The Atlanta Hawks entered the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat in the Play-In Tournament trailing by 1 point. When the clock struck triple zeros, the visiting Heat emerged victorious.
For the Hawks, this was the worst possible outcome as far as what they could control.
The Hawks found themselves on the wrong side of history on Friday night. With the victory, the Heat became the first No. 10 seed in NBA history to ever reach the postseason by winning two games in the Play-In Tournament. That adds another leader, a layer of insult for the Hawks.
They failed to win either of their two opportunities to make the playoffs, losing first to the Orlando Magic and now to the Heat in the Play-In Tournament.
It throws the Hawks into an off-season of uncertainty.
Moreover, the Hawks will now send a lottery pick to the San Antonio Spurs. Where that pick lands is to be determined. But that does leave the possibility the Hawks’ pick turns into No. 1 overall on the table.
It is not uncommon for outcomes like this to lead to wholesale changes, though what that means for a Hawks team in a soft rebuild is also to be determined.
Hawks face offseason of uncertainty
Hawks general manager Landry Fields could address Trae Young, who is extension-eligible and can opt out of his current deal after next season. The Hawks also have veterans like Caris LeVert, Larry Nance, and Clint Capela, whose tenure may have already ended, to address.
Defensive Player of the Year candidate Dyson Daniels is also on extension watch following his breakout season.
The Hawks ended the regular season 3 and 1.
But they won their final game against the shell version of the Magic with their own backups in place as well. They quickly folded to very similar issues in their losses to both the Magic and the Heat.
As they had many times through the season, the Florida teams’ size and physicality both took th Hawks out of their game.
Those issues figure to be addressed this offseason.
To what extent remains unclear. What is clear is that the Hawks cannot simply hope to run it back next season. Even when they get healthy, the rest of the Eastern Conference will have spent their offseason looking to make improvements too.
It is just another layer of complexity to an already complex situation. The Hawks will look back at their final two games of the 2024-25 season with plenty of emotions.
What decisions those emotions and subsequent planning lead to will be sources of intrigue.
The Hawks had the ninth-best record in the East from the All-Star break on. They were also non-competitive for too long in their foray in the postseason. The truth is that they are probably not as equipped to compete in the second season as their Conference mates just yet.