Eastern Conference Playoff Picture: Hawks face challenging schedule
The Hawks slipped to fourth in the Eastern Conference with Monday night’s home loss to the Wizards and the middle of the playoff race got even closer as the Celtics, Hornets, Pacers, Pistons, Bulls and Cavaliers all won. The Hawks magic number remains eight with 11 regular-season games to play.
The Heat, Hawks, Celtics and Hornets are separated by just a half-game from spots 3-6. The Cavaliers clinched their second straight Central Division with their win.
The Hawks have one of the toughest remaining schedules with nine games remaining against teams with a record of .500 or better. Only the non-eliminated Raptors, Pistons and Magic have that many games remaining against winning teams.
In games affecting the East on Tuesday’s NBA schedule, the Hornets are at the Nets and the Heat are at the Pelicans.
| Rank | Team | W-L | Pct. | Div. | Conf. | Home | Away | GB | >=.500 (H/A) | <=.500 (H/A) |
| 1 | Cleveland* | 50-20 | .714 | 6-5 | 28-13 | 29-6 | 21-14 | - | 7 (4/3) | 5 (2/3) |
| 2 | Toronto | 48-21 | .696 | 11-1 | 33-11 | 29-8 | 20-13 | 1.5 | 9 (4/5) | 4 (1/3) |
| 3 | Miami | 40-29 | .580 | 8-5 | 25-19 | 23-13 | 17-16 | 9.5 | 6 (2/4) | 7 (3/4) |
| 4 | Atlanta | 41-30 | .577 | 7-7 | 23-19 | 23-13 | 18-17 | 9.5 | 9 (3/6) | 2 (2/0) |
| 5 | Boston | 41-30 | .577 | 9-6 | 28-19 | 24-12 | 17-18 | 9.5 | 7 (3/4) | 4 (2/2) |
| 6 | Charlotte | 40-30 | .571 | 7-7 | 25-15 | 27-11 | 13-19 | 10 | 5 (0/5) | 7 (3/4) |
| 7 | Indiana | 37-33 | .529 | 6-7 | 24-18 | 21-13 | 16-20 | 13 | 4 (3/1) | 8 (4/4) |
| 8 | Chicago | 36-33 | .522 | 7-5 | 21-21 | 24-12 | 12-21 | 13.5 | 7 (3/4) | 6 (2/4) |
| 9 | Detroit | 37-34 | .521 | 8-6 | 23-20 | 22-12 | 15-22 | 13.5 | 9 (6/3) | 2 (1/1) |
| 10 | Washington | 35-35 | .500 | 8-5 | 26-20 | 19-17 | 16-18 | 15 | 6 (3/3) | 6 (2/4) |
| 11 | Milwaukee | 30-41 | .423 | 4-8 | 19-23 | 21-14 | 9-27 | 20.5 | 7 (4/3) | 4 (2/2) |
| 12 | Orlando | 29-41 | .414 | 3-9 | 16-25 | 18-17 | 11-24 | 21 | 9 (4/5) | 3 (2/1) |
| 13 | New York | 28-43 | .394 | 6-7 | 17-26 | 16-19 | 12-24 | 22.5 | 8 (5/3) | 3 (1/2) |
| 14 | Brooklyn** | 19-50 | .275 | 6-8 | 10-30 | 12-23 | 7-27 | 30.5 | 10 (5/5) | 3 (1/2) |
| 15 | Philadelphia** | 9-62 | .127 | 2-12 | 3-42 | 6-30 | 3-32 | 41.5 | 7 (2/5) | 4 (3/1) |
* - Clinched playoff spot, division
**- Eliminated from playoffs
About the Author
Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.
