One thing remains constant in the NBA: Anything can happen on any given night. So for the Hawks, who are riding the NBA’s longest win streak, they could be the controllers of their destiny.
On Tuesday night, both the Magic and the Heat dropped their matchups to the Thunder and the Hornets, respectively. Both teams have now lost two consecutive games, which has cooled their jumps into the top six just last week.
That has opened the door just a little wider for the Hawks to return to the top six for the first time since Dec. 2, when they had a 13-9 record.
Heading into their matchup against the Mavericks on Wednesday night, the Hawks were eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. Based on the current standings, the Hawks would face the Heat in Miami in the 7-8 game of the Play-In Tournament.
Fortunately for the Hawks, the season does not end Wednesday, and they still have time to improve their positioning.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Hawks trailed the seventh-seeded Heat by just a half-game for seventh place. The Hawks trail the Heat in the season series 2-1, with the final meeting set for April 12 in the regular-season finale.
The Hawks are just one game behind the sixth-seeded Magic, whom they beat Monday, moving to 3-0 in their regular-season series. The two teams have one more meeting, April 1.
The Hawks trail the Raptors, who swept them in the regular season, by just 1½ games for the fifth seed.
So, the Hawks could finally earn a playoff berth without the aid of the Play-In for the first time since their Eastern Conference Finals run in 2021. The Hawks finished that regular season fifth in the East after going 25-11 following the All-Star break.
The Hawks have been streaking this year as well, going 11-1 since the All-Star break, the league’s second-best record behind the Thunder.
But the Hawks don’t have an easy path to the finish, and things could swing in the other direction.
The Hawks have just a half-game lead over the 76ers, who are seeded ninth. Then there are the 10th-seeded Hornets, whom the Hawks lead by 2½ games.
The schedule does not lighten up as the Hawks progress through their final 14 games of the season. Per Tankathon, the Hawks have the ninth-hardest remaining schedule.
In their final 10 games, the Hawks have six against the East top teams: two against the second-seeded Celtics, two against the fourth-seeded Cavaliers and one each versus the top-seeded Pistons and third-seeded Knicks.
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