NBA Power Rankings roundup: Hawks Fall After the Opening Week

Well the first week of NBA action is officially over which means it's time for the weekly power ranking update. We finally get to take a look at the new team this season after finishing 1-2 with a couple close games. I am actually liking most of what I see but as always there is room for improvement that I am hoping will get fixed as the season moves on. Anyway we know how we see our Hawks after these first 3 games, but lets see how the rest of the nation views us.

Jason Patt of SBNation.com will start things for us by putting our team at #18. Honestly I had no idea Kyle was shooting like that from behind the arc.

The Hawks are having little problems scoring the basketball, but they're having some big issues stopping opponents from putting the ball in the hoop. Kyle Korver has been en fuego, shooting 66.7 percent from long range.

John Schumann of NBA.com mentions our need to pick it up on the defensive end after being dropped to #20.

How do you go 1-2 with two guys - Kyle Korver and Cartier Martin - shooting 20-for-34 from 3-point range? Bad starts and bad defense. With the worst defensive lineup (minimum 35 minutes together), the Hawks have the worst first-quarter defense, having allowed 33 points in the first 12 minutes to both the Mavs and Lakers. They almost came all the way back from 21 down in L.A. on Sunday.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com drops us to #24... and I honestly wish I could tell you why (R.I.P. Walt Bellamy).

We haven't talked enough about the passing of Walt Bellamy, and I'm as guilty as anyone. Bellamy was just one of three rookies -- along with Wilt and the Big O -- to average at least 30 points a game. He played his last meaningful basketball as a Hawk... and attended Atlanta's home opener.

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com decides to tell us about our defensive issues after dropping us to #21.

Dallas loss looks better than on opening night. Sunday LA road games are tough. Need to shore up the defense, though.

Matt Dollinger of SI.com reminds of our problem on the wing with this weeks ranking at #22.

How far can the Hawks get leaning heavily on two players -- Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll -- best suited for complementary roles? By starting both of the swingmen, the Hawks are asking Korver to do a lot more than shoot and Carroll to do a lot more than defend -- which isn't ideal. Even when Lou Williams returns, the Hawks will be shallow on the wing.

Finally Marc Spears of Yahoo.com drops us a spot to #24 and says (brace for it) that we miss Josh Smith.

Point guard Jeff Teague is off to a good start averaging 18.3 points and 8.3 assists. Center Al Horford, however, has scored less than 13 points in two of the first three games. The Hawks miss Josh Smith.

That does it for for the weekly power ranking round up. Overall we see that our Hawks dropped in the ranking but I am not really worried since it's early in the season. We all know that the defense has some issues but it makes me wonder if those that did the rankings paid much attention to our games? I honestly don't think the defense is as bad as they are saying; it's just many times the opposition were hitting some tough shots. That said, I'm glad to see Monta Ellis come back down to earth after those crazy jumpers he was hitting on us. The Horford comment at the end is kind of confusing since, to me, he has played well. But anyway before I start to rant about the team "missing Josh Smith" give me your thoughts and let me know what you think about our ranking in this week's rankings.