The Atlanta Hawks Are a Really, Really Good Team

Source: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America

After many years of irrelevance and certain levels of mediocrity and walking on a constant treadmill with no increase of speed or incline, we can finally say that the Atlanta Hawks are really, really good. How good? Best team in the Eastern Conference good. After starting the year 7-6, Atlanta has ripped off a 21-2 record since and are just finding ways to win games.

This impressive streak of dominance includes victories against Miami, Dallas, Memphis, Chicago, Houston, Portland, and two wins against both the Clippers and Cavaliers. They’ve won eight straight road games for the first time ever, won nine straight against the the big bad Western Conference, and have earned their respect as one of the NBA’s best, claiming the top spot in ESPN’s NBA power rankings for the first time ever.

I’ve taken the liberty of diving into where Atlanta ranks in the NBA’s prestigious statistical rankings, and they obviously aren’t the Warriors who are ranked first in just about every statistic. In fact, the Hawks aren’t ranked at the top of any NBA category. That being said, they do rank highly in a lot of them, take a look.

The Atlanta Hawks offense currently ranks:

7th in points per game: 102.5

T-5th in Field Goal%: 46.7%

7th in three pointers made per game: 9.3

3rd in 3 Point Field Goal%: 37.8%

4th in Adjusted FG%: 52.5%

7th in 3-pointers made: 336

Source: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America

All five of Atlanta’s starters average over double-digit points per game. Jeff Teague leads the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game, with Paul Millsap right behind him at 17 points per. Al Horford averages right at 14, Kyle Korver averages 12.8 and DeMarre Carroll scores 11.4 per.

Kyle Korver is also having an incredible season shooting threes, shooting an NBA best 51.7 percent from beyond the arc. He’s currently 105-206 from three, the 105 makes is second in the NBA behind Wes Matthews of the Portland Trailblazers, whose made 113 but with over 50 more attempts. In fact, Korver’s 205 three point attempts are the fewest of any NBA player that’s made at least 80 three pointers.

The offensive ranks are plenty impressive, but where they rank defensively is even more impressive. Take another look.

The Atlanta Hawks defense currently ranks:

4th in Opponents Points Per Game: 97.4

6th in Point Per Game Differential: +5.1

6th in Opponent Field Goal%: 43.7%

8th in Opponent Three Point FG%: 34%

8th in Turnovers Forced Per Game: 15.1

7th in Opponent Field Goals Made Per Game: 36.6

T-2nd in Opponent Free Throws Made Per Game: 15.5

T-3rd in Opponent Free Throws Attempted Per Game: 20.6

Atlanta currently has the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second best record in the NBA behind the Golden State Warriors. They’ve looked unstoppable against some of the league’s elite teams. Atlanta looks to for sure be a team that’s gonna compete for a spot in the NBA Finals.