Even with losing the heart and soul of the Atlanta Hawks, Al Horford, for possibly the remainder of the season the Hawks have been a resilient bunch by winning their last two games without their leader. At 9-4, they are only a half-game behind the Orlando Magic in the Southeast division and have found new ways to win each game.
Tom Ziller has posted his newest NBA Power Rankings, and the Hawks are at No. 10 this week.
The question must be asked, can the Atlanta Hawks keep this up or will there be a lapse in the play of this team? With Horford down, backup center Zaza Pachulia has stepped in and done an admirable job in his stead. There is some statistical analysis that says that from a performance standpoint Pachulia should be able to hold up his end of the bargain. (Courtesy of Hoopinion)
Points per 48 minutes / Positional rank
Horford: 18.8 / 14th
Pachulia: 15.8 / 19th
Rebounding rate / Positional rank (measure of the percentage of rebounds that are available while a player is on the floor)
Horford: 13.1% / 43rd
Pachulia: 17.2% / 20th
Of course, Pachulia hasn't had to start in quite some time and his ability to produce for an entire game will be put to the test. Plus, he has a tendency to foul....a lot. As Zaza goes, so do the Hawks.
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