There is still plenty at stake in the Hawks’ final regular-season game Wednesday.
They know they will open the postseason at home this weekend. That must was assured after they clinched the third or fourth seed in the Eastern Conference despite a loss to the Cavaliers on Monday. Who they play in the first round is still to be determined between the Heat, Celtics and Hornets. The Hawks currently sit in third place in the conference but that could still slip to fourth.
How important is the third seed — and a chance to avoid the Cavaliers in the second round should each advance? Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was his most succinct in answering that question yet again.
“Not very important,” he said before the Hawks’ 109-94 loss to the Cavaliers.
Well, there you go.
The Hawks managed home-court advantage in the first round when the Hornets defeated the Celtics on Monday. The Hawks own the head-to-head tiebreaker with both teams, meaning they could not be caught. The Hawks could still fall behind the Heat, who own the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Hawks (48-33) have one game remaining, at the Wizards Wednesday. The Heat (47-33) have two games remaining, at the Pistons Tuesday and at the Celtics Wednesday. If the Heat win out, they would be third. If they lose out, the Hawks would be third. If the Heat split their final two games, the Hawks would finish third if they beat the Wizards.
Confused? That’s just the playoff scenarios for the third and fourth seeds. What team finishes fifth and sixth, which could still be the Heat, and what team finishes seventh and eighth is still very much undecided. What is known is that the Cavaliers are locked in at the top seed and the Raptors are set at the second seed.
Budenholzer did explain his reasoning about not making the conference seeding a priority.
“We just want to be playing well and be healthy,” Budenholzer said. “You are going to have to win. You are going to have to beat good teams in the East. Who we match up with, who we play, at home, on the road, I think we just want to be playing well and be healthy.”
Several Hawks players have echoed the same sentiment in the final weeks of the season. They just want to be playing their best basketball when it matters most. That would be the playoffs. No matter where they are seeded, they know they will likely have to win on the road at some point to reach their ultimate goal.
Still, avoiding the Cavaliers in the second round would be beneficial. The Cavaliers swept all three games against the Hawks in the regular season. Counting the four-game sweep in the conference finals last season, the Hawks have lost seven straight to the Cavaliers.
“I think the third seed is the optimum spot for us,” Kent Bazemore said recently. “But it’s a good time to be playing some peak basketball. We feel like we are poised for a good playoff run.”
The Hawks have been playing well late in the season. Even with the lopsided loss to the Cavaliers on Monday, a game they trailed by as many as 17 points, the Hawks are 15-5 in their last 20 games. The run started after an overtime loss to the Warriors on March 1.
Budenholzer and Al Horford both said it was “fun” to be playing meaningful games so late in the season. The Hawks put themselves in a good position in the final week with home wins over the Celtics and Raptors. Now, all that remains is a final regular-season game. And it will mean plenty, even against the Wizards who will start their summer vacation following Wednesday’s game.
“Guys are excited,” Paul Millsap said. “We are ready to get back on the court and play. It’s funny. Regular-season game and it feels like a playoff game.”
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