The top two teams in the Eastern Conference square off Sunday.
Atlanta versus Washington.
Who saw that coming?
Yet 36 games into the season, almost half of the NBA campaign, the Hawks host the Wizards at Philips Arena in a battle of Southeast Division foes who sit atop the conference.
In this corner are the Hawks. With a 28-8 record, they lead the conference by three games. They have won seven consecutive games and 21 of their past 23, including a 106-103 win over the Pistons on Friday. They are on a run seldom seen in the NBA. While the Hawks were expected to be a playoff team this season, not many predicted they would be this good.
In the other corner are the Wizards. With a 25-11 record, they lead the Raptors and Bulls by a half-game. They have won three straight, including a 102-86 drubbing of the Bulls on Friday.
There is still plenty of the season to be played. However, this was a conference that was expected to be ruled by the likes of the Cavaliers, who have a Big Three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Or the Bulls, who have a healthy Derrick Rose. Or perhaps the Heat, who still have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, despite the departure of James.
However, the Hawks are starting to separate themselves from the pack. They own the longest current win streak in the NBA, at seven games. They already are 10 wins shy of their total for all of last season when they made the playoffs as the eighth seed and pushed the Pacers to seven games in a first-round series.
With a 28-8 record, the Hawks compare well with the Heat, who represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals the past four years, including two titles. Through 36 games, those Heat were 27-9, 29-8, 24-12 and 27-9.
“Not in my NBA career,” Paul Millsap said Friday when asked if he has ever been a part of such a run of success. “It’s amazing. I think you can tell by the locker room, guys are not satisfied. Guys are still hungry. Guys still want to win. Hopefully, this is another day at the office and we go out Sunday and do it again.”
The Hawks own a win over the Wizards this season. They went to Washington, D.C. and won 109-102 on Nov. 25. It was the second win in the Hawks’ current stretch of 23 wins in 26 games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 28 points.
At Philips Arena, the Hawks are 15-3, the second-most home wins in the conference. They have lost once in their past 11 home games.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said he is not worried that other teams may be gunning for the current king of the mountain.
“I can’t think about what other teams are thinking or worry about that,” Budenholzer said. “We have an approach that we take every day.”
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