This is an excerpt from today's edition of 5-on-5:
Which is the best team of the season's first half?
Atlanta Hawks. Who am I to argue with the committee (of one)? Put me down for the team that just topped ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings for the third successive Monday. I admit that it doesn't feel great inside picking against a team that's 33-6 in the almighty West with a ridiculous double-digit average win margin of plus-11.7, but you're ultimately not going to get any apologies from me for picking the Hawks over the Warriors. Atlanta has played an equally irresistible brand of a team ball as Golden State and is an unconscious 27-2 since Thanksgiving. The Hawks' lack of top-shelf star power compared to the Dubs, furthermore, neuters any protests you want to register about them getting to live in the East for me. They're 27-2 since Thanksgiving, people.‎
Who's the best player of the season's first half?
Stephen Curry. My head legitimately hurts already trying to separate the Hawks and Warriors ... as well as coaches Mike Budenholzer and Steve Kerr. So I am absolutely not ready, on Jan. 20, to launch into an MVP holy war. I'm going with Curry simply because (A) no can dispute that he's right in the heart of the MVP chase, (B) I love his left-handed fling passes to the corners so much that I want to sneak him onto my next All-Lefty Team, ‎and (C) I find it truly amazing that he is now giving us the fanciest footwork in the league on a nightly basis after all the fretting we used to do about his supposedly suspect ankles. Great first half.