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

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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

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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

The Chicago Bulls visit the Barclays Center tonight to face the Brooklyn Nets.

Meanwhile, the Hawks, sandwiched between the two in the East standings, can kick back and watch.

Atlanta will win either way tonight because one of these teams will lose.  The preference is still Chicago simply because the Hawks still have a shot at home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.  A loss by Brooklyn pulls Atlanta to within 1.5 games of the fourth spot.  However, that would also mean the Bulls take over the fifth spot.  As weird as it sounds, I’d almost rather lose a spot in the standings if it means gaining a half game on the team ahead of us.

Then again, a Brooklyn win puts distance between all three teams, meaning the Hawks will have a better stranglehold on the fifth spot with only 13 days remaining in the season.

So either way, Atlanta is going to win.  Let’s hope Chicago does too.

Teams to root for:  Bulls

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The Hawks lost a game on the Brooklyn Nets last night in the race for the fourth spot in the East.

Atlanta fell to the New York Knicks thanks in large part to another monster effort from Carmelo Anthony.  Melo backed up his 50-point effort against Miami with 40 against the Hawks.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn completed a successful 5-3 road trip by knocking off the Cavaliers 113-95.  The Nets got 27 from MarShon Brooks and return home for the first time in 17 days to play the Chicago Bulls tonight.

The Boston Celtics beat Detroit 98-93, keeping the pressure on the Hawks and Bulls to stay ahead of them.

Biggest winner:  Nets
Brooklyn got some cushion for a first-round series at home and finished a grueling road trip with a winning record.  The Nets have to be feeling good coming home.

Biggest loser:  Hawks
Atlanta was short-handed but still had an opportunity to get a big home win over a playoff team.  Instead the Hawks are two games out of fourth with six to go.  Making up ground from here will be difficult.

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A few thoughts coming up on the Hawks’ 95-82 loss to the Knicks Wednesday night at Philips Arena:

– The final score may show that the Hawks lost by 13 points, but that does not reflect what a close game it actually was. With the game tied 72-72, the Hawks went cold, and the Knicks went unconscious. That’s pretty much how the game was decided. Up until that point, it was a thrilling, back-and-forth game in a playoff-like atmosphere.

– Despite the finish, I give the Hawks a ton of credit for how they fought in this one. Missing Devin Harris (foot) and John Jenkins (concussion) in addition to the players already done for the season (Lou and Zaza), and with neither Josh Smith or Al Horford able to get anything going offensively, PLUS with Carmelo Anthony continuing his stretch of making just about every shot he puts up, you’d have thought this one would have been over early. It was not.

– Kyle Korver deserves a lot of credit for that. KK drained a three for the Hawks’ first bucket of the game and kept on firing, scoring 25 points through 3 quarters before the Knicks finally managed to get a body on him. Kyle was a contributor all the way around tonight, pulling down 6 rebounds and blocking 2 shots to go with his hot shooting from the field.

– With Harris out, Shelvin Mack got a good amount of playing time, and the Butler product acquitted himself well with 8 points in 20 minutes of action. He’s still feeling his way out in the Hawks offense when he’s on the court, but he’s stuck some important shots and you can see his confidence growing.

– Man, Carmelo Anthony is something to behold. A night after dropping 50 on the Heat, Melo refused to regress to the mean, pouring in another 40 on 17-27 from the field. The Hawks did everything they could to stay with him, but when a guy has it going like that (at his skill level), there’s really only so much that can be done.

Overall, a disappointing loss given how close it was midway through the 4th, but no reason for the team to hang their heads in shame. Maybe Melo can shoot this well every time out, but I know for a fact that Al, Josh, and Jeff Teague very rarely have off nights like this altogether. We’ll see them again to finish out the season in NYC.

The Brooklyn Nets conclude an eight-game road trip tonight in Cleveland.  If all goes the Hawks’ way, Atlanta could be in a fourth place tie by the end of the night.

The Nets are currently 4-3 through the first seven games of their Circus Trip.  The road success has been critical in them holding off the Hawks and Chicago Bulls for that final first-round home court spot.  If the Hawks beat the New York Knicks and get the necessary help from the Cavaliers, they’ll be tied with Brooklyn for fourth in the East.

The Boston Celtics return home to face the Detroit Pistons in what should be a winnable game.  With the Hawks comfortably ahead at this moment, Boston isn’t the priority, but no cushion is big enough, so Detroit is on the “rooting for” list tonight as well.

Teams to root for:  Cavaliers, Pistons

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The Hawks are a full game ahead of the Chicago Bulls for fifth place in the East thanks to 27 points from John Wall and 46 percent three-point shooting from the Wizards.

Washington beat Chicago 90-86 in the nation’s capital last night, extending Atlanta’s fifth-place lead to a full game.  The Bulls, however, still control their own destiny for that fifth spot.  Chicago wins the tiebreaker over Atlanta, and the teams are currently tied in the loss column.  A huge game will be Thursday’s matchup between Chicago and the Brooklyn Nets, who will play their first home game in 17 days after an eight-game road trip.  The Nets currently sit one game ahead of Atlanta and two ahead of Chicago for the coveted fourth spot.

In a game that means little for where the Hawks will finish but could be huge in determining who they play first, the New York Knicks got a big road win in Miami last night behind 50 points from Carmelo Anthony.  The Heat were playing without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmbers, but nevertheless, the win was New York’s ninth straight and brought them back into a tie for second in the tug-of-war with the Indiana Pacers.  That battle is important if the Hawks finish sixth because Atlanta would draw the three seed.  As I’ve said for the past month, I think the Hawks are much better off playing the Knicks than the Pacers.  We’ll see how it plays out over the final two weeks.

Biggest winner:  Knicks
New York won in Miami, which most teams don’t do, and now have the slimmest of leads over Indiana with exactly two weeks left in the regular season.  Let’s hope the Knicks used all of their energy in last night’s win.

Biggest loser:  Bulls
Had the Bulls taken care of Washington, they would have put themselves in position to grab the four seed with a win Thursday.  Instead they’re in sixth with 14 days to go.

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The Chicago Bulls have three more games to play than the Hawks.  They make one of them up tonight against the surging Wizards.

Washington has blossomed since John Wall returned to lead them over the Hawks on Jan. 12.  A Bulls win would move them back into fifth in the seemingly every day Eastern Conference shuffle, but a loss would put them a full game back.  Go Wizards.

The New York Knicks visit Miami to face the Heat.  While both teams are comfortably ahead of the Hawks, Atlanta fans still may want to pay attention.  The Knicks are battling the Indiana Pacers for the two seed, so every game matters.  New York also travels to Atlanta for a game with the Hawks at Philips Arena tomorrow, so let’s hope for a five OT thriller in Miami tonight.

Teams to root for:  Wizards

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