The Atlanta Hawks are enjoying a much-needed two-day break before they make their final push toward the postseason.
They entered play on March 29 one half-game up on the Orlando Magic for the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference standings. With the Magic’s win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, the Hawks not only lost that lead, they lost the No. 7 seed.
Atlanta will end the night eighth in the East with the Milwaukee Bucks on tap for Monday.
The Hawks will have two more chances to put the Magic away, assuming they both take care of business against their other opponents.
They have split their previous two meetings and will each host one game. The Hawks have two more games than the Magic. They will benefit from playing six of those games against the East, against whom they are 26-20 this season.
Notably, the two teams would face off if the Play-In Tournament began today.
The Hawks have other rooting interests along the way, including draft positioning.
Not their own. The Hawks do not own their 2025 first-round pick. They do, however, own the rights to the Kings’ first-rounder, so long as it falls in the 13-30 range.
The Kings’ loss dropped their pick (owed to the Hawks) from 14th to 13th, putting it right on the cusp of not conveying. With the 14th-ranked schedule, per Tankathon, there is no guarantee the Kings will be able to pull out of a tailspin that has seen them go 3-7 in their last 10 games.
The Hawks have the fourth-easiest remaining slate.
Hawks take another draft pick hit
The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, and the former came away with a 134-127 victory.
The Hawks also own the Lakers’ 2025 first, though that one is outright.
This pick has settled into the 20s, and with the Lakers 5-5 in their last 10, it figures to remain that way through the rest of the campaign barring something catastrophic for the Lakers. Their win over the Grizzlies moved the pick owed to Atlanta from 23rd to 24th.
LA has the second-toughest remaining schedule.
Both picks moved only one slot. But both were in the wrong direction and could get worse before all is said and done.
In the end, the Hawks will at least have one pick. That is no small consolation as they looked to pick up the pieces from their trade for Dejounte Murray in 2022.