The Atlanta Hawks have been having a dreadful 2023-24 campaign, but they still have a chance to make some noise in the play-in tournament and then the NBA playoffs. Even before Trae Young's serious injury, Atlanta was not considered a serious contender against any of the Eastern Conference powerhouses. With two punctuating victories over the league-best Boston Celtics, here come the Hawks with nine games remaining in the regular season.
The Brooklyn Nets are six games behind the Hawks for the 10th seed, so the Hawks have basically locked up a play-in berth already. Young, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu can return for the play-in tournament so anything can happen for Atlanta. Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Clint Capela have been steady contributors despite the numerous injuries all throughout their roster.
The pressure will definitely be evident in winner-take-all contests, but Atlanta has the talent to cause an upset. With this current situation, this would likely be the dream NBA playoff seeding scenario for this organization.
Hawks clinch the ninth seed and beat the Bulls in play-in
It seems like a guarantee that the Hawks and Chicago Bulls will meet in the 8-9 play-in matchup, but it is not yet definitive if it will be in Chicago or Atlanta. With the 12th hardest schedule remaining, it will be difficult to overtake the Bulls in the standings, but that would be the more ideal situation for their franchise.
When the Hawks won two home outings against the Celtics in last season's playoffs, it was magnified that the impact of the crowd was an immense reason for their triumphs. The Bulls will not have guys like Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams in this game, so Atlanta can come out on top and face the loser of the 7-8 battle.
Upset the loser of the 7-8 seed and face the Celtics in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs
Based on the current East standings, Atlanta is likely to face the loser of the Miami Heat-Philadelphia 76ers match. Thus, they will be the heavy underdogs against any of these squads but you never know what can happen in a winner-take-all. In Game 7 of the 2021 series against the 76ers, former Hawks guard Kevin Huerter exploded for 27 markers, which was the vital factor to propel their team to the East Finals.
Sometimes there are extremely talented role players who pop off, so the Hawks fanbase must be optimistic against either the 76ers or Heat. The Hawks won their last contest against the Heat, while they have split the season series against the 76ers. With their franchise cornerstone and two rotational pieces likely to return for this much-awaited tilt, it will be a 50-50 contest for Atlanta.
There will be no pressure because pundits expect their opponent to advance, while guys like Young and Murray have proven to thrive in an underdog environment.
If they do somehow win two successive play-in games, Atlanta will meet Boston in Round 1, just like they did last year. Even if the Hawks lost, that battle still reached six games, so it is plausible to expect a competitive series. These two recent impressive victories of Atlanta against Boston will be a fantastic momentum booster because they will have the confidence that they can beat the Celtics on every given night.
The Celtics will still likely advance to the East Semis but keeping it competitive to a six or seven-game series is a terrific outcome for the Hawks franchise. From all the turmoil and issues they had earlier this year, this particular result will give them a legitimate opportunity to look forward to competing next year.
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