Most of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff and play-in contenders have been as mediocre as you can get in recent weeks, but one squad has been soaring up like a rocket.
The Atlanta Hawks have gone from barely clinging to the final play-in spot at the all-star break in mid-February, to nipping at the heels of the Toronto Raptors, having already passed four other teams. That’s what 12 wins in 13 games will do for you.
Meanwhile, Toronto (fifth place in the Eastern Conference), Philadelphia (seventh), Orlando (eighth) and Miami (ninth) had each gone 5-5 over their previous 10 games before Tuesday night.
Even 10th-place Charlotte was on a 7-3 run, leaving the Hornets just half a game behind the Heat, one below the Magic, 1.5 behind the Sixers and 2.5 back of the Hawks.
The Raptors sit only three games in front of the Hornets (Atlanta, Philadelphia and Miami had played one more game than the others before Tuesday).
In other words, the non-home court playoff teams and play-in combatant puzzle remains extremely jumbled with just 10 or 11 games left to be played apiece. Per Tankathon.com, Toronto has the second-easiest remaining schedule (based on opponent’s winning percentage) of these six teams (only Miami’s slate is easier). Charlotte has the 10th-toughest remaining schedule and Atlanta is fourth, with Hawks opponents winning at a .550 clip this season.
That number partly explains Atlanta’s torrid recent stretch. Yes, they’ve come together since dumping Trae Young, adding Jonathan Kuminga and replacing former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Rissacher in the starting lineup with veteran C.J. McCollum, but they haven’t exactly been facing the 2018 Golden State Warriors lately.
Atlanta faced just one team in the top six of either conference during this run. Don’t expect them to stay put above the play-in line (the Nos. 7, 8, 9 and 10 seeds go to the play-in).
WHAT ABOUT THE REST?
Philadelphia remains the ultimate wild card of the group. Former league MVP Joel Embiid was back in dominant form in late-January and five February games, but has now missed about a month with his latest injury.
Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters Monday that Embiid was back on the court for a workout but, still, his play-in/playoff availability cannot be guaranteed.
The good news for the Sixers is Paul George is expected to return Wednesday after being out since Jan. 29 due to suspension, while potential all-NBA guard Tyrese Maxey is getting closer and Kelly Oubre might not be far off either.
Games Saturday and Monday against Charlotte and Miami could have a big impact on the final standings.
Orlando lost a tough one Monday, with Indiana ending a 16-game losing streak thanks to 37 points and a game-saving block by former Raptors star Pascal Siakam. That made it five straight losses after seven wins in a row for one of the league’s streakiest squads.
Franz Wagner is badly missed along with rising guard Anthony Black. Late-game situations have been particularly problematic for the Magic, with the team ranking 27th in crunch-time effective field-goal shooting and 25th in true-shooting percentage in those periods.
The other Florida team, ninth-place Miami, is in a similar tailspin as the Magic. With five losses in a row — two of them of the blowout variety — after seven straight victories, this is another team that is hard to make sense of.
First-time all-star Norman Powell has been moved to the bench, Bam Adebayo pretty much has been terrible since his historic 83-point performance and a few players have been playing through things. Getting Canadian Andrew Wiggins back should help, particularly defensively.
Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball gestures after making a three-point basket during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
THE BUZZ IS BACK
Finally, Charlotte is another team to watch.
The plucky Hornets have won 5-of-6, including consecutive demolitions of the Magic and Heat, and remain one of the better stories of this season.
Charlotte has gone 19-6 since starting 18-28. The Hornets lead the NBA in offence over the past 15 games, scoring 122.7 points per 100 possessions, and are also a sturdy fifth defensively in that span, where they’ve faced a mixture of strong and weak opposition.
The one concern is back soreness for star rookie Kon Knueppel as backs can be tricky, but teams would probably rather face one of squads above the Hornets at this point.
The franchise has missed the playoffs nine straight seasons, have not won a post-season series since 2002 and lost their only two play-in appearances, so it’s nice to see them finally relevant.
@WolstatSun