Every NBA team's playoff chances ranked from pipe dream to probable
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The Preposterous, but not impossible tier
Atlanta Hawks (24-31)
The Atlanta Hawks didn't find what they were looking for at the trade deadline, which meant hanging on to guard Dejounte Murray. Clearly, the pairing of Murray and Young hasn't gone according to plan. But those are still two talented players and they have a great head coach working with a tough hand in Quin Snyder. If they can make a push towards the play-in, they have enough to advance from there to the postseason.
Brooklyn Nets (21-33)
The Brooklyn Nets come out of the trade deadline looking marginally better than they did before, even though fan favorite Spencer Dinwiddie was one of the pieces that had to go. There's some exciting, underrated talent on the roster. If Ben Simmons can stay healthy, the playmaker and primary defender could be the x-factor in elevating Brooklyn to play-in status and perhaps, beyond.
Houston Rockets (24-30)
At times this season, the Houston Rockets have played like a team with play-in aspirations, at the least. The franchise's moves in the offseason were designed to turbocharge the team's rebuild and turn towards the postseason. Houston is definitely closer to that goal, particularly due to the emergence of Alperen Sengun, but losing four of its last five and failing to improve the roster at the trade deadline suggests the Rockets are eyeing next year's playoffs now.
Toronto Raptors (19-36)
The Toronto Raptors are four games back in the loss column for the last play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, so it was interesting to see the team's chaotic trade deadline, which involved keeping Bruce Brown, offloading Dennis Schroder, and bringing in both Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji. Masai Ujiri's moves were geared towards a rebuild, but there's enough young talent to make a surprising push through the play-in tournament and into the postseason, should they get to the former.
Utah Jazz (26-30)
The Utah Jazz were very active at the trade deadline and had four games under .500. They trail the Los Angeles Lakers by four games in the loss column for the final spot in the play-in tournament. But Utah's moves appeared to prioritize playing time for some of its younger players at the expense of this year's roster. Even if the Jazz sneak into the play-in, it's hard to picture them beating two better teams to make the playoffs.