Another level of disrespect for the Atlanta Hawks in power rankings

Despite the roster overhaul undertaken over the offseason, the Atlanta Hawks have still received no respect from the NBA media. John Schuhmann of NBA.com has suggested that the Hawks will fill the ninth seed of the Eastern Conference in his current power rankings.

The reason he has not moved them up the rankings is that he is not sure of the chemistry between Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Looking at what the pair of them have been able to achieve in the Crawsover Pro-Am, things are looking good for the Hawks.

The Hawks believe that they have improved their team and as a result, they should stay ahead of teams such as the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, and the Detroit Pistons. It seems as though the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and the New York Knicks are still a couple of seasons away from contending for a playoff seed.

Have the Atlanta Hawks put themselves above the other Eastern Conference play-in teams?

The Hawks are slated to finish above the Cleveland Cavaliers who did not add much apart from Ricky Rubio and Robin Lopez. However, Schuhmann still believes that the dysfunctional Brooklyn Nets are going to finish above the Hawks. While they have two of the best players in the last 10 years on the team, they have never been that team, even when they had James Harden.

Then there is the sixth place Chicago Bulls. The Bulls got lucky when they took on the Hawks last season, getting two wins when their opposition was severely depleted. There are still so many questions to be answered about this franchise and to have them in the last guaranteed playoff seed is an interesting call by Schuhmann.

However, the fact that the Toronto Raptors are slated to finish fifth in the East while only adding Otto Porter jr is a difficult prediction to swallow. We saw last season firsthand how the Hawks focussed on talent retention and how they tumbled down the standings. The Raptors have a really good chance of falling down to the play-in seedings this season.

Of the top four, only the Philadelphia 76ers have a question mark over them. Joel Embiid has never been out of the second round and Harden has traditionally struggled the deeper he has gone into the playoffs.

The Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, and the Milwaukee Bucks have all been to the Finals or the Eastern Conference Finals over the past few seasons. This is the level where the Hawks see themselves competing next season.