Even with one of the best records in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks still have plenty of doubters.
Given a marquee chance to silence them heading into Christmas, they're off to a good start.
After knocking off the Central Division's top team, the Hawks begin a demanding three-game road trip Wednesday night looking to avenge an ugly loss to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Atlanta's hot start came as a surprise to many, especially considering the team's offseason drama. After sneaking into the playoffs with their worst record since 2007-08, the Hawks trudged through a tumultuous summer that saw owner Bruce Levenson forced to sell his share of the team and general manager Danny Ferry take an indefinite leave of absence, both due to racially charged comments.
Atlanta (17-7) responded with its best start since 2009-10.
"Are we surprised?" Paul Millsap said. "No. We felt like we had a pretty good team last year, but we weren't healthy the whole year. We felt like if we were healthy, we could really do something special."
Much of their success has been due to some excellent ball movement. The Hawks have 20 or more assists in all but two games, and have assisted on a league-best 67.4 percent of their field goals.
Jeff Teague had seven of his team's 26 assists Monday in a 93-86 win over Chicago, Atlanta's first victory against a team currently over .500 since it topped Washington on Nov. 25.
"Each night we want to have the same expectations, the same standards, no matter who we're playing," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "But it's always good to be tested by some of the teams we're going to be playing now."
The Hawks will visit Houston on Saturday and Dallas on Monday before returning home to play the Clippers on Tuesday, but first is a second crack at the Cavaliers.
Atlanta was no match for Cleveland on Nov. 15 at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs (14-9) put up 41 in the first quarter - hitting their first nine 3-pointers - and led 71-43 at halftime while rolling to a 127-94 win behind 32 points from James in just 29 minutes.
"We obviously shot the ball great from the 3-point line, especially in that first quarter," Kevin Love said Tuesday. "But they have a lot of guys that can really play, the have a great team and they're playing really well right now, so we need to continue to look at film and know we're going to get their best shot here at home."
Teague had five points and four turnovers in the first meeting.
"Nobody likes losing and not in that fashion, in blowout fashion, so we've got to use it as motivation," Teague said after that loss.
Cleveland lost two straight before opening a five-game homestand Monday against Charlotte in fine fashion. The Cavaliers scored the game's first 21 points en route to a 97-88 win, getting 27 points and 13 assists from James and 22 points and 18 rebounds from Love.
"It feels good to get in a rhythm early, play inside and out," said Love, who's averaging 10.9 points and shooting 60.4 percent in the first quarter over his last nine games. "Hopefully that's something that will continue. We play off of that. We get stops on the defensive end and we push that ball.
"The guys haven't quite hit their stride yet, so our best basketball is ahead of us."
Atlanta should have at least a slightly better chance to defend James in this one with DeMarre Carroll, who missed the first meeting with a strained groin, now healthy.
Cleveland's 3-point shooting, though, should get a boost as well. Mike Miller, who's missed the past six games with a concussion, is expected to return.
