Who would have thought the two hottest teams in the NBA right now would be those in the Eastern Conference? That’s right, the Atlanta Hawks and the Detroit Pistons own the longest streaks in the league at the moment.
The Hawks are currently 28-8, off to their best start in franchise history. Jeff Teague is playing the best basketball of his career, and a healthy Al Horford helps a lot, too. Kyle Korver is on the watch for membership of the exclusive 40-50-90 club, Paul Millsap is playing like an All-Star, and the bench steps up in huge moments. In short, Atlanta’s strong run isn’t a fluke, especially after recent wins over the Trailblazers, Clippers, and Grizzlies this past week.
The Detroit Pistons are the other surprise story; ever since Stan van Gundy traded away Josh Smith, the team has won seven straight, before a loss to the surging Hawks. Whether it is the better team chemistry or the improved focus of each player, something has changed in Detroit, and the result has clearly shown. The only question remaining will be the consistency over the remainder of the season, especially by Brandon Jennings, who has proven to be a talented but inconsistent player over the years.
However, this isn’t t take away from the West. The week started off on Monday, with the Dallas Mavericks continuing its nice run since acquiring Rajon Rondo from the Celtics, but lost to the Pistons, who look dangerous after trading away Josh Smith. The Mavericks are currently fourth in a tight race for the playoffs, which could end up being a ridiculous 10-team battle.
The Golden State Warriors continue its league-best record, with impressive wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stephen Curry leads the Western Conference All-Star ballot with 958, 014 votes, just a testament to his phenomenal year. Everything is going the way Curry wants it to be, and the release of his first signature shoe, the Curry Ones, will be another huge milestone in his career.
These four teams led the league this week. On the other hand, the New York Knicks just have nothing going for them. Rumors of Carmelo Anthony shutting it down this season continued to spread. The losing streak didn’t help, either. Fans even wore paper bags over their heads to show the miserable state of the franchise right now and reportedly chanted and called for the firing of rookie coach Derek Fisher. Without a doubt, the pressure is on president Phil Jackson to make the necessary moves to elevate the Knicks back to playoff contention for next season.
Players of the Week: In the East, two point guards lit it up, namely Kyle Lowry and Jeff Teague. But my pick for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week goes to Jeff Teague, just because he has been so consistently good this season. The dynamic point guard is averaging 17.7 points per game, along with 7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 3-pointers. Teague has come up big in such moments, and he’s not afraid of them.
In the West, Stephen Curry continues to dominate the opposing defenses so much, that he really didn’t need to play, starting from last Friday’s win over the Raptors. He followed up in a blowout win over the Thunder by scoring 19 points and stealing the ball 4 times. On Wednesday, he contributed 21 points and 15 assists, and scored 23 points and distributed the ball 10 times yesterday against the Cavs. Make no mistake, Curry’s ankles seem to be fine, and he is on an absolute tear, even making his place in history by being the fastest to make 1000 3-pointers more quickly than anyone else.
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