MINNESOTA #2 slot in lottery. Regardless of the final game, MIN is locked into this spot.
CHARLOTTE #16-17. This is looking like the #16 pick. Charlotte is locked into the #7 seed, because MIL owns the play-off tie-breaker), so they may rest their starters in the final game of the season. They'll face the Bulls, who will be playing hard to try to insure they make the play-offs. Meanwhile, MIL will also be competing, because they still have a chance to pass MIA for the #5 spot in the East, and the chance to face the struggling Celtics.
17. MIL (45-36) ... @BOS
16. CHA (44-37)... CHI
UTAH #23-27. As expected, Utah beat lottery-concerned GSW. Boozer strained a muscle in his leg in the first half tonight, and may not be available for the crucial game against PHO tomorrow. The Suns victory over DEN clumps the standings even more tightly. The Celtics loss removes their chance to catch Utah, and eliminates the possibility of the pick coming in as high as #22.
27. 1.0 GA .. DAL 54-27 ... SA
25-26. tie .. UTA 53-28 ... PHO
25-26 tie .. PHO 53-28 .. @UTA
24. 0.5 GB .. DEN 53-29 ... (done)
23. 1.0 GB .. ATL 52-29 ... CLE
Tomorrow, the big game is PHO @ UTA. If UTA wins, they have a chance to clinch the #2 seed, and if PHO wins, they may get to be #3, so we should see a competitive bout. Meanwhile, the DAL vs SA game has playoff implications for both teams as well, while both ATL and CLE are locked into their playoff seedings.
I'll be watching PHO-UTA out of self-interest, because if UTA wins this game, our pick is 26-27. If they lose, coin flips could raise it to #23. It could be an important single game for our future.