Hawks back in the NBA's play-in tournament after up and down season
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The Hawks play the magic on Tuesday with a trip to the NBA playoffs on the line. Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
The Atlanta Hawks take on the Orlando Magic Tuesday at 7:30pm in the first game of the NBA's Play-in Tournament. At stake: A first round matchup with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
Why it matters: The Hawks find themselves in a familiar place needing more than the 82-game regular season to make it into the playoffs.
State of play: This will mark the fourth consecutive year Atlanta has been in the Play-In tournament.
- They're 3-1 in their previous four games with their only loss coming last year.
How it works: The NBA started the Play-In tourney in 2020 during the COVID-affected season. The top six teams in each conference automatically qualify for a playoff spot.
- Teams ranked seven through 10 have to play their way in. The seventh and eighth seeded teams play for a chance to claim the seventh spot.
- The loser plays the winner of the nine versus 10 matchup. The winner of that game takes the eighth seed.
How we got here: The story of the 2024-25 Hawks season has become a familiar one. Despite selecting No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft, the team lacked enough talent around star Trae Young to actually be considered a title contender.
- They struggled to put together consistent winning streaks looking like a young team that's in development mode instead of contender mode.
Case in point: After a wobbly start to the season, the Hawks pulled themselves to 18-15 on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
- They would go 4-4 over their next couple of weeks before losing eight straight. Atlanta's record hasn't hit the .500 mark since and for the third year in a row they will finish with more losses than wins.
The intrigue: The lack of success seems to be taking a toll on the fanbase as early numbers from ESPN show the Hawks will finish dead last in attendance this year.
- Yes, but: That's still higher than the seasons leading up to the pandemic.
What we're watching: The Hawks have caught lightning in a bottle before and they'll need to again to win Tuesday night in Orlando.
- However, if history repeats itself, which it often does, that will be the only postseason success for Atlanta this year.
- The last two times they made it out the Play-In they were eliminated in five (in 2022 vs. Miami) and six (in 2023 vs. Boston) going out with barely a whimper.