2014-15 NBA Standings: Which teams are trending upward early?

The NBA season is three weeks old and an early look at the standings reveals what should be a good race for playoff positioning in both leagues. The Atlanta Hawks are off to a 5-4 start and are currently in fifth place in the East Standings, 2.5 gams behind Toronto. The Raptors are off to a great start at 8-2 and appear to have picked up right where they left off last season.

Here is a look at the East Standings entering play on Sunday:

Narrowing the scope to the Southeast Division, the Hawks find themselves in second place and trailing the Washington Wizards by two games. The Wizards have won three straight and have overcame the slow start that many feared for them coming into the season. Washington also got a bit of good news as injured shooting guard Bradley Beal is on his way back from injury and could play later this week.

Atlanta and Miami figure to be in the thick of things for the division but the Charlotte Hornets have gotten off to a bit of a slow start. They have been good at home going 3-1 including a double-overtime win over Atlanta, but they are just 1-5 on the road and are still looking for answers offensively.

Here is a look at the up to the minute Southeast Division Standings:

The schedule lightens a bit for the Atlanta Hawks this week as they play twice over the next eight days with both games at Philips Arena. Up first is a matchup with Kobe Bryant and the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. The Hawks wrap up the week against Josh Smith and the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

This week's Atlanta Hawks Schedule

Memphis and Houston have jumped to the early lead out west and are followed closely by Golden State, Portland and the Dallas Mavericks. The Clippers are sixth while Anthony Davis has the Pelicans playing well early. A bit strange to look at the West Standings at any juncture and see San Antonio along with Oklahoma City in the bottom half.

Here is a look at the Western Conference Standings entering Sunday: