NBA Power Rankings Week 4: Race to the top is heating up

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Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks high fives Kevin Huerter #3 of the Atlanta Hawks during a game between the Washington Wizards (Photo by Casey Sykes/Getty Images) /

Week 4 NBA Power Rankings: 23. Atlanta Hawks (4-9)

Atlanta Hawks. 23. team. 125. . 4-9. Previous: 19th

Last week: (0-3) – @ GSW (L), @ UTA (L), @ DEN (L)

Offensive rating: 107.5 (15th in NBA)

Defensive rating: 112.0 (28th in NBA)

The Atlanta Hawks continued to free-fall down the standings last week. As of now, they are currently on a six-game losing streak, the third-longest in the NBA.

Considering the two teams on longer losing streaks are the two worst teams in the NBA, they are not in very good company. For a team coming off of an Eastern Conference Finals run, this season has been a disaster.

Despite the 0-3 record, Trae Young actually played super well last week. Unfortunately, the team just happens to be the worst defensive team in the league over that stretch.

With a team like the Hawks, it’s not surprising that they struggle on the defensive end. As great as Young is on offense, he’s very clearly a detriment on defense.

Season outlook: The Hawks have the talent to be a playoff team, but they aren’t playing like it right now. They sit at 13th in the Eastern Conference and wouldn’t even make the play-in if the season ended today. They need to turn things around very soon.