Results against Western-Conference competition will be the key to the Eastern Conference title in the NBA this year and the Atlanta Hawks have served notice they now have the edge in that department.
The Hawks recorded their ninth consecutive win against teams from the West with a 96-86 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Jeff Teague scored 25 points and helped boost Atlanta’s lead to two-and-a-half games over the idle Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls who fell 97-77 to the Utah Jazz.
Teague isn’t the only one responsible for the high-flying Hawks success this season as five Atlanta players scored in double figures with the victory. The Hawks are doing well because they share the basketball, ranking third in the NBA in assists. Their franchise record strong start to the season is also because of their stifling defense as they currently have the fifth-best points allowed margin in the NBA.
The victory over Memphis was the Hawks’ sixth-consecutive win as they have successfully leapfrogged over their rivals in the standings. Atlanta just completed a three-game Western Conference road trip by rattling off wins over the Jazz before dumping the Portland Trail Blzaers on Saturday and Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
By comparison, the Hawks’ competitors in the East haven’t faired so well out West. The Raptors started out strong but finished miserably, surrendering their lead in the Eastern Conference by virtue of their recently completed ill-fated tour of the West, which concluded with losses to the Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns. The Bulls have yet to face such a fierce midseason test but finished their November road trip in the West at 2-2. Chicago will need to get the results when they head on their next Western swing at the end of the month, beginning with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on on Jan. 23.
The Hawks travel to Auburn Hills to face the Detroit Pistons on before returning home to face the fourth-place Washington Wizards. It’s time for Chicago, Toronto and Washington to put up or get shut down and be left in the dust by surging Atlanta.
Peter Mallett is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RedCardTheRef1 like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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