The Atlanta Hawks were feeling good coming out of the big win over the Milwaukee Bucks. They got more good news with Dyson Daniels winning Defensive Player of the Month and Zaccharie Risacher Rookie of the Month in the East for March.
The good vibes stopped there, with the Hawks suffering a 127-113 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Atlanta has now dropped three of their last four games.
This one helped erase their 1.0-game lead over the Orlando Magic and surrendered the No. 7 seed in the East standings. The Magic got a 116-105 win over the San Antonio Spurs to reclaim the spot.
Orlando has won two of its last four, and the two teams will meet two more times before the regular season ends.
With so much potentially riding on those games, the Hawks did themselves no favors.
They also do not have any time to mull over what went wrong or how to correct it. The Hawks play the Mavericks in Dallas on Wednesday. The Mavericks lost their last game and are 4-6 in their last 10, but they will be coming off rest.
The Hawks are 7-7 on no rest and 17-21 on the road. They are also 9-19 against the Western Conference following their loss to the Blazers.
The Hawks lost the first meeting against the Mavericks 129-119 in November.
Dallas had Kyrie Irving and did not have Anthony Davis in that game. The inverse will be true this time around. The Hawks remain without backup center Clint Capela or backup power forward Larry Nance Jr.
Hawks lose home court advantage for now
The Hawks are not oblivious to the stakes of each contest as the season winds down. Trae Young spoke candidly about the Hawks needing to lock in down the stretch following the win over the Bucks.
“This was a must-win game for us. We know we dropped the last couple, and we knew what we needed to do coming in here, “ Young told Tabitha Turner-Wilkins on March 30. “Hopefully, it sets the tone for these last nine games – and now eight – and we gotta finish strong, and prepare for the postseason. It’s a different battle.”
Losing to a Blazers team sitting 12th in the West and on a four-game skid stings.
Still, with eight games to go, there is time for the Hawks to regain their composure and get hot going into the postseason.
They have already secured a spot in the Play-In Tournament. Their path to the No. 6 seed did get tougher, though. The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns, giving them a 5.0-game lead with seven games to go for both clubs.
This was a disappointing loss for the Hawks on many levels, but there is a bright side.
“Get to eighth: Atlanta’s presence in the Play-In Tournament — for a fourth straight season! — is virtually assured by the mere fact that the Hawks play in the East,” The Athletic’s John Hollinger, wrote on March 7. “There’s a big difference between landing on the 7/8 side of the draw — and thus needing to win just once to make the playoffs — and finishing on the 9/10 side and needing to win two straight to snag the eighth seed.
“Reeling in at least one of them would make their April pathway to the playoffs a bit less stressful.”
The Hawks remain in position to deliver on that even after the loss with a 2.0-game lead over the Miami Heat and a 2.5-game edge on the Chicago Bulls. They cannot afford to have too many more letdowns, though.