Atlanta Hawks. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Hawks have overperformed this season and a large part of that is due to the excellent work of Nate McMillan. Since he took over just prior to the All-Star break and he had the equal-best record in the Eastern Conference.
The team that equaled his record was the best team in the conference, the Philadelphia 76ers. This led to the Hawks qualifying directly for the playoffs in the fifth seed, taking on the New York Knicks in the first round. They took care of that matchup winning two road games and going 4-1.