I am officially not worried about the Pistons any longer. They don't factor into the Hawks magic number, and at 7 games back in the standings, they are out of the running for the 4 spot as well. Philly is close to being in that territory as well, 5.5 behind, but we'll still track them for now given their proximity to the Heat (they are only 1.5 behind Miami for the 5 spot).

So many teams are bunched in the race for 8th in the Eastern Conference that it's hard to keep track of how they affect the Hawks' playoff countdown, but best I can figure it, Charlotte is the only team with 38 losses, so once they lose another game, that will trim Atlanta's number to 3. That said, here are some games to watch out for this weekend:

Friday

Miami at New Jersey
What we'd like to see: The Nets are still in the running for the 8th spot, but are without Devin Harris. Miami was without D-Wade against Boston on Wednesday, but I imagine he'll be back tonight. Let's hope New Jersey protects the home court.

Philadelphia at Golden State
What we'd like to see: A Warriors win. Golden State is on the second night of a back-to-back, and they aren't that good to begin with. I see the Sixers getting a road win more than likely.

Charlotte at Toronto
What we'd like to see: The Raptors aren't very good at home this year. The Bobcats aren't great on the road. That makes this a toss-up in my mind. Still, go Raptors.

Saturday

Charlotte at Indiana
What we'd like to see: If the Bobcats happen to win Friday night in Toronto, then perhaps Indiana will do the dirty work on Saturday.

Enjoy the weekend, and let's see if the Hawks can't become just the second team to knock off the Cavs in their own building tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm.