Embiid or not, the Sixers are struggling to get wins. With a 1-3 record last week, they've gone five straight weeks without a winning record to start the season. We'll find out Monday if Embiid or Paul George are coming back soon to turn the tank around.

3. New Orleans Pelicans (4-13)

The Pelicans are losers of four straight, and with Shams Charania reporting Zion Williamson isn't close to a return, their tank is looking more and more like the real thing.

4. Utah Jazz (4-12)

Utah snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over the Knicks on Monday. Ah well. We all slip up from time to time.

5. Toronto Raptors (4-13)

Toronto was doing so well to hold down the top spot, then became a prime example of why none of these teams can afford to win multiple games in a single week. The Raptors slide from No. 1 to No. 5 after going 2-1, though they at least kept their road losing streak alive.

Most Fan[tank]stic Moment

The best moment in a tanking effort.

If there was one game the Sixers could have found forgiveness from tank truthers for going all out in, it was Sunday's matchup against the Clippers. Though Paul George missed the game, I'm sure he would have loved to see his former team go back home to LA with a loss after they failed to meet his contract demands this summer.

Not to mention, this was James Harden's latest return to Philadelphia, and no Sixers fan wanted to see him walk away with a win after the way he forced his way off the team. They definitely do still harbor negative feelings about him based on the boos Harden heard when he touched the ball.

The Sixers decided that didn't matter. With George and Joel Embiid out, they got smoked by 26 points, and Harden led the way for the Clippers with a game-high 23 points and eight assists.

The tank rolls on.

Half-Staff: Chicago Bulls

A quick glance at a team not tanking hard enough.

The first team to ever to make my Half-Staff section, the Bulls are back, though not simply for playing their way out of the Flagg sweepstakes.

At 2-2 in their last four games and 7-11 overall, it's true the Bulls could stand to lose a little more, but it's becoming less about Flagg and more about just getting anything out of the draft. The Bulls only retain their first-round pick next summer if it lands in the top 10. Anything after that conveys to the Spurs (yes, them again).

That's important to know because as things stand today, the Bulls have the league's ninth-worst record. They're walking a fine line.

On the bright side, it's not as though the Bulls have played particularly well in these first 18 games. Despite the seven wins, their -6.2 net rating is third-worst in the East behind only the Wizards and 76ers.

When you play that poorly, the loses will soon follow.

The Week Ahead

Cooper Flagg games

Tuesday vs. No. 1 Kansas

Friday vs. Seattle U

NBA games (to avoid)

Monday: Raptors at Pistons

Tuesday: Bulls at Wizards

Wednesday: Raptors at Pelicans

Saturday: 76ers at Pistons

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Capture the Flagg: The Spurs should be thankful for Hawks losses this holiday season