NBA Power Rankings: The Los Angeles Clippers’ curse is lame
Atlanta Hawks 27-19
Last week: 5-3
Last rank: 11th
The Atlanta Hawks are still mired in mediocrity. They’re not bad enough to tank, but they’re also not good enough to be a true threat in the Eastern Conference either. Their season is ultimately going to come down to what they decide to do with Paul Millsap. If they move on from the All-Star big they’ll likely be committing themselves to a rebuild. Looking at their roster now, they really only have Kent Bazemore, Malcolm Delaney, Mike Muscala and Dennis Schroeder as core young pieces. They would likely look to add more youth if they deal away Millsap before the Feb. 23rd trade deadline.
However, if they choose to hang on to Millsap they are looking at, at most, a second round exit in the playoffs. Mike Budenholzer has revitalized the franchise back into a winner and that should not be overlooked. Being a consistent playoff team is nothing to turn your nose up at, but Atlanta has been stuck in this non-contending purgatory for awhile. Management needs to figure out a way to help this team finally breakthrough — this year or in the future. The true test for this group will be whether or not they can take the success that they’ve had recently and build upon it for the remainder of the year.