STRETCH RUN
A look at the remaining schedules of the Hawks and Knicks, who are locked in a battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Hawks
Sunday: at Pacers; Tuesday: vs. Pistons; Wednesday: vs. Celtics; Friday: at Nets; Saturday: vs. Heat; April 14: vs. Bobcats; April 16: at Bucks
Knicks
Sunday: at Heat; Friday: at Raptors; April 13: at Bulls; April 15: at Nets; April 16: vs. Raptors
The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will play a big role in determining its final playoff participant. That say-so begins Sunday.
While the Heat and Pacers are locked in a battle at the top, the Hawks and Knicks have spent the past two games trading places for the eighth and final postseason berth. The Hawks play at the Pacers on Sunday night holding a one-game lead over the Knicks, who play at the Heat earlier in the afternoon.
“We’re a confident bunch anyway,” Hawks point guard Jeff Teague said after Friday’s 117-98 drubbing of the Cavaliers. “Indiana’s a good team, and it will be a great challenge for us. We’ll go there Sunday and try to get a win.”
The Hawks (33-42) have seven games remaining in the regular season, which includes a date with the Heat. They follow Sunday with back-to-back home games against the Pistons and Celtics on Tuesday and Wednesday, teams who will be watching the postseason. Starting Sunday, the Hawks play five games in seven days.
The Knicks (33-44), who trail the Hawks by two games in the loss column, have five games remaining in the regular season, all against teams who have clinched a playoff berth in the East.
The Hawks have won two of their past three games. The success followed a stretch in which they won only six times in 26 games — and that included a season-best five-game win streak. The Hawks are relatively healthy now, with a current starting group that is 11-5 when able to play together.
General manager Danny Ferry said last week that the team’s goal is not to finish in eighth place. They are trying to build an organization capable of sustained success that includes championship runs. Similar comments to other media outlets drew national attention in the following days. If the Hawks fail to make the playoffs, they would take part in the NBA draft lottery.
“We as a locker room, as players, we don’t care what (draft) pick we get,” Kyle Korver said. “It’s not our job. Our job is to go out there and play hard and try to win games. Our goal is not the eighth seed, either. I think that is all (general manager) Danny (Ferry) was saying. I’ve been in the NBA too long for my goal to be just to make the playoffs.
“I’ve been in the playoffs a lot. I want to be on a good team again. That is not our job to worry about. Our job is to go out and play hard and play well.”
Despite the Pacers being only a few percentage points behind the Heat for the top spot in the conference, they have struggled of late. They have two wins in the past eight games. They also have lost four of five since defeating the Heat at home March 26 in what most consider a preview of the conference finals. They are coming off a loss at the Raptors on Friday.
The Pacers (53-24) defeated the Hawks the past two times they played each other, lead the season series 2-1 and have won three consecutive against them at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Hawks have been encouraged with their recent play even as their past two victories came against the lowly 76ers and the Cavaliers.
“All year, under a lot of different circumstances, we’ve said that we’ve got a group that we really like, that is resilient,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said after the victory over the Cavaliers. “They are a competitive group. A lot has been talked about. A lot has been said. I don’t put a lot of focus or attention on that, but I’m sure the players, to whatever degree, played with a lot of focus and attention to detail. Those are things we talk about every night.”
