It's not hyperbole to say that the Atlanta Hawks' lottery luck today could elevate them to contender status in the Eastern Conference - or leave them hovering somewhere in the middle of the conference yet again. While the Hawks did lose in the first round of the playoffs against the New York Knicks, the Knicks were clearly a better team and Atlanta lacked the talent to stage an upset. That doesn't take away from a season that showed clear direction for the Hawks' future. With a team built around a finally healthy Jalen Johnson, they clinched a top-six playoff seed for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Johnson himself made the leap from exciting starter to All-NBA candidate, averaging 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists. The Hawks unearthed a great complementary scoring option in Nickeil Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum turned back the clock to steal two playoff games from the Knicks.…