NBA: Ranking the 20 projected playoff teams based on their record vs. winning teams

With the NBA Playoffs around the corner, we begin to rank the 20 projected postseason qualifiers based on their record vs. winning teams.

Oklahoma City Thunder v Los Angeles Lakers
Oklahoma City Thunder v Los Angeles Lakers | Ronald Martinez/GettyImages
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17. Atlanta Hawks (15-23)

As somewhat of an afterthought in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Atlanta Hawks are at best going to enter the postseason as the 9th or 10th seed. They're going to need to win two Play-In Tournament games to even make the playoff bracket in the East. That's very unlikely considering how inconsistent this team has been this season. However, the fact that they have a better record against winning teams than a few projected playoff teams is encouraging.

Then again, for a team as talented on paper as the Hawks are, they should probably be better in this department. For as much as they've struggled this season, the backcourt duo of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young is still one of the best guard tandems in the Eastern Conference, even just talking from a talent standpoint.

It's a mystery as why the Hawks have consistently underperformed in each of the last few seasons. The hope is that the front office can begin to answer those questions this summer. But that could ultimately be easier said than done.