NBA Draft 2015 Lottery Standings: While you were sleeping April 15th, 2015

One more night of regular season action -- but three games last night that have tilted the balance for the NBA Playoffs and ... not really much to say about the NBA Draft lottery. Still, let's break everything down!

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What happened last night?

The Celtics won, making them able to essentially pick if they want to go against the Hawks or Cavaliers in the first round, depending on what they do tonight. The Pacers stayed alive, but need to hold off the Nets and Heat with a win tonight. And the lowly Clippers have finished their season in the #2 seed in the West. Of course, they could (and probably will) lose that spot after tonight.

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NBA Draft Lottery standings:

Okay, so the games last night didn't have much of an effect upon the lottery standings. And when you look at these standings you see that there are plenty of teams pretty much untouchable by the events of tonight. But here are some of the 'flash points' we'll be watching.

• The Knicks need to lose, and have the Timberwolves win tonight in order to tie them for tops. Knicks may have trouble losing tonight as the Pistons feel like they could maybe still catch the Nuggets. The Wolves, on the other hand, have lost 11 in a row and will face a very motivated Thunder tonight.
• If the Timberwolves get the most ping pong balls they increase their chance to to retain their own pick. If they get bumped to #3 they have to give it to the Celtics (who have made the playoffs). This way they can afford to have one team bump them down, and still keep their pick.
• The 76ers can catch the Knicks, but need them to win tonight.
  
• The Nuggets and Pistons are only 1.0 games away from one another, but I don't know if the Nuggets are going to beat the Warriors -- even a skeleton crew -- on their fan appreciation night.
• The Heat and Nets are also only 1.0 games from one another. Both are still going for wins, though, so we'll see if anyone jumps the other.
• The Jazz are 1.0 games behind the Nets, and 0.5 games from the Suns. Phoenix is out of games, but it looks like the Jazz are likely to lose tonight, retaining this order for the most part. The Rockets need a win more than our ego does.
• Everything else is pointless, as it only deals with playoff teams, and they care about playoff position, not ping pong balls. Duh.

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Western Conference standings:

Yes, one more night -- and a lot to figure out. The Spurs, Rockets, and Grizzlies are still fighting it out for the top spot in the South West division. The Pelicans and Thunder are fighting for the #8 seed as well.

The Dubs, Blazers, and Mavs are all set at #1, #4, and #7.

ALL of the lotto teams are in their spots, unless the Jazz win tonight (not likely), then they tie with Phoenix. Good for my sense of pride, not good for our meager lotto chances.

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Tonight's games:

Tonight teams will be checking up on what other teams do, at halftime and at the 3rd quarter, and so on. Crazy.

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ONE. MORE. NIGHT!