The Rise of the Warriors and the Hawks

Before the NBA season this year, in the ESPN NBA power rankings, the Hawks were ranked 16^th and the Warriors were ranked 7^th. Now, all the nation’s basketball fans can talk about are the top two teams in the league, which are incidentally the Warriors and Hawks. The two teams have great starting lineups with reserves that win you games. They both have ambitious coaches, Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer, and both were under the tutelage of Gregg Popovich. That may not seem like a big deal, but he is one of the best coaches in NBA history. He uses a style of pass-heavy motion offense, and that has won him five championships. The Warriors got off to a quick start, establishing themselves as one of the greater teams in the league. The Hawks got off to a slow start, but since Thanksgiving, have been on a tear. The Warriors win with both offense and defense, leading the league in efficiency. 70 % of the Hawks scoring comes off assists. At the beginning of the season, these teams were underrated, but now, there are no doubts.

-Aditya