NBA teams

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The most recent issue of Sports Illustrated has a somewhat humorous blunder - unless you're an Atlanta Hawks fan.

The Oct. 20 issue has a graphic on how draft picks relate to a team's on-court performance.  The graph plots each team based on how they have performed since 2009 relative to how many picks they've had, and where those picks were in the draft.

This was obviously just an oversight, but it's rather noticeable to Hawks fans wanting to see where their team ranks, or if one were to take the time to count the number of logos.  

It brings up an interesting question though: Where would the Hawks be on this graph?

Atlanta had 11 draft picks between 2009 and 2013 (graph does not represent 2014 draft since the season hasn't been played yet), an average of roughly two per season.  They only had five first-round picks, none higher than 17th overall, yet they made the playoffs each season.  Below is a breakdown of the picks, and where the team finished that year:

2009 Draft Picks:  19, 492009-10 Finish:  3rd in East (Made Playoffs)

2010 Draft Picks:  24, 532010-11 Finish:  5th in East (Made Playoffs)

2011 Draft Picks:  482011-12 Finish:  5th in East (Made Playoffs)

2012 Draft Picks:  23, 432012-13 Finish:  6th in East (Made Playoffs)

2013 Draft Picks:  17, 18, 47, 502013-14 Finish:  8th in East (Made Playoffs)

SI doesn't specifically explain the criteria for where exactly they plotted the teams where they did, but it would appear to me that the Hawks would be somewhere in the yellow shaded section, as the team seems to be outperforming its pick placement.  Of course, one could argue the validity of this graph to begin with, as rookies often need several years to develop and have a legitimate on-court impact.  But it's fun to play.

Where would you plot the Hawks on this graph?  Leave a comment below to let us know how you think the team has performed.

sports-illustrated-blooper-leaves-us-asking-interesting-question

Sports Illustrated Blooper Leaves Us Asking Interesting Question

Eight of the 15 players on the Hawks roster have only played for Atlanta.  But seven came from somewhere else.  Can you name the teams they played for prior to joining Atlanta?

Comment below to let us know how you did after playing.  Good luck!

what-other-teams-have-current-hawks-players-played-for

What Other Teams Have Current Hawks Players Played For?

Not all players end up playing for the team that drafted them.  So how well do you know your NBA Draft history?

Below, we ask you to name the teams that selected this batch of current and former Hawks players.  Good luck!

who-drafted-these-hawks

Who Drafted These Hawks?

Now that the 2014-15 Hawks schedule has been released, here are nine interesting things to know about ours:

- Two of the 21 back-to-back sets (Nov. 28-29, Jan. 30-31) have the Hawks at Philips Arena for both games, meaning no travel is involved.

- Of the 19 back-to-back sets that require travel, Atlanta will play on the road on the second night 15 times.

- Despite more back-to-back sets, the Hawks actually have fewer stretches of four games in five nights.  Atlanta has just one off day from Nov. 25-29, Jan. 13-17 and March 27-31. Those three occurances are lower than last season's total of four such stretches.

- The Hawks will host three Sunday matinee games (Dec. 7 vs. Denver, Jan. 11 vs. Washington and March 22 vs. San Antonio) as well as a Sunday evening game (Jan. 25 vs. Minnesota).  Last year Atlanta did not play a home game on Sunday.

- Each team plays four non-divisional conference opponents just three times.  For the Hawks, those teams in 2014-15 are the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics.  The Celtics and Pacers were expected because they're the only two intra-conference, non-divisional teams the Hawks saw four times in each of the past two seasons.

- The Brooklyn Nets come to Philips Arena on Jan. 28, 2015 for the first time in 22 months.  The two teams did not meet in Atlanta last season because of a scheduling quirk that left the teams' matchup in London as the only Hawks home game of the 2013-14 series.

- Atlanta plays the New York Knicks twice in a row (Nov. 8 &amp; 10), as well as the Orlando Magic back-to-back (Dec. 12-13) and the Milwaukee Bucks back-to-back (Dec. 26-27).

- The Hawks have three home games surrounding Thanksgiving (Nov. 26, 28-29) and three home games surrounding Christmas (Dec. 23, 26 &amp; 30).

NBA teams

Sports Illustrated Blooper Leaves Us Asking Interesting Question

What Other Teams Have Current Hawks Players Played For?

Who Drafted These Hawks?

9 Things To Know About The Hawks' 2014-15 Schedule