The Atlanta Hawks have six of their last seven games at home. Two of these are against the strong Western Conference teams, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns. There is a good chance they will lose one or both of these games.
They then have an away game against the Indiana Pacers who are trying to improve their seeding for the play-in tournament. The last two games of the season are against the Orlando Magic and the Houston Rockets, both of which should be wins considering they are both near the bottom of their respective conference standings.
This then just leaves the baseball series of two games against the Washington Wizards which are just prior to the Magic game. There is a good chance that these two games will decide the Hawks’ playoff seeding.
The Atlanta Hawks need to win both games against the Washington Wizards
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The Hawks own the tiebreaker against the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, the two teams that are behind them in the race for the guaranteed playoff spots. The New York Knicks are the team in front of the Hawks and the Knicks own the tiebreaker between these two clubs.
However, the Knicks are embarking on a really difficult road trip where they take on most of the powerful Western Conference franchises. If they come away from that still in fourth then they deserve to be there.
However, what the Hawks need to worry about are their own games. There is a good chance they will lose the two games against the Western teams as the Blazers are on fire and the Suns have the best record in the entire league.
The Hawks should beat the Pacers, Magic, and Rockets. This just leaves the two games against the Wizards, and they are crucial wins for the Hawks. If they can finish these games out with a 5-2 or even 6-1 record, then they are going to be in a good place to finish fourth.
These games against the Wizards will not be easy. They are experiencing a late-season surge and want to qualify in the best place they can for the play-in tournament. It is going to be an interesting couple of weeks to close out the season for Trae Young and his team.