Hawks Prepare for a Playoff Push Amidst a Turnaround Season 

The Atlanta Hawks are currently the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference in the last week of regular season play. A team that seemed directionless and was at one point five games under .500 is now one of the hottest teams in the league. Handing the reins over to Jalen Johnson, after the Trae Young trade, has worked out for the Hawks. Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder has completely turned this ball club around this season. He earned Eastern Conference coach of the month honors for March alongside his star player, Jalen Johnson, earning Eastern Conference player of the month. 

Atlanta is 19-6 in their last 25 games with a 11-game win streak mixed in there that put the rest of the league on notice. That win streak catapulted the Hawks record from 27-31 to 45-35 within the span of a month. 

Atlanta’s magic number is down to 1 after a Charlotte loss to Boston on Tuesday night. Atlanta traveled to Cleveland for a prime time matchup against the Donovan Mitchell led Cavaliers.  One win against the Cavaliers would clinch a playoff spot for Atlanta and end their Play In Tournament narratives. However, they were unable to get a victory against the Cavs as they lost 122-116 in the Cavaliers’ home. The Hawks do get another chance for revenge at home this upcoming Friday as they face the Cavs again to complete their mini-series. 

Looking ahead to playoff matchups, Cleveland is the current matchup for the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs if the standings hold. Both teams matchup well as the dynamic defensive duo of Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker look to give problems to the new look backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. Cleveland will look to attack weaknesses in the half court offense as they are 18th in fast break points across the league. This is to be expected with a more veteran heavy roster, especially after the addition of James Harden. Atlanta’s bench minutes will be very key in a Cleveland playoff series, and they hope to have Jock Landale back to battle the Jarrett Allen/Evan Mobley minutes. 

If the Hawks fall to the 6th seed and matchup with the New York Knicks, they’ll know what to expect. The Hawks basically had their first playoff game this past Monday against the Knicks in Atlanta. New York came out on top 108-105. It was a back and forth game with both teams answering back to opposing runs. In a playoff series matchup against the Knicks, Atlanta will need to take control of the glass. New York is 7th in the league in rebounds and 3rd in the league in offensive rating. Atlanta struggled to even the points in the paint battle as well as bench points in Monday nights loss. If Atlanta can do both of these things while matching the Knicks exceptional three point shooting, it should make for an exciting series. Not to mention the history these two ball clubs have from the 2021 playoffs. 

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