The NBA released the dates of this season’s Play-In Tournament.
The final game of the regular season will take place April 13, with the Hawks hosting the Magic at State Farm Arena. Then teams occupying the seventh through the 10th seeds of both the Eastern and Western Conferences will have at least one day of rest before postseason play begins.
The Play-In Tournament will begin April 15, with the seventh-place team hosting the eighth-place team. The Eastern Conference matchup will take place first before the Western Conference teams face off. Both games will air on TNT.
The matchups between the ninth- and 10th-seeded teams will take place April 16, with the Eastern Conference teams squaring off first. Those games will air on ESPN.
The final day of the Play-In Tournament takes place April 18. The games will air on TNT and ESPN. The NBA will release the tipoff times for all of the Play-In games at a later date.
As things stand, the Hawks would head to Orlando for a matchup against the Magic after they lost their game to the Trail Blazers on Tuesday. The Magic at 37-40 (.481) currently have a better record than the Hawks, who are 36-39 (.480). The teams have split their season series, with each winning one of the two games played. Two games between the sides remain on the schedule.
The Hawks are in a bit of danger of dropping to ninth place in the Eastern Conference, with the Heat sitting only two games behind and the Hawks only seven games remaining in the season.
The Play-In Tournament gives teams on the bubble up to two chances to make it into the playoffs with a “win to get in” format. The winner of the game between the seventh and eighth seed will proceed to the playoffs as the seventh seed and will face the No. 2 seed in the conference. The loser of that 7 vs. 8 matchup then hosts the winner of the game between the ninth and 10th-ranked teams. The winner of that game enters the playoffs as the eighth seed, with a first-round meeting against the conference.
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