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NBA Power Rankings: Last Week of the Season

Two games left. Yes just two games left in the season until we hit the playoffs that start Saturday. It has been a rough season but lets see where this weeks rankings put us right before we head into the playoffs.

By J. Lane
Kevin C. Cox

Well guys its been a long tough season for the team and for us fans. We are very close to wrapping it up since there are only 2 games left. I for one enjoyed this season seeing as it has been so different when compared to the last couple of season. But before I start to reminisce and get depressed that the season is about to end, lets take a look at the power rankings of where we are ranked amongst the other NBA teams. First up at NBA.com we have John Shuhmann moves us up to #14

Both the Pacers and Nets would probably rather play Atlanta than Chicago in the first round. But the Hawks have two wins against both Indiana and Brooklyn, have been very good (35-22) when Devin Harris has played, are a top-10 defense too, and have been much better offensively than the Bulls. Their most-used lineups have also been very effective. Their most-used lineups have also been very effective.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com move us to #16 and in an odd way compliments by saying this team overachieved.

You've known them for years as the team that keeps hitting its head on the ceiling of the second round. These Hawks, though, can't even get that far. They've overachieved, frankly, to be as high as they are in what realistically was always going to be a stopgap season before a big summer.

Matt Dollinger of SI.com makes a mention of the many lineups that we have used through this season.

The Hawks unveiled their 27th different starting lineup last week after only using 11 different ones all of last season. Larry Drew's been forced to deal with a painful amount of injuries plus a revolving door at the wing positions. Earlier this year, the Hawks became the first team since 2010-11 to use a different starting lineup in 10 straight games. Its most effective starting five by far this season has been the combination of Al Horford, Josh Smith, Kyle Korver, Devin Harris and Jeff Teague. The Hawks are 9-5 with those five starting the game and should have them, barring any late developments, healthy heading into the postseason.

Sam Amico of foxsports.com says that we need to play like we did at the beginning of the year, or it will be a waste. Not really sure what he means here.
As Larry Drew will tell you, the Hawks need to rediscover the determination that enabled them to hush the experts who predicted a meaningless season. Otherwise, it’ll end up being a rather meaningless season.
Matt Moore of cbssports.com just basically wraps up that this team can look like a different team at any given point
The Hawks play like a different Hawks team for five months. Then play like the same Hawks for last month of season.
Finally Jon Hartzell of dimmag.com mentions how he thinks the Nets are a good matchup for us.
I think that the Nets are a good first-round matchup for the Hawks. Their strength and size will be a challenge for Brooklyn to control.

Well that does it for this weeks power ranking. It's sad to see it coming to an end but that means we are just getting closer to the summer of 2013 where we might not recognize anyone on the floor next season. Anyway what do you guys think of the rankings as we go into the playoffs? Do the rankings matter as we get closer to the post season?

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