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Peachtree Hoops has been doing daily updates to break down Atlanta’s fluctuating lottery position and also the status of the other two first-round selections owed to the Hawks by Minnesota and Houston.
Hawks draft position
As the Hawks’ season has come to an end there is still some question as to where they will sit in the Draft Lottery. The Hawks cannot pick worse than eighth (and it would take some unbelievably bad luck to land there), but the team can still win the number one overall pick in the Draft if they are lucky enough.
With Dallas already tying Atlanta’s final record, the Magic can join the two teams in a three-way tie should they lose tomorrow. The odds for each team would be split evenly and then a coin flip would decide which team has the advantage.
The odds for the third-worst record to pick within the top 3 would be 38.2% for each team if Atlanta, Orlando and Dallas all tied with 24 wins.
Minnesota and Houston pick status
Atlanta continues to hold the second-most valuable array of draft selections according to tankathon.com’s composite draft score ratings. Phoenix, the only other team that could end up controlling three first-round picks, currently sits ahead of Atlanta’s composite draft score of 141.11 with a score of 154.88.
The Hawks have kept a close eye on the Timberwolves and Rockets records since Atlanta owns both Houston’s and Minnesota’s first-round picks if everything falls into place. Minnesota’s pick is protected for selections 1-14 in the Draft which means the team would need to make the Playoffs for the pick to convey. Minnesota now sits as the eighth seed in the Western Conference Playoff race leading to some too-close-for-comfort feelings for the Hawks coming into the final game of their regular season.
Minnesota’s pick all comes down to Wednesday night. With a win by the Wolves, the pick will convey. With a win by Denver, the Hawks will have to wait another season to see if the pick will convey. The pick will roll over to the first round from this season through 2020, and after 2020 it will turn into second round picks in 2020 and 2021.
This is all very troubling news, but the good news is that Jimmy Butler is back and that Minnesota has home court advantage for what is basically a single-elimination Playoff game.
In better news, the pick owed to the Hawks by the Houston Rockets has now officially conveyed. The Rockets were able to clinch homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs and therefore lock the Hawks into the 30th pick in the draft.
It is comforting to know that the Hawks will now for sure have at least two first-round picks in the coming 2018 NBA Draft. Minnesota’s pick conveying would be a massive lift for the Hawks draft.
Other teams at the bottom
Atlanta’s own pick positioning will be majorly influenced by the status of those teams that currently surround the Hawks at the bottom of the standings. Here are updates on the teams that are currently behind Atlanta in the league standings.
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The Suns finished their season last night with a win against Dallas meaning that no team in the NBA will finish below 21 wins. Phoenix owns the best odds to pick number one in the NBA Draft this summer with a 25% chance to win the first pick.
Memphis lost to the Timberwolves Sunday night securing themselves in the second-worst record positioning. The Grizzlies will hold a 55.8% chance at a top three pick and will own a 19.9% chance at number one overall in the Draft Lottery. Their final game is tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Orlando Magic were blown out by the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday night and will have a decent chance to pick up the win on Wednesday against the resting Wizards. Orlando is currently half a game ahead of Atlanta and Dallas, as mentioned before.
Dallas was unable to win over the resting Phoenix Suns last night. Dallas, in fact, was blown out by a Phoenix team without basically their entire starting lineup. The Mavericks clinch at least a tiebreaker with the Hawks at the third worst record.
The Kings took the loss Sunday night in a tight game against San Antonio. Sacramento sits two full games ahead of the Hawks and thus cannot clinch the third-worst record. The Kings go out against the Rockets tonight.
The Nets were able to pick up the win Sunday night against the Bulls and now move all the way up into a tie for the eighth worst-record overall with the Knicks. Brooklyn does not own their first-round pick and will be trying to win their final game today against the Celtics.
Chicago, as mentioned before, took the loss Sunday night to the Brooklyn Nets and continue to nosedive at the end of this season. They have now fallen all the way into the seventh-worst record and finish up against Detroit tonight.
New York was unable to pull off the upset against the Cavaliers Sunday night and now move down into a tie with Brooklyn for the eighth-worst record. The Knicks will draw Cleveland again tonight to end their injury plagued season.
The final day of the campaign is possibly the biggest of the season and the Hawks aren’t even playing. It is Minnesota vs. Denver on Wednesday to decide who makes the playoffs and if the Hawks have three or two first round picks this season.
Thursday will bring the finale of the ping-pong chronicles daily updates but the series will continue as big news is coming concerning the Hawks draft positioning. Stay tuned.