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NBA Playoff Picture: Hawks can clinch 5th seed Tuesday night

A win on Tuesday will against Charlotte will give the Atlanta Hawks the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta Hawks v Cleveland Cavaliers Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

The playoff picture in the Eastern Conference is becoming more clear but it isn’t set just yet. The Atlanta Hawks can lock down the fifth seed in the conference with a win Tuesday night but there is still a battle going on at the bottom of the standings between Indiana, Chicago and Miami for inclusion in the postseason.

Notable scores from Monday night:

Indiana 120, Philadelphia 111
Boston 114, Brooklyn 105
Miami 124, Cleveland 121 (OT)
Chicago 122, Orlando 75
Milwaukee 89, Charlotte 79
Washington 105, Detroit 101

Atlanta can’t fall below the seventh seed and need just one win in either of their two final games to secure the fifth seed. They currently hold a half game lead over the Bucks but also have the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series. The Hawks can lose their final two regular season games and still secure the fifth seed if Milwaukee loses in Boston on Wednesday. If Atlanta goes 0-2 and Milwaukee wins, then the Hawks would drop to the seventh seed.

Eastern Conference Standings

Team W L Pct GB L10 Streak
Team W L Pct GB L10 Streak
*1. Boston 52 29 642 - 7-3 W2
*2. Cleveland 51 30 .630 1 4-6 L3
*3. Toronto 50 31 .617 1.5 8-2 W3
*4. Washington 49 32 .605 3 6-4 W1
*5. Atlanta 42 38 .525 9.5 5-5 W3
*6. Milwaukee 42 39 .519 10 6-4 W2
7. Indiana 41 40 .506 11 5-5 W4
8. Chicago 40 41 .494 12 7-3 W1
Miami 40 41 .494 12 5-5 W2
Detroit 37 44 .457 15 3-7 L1
Charlotte 36 45 .444 16 4-6 L4
New York 30 51 .370 22 3-7 L3
Orlando 28 53 .346 24 2-8 L2
Philadelphia 28 53 .346 24 2-8 L7
Brooklyn 20 61 .247 32 5-5 L1

Cleveland’s loss to Miami on Monday has given the Celtics the inside track to the No. 1 seed in the East. Indiana leads both Chicago and Miami by one game but have not locked down their spot in the playoffs. That race will go down to the season’s final day on Wednesday.

Atlanta’s remaining Schedule:

Tuesday vs. Charlotte

Wednesday at Indiana

Milwaukee’s remaining schedule:

Wednesday at Boston

Indiana’s remaining schedule:

Wednesday vs. Atlanta