Atlanta Hawks playoff update with two games remaing this season

The Atlanta Hawks completed their final back-to-back of the season, splitting the two games.  Their loss to the Toronto Raptors will have a potentially major impact on the Hawks’ postseason chances. However, the Hawks were able to keep their hopes alive with a victory over the Washington Wizards.

Danilo Gallinari returned to the starting lineup and he showed why he has been a starter in the league for such a long time. He has filled in admirably for John Collins during the starting power forward’s absence, helping keep the Hawks in the race for the seventh seed.

The standings did not change for the play-in tournament thanks to the results of all the games that were played. They also did not give teams or fans any clarity either as to where their franchise may finish. What it did do was put the pressure on the lower-ranked team in the play-in to keep performing.

The Atlanta Hawks need to keep on winning.

With two games left in the season, the Hawks have to try and win both of them. They then have to count on the Brooklyn Nets faltering if they are going to be able to host the play-in game which involves the seventh and eighth seeds. Currently, these seeds are held by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Nets.

While it seems unlikely that the Hawks will be able to sneak above the Nets given that they are taking on the Cavaliers and then rounding out the season against the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately, the Raptors’ loss saw the Hawks fall below the Nets thanks to losing the season series. They will need to win one more game than the Brooklyn franchise to finish above them.

The Cavaliers also have two games remaining and they are against the Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks. If they lose one of them then the Hawks have to beat both the Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets to get above them in the standings. If the Cavaliers lose both games then the Hawks just have to win one more thanks to holding the advantage in the season series.

However, the Hawks are not guaranteed to finish in the ninth seed or above. The Hornets are one and a half games behind with three to play. They play the Orland Magic, the Chicago Bulls, and finished the season against the Washington Wizards. If the Hawks lose one and the Hornets win two, then the Hawks will earn the tenth seed.

To put it simply, there is so much to play for with so little time left in the regular season.