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In what may be a first in the NBA’s history, the league has named not one, but five players as the Eastern Conference Player of the Month. That "player" is the entire starting lineup of the Atlanta Hawks.
And who can blame them? The Hawks had a ridiculous January, going 17-0 as part of their 19-game winning streak, and Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, and DeMarre Carroll played one of the best strings of games the league has seen in the last decade.
It should then come as no surprise that the betting line here at topbet.eu lists the Hawks as second-favorites to win the NBA Championship, just behind the Golden State Warriors and ahead of Western Conference powers like the Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Houston Rockets.
It’s the second time ever that multiple players from a single team have been honored, which speaks to the team-first approach the Hawks have been playing with.
The Eastern Conference team award contrasts with how the league dealt its honors in the West, where James Harden earned the player of the month award, beating out two men who combined to outshine him this past month. Harden averaged 25.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals in January, but was also badly beaten by Steph Curry and Klay Thomson in the Rockets’ two meetings with the Warriors last month.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
