Today is March 9th. There are a shade under 6 weeks left to play in the NBA season, and as we saw with the Pistons game on Saturday, the intensity is ratcheting up all around the league as teams begin their final playoff pushes.

Everyone has to raise their game a little bit - and so we will try to do the same. With the launch of Hawks.com/playoffs, we hope to provide you with all you could ever want to know about the team's march to its second straight berth in the postseason, and in particular their quest to nail down the 4th seed and homecourt advantage in the first round.

Last year, with the team battling to make the playoffs, we tried to keep track of what the competition was up to as well. This time around, with a playoff berth looking nearly secure, we will narrow our focus to the previously mentioned battle for 4th.

As of right now, there really are only 3 teams that appear capable of making a run at knocking the Hawks from their perch: Miami, Detroit, and Philadelphia. So for the foreseeable future, those are the squads we'll focus on. From now until the end of the season, we will try to preview every night any games involving those teams and tell you who to root for (presumably that will be somewhat obvious, but hey, you never know) and what to expect.

With that said, here are the games to pay attention to tonight:

Magic at Pistons
Desired Outcome: The Magic are too far in front of us to harbor any notions of catching them for the Southeast crown, so we are safe to root for them. Go Magic.
Predicted Outcome: Detroit shocked Orlando a week ago by snapping an 8-game losing streak on the Magic's home court. The Magic have won 4 straight since then, and I think they'll make it 5 and gain their revenge in the process tonight at the Palace.

Bulls at Heat
Desired Outcome: The Bulls are in the thick of the playoff chase, but at 6 games back of the Hawks with only 19 to play, I don't see any harm in rooting them onto victory.
Predicted Outcome: Miami is the 5th-best home team in the East; Chicago is the 4th-worst road team. D-Wade probably gets it done tonight.

Feel free to add your thoughts or predictions in the comments.