The Phiadelphia 76ers have been helping the Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks were not looking good to make the play-in tournament until a very solid month of March. This is when the Hawks’ schedule went from the third toughest to the second easiest. Then they managed to confirm their play-in status, tying the Brooklyn Nets and the Charlotte Hornets with five games left in the season.

Then, they took on the Nets and the Hawks pushed themselves into the eighth seed, just two games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is where the Philadelphia 76ers came into the frame and unwittingly helped the Hawks in their quest for the best seed possible.

The 76ers spoiled Gordon Hayward’s return from injury, giving the Hornets a 30 point basketball lesson. This was prior to the Hawks’ win over the Nets which meant that the team knew that a victory in that game would see them a whole game clear of both clubs. Given that they did not win either season series, this is huge for the Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks then benefitted from the next Philadelphia 76ers game.

The Cleveland Cavaliers took it to the 76ers all game but Joel Embiid proved to be too great of a challenge to overcome meaning that the 76ers took the win. This is going to be critical for the Hawks’ effort to chase the seventh seed down.

The Cavaliers are only one and a half games ahead of the Hawks with four games remaining in the season. The Cavaliers only have three games remaining. One of these is against the Orlando Magic but then they take on the Nets in the second-last game of the season.

It does not get any easier for the Cavaliers after that with the last game of the season being against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Hawks still have two tough games out of four remaining. These are against the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors. If they can win both of them then they are a good chance of finishing in the seventh seed which will be the best result they can hope for.