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The Hawks are on a 4 game winning streak and at the moment have a very comfortable lead over every other team in the East. Anyway, let's get started with this weeks rankings.
Drew Garrison of Sbnation.com gets things started for us by putting the Hawks at #2 on his list.
It'd take a collapse for the Hawks to lose their grip on the No. 1 seed in the East. Atlanta is on track to be the top representative for their conference for the first time since '93-94, a 57-25 season that resulted in a second-round knockout. The Hawks' 10-game lead on a pack of teams around the 37-win mark is plenty of cushion through the final leg of the season.
John Schuhmann of NBA.com also puts the Hawks at #2 on his latest rankings.
The Hawks' offense (like that of a lot of teams) is still in a slump, with Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague shooting poorly since the break. But they've won four straight by holding their opponents to just 92 points per 100 possessions. The streak has included wins over the Bucks and Mavs and a win (in Miami on Saturday) without three starters. More tests await.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com puts the Hawks at #2 as well and talks about the upcoming week.
Quite a week in store for the East-leading Hawks, thanks to Friday's home date with the Cavs and the unveiling of a thoroughly deserved statue for Dominique Wilkins. Don't forget that Atlanta, for all the fuss over Cleveland lately, still sports a healthy 10-game lead over the rest of the East and a 65-win pace.
USAtoday.com keeps the trend going with keeping the Hawks at #2.
Jeff Teague has been bothered by a leg issue since making his first All-Star appearance.
Marc J Spears of Yahoo Sports mentions the Nique statue as he puts the Hawks at #2 in his ranking.
Atlanta will unveil a 13½-foot statue of Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins outside of Philips Arena during a private ceremony on Thursday.
Matt Dollinger of SI.com moves the Hawks up to #2 in his latest ranking.
Mike Budenholzer’s Gregg Popovich impression has been better than the real thing this season. The former Spurs assistant has the Hawks ahead of his ex-team in offensive rating, assist percentage and effective field goal percentage. But Bud might have made Pop the most proud Sunday, winning despite resting four key players.
Finally, Kurt Helin of Nbcsports.com puts the Hawks at #1 in his latest ranking.
Are the Hawks back? Are they through what coach Dwane Casey called a "malaise" mid-season? They have won four in a row, doing it mostly with a stout defense (which is back). but we’ll get a better answer this week with Houston and Cleveland on the docket. Dominique Wilkins gets his much-deserved statue outside the Atlanta arena Friday.
That does it for the rankings and as we see the Hawks are still in the upper part of the ranking. Hopefully we can see the Hawks move up to #1 across the board if they have another successful week. Anyway, let me know what you guys think in the comment section.