Atlanta Hawks fall to No. 2 in Mark Stein’s power rankings

After finishing up the stretch before the All-Star break with a mediocre 3-3 record, including a dreadful loss to the Boston Celtics, it should come as no surprise that the Golden State Warriors eclipsed Mike Budenholzer’s team for the No. 1 ranking this week.

As good as Atlanta has been this season, I can’t really complain about dropping the Hawks to No. 2–even with the Hawks’ advantage over the Warriors head-to-head.

The Warriors have the best defensive efficiency in the league and the No. 2 offensive efficiency, and won five of their final six games heading into the break. Still, Ethan Strauss writes that this break comes at a good time for Golden State:

"Best record, best point differential … and yet something seems a bit off lately. The Dubs eked out W’s over the Wolves and Sixers, so the break comes at the right time for a team that’s No. 1 in pace, No. 1 in defensive efficiency and No. 2 in offensive efficiency. They needed a breather."

Conversely, in a somewhat ironic manner, after a brief stretch that appears to be the worst stretch for the Hawks this season, Bo Churney claims the team is still looking fine:

"The Hawks, despite a 3-3 stretch and a bad loss at Boston before the All-Star break, are still riding high with a 6 1/2-game lead in the Eastern Conference. They need to play only .600 ball for the rest of the way to clinch the first 60-win campaign in franchise history."

I can’t really argue with that.

While Atlanta fans might not be able to claim they have the best team in the NBA (and even that’s still up for debate), they should be happy knowing that they still have the best team in the Eastern Conference.