The Atlanta Hawks have the second best record in the Eastern Conference, are a 1/2 game up over the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat for first place in the Southeast division and have done this without the services of their two-time All-Star center Al Horford in the last two weeks.
Yet Orlando and Miami prominently have their star player listed in Tom Ziller's MVP Power Rankings while Atlanta can't even get a player to sniff the leaderboard.
Josh Smith cracked the top 10 (at No. 10) a few weeks ago, but in the last ten games the Hawks are 8-2 and J-Smoove is averaging 18 points, 10 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks a game...and he falls off the MVP rankings?
Some could say that the play of Joe Johnson is taking away from the shine of Smith, but the fact of the matter is that the Hawks are fighting for the one thing that hasn't been seen around Peachtree since the '95 Braves won a title...respect. Keep balling Josh and Joe, someone will take notice, someday.
For more on the Hawks go visit Peach Tree Hoops and for all things on the Spurs go check out Pounding The Rock. For more NBA basketball news and analysis be sure to check out SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.