NBA Power Rankings Week 2: The rise of the Atlanta Hawks

Last Week: Beat Brooklyn Nets 106-104, Beat Dallas Mavericks 118-99, Lost to Memphis Grizzlies 108-93, Lost to Philadelphia 76ers 127-112

This Week: 1/4/2021 at Philadelphia 76ers, 1/6/2021 at Atlanta Hawks, 1/8/2021 at New Orleans Pelicans, 1/9/2021 vs. Atlanta Hawks

If the calendar never flipped to 2021, the Charlotte Hornets would be feeling pretty good. They ended everyone’s least favorite year with wins against the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks and had to feel like they were righting the ship.

In 2021, they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies by 15 without their three best players and then got body bagged by the Philadelphia 76ers. Having only Bismack Biyombo available at center feels like a problem with the depth of size the team has faced.

Speaking of Biyombo, the play by play announcers embodied the entirety of the NBA world when the center pulled up from long range on Friday night. This team just feels hapless more often than not. Gordon Hayward is scoring fine but most of it feels empty. LaMelo Ball has thrown some dimes and has hit a few shots from distance but is still figuring it out.

Terry Rozier is probably the best player on the roster. For a team this expensive to be this mediocre, one might assume that a trade has to be on the horizon. There is no way that Michael Jordan is yet again paying millions of dollars to struggle to get the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. Or is there?