ARE THE ATLANTA HAWKS STILL #1 IN THE EAST??

Where are the Hawks now after being ranked number one after three weeks of play?   Marc Stein’s NBA power ranking had the Atlanta Hawks number one.  Meaning they are superior team at least for the third week of the season.  The Hawks started off the season extremely strong with a 10-3 record to start the season.  The three loses came against the Pistons, Lakers and the Magic.  These teams are also at the top of their league and their respectable division.  In their 10 impressive wins early they scored over 100 points in 8 out of the 10 games.  Their current record stands at 26-14 which is tied with division foe Orlando Magic.  The NBA standings for the Eastern Conference have the Cavaliers, Celtics and Magic in front of the Hawks.  If they can continue to beat their Southeast Division foes they will eventually be in the top of not only their division but the Eastern Conference.  Their division foes include the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, and the Washington Wizards.  Every team except the Wizards is in the top 8 of the Eastern Conference.  They each have 20 wins or more and over 10 conference wins to their name.

                  Who would have thought the Hawks would be having a great 2009-10 season after a horrible 2004-05 season.  The Hawks only won 13 games out of the whole season that year.  They still have the same coach in Mike Woodson who took over after head coach Terry Stotts.  He has turned this team around with great coaching and a better effort out of the team.  Coach Woodson has not changed starters he has simply made the individual players better.   Players such as, the team scoring leader 6’7 guard Joe Johnson who is averaging 21 points per game and around five assists.  Experienced teammates that are surrounding him include 6’9 Forward Josh Smith and 6’10 Forward Al Horford who are the top two rebounders on the team.  They both average just fewer than 10 rebounds a game.  These players have been working for years to start a season like this.  I know for a fact they want to finish just how they started with wins.

“It’s just Week 2, though,” counseled Randolph Morris, who was seated alongside. (Actually, it’s Week 3. But close enough.) “We want to be there at Week 50.  The humble 6’11 Center Morris is quoted by ESPN.com wanting to finish this season off right. 

                  A few impressive games that have occurred recently are the two against the Boston Celtics.  On January eighth and 11^th the Hawks played sound basketball games beating them two times in January.  Another victory came back in November and Johnson put up over 20 points on the Celtics defense.  According to the NBA power ranking the Boston Celtics are ranked the second best team in the Eastern Conference.   They currently have one more win than the Atlanta Hawks.

January 8^th stats

BOS

ATL

	BOS		ATL
P	Pierce	21	Crawford	18
R	Perkins	14	Smith	11
A	Rondo	10	Johnson	8

January 11^th stats

ATL

BOS

	ATL		BOS
P	Johnson	36	Rondo	26
R	Horford	12	Perkins	9
A	Crawford	6	Rondo	7