Cade Cunningham's lung injury shook the Eastern Conference to its very core. The top seed is pretty much up for grabs now, with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and maybe even Cleveland Cavaliers having a legitimate shot at it.
The Cavs have the easiest schedule remaining in the East, so a top-four seed should be within their reach at the very least. Nevertheless, while most of the teams outside of the playoff picture are bottoming out, a new threat has emerged in the East.
The Atlanta Hawks are riding an 11-game winning streak and have taken their record to 38-31. They're now sitting in the sixth spot in the East, and they might pose a real challenge as a first-round matchup.
Cavaliers must keep tabs on the Hawks ahead of the NBA Playoffs
If the season ended today, the Cavaliers would host the Toronto Raptors in the first round, and that shouldn't be much of an issue. The Hawks, however, are just one and a half games behind them.
There's a real chance their path could cross with the Cavaliers' as a 4-5 matchup. There's also a strong possibility that the Cavs take down the Knicks for third seed, as they only trail them by a couple of games. That could also lead to a first-round matchup with Quin Snyder's much-improved team.
Oddly enough, the Hawks and Cavs will meet in a home-and-home set to close out the season. It will be games 80 and 81 for both teams. That gives them a chance to either juggle their playoff positions, lock their seeding, test their rotations and matchups ahead of a potential first-round series, or just rest their starters, depending on how they fare from now on.
The Hawks have 10 games left on their schedule before those two matchups with Kenny Atkinson's team. It's hard to believe they will arrive at that matchup riding a 21-game winning streak, especially given their upcoming matchups with the Houston Rockets, Pistons, Celtics (twice), and Knicks.
That said, iron sharpens iron. Those games will also help them get in playoff mode during the final month of the regular season.
The Cavs should like their chances against any opponent right now, especially once Jarrett Allen returns from injury. Nevertheless, the Hawks are making a lot of noise, and they'll definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the final stretch of the regular season.