The Atlanta Hawks are still putting up a strong case that they are one of the best teams in all of the NBA. Although still pretty early in the season, the Hawks still are at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. As of today, they are tied with fellow Southeast Division opponent the Orlando Magic with the best record in the Eastern Conference with an 11-3 record. The Hawks are still in the top five of the NBA in points per game, averaging 105.5 per contest. They are also still undefeated at home as they are a perfect 7-0 at Philips Arena.

Last week’s performances were solid, but Atlanta had a slip-up. The Hawks went 3-1 last week, with a 99-95 nail biter win vs. Portland on Monday, November 16, a 105-90 defeat of the Heat on Wednesday, November 18, an exciting 105-103 win against Houston on Friday, November 20 that saw a game winning put back shot from forward Josh Smith, and a surprising 96-88 loss in New Orleans to the Hornets on Saturday, November 21. The Hornets were led by Darren Collision’s 22 points and 11 assists as he filled in for the injured Chris Paul. Even though 3-1 is impressive for the Hawks, games that they are favored to win, such as against the Hornets who were without Paul, that they lose is the reason why they have so many critics who feel they aren’t true contenders.

The Hawks can make another huge statement this week to prove those critics wrong. Tomorrow on Thanksgiving Day, Atlanta hosts the Orlando Magic in a matchup where the winner will seize sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division as well as the Eastern Conference. The Hawks may be a tad shorthanded as starting point guard Mike Bibby is questionable for the game with a sprained left ankle.

I know David Stern and the rest of the NBA are feeling very happy and pretty lucky that they setup this high profile matchup on Thanksgiving. After this highly built game, the Hawks will travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers on Friday, November 27. This is a very light week for the Hawks, but they better not take their game with the Magic lightly or they will be in for a rude awakening.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Atlanta Hawks, Basketball, NBA-East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.