It's early, but I'd just like to point out that the Hawks just went into New Orleans tonight and beat a Hornets team that, as Peachtree Hoops pointed out before the game, is ranked #1 or #2 by most power rankings after the first week of the NBA season. Atlanta waltzed into New Orleans and not only beat the Hornets but in the process handed Chris Paul his first loss ever against the Hawks.

How are they doing it? D-FENCE. New Orleans came into the game averaging a league-high 106.6 ppg, which means the paltry 79 they posted tonight was nearly 30 below their average. 79 points! And that's a Hornets team, mind you, that was putting up those numbers mostly without Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler, both of whom returned to the lineup tonight.

I just can't tell you how impressive this team has looked so far this season in beating three returning playoff teams, two of whom won division titles (and both of those wins were on the road). Like in Orlando, the Hawks didn't luck into a win tonight. They led for most of the game, and save for a few minute stretch in the later part of the third quarter they pretty much controlled the action from tip to buzzer. Trailing 62-58 heading into the fourth, the Hawks clamped down on the defensive end and outscored the Hornets 29-17, much like they did on Saturday against Philly (outscoring the Sixers 29-13).

As has been the case so far, this was a total team effort. Yes Joe Johnson led the way, but the team got production from places they haven't before - off the bench from Flip Murray and Mo Evans (22 points combined) and great three-point shooting from Marvin Williams, who was 3-3 from behind the arc. Just to reiterate that point - Marvin hit exactly one three pointer last year. He tripled that in this game alone! Guess those off-season workouts are paying off.

There is a long way to go Hawks fans, but there is no doubt this team is different than previous editions.

What did you think?