Can the Atlanta Hawks Land a Top-Four Seed in the Eastern Conference?

Atlanta has been in the play-in tournament for the past two seasons

Jackson Caudell | Oct 23, 2023

Can the Atlanta Hawks Land a Top-Four Seed in the Eastern Conference? /

The past two seasons have been frustrating for the Atlanta Hawks.

After making a stunning run to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 202-2021 season, the Atlanta Hawks have had to fight through the play-in Tournament to get to the playoffs and they have had mixed results once they got there. After defeating the Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-in tournament, the Hawks were embarrassed by the Miami Heat in five games. That offseason, the Hawks made a big trade for guard Dejounte Murray and were expected to compete for a top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The season did not go as planned though. Head coach Nate McMillan was fired during the season and former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder was hired quickly. The Hawks acquired Saddiq Bey at the trade deadline as well. Atlanta found a way to beat the Heat in the play-in tournament and that set a big series against the heavily favored Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. After the Celtics blew the Hawks out in the first two games, it looked like Atlanta was heading for another lopsided playoff loss in the first round.

But I think the Hawks found something over the final four games of the series against the Celtics. Trae Young hit a game-winning shot in game five to send it back to Atlanta and the Hawks looked like they were going to defeat the Celtics again in game six to force a game seven in Boston. Of course, Boston won, but I think the Hawks exposed some flaws in the Celtics that both Philadelphia and Miami took advantage of in the following series.

Hawks guard Trae Young dribbles around Jazz guard Mike Conley and center Kelly Olynyk. — Trae Young playing vs the Utah Jazz / Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from constant Pascal Siakam rumors this offseason, the Hawks stood pat and were quiet. John Collins was finally traded in a salary dump to Utah and the Hawks spent a first-round pick on Michigan guard Kobe Buffkin. They are going to be relying on Snyder having a full offseason to implement what he wants to do, as well as big jumps from guys like Jalen Johnson, AJ Griffin, Saddig Bey, and Onyeka Okongwu.

Is that going to be good enough to get the Hawks into the top four of the Eastern Conference? I think it is.

Going into this season, there are only two teams in the Eastern Conference that I don't think the Hawks can be better than, assuming everyone stays healthy. The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are heavy favorites in this conference after acquiring big-time players like Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday and both teams have two of the best starting lineups in the NBA. The rest of the Eastern Conference has plenty of questions.

Everyone has heard about the drama in Philadelphia by now and it is unclear if or when James Harden is going to play for them. If he does play for the 76ers this season and plays to the level he did last year, I think that Philadelphia is probably ahead of Atlanta. But that is a big if and if he is traded or just does not play, the Hawks could pass the 76ers in the standings.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the best teams in the NBA last season in terms of point differential, but they were humbled by the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. Cleveland did upgrade their shooting on the team with the additions of Max Strus and Georges Niang and I think they are a good bet to be a good regular-season team. They are going to be a tough out every night and while they have questions to answer in the playoffs, the Cavs should be a safe bet to be a good regular-season team and rack up wins.

The other contender for the top four in the Eastern Conference is going to the Knicks. After getting bullied by Atlanta a couple of years ago and then missing the playoffs the next year, New York won a playoff series and played tough against the Miami Heat in the second round. Jalen Brunson had a great season and they have a lot of continuity on their roster. They are going to be a tough team to beat, but I think the Hawks are better.

Now we have to talk about the Heat.

Miami waited all offseason to try and get Damian Lillard and they were not able to. They also lost Strus and Gabe Vincent and they might be a worse team on paper than they were a year ago. They were not a good regular-season team a year ago, but they still have Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and the best coach in the NBA is Erik Spoelstra. Don't overlook them, but the Heat are not guaranteed to be the same team as they were in the playoffs.

I feel very good about the Hawks being a playoff team and competing for a top-four seed. Snyder is one of the best coaches in the NBA and I think he is going to make a huge difference to this team. The Hawks have one of the NBA's best playmakers in Trae Young, a great 1-2 punch at center with Clint Capela and Okongwu, and I think Johnson and Griffin are poised for huge seasons. The offense could be one of the NBA's best and if the Hawks can find a way to be solid on defense, I think they can be better than anyone in the Eastern Conference not named Milwaukee or Boston. I think Atlanta lands a top-four seed and has homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

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Follow Jackson on Twitter: @jacksoncaudell

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