March to playoffs? Hawks end month strong, show they’re set for postseason

Superstar Jayson Tatum didn’t play against the Hawks on Monday, but Boston’s other superstar, Jaylen Brown, was in the lineup. That meant the Celtics were the best team to visit State Farm Arena since the Rockets on Jan. 29.

The Hawks treated the mighty Celtics the same way they treated the lowly Grizzlies, Nets and Bucks. The Hawks beat Boston 112-102 to end their March schedule with a 13-2 record.

The final victory of the month was the best evidence that they are ready for the postseason.

“Our team is just jelling really well at the moment,” Hawks guard Dyson Daniels said. “Guys know their role now. Everybody is out there playing really hard, playing defense.

“We know what it takes to win games now.”

The Hawks had won 12 home games in a row and 15 of 17 games overall. All but one of those home victories came against teams tanking for the draft lottery or missing key players (Orlando was the exception).

The Hawks played just seven of their past 21 games before Monday against opponents who were healthy and going all out to win. The Hawks lost six of them, including a defeat at Boston on Friday.

In the rematch, the Hawks (43-33) proved that they are more than just the beneficiaries of NBA tanking that’s even more brazen than usual. The Celtics obviously missed Tatum, but they were 41-21 before he returned from Achilles surgery.

“I have great respect for their team,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “We were forced to play at a high level competitively, as much as anything. They compete, and if you don’t compete at a high level, then they are hard to beat.”

The Hawks stand sixth in the Eastern Conference. That’s the last guaranteed playoff spot. Three of their remaining six games are against top teams in the East: Cleveland (fourth) and New York (third). Two are against teams trying to escape play-in purgatory: Orlando (eighth) and Miami (ninth).

The Hawks know what that’s like. They were among four teams playing for the final two playoff spots in each of the past two years. They last made it to the playoffs in 2023. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2021.

Three months ago, the Hawks traded the best player from those teams, Trae Young. The move was essentially a salary dump, but it also created room for Jalen Johnson to become the focal point. The egalitarian ball-sharing and aggressive perimeter defense that’s working now wasn’t going to happen with Young on the roster.

The Hawks used that formula to beat Boston, same as they did to lesser foes.

The five Hawks starters all scored between 14 and 20 points and none of them attempted more than 17 shots. Brown needed 29 shots to score 29 points. After Boston had a 52-35 rebounding advantage in Boston on Friday, the Hawks held their own on the boards in the rematch, with the Celtics holding a 48-45 margin.

Said Daniels: “Defense and rebounding, if we can carry that over to what’s to come, then we are going to give ourselves a good chance because we’ve got a lot of guys who can score the ball and shoot the ball.”

The Hawks extended their lead over seventh-place Philadelphia to 1½ games. The Sixers will play three games against tanking teams over their final six. The Nets are the only remaining Hawks opponent that has been eliminated from the postseason.

“Every game is essential,” Snyder said. “We know what we are up against.”

Hawks opponents should see what they are up against, too. The Hawks have weaknesses that can be exploited by good teams, especially their lack of rim protection and rebounding. But the Hawks have strengths that can give good opponents trouble, most of all their transition scoring and perimeter defense.

The Hawks improved in those areas as the schedule lightened. They integrated newcomers CJ McCollum, Jock Landale, Corey Kispert and Gabe Vincent. The Hawks forged an identity while beating bad and injured teams.

“It takes time to build chemistry,” center Onyeka Okongwu said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys here who are willing to work at things and play basketball the right way. I’m proud of that surge we’ve got right now. We’ve got to keep it going until the end of the season.”

The victory over the Magic was the first sign that the Hawks could raise their level against better foes. Losses to the Rockets and Celtics cast doubt on that.

Beating the Celtics in the rematch to cap a fantastic month was proof that the Hawks are ready for the postseason.