The Atlanta Hawks are in the middle of a three-day break and they have watched their situation improve over this time. Last game out they lost against the Indiana Pacers which left the door open for them to still be able to slide down to ninth if the wheels totally fell off.
Well, fortunately, the Washington Wizards did what the Hawks could not. They beat the Pacers by a single point in overtime thanks to two Russell Westbrook free throws and then a huge left-handed block. This means that the Pacers and the Wizards are now more than five games behind and cannot catch the Hawks, who are now guaranteed not to be able to fall below eighth.
What was interesting for the Hawks is that the league’s second-leading scorer, Bradley Beal, exited the game with a hamstring strain. It is unclear as to the severity of the strain so will be questionable for when the Wizards come to town for a baseball series.
The Atlanta Hawks benefitted from other results.
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There were four games of interest on Friday. The eighth-placed Charlotte Hornets kept their direct qualification hopes alive with a win over the Orlando Magic. They are three-and-a-half games behind the Hawks with five games left.
The seventh-placed Boston Celtics took on the Chicago Bulls and were soundly beaten. This now puts them one-and-a-half games behind the Hawks with five games remaining but the Hawks hold the tiebreaker in this matchup.
The sixth-placed Miami Heat had a solid win against the Minnesota Timberwolves which moved them just half a game behind the Hawks. However, they have a two-game baseball series against the Boston Celtics coming up and the best scenario for the Hawks is if the two teams split the games.
Lastly, the New York Knicks continued their brutal West Coast road trip against the Phoenix Suns. They lost their second straight game, meaning they are now just half a game in front of the Hawks. They have some tough games coming up and could still fall into the play-in bracket.
It is so tight in the Eastern Conference with only four games separating fourth through eighth. The Hawks need to win their baseball series against the Washington Wizards to be in the best position to take the fourth seed.