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With the final five games of the season approaching, the Atlanta Hawks are currently sitting at (36-25) and just earned a spot in the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive season but the national NBA power rankings are not giving the Hawks any love especially after the shocking home loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. According to Marc Stein's Weekly Power Rankings, the Hawks slipped two more spots to No.14 and here's his comment on the Hawks:
Interesting Sunday night tweet from Professor Hollinger, who posits the theory that the Hawks -- after climbing to a season-best 11 games over .500 -- didn't exactly mind losing at home to Toronto because they want to finish sixth in the East and face Indy instead of Boston in Round 1. Long line, though.
NBA.com ranks the Hawks at No. 10 and they actually remained in the same position as the previous weeks. John Schuhmann also pointed out that the loss to the Raptors on Sunday should not raise much concern and credited the Hawks for their stretch of good teams they have beaten.
Atlanta (35-25)
Pace: 92.3 (23), Off: 101.3 (17), Def: 98.5 (6)
The Hawks have done a good job of beating the teams they're supposed to all season. So Sunday's stinker against the depleted Raptors is cause for concern, especially since it gave the Celtics an edge in a 4-5 matchup. Of course, after they lost Al Horford, some of us thought this was a lottery team.
Hoopsworld.com ranks the Atlanta Hawks at No.12 and also mentioned that they were in good position to face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The Hawks at five would draw the Celtics. If they drop to six, a less-veteran Pacers. Might be time to rest a veteran or two . . .
John Hollinger's daily rankings places the Atlanta Hawks at No.10 which is the sixth best team in the Eastern Conference behind Chicago (1), Miami (4), Boston (7), and Indiana (8).
For more information on the Atlanta Hawks, check out SB Nation Atlanta, follow Nate Butler Jr., Jason Walker, Kris WIllis, and William Sevidal. Also, follow Peachtree Hoops on Twitter and the Peachtree Hoops Facebook Fan Page.