The Atlanta Hawks have struggled to be playoff relevant for the entire season. They have had a string of bad luck including an injury crisis that was scarily similar to last season’s. However, their injury report is the clearest it has been in a long time and the schedule has become one of the easiest in the league.
Still, there is a difference between having an easy schedule and making the most of it. The Hawks need to get motivated before every game and then execute the way that their coach, Nate McMillan, wants them to. They were able to do this against the LA Clippers, taking a six-point victory in the first half of the Hollywood day.
The second half of that day was that the Washington Wizards, who are chasing the Hawks for the final play-in spot took on the Los Angeles Lakers. The fact that they lost that game by 13 points was compounded when they lost the next night of the back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers 127-118.
The Atlanta Hawks should almost certainly qualify for the play-in tournament
The Wizards were hot on the Hawks’ heels coming into this period but after these two days. The Hawks now hold a three-game edge in the race for the final roster spot. With only 16 games left in the season, it should be an almost unassailable advantage.
However, there were two other results that have the potential to cause some ripples in the Eastern Conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers started these two days with a seven-game advantage over the Hawks.
They then lost to the Miami Heat 117-108 and then followed that up with a ten-point loss to the Chicago Bulls. This allowed the Hawks to edge 1.5 games closer in two days which is potentially huge for the playoffs.
They now are just 5.5 games back from the final guaranteed playoff spot but time is running out. The Hawks need more days like the two that just went by.