The 2021-22 season has had an amazing amount of twists and turns for the Atlanta Hawks. Therefore it is only fitting that the Eastern Conference play-in positions will not be locked in until the final day of the regular season as no team in the play-in has been able to seperate themselves from the pack.
The Brooklyn Nets currently hold the seventh seed and if they win against the Indiana Pacers then they will host the seven vs eight play in game. This should be a walk in the park for the Nets against a Pacers team who started their rebuild at the trade deadline.
Things only get more interesting the further down the standings you go. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team that can finish as high as seventh or as low as tenth. They split their season series with the Charlotte Hornets but should finish lower than them on the tiebreaker rules should the Hornets and Hawks both win. They are taking on th Milwaukee Bucks who need to win.
The Atlanta Hawks have their future in their own hands
The Hornets are taking on the Washington Wizards and with the Hornets form fluctuating since the return of Gordon Hayward, there is no telling what might happen in this matchup. Given that the tiebreaker rules have the Hawks above the Hornets, the Hawks have the advantage as they are playing the worst team in the NBA, the Houston Rockets.
However, the Hawks cannot afford to go back to their bad habits as they did in the loss against the Miami Heat. Their only other game against the Rockets this season saw the Hawks give up a massive lead and the Rockets took the victory by six points at State Farm Arena.
If the Hawks hope to climb above the Cavaliers then they cannot afford to take this game lightly. If they lose it and the Hornets win, the Hawks will be in the tenth seed. If they win and the Cavaliers lose, then the Hawks will be in the eighth seed.
Where it gets extremely complicated is if the Nets and Cavaliers lose and the Hawks and Hornets win, then all four teams will be on the same amount of wins. This is not good for the Hawks as the Nets lost their season series against the Hornets, meaning that in all likilhood the Hawks will drop to the tenth seed. Let us hope that the results go as they should.
If the Atlanta Hawks manage to secure the seveth seed they will get two bites at the play-in cherry. Fortunately for the franchise they have Trae Young who showed us last season that he is able to step it up in the playoffs and this should help them get the best position possible for another deep playoff run.