Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks face the Charlotte Hornets in the play-in tournament on Wednesday. The winner needs to win again Friday to earn the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. Michael Wyke/Associated Press
ATLANTA — The Atlanta 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 Charlotte 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.
Atlanta was 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 Milwaukee 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 next-to-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 Brooklyn and Cleveland for the final playoff spot in the East.
“We’ve still got a chance to make the playoffs,” Young said. “We’ve got to take advantage of it.”
WARRIORS: Stephen Curry’s status for Golden State’s playoff opener Saturday against Denver remains unclear as he rehabs a sprained ligament in his left foot.
The reigning scoring champion has been doing individual work on the court in recent days and could be integrated into full practices and scrimmages sometime this week. The Warriors said that “his eventual return to game action – and the possibility of playing this weekend – is undetermined and will be based on his continued progress.”
“He continues to get his work in,” Coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s literally day to day, so tomorrow we’ll meet with the team and go through our strategy, our game plan, practice in the afternoon and then each day we’ll just determine where Steph is as far as how much he’ll be able to do.”
Curry was injured March 16 at home against Boston and Golden State went 6-6 without him, finding some rhythm to win the final five regular-season games.
GRIZZLIES: A rested and rehabbed Ja Morant will back in the Memphis lineup for the NBA playoffs, and the All-Star guard has the young, talented Grizzlies believing they’re ready to make a deep postseason run.
Morant sat out the regular season finale on Sunday, but returned the night before after missing nine games with a sore right knee.
“I felt like I needed a game or two to get my legs back under me, to get the game-type feel,” Morant said.
It appears he has his legs back under him.
Morant scored 21 points in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans that tied Memphis’ franchise record for victories in a season at 56. Then along with the other Grizzlies’ starters, he sat out the regular-season finale.
It has been a steady ascension for Morant, who uplifts the Grizzlies with each step he takes.
The overall No. 2 pick in the 2019 NBA draft and 2020 rookie of the year, Morant helped end Memphis’ playoff drought in 2021 as the Grizzlies played their way to the No. 8 seed.
Now with resume worthy of MVP consideration, he has led Memphis to its highest seed ever at No. 2 in the West with the NBA’s second-best record of 56-26. The Grizzlies believe they are ready to take the next step, reaching the playoffs is no longer good enough for this team.
Memphis starts its quest Saturday hosting either Minnesota or the Los Angeles Clippers, not that the opponent matters to Morant.
MAVERICKS: Dallas is not putting a timetable on Luka Doncic’s return from a calf strain four days before the opener of a first-round playoff series against Utah.
The team said that the 23-year-old superstar had begun treatment. Doncic strained his left calf late in the third quarter of what turned out to be a meaningless regular-season finale against San Antonio on Sunday.
Dallas opens the playoffs at home Saturday against the Jazz. The fourth-seeded Mavericks have home-court advantage in the playoffs for the first time since they won their only championship in 2011. That’s also the last time Dallas won a postseason series.
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