A few thoughts after tonight’s 124-101 win over the 76ers:

- How about our rookies?  One game after combining for 45, John Jenkins and Mike Scott combine for 38 more on a combined 14-23 shooting off the bench.  Jenkins backed up a career-high 23 with 21, and Scott netted 17 to go with eight rebounds.

- Josh Smith scored 28 points tonight, but for me his 11-18 shooting stood out as the most impressive thing about it.  J-Smoove didn’t try to force anything, and he also went 5-5 from the free throw line.

- It was good to see Devin Harris back after missing three games with a sore foot.  He’s been bothered by that foot problem all year, but when he’s healthy this is a different team, particularly on the offensive end.  Having a guy who can compliment Jeff Teague on the fast break and find open guys is huge for Atlanta.  In the playoffs, that’s what they’ll need to create offense against good defensive half-court teams.

- Happy birthday Ivan Johnson!  The big man celebrated by scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

- Kyle Korver cut it close tonight.  After sitting much of the first half with foul trouble, he got just one look in the third quarter and missed it.  With a 20-point lead, I wasn’t sure if Larry Drew was going to put him back in.  He did though, and Korver finally got one to fall after his teammates deliberately passed up open shots to get him the ball.  The streak is now at 71.

- Lost in the Smith/Rookies statlines was Teague’s double-double.  He’s the guy that really makes the Hawks go, and his 13 points and 11 assists were a big part of Atlanta’s run in the second and third quarters.

- A few statistical notes:  The Hawks scored 29 or more points in each of the four quarters tonight, shot 54 percent for the game and were 18-19 from the free throw line.

As the Hawks look to get ready for the playoffs, a game like this really helps.  With the regulars back and playing well, coach Drew has to feel a lot better than he did after last week’s game against the 76ers.  Now that everyone appears relatively healthy, the hope is we can keep it that way as we play out the final three games.  The Hawks are now tied with Chicago for fifth in the East, and Boston was in trouble as of this post being published.

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images

The Boston Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets tonight.  The Hawks will have a watchful eye on it.

Brooklyn is almost assured of the four seed, barring a monumental collapse in the season’s final week.  Tonight’s win would cement that for them.  Boston, however, is playing for much more.  The Celtics would like to move up at least one spot to sixth to avoid the New York Knicks – a team that has tormented them this season – in the first round.  They need one more Atlanta loss to pull even in the loss column.  Boston wins the tiebreaker.

Meanwhile, the Hawks have their own business to take care of in Philadelphia tonight.  Besides holding off Boston for sixth, the Hawks all of a sudden have their sights set on the Chicago Bulls‘ fifth-place mark.  Chicago leads Atlanta by just a half game but also gets the tiebreaker, so the Bulls need to lose at least twice more for Atlanta to have a chance.  Chicago is off tonight.

We’re in the final week of the season!  Let the seeding assortment begin.

Teams to root for:  Nets

Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images

The Chicago Bulls dropped a home game to Toronto last night, giving the Hawks a little bit of life.

Toronto controlled the game the whole way and fought off a late Bulls rally to leave Chicago with a 101-98 victory.  DeMar DeRozan led the way for Toronto with 20.  The loss drops Chicago to just a half game ahead of the Hawks for the five seed.  The Bulls have five games left, but the Hawks would need to win their four and hope Chicago loses two of the final five in order to pass them, since Chicago owns the tiebreaker.

Meanwhile, Indiana and New York both picked up wins last night.  It’s almost a given that the Heat, Knicks, Pacers and Nets will get the 1, 2, 3 and 4 seeds respectively now, and it appears the Milwaukee Bucks will be 8.  That leaves 5, 6 and 7 up for grabs with exactly one week left in the regular season.

The Boston Celtics, who are just 1.5 back of Atlanta for sixth, were off last night.

Biggest winner:  Nets
By not playing, the Brooklyn Nets gained a half game on Chicago and now appears to have home court all but locked up for the first round.

Biggest loser:  Bulls
Chicago could have kept the pressure on Brooklyn for fourth.  Instead, they lose a winnable home game and are now trying to fend off Atlanta for fifth.

Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images

The Boston Celtics, who trail the Hawks by 1.5 games in the standings, are at this point the only team Atlanta has a realistic chance of flipping spots with in the Eastern Conference standings, especially since the Celtics win the tiebreaker.

The Celtics have five games left, and the Hawks have four.  Here’s a breakdown of how I think it will go over the final eight days:

Celtics

HOME:  Brooklyn Nets (4/10)
A home game with a healthy Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett should be a win.  There will be playoff energy at TD Garden.
Result:  Win

AWAY:  Miami Heat (4/12)
I have a feeling Erik Spoelstra will bring back LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for at least a few games to rev up for the playoffs.  This might be one of them, but even without them, Miami is tough to beat at home.
Result:  Loss

AWAY:  Orlando magic (4/13)
Even on the second night of a back-to-back, Boston should have no problem with a team looking to maximize its lottery chances.
Result:  Win

HOME:  Indiana Pacers (4/16)
The Pacers know this could be a first-round preview.  They haven’t beat Boston this season, and they remember blowing a nine-point lead at home last month.
Result:  Loss

AWAY:  Toronto Raptors (4/17)
Knowing they’d rather face Indiana than the New York Knicks, Boston will want this game.  It may be a situation where they’re rooting for New York to avoid New York.  The Hawks play the Knicks this same night.
Result:  Win

Final record:  43-39

Hawks

AWAY:  Philadelphia 76ers (4/10)
The Hawks have had trouble with Philadelphia this season.  The starters are hurting.  Will Larry Drew sit guys again to get them healthy?
Result:  Loss

HOME:  Milwaukee Bucks (4/12)
Atlanta is 3-0 against Milwaukee this season.  The Bucks are pretty much locked into the eighth spot and are already preparing for Miami.
Result:  Win

HOME:  Toronto Raptors (4/16)
After an extended time off, the Hawks conclude the home portion of their schedule with another team they haven’t lost to this season.  That will continue.
Result:  Win

AWAY:  New York Knicks (4/17)
If the results play out the way I’m predicting, the Hawks will have the six seed clinched before games get underway on the final night of the season.  We’ll likely see very few minutes from the regulars.
Result:  Loss

Final record:  44-38

A lot can happen, but I think the Hawks have the inside track for the sixth seed, which would likely mean a first-round date with Indiana.  If the Hawks win three of four, they’ll get the six for sure.  Two of four makes it possible with some help from Boston’s opponents.  Ironically, I think the Hawks match up better with New York because of the size, while Boston may match up better with Indiana because of the style of play.

It will also be interesting to see what the Celtics do down the stretch.  Do they go for it, or do they concede the seven and rest everybody?  We shall see.

Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images

The Boston Celtics got Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett back Sunday, got a win and kept the pressure on the Hawks in what has become a two-team race for the six seed.

Neither Pierce nor Garnett led the team in scoring, that honor went to Brandon Bass with 20 points, but the 107-96 win over Washington pulled Boston to within 1.5 games of Atlanta.  As it stands today, the Celtics would play the New York Knicks in the first round.  However, if they can move up to six, they’ll likely get the Indiana Pacers.  It’s a significant difference for the Celtics, who are 2-0 against Indiana this season but just 1-3 against New York.  

The way the Knicks are playing, avoiding them first may not be such a bad idea.  They went into Oklahoma City and notched their 12th straight win Sunday afternoon, beating the Thunder 125-120 behind Carmelo Anthony’s 36 points.  The win all but assures the Knicks of the two seed in the East, which means home-court advantage for at least two rounds.

In a game that has far less significance for the Hawks than it would have a week ago, the Chicago Bulls lost 99-85 in Detroit.  The Bulls still have what is essentially a three-game lead on Atlanta because they own the tiebreaker.  That kind of ground is nearly impossible to make up with just nine days left in the season.

Biggest winner:  Celtics
No team wants to avoid New York more than Boston.  With Pierce and Garnett healthy, this is a different team.

Biggest loser:  Pacers
It sounds weird that by not playing, a team can lose, but the Pacers probably thought they had a chance to gain some ground Sunday with the Knicks in Oklahoma City.  Now it appears they’ll be headed to the Garden in game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals should both teams advance.

Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images

A few thoughts coming up on the Hawks’ close 99-97 loss to the Spurs in San Antonio:

– With the team nursing several injuries and playing without starters Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Kyle Korver, you might think that would spell doom for the Hawks, especially going into San Antonio where they’ve lost 14 straight times. And while they did end up losing in the end, the reserves pushed into extended action acquitted themselves well.

-

- In particular, shout out to the Hawks’ rookies John Jenkins and Mike Scott. Jenkins, making his return after missing 4 games with a concussion, was nearly flawless from the field, hitting 7-9 on his way to a career-high 23 points. Scott, getting his biggest minutes of his career, made the most of his time scoring a career-best 22.

– Shelvin Mack continued to show the form that earned him a roster spot, scoring 12 points and dishing a team-high 8 assists in 24 minutes off the bench. I continue to be impressed with his poise, and his confidence in his own offensive game continues to grow with each outing.

– Atlanta scraped and clawed throughout this game, but just could never get over the hump. Every time they’d close within a few points, San Antonio would hit a timely three or force a turnover to extend it out again. Still, the Hawks never let the Spurs out of their sight, and down to the final seconds still had a chance to pull it out (or at least force overtime). No moral victories or anything, but that’s better than many previous editions of the team have done in San Antonio and at full strength.

The Hawks get a much, much needed break with three days off until their next game, a revenge match at Philadelphia on Wednesday.

The Charlotte Bobcats travel to New York to face the Brooklyn Nets tonight in what could be a big game for the Hawks.

Atlanta sits two back of Brooklyn for the number four seed.  With only five games remaining for Atlanta, they’re going to start needing help if they want home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.  The Bobcats can help the Hawks tonight, but the Hawks have a tall task themselves with San Antonio.  A Hawks win and a Brooklyn loss pulls Atlanta to within one with four to play.

One other game that could impact playoff seeding takes place in our nation’s capital with the Indiana Pacers making a visit to face the Wizards.  Indiana has fallen 1.5 games back of the New York Knicks in the race for the two seed.  They’ll need to start winning games in bunches if they want a potential second-round playoff series at home.

Team to root for: Bobcats

Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty Images

A few thoughts coming up on the Hawks’ 101-90 loss to the Sixers Friday night at Philips Arena:

– Every season there will be games like this. The shots aren’t falling, the opponents are scoring at will, and every loose ball seems to wind up in someone else’s hands. It happens to every team, and it happened to the Hawks tonight.

– Philly set the tone early, shooting an absurd 16-22 from the field in the first quarter (73%) on their way to building a 40-26 lead. And while the game evened out from there, the Hawks were never able to recover from that initial punch. The closest the team got was 9 midway through the 3rd quarter, but every time Atlanta seemed poised to rally, the Sixers would  hit another bucket.

– Ivan Johnson deserves plaudits for his efforts off the bench, as the big man scored 17 (including one layup where he lost his shoe on his way to the cup) and grabbed 8 rebounds. With Zaza sidelined for the remainder of the season, the Hawks will need contributions like that from him if they want to make some postseason noise.

Not a night to remember, but with the Celtics losing and the Bulls in trouble as of this writing, there may be nothing lost aside from the game.

On to San Antonio.

The Hawks have a winnable home game tonight against a team that won’t make the playoffs.  Unfortunately the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics are in the same boat.

All three teams should be in the exact same positions come tomorrow morning, provided the Hawks handle the Sixers, the Celtics dispose of the Cavs and the Bulls beat the Magic.  All three have an opportunity to gain a half game on the idle Brooklyn Nets, whom all three teams still have a chance to catch for fourth.  The Hawks are in sixth but just 1.5 games back.

Both the Knicks and Pacers are also at home tonight in games that may determine who Atlanta plays first.  New York hosts Milwaukee while Indiana hosts Oklahoma City.  The Hawks would play the Pacers if the playoffs started today, but Indiana is just a half game behind red-hot New York, so things could change on a daily basis.

Teams to root for:  Cavaliers, Magic

Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty Images

The Atlanta Hawks dropped a spot in the Eastern Conference standings last night…and that’s a good thing.

Despite dropping to sixth, Atlanta actually gained a half game on the Brooklyn Nets, who fell 92-90 to the Chicago Bulls despite a 26-13 first quarter.

Atlanta is now just 1.5 out of fourth place in the East, which would be huge, as getting there would mean having game one at home.  If the Hawks don’t finish fourth and have to go on the road, sixth might be better than fifth because it would put them opposite Miami in the Eastern Conference bracket.  Either way, the Hawks still have a fighting chance thanks to Chicago.  The Hawks and Bulls are tied for fifth, but the Bulls are technically ahead because they have one fewer loss.

Another thing to note: The Hawks lose tiebreakers with the Nets, Bulls and Boston Celtics should it come to that.

Biggest winner: Bulls
Chicago is just 1.5 games back of Brooklyn after last night’s win.  They also gained a spot in the standings.

Biggest loser: Nets
Brooklyn had a chance to all but lock up home-court advantage in the first round with a win last night but came up short in their first home game in 17 days.

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images