It was not too long ago that the Golden State Warriors were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Clippers in a closely contested game 7. ESPN broadcaster and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson was just in his 3rd as an NBA coach and had improved the Warriors every year he was with them. In the 2011-12 season, Mark Jackson's first year with the Warriors, they finished the season with a record of 23-43 due to the lockout that year. Stephen Curry was just in his 3rd of his NBA career and wasn't an all star yet. Klay Thompson was a rookie so the Splash Brothers as we know them today were not in full affect at that time. But then the next season Mark Jackson led the Warriors to a 47-35 record and a playoffs berth for the first time since the 2006-07 season. A big reason why the Warriors were an improved team the next year is because Mark Jackson turned them into a better defensive team. In Mark Jackson's first season the Warriors had a defensive efficiency of 106, tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 26th in the NBA. The very next season when the Warriors made the playoffs their defensive efficiency was 102.6 which ranked 13th in the NBA. That's a pretty significant jump from one season to the next. To follow that up, Mark Jackson led the Warriors to a 51-31 record in the 2013-2014 season which was the first time the Warriors had a 50 win season since 1994 and made another significant increase going from 13th all the way to 3rd in the NBA in the defensive efficiency category with it being at 99.9. Who would have thought after improving the Warriors each year that Mark Jackson would end up getting fired and replaced by first year head coach Steve Kerr. However that decision has so far been a great one by the Warriors front office because the Warriors for the majority of this season have had the best record in the NBA and enjoyed a 16 game winning streak in the process. They currently have a record of 38-8 which is the best in the Western Conference and Steve Kerr could very likely win the coach of the year award.
However the Golden State Warriors aren't the only team in the NBA that have majorly exceeded expectations this season. It has been confirmed that the Atlanta Hawks are in fact human beings. They recently lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 115-100 which ended their 19 game winning streak but even with that loss the Hawks have still won 35 of their last 39 games! The crazy thing about it is that they are winning all of these games without a superstar on their roster, but they are winning all of these games with 3 all stars (Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford) along with potential coach of the year Mike Budenholzer. It's very fitting that the Hawks have been considered by many to be the "Spurs of the east" when their current head coach was a long time assistant coach for the legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. The Atlanta Hawks have displayed great team ball and unselfish ball movement throughout the entire season to go along with great defense and a lot of credit has to go to coach Bud for establishing those Spurs-like philosophies with this current Hawks team. It also helps to have a healthy Al Horford this year who is one of the best centers in the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks currently rank 5th in the NBA in offensive efficiency at 107.4 and 6th in the NBA in defensive efficiency at 100. Just looking at those numbers and their incredible 40-9 record which is good for the best record in the east you would think it would be a foregone conclusion that the Hawks are title contenders. But their are a lot of people that still don't believe these Hawks are actually title contenders and still ask the often asked question; are the Atlanta Hawks for real? Are they for real? They are definitely the best team in the Eastern Conference but are they the best team in the NBA or is that the Golden State Warriors?
Usually when comparing the best team in the Western Conference to the best team in the Eastern Conference, more times than not it is the best team in the Western Conference that is the more talented and overall better team. Also, it is easy to side with the best team in the west because the better competition is in the west and it has been for awhile now. However, the Atlanta Hawks actually have the best winning percentage against teams in the Western Conference at 81.3% (13-3) with noticeable wins against Western Conference playoffs teams like the Rockets, Mavericks, Clippers twice, Blazers twice, Grizzlies, and the Thunder although technically the Oklahoma City Thunder aren't a playoff team at the moment. We have to credit to the Hawks for not only getting it done against the Eastern Conference (as they should) but also getting victories against the tougher Western Conference. Those games that the Hawks won against those Western Conference playoffs teams were pretty close wins but we can't say the same with the rest of the teams that the Hawks have played. Currently the Atlanta Hawks have the second highest point differential per game in the NBA at 6.9. The only other team in the NBA below the Hawks that are close to the Hawks in that category are the Los Angeles Clippers with a 6.7 point differential per game. But guess who has the highest point differential in the league?
That's right, it is the Golden State Warriors! The Warriors have the highest point differential in the NBA and it isn't even close at 11.6. Some of the same Western Conference that the Hawks have beaten this year, the Warriors have not only beaten but have blown them out. It helps that the Warriors have the best back-court that consists of arguably the best point guard in the league in Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson who many believe is the best 2-way guard in the NBA. I mentioned earlier that the Hawks rank 5th in offensive efficiency and 6th in defensive efficiency which is pretty impressive, but what's even more impressive is that the Golden State Warriors are ranked 1st in offensive AND defensive efficiency. At 110.3 the Warriors are tied with the Clippers for 1st in offensive efficiency and the Warriors have a defensive efficiency of 97.3. That's pretty crazy if you think about it. When was the last time a team in the NBA was the best offensive and defensive team? The Warriors also rank 1st in other statistical categories as well. The Warriors have the best field goal percentage per game (48.4%) while also only allowing their opponents to shoot 42.1% per game which also ranks 1st in the league. The Atlanta Hawks aren't too far behind in each of those categories however shooting 47.2% per game which ranks 3rd and allowing their opponents to shoot 43.7% which ranks 5th in the NBA. The Warriors are also the better 3 point shooting team but that's to no surprise considering they have the Splash Brothers.
However, the Atlanta Hawks do have an advantage over the Warriors in this category, turnovers. The Hawks turn the basketball over 13.2 times per game which is tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 9th fewest in the league. The Golden State Warriors are one of the worst teams in the entire NBA at taking care of the ball. How is it that a team that commits 14.6 turnovers per game with only the Kings, Bucks, Rockets, and the tank-friendly 76ers turning the ball over more than them is still considered the best offensive team in the league? Well part of that is because they have a deep roster filled with talent and guys that can defend. Also, the Warriors force their opponents to commit 15.7 turnovers per game, good enough for 4th in the entire league. But of course, this game that we call basketball isn't all about the statistics even though people try to make it seem that way. The statistics are clearly in favor of the Warriors but when you actually watch the Warriors you see Steph play like the best point guard in the NBA, you see great ball movement and team defense, you see a team filled with talent that has the ability to close out tightly contested games and also completely destroy the opposition no mater who it is. You also see a team where any player not named Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson can have a great game and all of this lead is led by a head coach who is doing a great job for a rookie. A lot of people may not know this but the third leading scorer behind the Splash Brothers is actually Marreese Speights. Just a couple of years ago Marreese Speights was at the bottom of the rotation for this team and now look at him!
Now don't get me wrong the Atlanta Hawks are a tremendous team as well. They have 3 players that are going to the all star game and most would say they should have 4. Kyle Korver is having an amazing year and is on pace to be the first player in NBA history to be a 50-50-90 player. That means he could end the season shooting at least 50% from the field, 50% from the 3 point line, and 90% from the free throw line. He is currently shooting 51.7% from the field, 53.2% from the 3 point line, and 92% from the free throw line. That is unbelievable. What the Atlanta Hawks have accomplished so far this season is unbelievable. And it all leads up to what could be an unbelievable match-up between the Hawks and the Warriors in Atlanta. I believe that the Golden State Warriors are the better team of the two and the best team in the entire NBA, but if the Hawks want to prove that they are for real and could actually contend for an NBA championship, well now is their perfect chance to do so. On the other hand it's been the same narrative for the Warriors for the past couple of seasons. If they have a healthy Andrew Bogut come playoffs time then look out for the dubs. And with Andrew Bogut now currently healthy it should be interesting to see if he can sustain his health for the rest of the season because this team is a great team but an even better team with Andrew Bogut who provides great defense and solid production on the offensive end as well. But until then let us all just sit back and enjoy what we are witnessing from these two great teams and let's hope for a great game today between the 39-8 Golden State Warriors and the 41-9 Atlanta Hawks.
However the Golden State Warriors aren't the only team in the NBA that have majorly exceeded expectations this season. It has been confirmed that the Atlanta Hawks are in fact human beings. They recently lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 115-100 which ended their 19 game winning streak but even with that loss the Hawks have still won 35 of their last 39 games! The crazy thing about it is that they are winning all of these games without a superstar on their roster, but they are winning all of these games with 3 all stars (Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford) along with potential coach of the year Mike Budenholzer. It's very fitting that the Hawks have been considered by many to be the "Spurs of the east" when their current head coach was a long time assistant coach for the legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. The Atlanta Hawks have displayed great team ball and unselfish ball movement throughout the entire season to go along with great defense and a lot of credit has to go to coach Bud for establishing those Spurs-like philosophies with this current Hawks team. It also helps to have a healthy Al Horford this year who is one of the best centers in the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks currently rank 5th in the NBA in offensive efficiency at 107.4 and 6th in the NBA in defensive efficiency at 100. Just looking at those numbers and their incredible 40-9 record which is good for the best record in the east you would think it would be a foregone conclusion that the Hawks are title contenders. But their are a lot of people that still don't believe these Hawks are actually title contenders and still ask the often asked question; are the Atlanta Hawks for real? Are they for real? They are definitely the best team in the Eastern Conference but are they the best team in the NBA or is that the Golden State Warriors?
Usually when comparing the best team in the Western Conference to the best team in the Eastern Conference, more times than not it is the best team in the Western Conference that is the more talented and overall better team. Also, it is easy to side with the best team in the west because the better competition is in the west and it has been for awhile now. However, the Atlanta Hawks actually have the best winning percentage against teams in the Western Conference at 81.3% (13-3) with noticeable wins against Western Conference playoffs teams like the Rockets, Mavericks, Clippers twice, Blazers twice, Grizzlies, and the Thunder although technically the Oklahoma City Thunder aren't a playoff team at the moment. We have to credit to the Hawks for not only getting it done against the Eastern Conference (as they should) but also getting victories against the tougher Western Conference. Those games that the Hawks won against those Western Conference playoffs teams were pretty close wins but we can't say the same with the rest of the teams that the Hawks have played. Currently the Atlanta Hawks have the second highest point differential per game in the NBA at 6.9. The only other team in the NBA below the Hawks that are close to the Hawks in that category are the Los Angeles Clippers with a 6.7 point differential per game. But guess who has the highest point differential in the league?
That's right, it is the Golden State Warriors! The Warriors have the highest point differential in the NBA and it isn't even close at 11.6. Some of the same Western Conference that the Hawks have beaten this year, the Warriors have not only beaten but have blown them out. It helps that the Warriors have the best back-court that consists of arguably the best point guard in the league in Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson who many believe is the best 2-way guard in the NBA. I mentioned earlier that the Hawks rank 5th in offensive efficiency and 6th in defensive efficiency which is pretty impressive, but what's even more impressive is that the Golden State Warriors are ranked 1st in offensive AND defensive efficiency. At 110.3 the Warriors are tied with the Clippers for 1st in offensive efficiency and the Warriors have a defensive efficiency of 97.3. That's pretty crazy if you think about it. When was the last time a team in the NBA was the best offensive and defensive team? The Warriors also rank 1st in other statistical categories as well. The Warriors have the best field goal percentage per game (48.4%) while also only allowing their opponents to shoot 42.1% per game which also ranks 1st in the league. The Atlanta Hawks aren't too far behind in each of those categories however shooting 47.2% per game which ranks 3rd and allowing their opponents to shoot 43.7% which ranks 5th in the NBA. The Warriors are also the better 3 point shooting team but that's to no surprise considering they have the Splash Brothers.
However, the Atlanta Hawks do have an advantage over the Warriors in this category, turnovers. The Hawks turn the basketball over 13.2 times per game which is tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 9th fewest in the league. The Golden State Warriors are one of the worst teams in the entire NBA at taking care of the ball. How is it that a team that commits 14.6 turnovers per game with only the Kings, Bucks, Rockets, and the tank-friendly 76ers turning the ball over more than them is still considered the best offensive team in the league? Well part of that is because they have a deep roster filled with talent and guys that can defend. Also, the Warriors force their opponents to commit 15.7 turnovers per game, good enough for 4th in the entire league. But of course, this game that we call basketball isn't all about the statistics even though people try to make it seem that way. The statistics are clearly in favor of the Warriors but when you actually watch the Warriors you see Steph play like the best point guard in the NBA, you see great ball movement and team defense, you see a team filled with talent that has the ability to close out tightly contested games and also completely destroy the opposition no mater who it is. You also see a team where any player not named Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson can have a great game and all of this lead is led by a head coach who is doing a great job for a rookie. A lot of people may not know this but the third leading scorer behind the Splash Brothers is actually Marreese Speights. Just a couple of years ago Marreese Speights was at the bottom of the rotation for this team and now look at him!
Now don't get me wrong the Atlanta Hawks are a tremendous team as well. They have 3 players that are going to the all star game and most would say they should have 4. Kyle Korver is having an amazing year and is on pace to be the first player in NBA history to be a 50-50-90 player. That means he could end the season shooting at least 50% from the field, 50% from the 3 point line, and 90% from the free throw line. He is currently shooting 51.7% from the field, 53.2% from the 3 point line, and 92% from the free throw line. That is unbelievable. What the Atlanta Hawks have accomplished so far this season is unbelievable. And it all leads up to what could be an unbelievable match-up between the Hawks and the Warriors in Atlanta. I believe that the Golden State Warriors are the better team of the two and the best team in the entire NBA, but if the Hawks want to prove that they are for real and could actually contend for an NBA championship, well now is their perfect chance to do so. On the other hand it's been the same narrative for the Warriors for the past couple of seasons. If they have a healthy Andrew Bogut come playoffs time then look out for the dubs. And with Andrew Bogut now currently healthy it should be interesting to see if he can sustain his health for the rest of the season because this team is a great team but an even better team with Andrew Bogut who provides great defense and solid production on the offensive end as well. But until then let us all just sit back and enjoy what we are witnessing from these two great teams and let's hope for a great game today between the 39-8 Golden State Warriors and the 41-9 Atlanta Hawks.