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The Atlanta Hawks bounced back successfully this week from a pair of losses with a pair of blowout wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and then ended the Chicago Bulls' six-game winning streak with a 120-105 win on Saturday. Hopefully, this is a good sign for the upcoming week. So with that in mind, let's take a look at this week's PowerRankings.
First John Schuhmann of NBA.com keeps the Hawks at No. 10.
The Hawks are probably happy to be done with Arron Afflalo (61 points in two wins over Atlanta this month) and the Knicks. Their starting lineup continues to be rather mediocre (it's a minus-2 for the season), but their bench (with Tim Hardaway getting some burn) gave them good minutes in wins over Philly and Chicago. They're on the road for much of the next few weeks, but seven of their next eight opponents are below .500.
Next, Marc Stein of ESPN.com moves the Hawks up to #7.
There will be nothing close to a 17-0 January this time for #EvenTheHawks, but Saturday night's home drubbing of the red-hot Bulls -- who werenot on the second half of a back-to-back set -- was arguably the most notable W we've seen from these guys since a late November win over Oklahoma City. (Still can't believe Kyle Korver recently missed 20 3s in a row. Just can't!)
Matt Moore of CBSsports.com places the Hawks at No. 9
Al Horford has been phenomenal over the last five games (21 points on 64 percent shooting, 38 percent from 3-point range, nine rebounds, and four assists per game). I look forward to everyone forgetting how good he is when he hits free agency this summer.
The Hawks check in at No. 8 over at USATODAY.com
Al Horford starting to pick it up, Hawks responding
Kurt Helin of NBCsports.com drops the Hawks down to 8th.
Impressive win over the Bulls last week, but like its starting lineup the Hawks are inconsistent night to night. The Hawks are getting good guard play out of Kent Bazemore (47.1 percent from three this season) and of late from Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench.
Finally, Atlanta holds steady at No. 9 in Jeremy Woo's rankings over at SI.com
Two losses to the improving but beatable Knicks in one week was a setback, but an impressive beatdown of a hot Bulls team served as an adequate response. IfAl Horford (33 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, four blocks against Chicago) maintains top form, I like Atlanta’s chances to gain a little separation from the non-Cleveland pack.
So the Hawks find themselves between No. 10 and No. 7 in this week's rankings. Hopefully, they can start to make a move in the upcoming week. As always leave your comments below of what you think of this weeks rankings.