The Atlanta Hawks are in a race for the fourth seed in the NBA playoffs despite the slew of injuries they have suffered throughout the season. Since Nate McMillan took over as interim head coach they have been a totally different team.
When he took over, two games before the All-Star break, the Hawks were in 11th position in the Eastern Conference and in very real danger of missing the play-in tournament. The players have responded to his message and have been moving up the standings, winning him the Coach of the Month award for March.
The Hawks are sitting in the fifth position in the Eastern Conference standings, behind the New York Knicks, even though they have the same record. This is due to the Knicks have beaten the Hawks in all three of their matchups. This means they hold the tie-breaker should they finish the season with the same records.
The Atlanta Hawks need to hold as many tie-breakers as they can.
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There are currently six and a half games separating the fourth seed and the 11th seed in the East. It is unlikely that the Hawks will fall that far down the standings. However, there are only three and a half games separating fourth and eighth seed, with the Indiana Pacers sitting one and a half games further back in ninth.
Currently, the Boston Celtics sit in sixth, just a single game behind the Hawks. Fortunately, the Hawks won the season series 2-1 meaning that the Celtics need to win one more game than the Hawks to displace them.
Then, the Miami Heat sit in seventh, two games back from the Hawks. Fortunately for the Hawks, their most recent win when they were extremely short-handed gave them the season series over the Florida-based franchise.
The Charlotte Hornets sit in eighth, three and a half games back which is fortunate for the Hawks as the Hornets won that season series 2-1. Given that the Hornets were above the Hawks before they suffered injuries to multiple key players it shows how easy it is to slip back this season.
The last team the Hawks need to be slightly concerned about is the Indiana Pacers who they beat in their recent matchup. The Pacers are five games back from the Hawks with one game to play. Their series is currently level at one game apiece with the decider being in early May in Indiana.