Atlanta Hawks: The Detroit Pistons loss did not hurt as it might have

When the Atlanta Hawks lost the second night of a back-to-back against the Detroit Pistons, they could have slipped very close to the play-in tournament. This is how close the playoff race in the Eastern Conference is.

The Hawks were without a plethora of players and then lost Kevin Huerter and Brandon Goodwin in the last period to injury. The good news on that front is that both players do not appear to be on the sidelines long-term.

However, the game results from that night and the night after were simply amazing.  Every single team who is fighting for the last three guaranteed playoff berths lost their matchup either on the same night or the night after, Hopefully, this could be an omen for the Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks were so lucky.

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The New York Knicks played the Phoenix Suns and ran into Chris Paul and Devin Booker who ended their winning streak. This was crucial for the Hawks, as they were able to stay level in the standings with the streaking Knicks.

The Miami Heat then took on the Chicago Bulls in another game on the same night and the Windy City franchise defended the perimeter with ferocity. They held the Heat to 19.4 percent from deep and were able to take the win.

These three results would have had the Boston Celtics rubbing their hands with glee. They were going to be able to get a game back on the Hawks and Bucks because they were taking on the OKC Thunder who are tanking to get the best possible draft picks in the 2021 NBA draft.

The Thunder team, led by Lugentz Dort and Darius Bazely showed the Celtics that they are still taking every game seriously. They beat the Celtics by four points, meaning the Hawks, despite everything that was stacked against them, were able to hold their position and keep fighting another day, hopefully with more soldiers.