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Galloisdaman wrote:Will JC be playing?

Galloisdaman wrote:Will JC be playing?

Spud2nique wrote:

Galloisdaman wrote:Will JC be playing?

Most likely but you’re (Gallo), you comin in fast, first place they comin in last.

D21 wrote:If tied with CLE (L for them and L for CHA), ATL are 8th
If tied with CLE and CHA (L for them and W for CHA), ATL are 8th
If tied with CLE, CHA and BKN (with a L for CLE and BKN and W for CHA), ATL are also 8th

Galloisdaman wrote:Team really could use JC. Will need him if they get in.

HMFFL wrote:

Galloisdaman wrote:Team really could use JC. Will need him if they get in.

We could use him on the court for multiple reasons. The obvious on is to hopefully have success but we need him healthy if we decide to shop him around this off season.

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jayu70 wrote:Hawks at Home vs the HorCats!

Michael Cunningham wrote:Hawks should fear no play-in foe...except the Nets

The Hawks should fear no foe in the NBA’s play-in tournament. Their 15-9 record since Feb. 15 includes eight quality wins and really only three bad losses. The Hawks have the NBA’s fifth-best point differential over the past two weeks. They have some significant flaws, but the Hawks have a good chance of getting through to the playoffs with Trae Young as the engine for the Eastern Conference’s best offense. Still, some matchups are better than others for the Hawks. They’d like to see the Cavaliers. The Hawks beat Cleveland three out of four times this season, including a 131-107 drubbing March 31. It would not be ideal for the Hawks to face Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a win-or-go-home game.

...the Hawks will host a win-or-go-home against the Hornets and, if they survive, play an elimination against the loser of the seven/eight game. The Hornets aren’t an easy out — they split four games with the Hawks this season — but they aren’t the Nets.

Charlotte can give the Hawks problems with their length on the perimeter. Point guard LeMelo Ball is 6-foot-7. Backcourt partner Terry Rozier is 6-1, but he’s a good scorer. It won’t be easy for Hawks coach Nate McMillan to avoid a difficult defensive assignment for Young. The Hawks can be slow-footed when guarding in transition. Ball, Rozier and Charlotte’s deep group of athletic wings can take advantage, and the absence of Hawks forward John Collins (foot) is a potential problem against Charlotte’s bouncy big men. But Hornets can have trouble guarding the Hawks, too. Young is the NBA’s best combination of scorer and passer. His electrifying shot-making during Friday’s loss at Miami was a reminder that he can take over as a scorer even against good defensive opponents. Young doesn’t have scoring support as good as Ball’s, but Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari and Co. get plenty of good chances because of Young’s ability to manipulate defenses.

[I'll] take the Hawks in a home game against the Hornets. Ideally, that would earn them an elimination game against the Cavs. But it also could mean a one-shot chance against the Nets. That’s where things would get dicey for the Hawks.

Good defensive teams have trouble dealing with Durant and Irving. They present a particularly difficult problem for the Hawks to solve. They don’t have many long perimeter defenders to challenge Durant’s high-rising jumpers. The Hawks struggle to keep ballhandlers out of the paint, and probably no point guard has a quicker first step than Irving. The Hawks lost two of three games against the Nets this season. The Nets beat them here in November with Durant and Harden, and without Irving. The Nets won again at Brooklyn in December, when the Hawks were without starters Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter. The Hawks beat the Nets last weekend at home despite Durant scoring a career-high 55 points and Irving adding 31.

That game was evidence that the Hawks can conquer the Nets even if Durant and Irving go off. It was only one game, but this could come down to one game, Hawks vs. Nets. That’s better odds for the underdog Hawks than besting them in a series. The Hawks needed 36 points and 10 assists from Young to beat Brooklyn, but that kind of performance has become routine for him.