5 Reasons The Hawks Make The Playoffs

The Atlanta Hawks have had a torrid time without the injured Al Horford, but BettingSports.com believes they will still make the playoffs.

Make no mistake, the Eastern Conference’s down year has been beneficial to more than a few franchises. Perhaps the biggest recipient of all though has been the Atlanta Hawks.

To put it frankly, the Hawks have played some horrible basketball this season yet, thanks to the shortcomings of the Eastern Conference, continue to cling to a postseason berth.

Granted, injury played a huge part in the Hawks’ downturn this season. The loss of Al Horford at the tail end of December was too much for the team to take in the wake of a less than stellar offseason, but at that time the Hawks – with a 16-13 record – were still positioned in the third spot behind the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat. Now they sit in eighth nervously looking over their shoulder.

But things aren’t as bleak as maybe they should be for Mike Budenholzer’s side, relatively speaking.

A 103-95 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday snapped a six-game losing skid and, more importantly, puts Atlanta on a path to a playoff berth. At least we think so.

Here are five reasons we believe the Hawks will squeak into postseason play with the No. 8 seed.

1. The Hawks Have Games In Hand

Following Monday night’s win over the Sixers, Atlanta (32-41) has two games in hand on their nearest competitors, the New York Knicks (32-43) and Cleveland Cavaliers (30-45).

If the Hawks can get even one win out of those two games they’ll have a little more wiggle room to work with. When it gets this deep into the regular season, any wiggle room can help.

Of course, two more games on the docket means less rest time, but the Hawks probably don’t want to be sitting around pondering the future too much at this stage.

2. Life At Home Ain’t All That Bad

The Hawks could gain a major boost from the fact that six of their last nine will be played at home in Phillips Arena.

The Hawks have gone a respectable 21-14 at home this season, including 10-10 since injury removed Horford’s name from the lineup. While .500 is nothing to brag about, if the Hawks win half of the games they have left at home, they’ll be in good shape to finalize a place in the postseason.

With games against the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and a big showdown with the Cavaliers (this Friday), Budenholzer can be quietly confident his team has three home wins in it. A second upset over the Heat at Phillips Arena would be the icing on the cake though.

Both Cleveland and New York have just four games left to play at home, which again gives Atlanta an advantage.

3. The Cavaliers Have Left It A Little Too Late

Winners in four of their last five, Cleveland is making a very real push for the postseason, but in truth it looks like Mike Brown’s side has left it a little too late.

Currently three games back of the Hawks, the Cavaliers certainly have the more manageable schedule, with only one game left against a team with a winning record. But the Cavs have struggled against both Boston and the Charlotte Bobcats this season, both teams the side still has to face.

Cleveland could realistically finish this final stretch 5-2, which would make Friday’s head-to-head contest with Atlanta a massive game.

4. The Knicks Face A Nightmare Run In

The Knicks have gone 11-3 over the last 14 games and are making a sustained charge to usurp the Hawks and head into the postseason with the No. 8 berth. Most people expect them to do just that. In fact, the Knicks (100/1) are considered a much better future prospect than the Hawks (500/1) by online sportsbook Bovada.

But the Knicks have the toughest run in of any of the three teams scrapping for that final berth. All seven of their games come against teams with a winning record, including a pair against their crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Nets, and a trip to the defending champions. The Knicks are 4-12 on the season against teams they still have to face.

But they’ve been winning lately, right? During that 11-3 span, the Knicks have beaten just two teams with a winning record, which suggests that trend might not hold as much water as New Yorkers might want you to believe.

5. Tiebreakers Can Be Friendly

When the dust settles on game 82, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the No. 8 seed will be determined by a tiebreaker. In fact, it’s downright probable.

Here at BettingSports.com, we have the Hawks and Cavaliers both finishing 35-47 with the Knicks a game back at 34-48. We’re open to a little persuasion that the Knicks could also finish 35-47.

Identical records may play into Atlanta’s hands though. The Hawks will own a tiebreaker over Cleveland regardless of this Friday’s results, thanks to a pair of head-to-head wins earlier in the year. That eliminates the Cavs from the mix.

The Hawks and Knicks finished their regular season head-to-head 2-2, which would take us down to the next tiebreaker; intra-conference record. Right now, Atlanta is 22-21 against Eastern Conference opponents while New York is 21-24. In the event that both sides finish the season with an identical record, Atlanta would own the better intra-conference record by one game, and thus punch its ticket to the postseason.

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So, Atlanta looks to be the smarter bet for postseason play, at least from this vantage point. What does that mean going forward?

Sadly, it looks like a less interesting first round matchup in the playoffs. Miami or Indiana – whichever finished top of the heap – would be unlikely to expend as much energy dismissing the undermanned Hawks than they might the Knicks or even the Cavaliers. That’s good news for the No. 1 seed and their fans, but bad news for the rest of us.

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