Atlanta Hawks: The playoff picture six games out.
The Atlanta Hawks, despite everything that has happened this season look really good to make their first playoffs since the 2016-17 season when their roster looked very different. There is no player from that roster playing for the Hawks today.
They qualified for the play-in tournament with the very important win against the Chicago Bulls. Now what the Hawks need to do is qualify directly for the playoffs so that they can have a few days off to rest any niggly injuries they have.
The Eastern Conference standings are so tight the Hawks can finish, theoretically, as high as third, if the Milwaukee Bucks lose every game until the end of the season. They can also finish as low as tenth if their wheels fall off entirely.
Atlanta Hawks: Looking at their competition
The New York Knicks sit in fourth, one and a half games ahead of the Hawks. Given that the Knicks are on a road trip where their next four games are against the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and LA Clippers, they are bound to lose a couple of these contests meaning the Hawks have a good chance of jumping to fourth.
More from Soaring Down South
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
Of the chain pack, the Miami Heat are half a game back from the Hawks. The Hawks own this tiebreaker meaning the Heat need to win one more game than the Hawks for the season. They face a tough test near the end of the season where they take on the Philadelphia 76ers and the Bucks.
The Boston Celtics have the easiest schedule of the playoff teams in the East. They are 1.5 games behind the Hawks in the standings, but again the Hawks own the tiebreaker. They have the Knicks in the last game of the season after facing the Heat in two straight games.
The Charlotte Hornets are four games behind the Hawks, and on this occasion, the Hornets own the tiebreaker. Three of the last four games for the Hornets are against the Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, and the New York Knicks. If the Hornets lose three games or the Hawks win two more, then the Hawks finish above the Hornets.
The Indiana Pacers are five games behind the Hawks. If the Pacers lose against the Hawks then the Hawks will finish above them. However, all the Hawks need to do is win two more games and they cannot finish below the Pacers.
Next. Will the games against the Wizards decide their fate?. dark
Lastly, the Washington Wizards are five and a half games back from the Hawks. If the Hawks win one of the baseball series coming up, they cannot finish lower than the Wizards. There are so many scenarios to play out this season, all the Hawks need to do is keep winning.