Not so long ago, the Hawks were taking aim at the Orlando Magic and the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, their precipitous slide has made their race with Philadelphia for the No. 5 position the more contested competition.
After defeating the Hawks 105-100 in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, the 76ers were 2 1/2 games behind them with 11 to play. The Hawks have 10 remaining, starting with a home game Saturday against New Jersey. Even with the Hawks' slump -- they have lost four of their past five, eight of their past 11 and 14 of their past 21 -- it won't be easy for Philadelphia.
Because the Hawks hold a firm, if loosening, grasp on the tiebreaker (conference record, as the teams split their season series), Philadelphia likely will have to finish with a better record to earn the fifth spot. Should the Hawks finish 4-6, the 76ers would have to win eight of their final 11 games.
The No. 5 seed looks as if it will face Orlando, while the No. 6 seed will face Miami or possibly Boston.
Philadelphia has seven of its 11 remaining games at home, where the Sixers are 23-11 -- and 7-2 in their past nine games. Six of the 11 are against teams that are under .500. Three of the 76ers' more difficult games -- against Miami, Chicago and Boston -- are on the road.
The Hawks' final 10 games have an even road-home split. Five are against teams under .500. Home games with Orlando, Boston, San Antonio and Miami remain.
"Does [the Hawks loss] give them life?" coach Larry Drew asked after the game. "I'm not concerned about that. I'm looking ahead."
Teague sits again
Drew's sometimes curious use of guard Jeff Teague continued Wednesday, as he didn't play for the 12th game. It was particularly unusual given that the Hawks were playing the second night of a back-to-back, Teague was one of the few Hawks players who produced in the first game (albeit when the game was out of reach), and Drew typically likes to play Teague against small, quick guards. Louis Williams, the Sixers' 6-foot-1 guard from South Gwinnett High, scored 17 points on eight shots in 20 minutes of play.
The team's defense of Williams "wasn't the problem," Drew said. "I thought we did a really good job on Louis."
Words from Sund
General manager Rick Sund declined to comment Thursday on specifics of the team's play or its coaching, as is his custom during the season.
"I thought we'd made a pretty good charge out of the slump, or were making headway out of the slump" after beating Portland and Milwaukee on March 12 and 15, he said. The team has lost four of five since then. "We haven't hit on all cylinders."
Etc.
The loss to Philadelphia clinched the team's first losing month since they were 6-10 in January 2009. ... The Hawks' 7-14 record since Feb. 5 was the eighth worst in the NBA entering Thursday's games. ... Wednesday's game was the first this season in which the Hawks played only seven players. Drew used eight players on at least two occasions. ... Josh Smith's 33-point game was his second 30-point game of the season and 10th of his career.
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