With two nights to go in the N.B.A. season, the playoff situation is still quite uncertain, especially in the West. But there is almost as much focus on the bottom of the standings, where the league’s weakest teams are jockeying for the best chance at a top draft pick.
Eastern Conference
The division winners Atlanta and Cleveland will be seeded first and second. Toronto is the other division winner, and can be the third seed by winning its final two games, at Boston and at home to Charlotte. If it loses a game, Chicago can grab that spot with a win over Atlanta.
Washington and Milwaukee are set at No. 5 and 6. Boston has clinched a playoff berth, and will get the seventh seed if it wins one of its last two games.
Indiana controls its own destiny and will get the last playoff spot if it wins its final two games, against Washington and at Memphis.
The Nets must win their final game, against Orlando, and hope Indiana loses one of its games. Miami will steal the last spot only if it wins at Philadelphia, the Nets lose and Indiana loses both games.
Western Conference
Golden State has locked up the top seed and home court throughout the playoffs.
The second through fourth seed situation is tangled. San Antonio, Houston and the Clippers all have 55 wins. The Spurs can lock up No. 2 with a win at New Orleans. Otherwise the door is opened for one of the other two teams.
Portland, as a division winner, is locked into the fourth seed. Five and six will be Memphis and one of the teams falling out of the two-seed chase. Dallas will be the seventh seed.
New Orleans will take the eighth and final spot if it wins against San Antonio. Oklahoma City grabs that place if it wins at Minnesota and New Orleans loses.
Draft Lottery
Whichever team ends up with the worst record will have the best chance to draw the top pick in the . Until Monday night, it seemed as if the Knicks could be that team. But Langston Galloway scored a career-high 26 points in Atlanta to stun the Hawks,
As it stands now, the Timberwolves have 16 wins, the Knicks 17 and the 76ers 18, each with one game to go. Assuming Minnesota loses to Oklahoma City, it will have the league’s worst record and a 25 percent chance to land pick No. 1. The Wolves also could fall no lower than No. 4 in the draft.
Should the Knicks end up with the second worst record, their chance at No. 1 would be 20 percent. A Minnesota upset of Oklahoma City and a Knicks loss at Detroit would mean both teams get about a 22.5 percent chance at No. 1.
The Lakers are in an unusual situation. They are certain to have the fourth worst record, giving them a 12 percent chance at No. 1. But there is about a 17 percent chance that the lottery could drop them as far as sixth or seventh.
When the Lakers acquired Steve Nash in 2012, they traded away their 2015 top pick, which is now owned by the 76ers. However, the pick is top-five protected. Should it stay in the top five, the Lakers get to keep it. But if it does fall to six or seven, it will go to the Sixers, giving them two top-seven picks.
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