Hawks place focus squarely on present

ATLANTA — The Hawks never expected to be in this position.

Not after last summer’s surprising run to the Eastern Conference final.

But here they are, needing to win two play-in games just to make the playoffs.

First up: the Hornets on Wednesday night in a matchup between the ninth and 10th seeds in the East.

“Our destiny is in our hands,” Hawks center Clint Capela said.

The Hawks were one of the biggest surprises of the 2021 postseason, knocking off both the Knicks and the top-seeded 76ers before losing to the eventual-champion Bucks in a highly competitive conference final.

With a young core led by Trae Young, the Hawks set a goal of finishing in the top four in the East this season. Instead, after a year plagued by COVID issues, injuries and a strange lack of chemistry, they had to settle for the nextto-last play-in spot.

“We have to live in the moment,” coach Nate McMillan said. “We can’t think about all of that. We have a game we have to win.”

The Hornets are in the play-in tournament for the second year in a row. While they haven’t made the playoffs since 2016, they appear to be a franchise on the rise.

“We feel like we can definitely win and sneak into the playoffs,” guard Terry Rozier said.

The winner of the 9-10 game advances to a road contest Friday against the loser of the 7-8 game between the Nets and Cavaliers for the final playoff spot in the East. The Nets-Cavs game Tuesday night ended too late for this edition.

“We’ve still got a chance to make the playoffs,” Young said. “We’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Play-in redux

The Hornets had 10 more victories than a year ago in the abbreviated 72-game schedule, but they still finished 10th in the East for the second straight season.

In the 2021 play-in game, the Hornets were routed 144-117 by the ninth-seeded Pacers. Several Hornets players have talked about the sting of that loss providing momentum coming into this season.

The Hornets are healthier and playing much better than they were a year ago. The Hornets won 11 of their last 15.

“Most years we would be the seven or the eight seed — most years — but this year the East was more competitive,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “I am really proud of this group.

Doubling down?

Young had a historic season, becoming only the second player in NBA history after Tiny Archibald to lead the league in both total points (2,155) and assists (737).

The Hornets had good success against Young in their final regular-season matchup, using a wave of double teams to hold him to a season-low nine points on 3-of-12 shooting. Young did manage to dish out 15 assists in that game. “We can’t let him breath,” Rozier said. “He’s a pretty confident player, but we have to make it tough for him.”