Atlanta beats Houston

atljwilson

Many folks, including myself, were confused when the Atlanta Hawks clinched a playoff spot Tuesday night with a win (in amazing come-from-behind fashion by the way) over the Houston Rockets.  After all, the "Magic Number" was 3 going into the game, right?

Technically yes.  The Magic Number is defined as the combined number of wins by a team and losses by the 9th place team needed in order to secure that the team finishes no lower than 8th, thus clinching a playoff spot.  Going into Tuesday night's game, the 9th place team (Hornets) had 33 losses, meaning they could finish with 49 wins maximum.  That would need the (then) 47-win Hawks would need 3 more to ensure they finish ahead of Charlotte.  

So what happened?  How did the Magic Number go from 3 before the game to 0 after?

The answer is because of the remaining games between the three teams in question:  Miami, Brooklyn and Charlotte.

The Heat play the Nets and Hornets once more each, while the Nets and Hornets play each other twice.  Remember, the Hawks, now with 48 wins after Tuesday, need only 1 of these 3 teams to finish with 35 losses to clinch.  Every possible scenario in those 4 games results in 1 of the 3 teams losing at least twice.  

So even without tiebreakers, the Hawks have clinched because the 9th place team is guaranteed to have no fewer than 35 losses even if the standings show only 33 right now.

Turns out the "Magic Number" was actually only 1 all along.

the-math-behind-the-hawks-having-already-clinched-a-playoff-berth

The Math Behind the Hawks Having Already Clinched A Playoff Berth

atlncrooks

hawks-clinch-playoff-spot-with-104-96-win-over-rockets

Hawks Clinch Playoff Spot With 104-96 Win Over Rockets

The Atlanta Hawks continue to stay hot, winning 104-97 in Houston on Saturday.

Hawks fans, as they have been doing the past three weeks, relished in the victory.  Take a look at our favorite tweets:

Atlanta beats Houston

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Hawks Clinch Playoff Spot With 104-96 Win Over Rockets

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