Get to Know the Atlanta Hawks

An Unlikely Juggernaut Outta A-Town

If I asked you at the beginning of the season what teams would be vying for domination of the NBA, you'd probably say teams like the Spurs, Bulls, Cavaliers, and Warriors. And while to an extent you'd be right (the Cavs being a notable disappointment), you'd almost undoubtedly be forgetting one team; the Atlanta Hawks. No one can blame you; very few people seriously called the Atlanta Hawks being this good this year, and to most of the casual NBA audience, the Hawks were irrelevant. 

But on the basketball court, the Atlanta Hawks are playing just as good as the Warriors or Spurs, at an Eastern Conference best 34-8 and second in the entire NBA behind only Golden State. Over the last 30 games, the Hawks have won 27, and are currently on a 13 game winning streak. According to basketball reference, they have the 5th overall offensive rating and 6th overall defensive rating, are holding opponents to an NBA best 96 points per game, and putting up 103 points per game, 6th best in the NBA. How is this Atlanta team so balanced on both sides of the ball? 

Let's start off examining their offensive excellence. The Hawks are ranked 2nd in assists per game, and to watch their ball movement is to see a dazzling display of team basketball. They're Spurs-esque, and this is no coincidence. Mike Budenholzer, head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and shoo in for Coach of the Year, was a long time assistant of Greg Popovich and took many of the same unselfish, team first principals that garner the Spurs so much success. More importantly, his players have bought in, and what you are left with is a well oiled offensive machine. 

The personal helps, too. You need people all over the floor who can shoot and provide spacing, and from their guards (Kyle Korver, who's shooting an insane 53% from 3 point land, along with pieces such as Demarre Carol and Mike Scott) to their bigs (Al Hortford and Millsap) you have people with consistent range. Jeff Teague has proven to be an effective rim attacker, Millsap and Hortford can both get you buckets, and the offense moves in unison. 

Defensively, they are a smart team when it comes to rotations. They make the right rotations, and they're smart. For example, in the Sunday Afternoon game against the Detroit Pistons (which was a fine game), the Hawks limited the effectiveness of Brandon Jennings by continually trapping on the Pick and Roll, which destroyed the mid court offense of the Pistons. And having Al Hortford back makes a world of a difference on pick and roll coverage and protecting the rim. 

This team is for real. They have solid coaching, chemistry, a system that is proven to work, and talent all over the place. The Hawks will likely send at least two players to the All-Star game, Millsap and Teague, but could also justifiably send Hortford and Korver with the way they're playing. When you look at the box scores of a Hawks game, no one jumps off the paper. And that's the point; they all do exactly what is needed of them to win, and no more. Everyone knows their role, and performs it admirably. Sound like a team that just recently won the finals by a record margin? It should. The Hawks bandwagon is off and running, and there's still room.