The Atlanta Hawks are eighth in the Eastern Conference standings at 36-37. Unfortunately, while they're in position to make the 2023 NBA Playoffs, they're not in an ideal position to advance in their bracket.

Hawks' nightmare seeding scenario, matchup for 2023 NBA Playoffs

Currently slated to face the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, the Hawks will already be facing a challenging opponent if forced to play against the two-time MVP and a talented Bucks defense. Yet, they would face an even tougher opponent in the Miami Heat, a team that star guard Trae Young has struggled against all season thanks to their stifling perimeter defense.

The Hawks are also 1-3 against the Heat in their 2022-23 season series, which doesn't bode well for Atlanta. Especially as the Hawks are in the same division as Miami, meaning that the two teams face each other four times per season, and have as much scouting material on one another as any other squad.

With that in mind, Atlanta needs to move above the eighth seed to avoid playing Milwaukee, but they also need to avoid facing the Heat.

Miami is currently sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 40-34 record. If they were to remain as the sixth seed, Atlanta wouldn't have to face them until the Eastern Conference Finals if they could move up to the fifth seed themselves.

Unfortunately, with less than 10 games remaining in the regular season, the Hawks making that type of surge is unrealistic. The New York Knicks, who are fifth in the East at 42-33, are 5.0 games ahead of Atlanta. The Hawks usurping them would take a lot of good luck on their end and bad luck on the Knicks.

However, Atlanta could feasibly move up to the seventh seed by defeating the Brooklyn Nets, the current seventh seed, in the play-in tournament. This route would lead to them facing another worthy opponent in the Boston Celtics but not one that Young, the engine of the team, has struggled against.

Should the Hawks outplay the Celtics in order to move on to the next round, they would face the winner of the series between the Heat and the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.

However, the Sixers are a top-heavy team and one whose top performers could have plenty of trouble against the Heat's Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

In fact, Sixers star guard James Harden has truly struggled against the Heat, averaging 21.5 points per game but on 37.9 percent shooting from the field. Philly pivot Joel Embiid scored 27 against the Heat in his lone contest against them this season but averages 33.4 points per game this season.

What a Heat-Hawks matchup would look like

With the legitimate possibility that Miami will upset Philadelphia in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, it's worthwhile to explore what a semifinals matchup between the Heat and the Hawks would look like.

Fortunately, there are four games of film to work with. However, focusing on their last games could be better for predictability, as both games occurred after the All-Star Break and the trade deadline.

The biggest thing that jumps out from these two contests is the inconsistency from game-to-game for Young and backcourt mate Dejounte Murray.

In their Mar. 4 loss against the Heat, the two combined for 18 points on 5-27 shooting from the field. Young found himself bottled up by Gabe Vincent and unable to shake the fluid Adebayo defensively. While he had a better performance on Mar. 6 when he went 9-17 from the field, he was still hounded by Vincent and had to convert a number of tough field goals.

Interestingly, there's only a 2.0-point difference Young's scoring average in wins (27.8) versus losses (25.8) for the Hawks this season. However, there's a stark contrast in his efficiency, with him shooting 45.7 percent from the field in wins and 40.9 percent in losses. His 3-point percentage also takes a dramatic dip, from 40.2 percent in wins to 27.5 percent in losses.

Though Murray could and should play Heat starting guard Tyler Herro, who has struggled mightily during the regular season series, the Hawks typically go as Young goes. After all, the offensive system is built around him.

Furthermore, despite adding another strong defender in Saddiq Bey, Butler does seem to elevate his game consistently in the playoffs. In addition, while DeAndre Hunter surprised last season with 21.2 points per game in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, it will be much more difficult for him to achieve that feat with Butler on his hip.

If the Hawks' bench can't outplay the Heat's, then that may be all she wrote in Atlanta.

Not that they can't, especially with the addition of Bey. To that point, the Hawks' bench is averaging 33.6 points per game to Miami's 28.1 points per game.

All of which begs the most important question.

Will Young allow his teammates to shine in order to give his team a better chance of winning? Or does he see himself as the only way that they'll advance, season numbers aside?