The Atlanta Hawks continue to prove people wrong and yet as they sit with one of the top records in the Eastern Conference, many people continue to overlook the group. The Hawks have been streaking lately, off to one of their best starts since 2009-10. This follows a successful stint in the playoffs last year nearly upsetting the Indiana Pacers prior to a dramatic offseason that saw owner Bruce Levenson step down and general manager Danny Ferry take a leave of absence. Now they have a real shot to prove even more people wrong as they hit the road to face the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Hawks are 17-7 including being 9-1 in their last 10 games thanks to head coach Mike Budenholzer's ball moving offense. The Hawks have 20 or more assists in all but two of their games this year while they have assisted on a league-best 67.4 percent of their field goals as Jeff Teague leads the way. The point guard put up seven in the win over the Chicago Bulls.
"Are we surprised?" Paul Millsap said, via ESPN.com. "No. We felt like we had a pretty good team last year, but we weren't healthy the whole year. We felt like if we were healthy, we could really do something special."
The Hawks fell to the Cavaliers in their first meeting of the season as the team put up nine 3-pointers and 41 points in the first half alone. LeBron James had 32 points in just 29 minutes of play. The Cavaliers have lost two straight after they enter a five-game homestand. The team is fresh off a win over the Charlotte Hornets after getting to a 21-0 start. They eventually won the game 97-88 as James led the way with 27 points and Kevin Love added another 22. The Cavaliers will get a boost as Mike Miller rejoins the team. He has missed the past six games, but will help Cleveland off the bench.
