NBA Power Rankings Roundup: Hawks trending upward

After a having a good week, the Hawks look to keep the winning streak alive.  In addition to the winning streak, writers might actually notice the Hawks and move them up in the rankings.  So without making you wait any longer, here are the rankings for this week.

First on the list, Drew Garrison of SBNation.com move the Hawks up to #12 and mentions the greatness of Kyle Korver.

The Hawks have a six-game winning streak, are just 1.5 games behind first place and have a very soft schedule coming up. Atlanta may very well be the No. 1 seed in the East next power rankings after games with the Pacers, 76ers and a back-to-back against the the Magic next up.

Much of this is thanks to Kyle Korver, who is enjoying a career year and is one of the best catch-and-shoot artists in the NBA:

Korver has always been known as a shooting specialist, and his ability to stretch the floor has been one of the focal points in the Hawk's offense. It's no surprise Atlanta scores 10.8 points per 100 possessions less when Korver is on the bench, tied with Jeff Teague as the biggest on/off swing on offense for the Hawks.

Next up, John Schuhmann of NBA.com moves the Hawks to #10.

Quietly, the Hawks have won six straight and slid into second place in the Eastern Conference. Their offense continues to be sharp (with Paul Millsap joining the 3-point party), but their defense has been improved, allowing just 92 points per 100 possessions during the streak. Al Horford (nine blocks in the six games) is getting his legs back on that end.

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports puts the Hawks at #10 as well.

Atlanta is now tied for second in the Eastern Conference with Washington (1½ games behind frontrunner Toronto) after winning six straight games.

Matt Dollinger and SI.com make notice of the improved Hawks defense and moves them up to #10.

The Hawks have won six in a row, leading by at least 16 points in five of those games. While Atlanta's offense has done most of the heavy lifting this season, the defense is tops in rating (92.0) during the streak.

USAToday.com puts the Hawks at #11 and makes note that everyone can shoot.

Al Horford is their only rotation player shooting less than 20% of his shots from three.

Mark Stein of ESPN.com moves the Hawks up to #12 and reminds everyone the Hawks are technically the leaders of the division.

A check of the SOS column in the Hollinger Power Rankings reveals that the Hawks have played the weakest schedule in the league to date. Fine. You still have to give the Southeast Division's surprise co-leaders props -- Jeff Teague most of all -- for taking advantage

Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com also manages to put the Hawks at #10.

They have won six in a row and gotten fantastic play out of the point guard spot (Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder) but have done so against the easiest schedule in the NBA so far. That does not change this week with the Pacers, Sixers and two against the Magic on the docket. The week after, then things get serious.

Finally Matt Moore of CBSSports.com moves the Hawks all the way up to #8.

So the Hawks are tied for No. 2 in the East and 1.5 games back. I know it's the East, but that happened awfully fast and was pretty impressive. Jeff Teague will get little support to make the All-Star this year, but he should be on what is a very crowded list.

That does it for the rankings this week and across the board we see Atlanta move up.  It's good to see the Hawks on a winning streak and it will be nice to see them continue to win before the the schedule starts to tighten up.  Anyway let me know of your thoughts in the ranking in the comments.