The Hawks have spent much of the season entrenched inside the top four, but dropped ouside the finals cut-off with a disappointing loss to Tasmania on Sunday.

They face a stiff back-up task in hosting South East Melbourne in Wollongong on Thursday, the Phoenix also in pitched battle for a playoffs spot.

It's one of just three remaining home games on a run to the regular season finish line that will see them play two road games against league-leaders Melbourne United, and home and away clashes with third-placed Sydney.

They also have Perth and the JackJumpers on the road, the latter this Sunday, before the season's out. It has Brian Goorjian's side looking arguably the most vulnerable in a top-four logjam.

It's not a situation unfamiliar for the longest-serving Hawk, but Coenraad says the current situation feels vastly different to previous sprint finishes.

"I've been in the situation where there's no way we could reach the playoffs, statistically it was almost impossible, and we've done it, but I'm not putting this team in those realms," Coenraad said.

"I've had two playoff runs where we've made it on losing records. This is a much better team, there's much more expectation. It's not 'oh well, better luck next year', it's 'this is the year'.

"We have the talent and resources to compete with the higher teams. It's not like we were before, getting the cheaper players, getting guys on a budget and getting that Australian core together.

"We're not in that type of position [anymore]. We know we have the talent, we know we have the capability to make that playoff push and go deep into the playoffs.

"It's a completely different feel to any of those years."

Read more: Road race to NBL playoffs for Hawks, Kings

It's a congested field but, with Tasmania making it a 10-team league this season, Coenraad always anticipated a bottleneck scenario come crunch-time.

"I definitely expected to be here," he said.

"Every team always feels good at the start of the year. With the talent we have it was a no-brainer, we have the talent to make a push. It was really just about us playing ball together and that's been a bit of Jekyll and Hyde thing for us.

"We've done it really well against certain teams and had some good wins, then you get a game like Tasmania where you don't see it. When we lock in we're as good as anyone in the league, but the good teams, the Perth's, the Melbourne's, they do that consistently.

"There's no glaring mistakes and they make you work for everything. Finding that's the key for us moving forward."

The loss to Tasmania was described as a "kick in the guts" by Goorjian and Coenraad says the playing group is well aware it's running out of chances.

"We're fighting against all those teams fighting for their own lives and that's what you want coming into the playoffs," Coenraad said.

"South East are in the playoff hunt just like we are, they're one of the teams that, if you drop a few, you're done. There's three or four teams like that right now.

"It's playoff intensity basketball right now and that's what you want. If we're not good enough to beat these teams then we don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

"If we don't get enough of these games, then we're not good enough and we haven't come together enough. It's as simple as that."

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