With six consecutive losses, the Atlanta Hawks concluded the regular season on a downward trend.

Now, they just require a two-game winning spree to make it to the playoffs.

Thanks to the Eastern Conference play-in round, the Hawks have been rejuvenated and are scheduled to face off against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

Currently placed as the 10th seed in the East, Atlanta (36-46) squares off against No. 9 Chicago (39-43), with the losing team facing elimination on Wednesday.

The victor will meet either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Miami Heat for a shot at securing a playoff spot on Friday.

Atlanta enters the challenge with key players sidelined including Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and Saddiq Bey, making three-time All-Star Trae Young crucial for the team’s playoff aspirations.

Having recently returned from an injury, Young’s performance in the final three games has shown promise despite modest scoring figures.

“I feel a lot better,” Young said. “I’m just trying to make sure I can play at least close to my minutes that I played in the regular season in the play-in game.”

Dejounte Murray’s contributions alongside Young’s return have been noteworthy with impressive point outputs.

Although facing challenges with the roster, coach Quin Snyder remains unperturbed, emphasizing the importance of readiness and high-level play.

“That’s just something, as I’ve said, really, it’s no different than throughout the course of the year,” Snyder said. “The guys that you do have, they have to be ready to go and have to play at a high level, and you can’t lament those things. So we’ll be ready.”

On the heels of a heavy defeat to the Indiana Pacers, Atlanta approaches the play-in game with determination.

Chicago, despite a season-ending loss to the New York Knicks, finds solace in DeMar DeRozan‘s leadership and a motivated squad heading into the play-in game.

“Everybody out there wanted to win,” DeRozan said. “So I don’t know, it just felt like one of those games like we were playing for something, and we are.”

DeRozan’s optimism about the Bulls’ resilience and unity reflects the team’s positive outlook and readiness for the upcoming challenge.

“I’m proud of this group,” DeRozan said. “Even the way we competed going into the play-in game shows you with the amount of things we went through, us being ready for what’s next.”

“This year has been a lot to build up a lot of resiliency in us all, and it’s brought us a lot closer. And with that it’s going to be a lot of positives that can carry over.”

With Zach LaVine out for the season, Chicago remains relatively healthier compared to the Hawks, with Andre Drummond and Ayo Dosunmu‘s availability uncertain for the pivotal matchup.

While Chicago has had the upper hand in head-to-head matchups this season, Atlanta emerged victorious in the most recent encounter, showcasing a balanced scoring effort led by Bogdan Bogdanovic.