Let's run down the scenarios. Skip if you're not a fan of tanking.
- Nets: 12-69
- Timberwolves: 15-66
- Kings: 25-57
- WIZARDS: 25-56
- Warriors: 25-56
- Pistons: 26-55
Monday's loss to the Knicks guaranteed the Wizards a top six spot in the lottery (remember, it's number of combinations, not number of ping-pong balls). However, they can do no better (worse) than a tie for third, because the Kings lost last night to the Rockets to finish at 25-57. A Wizards loss tonight guarantees them a tie for third with the Kings, and the Warriors will join that tie with a loss to Portland tonight. A Wizards win means they could end up tied with the Pistons, who play the Timberwolves tonight. They could also slip to fourth or worse if they win and the Warriors lose.
There are eight possible scenarios. Here they are:
SCENARIO 1: Wizards lose, Warriors lose, Pistons lose. Wizards, Kings and Warriors all tied for third at 25-57, while the Pistons are sixth at 26-56.
SCENARIO 2: Wizards lose, Warriors win, Pistons lose. Wizards and Kings tied for third at 25-57, Warriors and Pistons tied for fifth at 26-56.
SCENARIO 3: Wizards lose, Warriors win, Pistons win. Wizards and Kings tied for third at 25-57, Warriors fifth at 26-56, Pistons sixth at 27-55.
SCENARIO 4: Wizards lose, Warriors lose, Pistons win. Same as scenario 1, except with the Pistons 27-55.
SCENARIO 5: Wizards win, Warriors lose, Pistons lose. Kings and Warriors tied for third at 25-57, Wizards and Pistons tied for fifth at 26-56.
SCENARIO 6: Wizards win, Warriors win, Pistons lose. Kings are all alone in third at 25-57, with the Wizards, Pistons and Warriors all tied for fourth at 26-56.
SCENARIO 7: Wizards win, Warriors lose, Pistons win. Kings and Warriors tied for third at 25-57, Wizards fifth at 26-56, Pistons sixth at 27-55.
SCENARIO 8: Wizards win, Warriors win, Pistons win. Kings all alone in third at 25-57, Wizards and Warriors tied for fourth at 26-56, Pistons sixth at 27-55.
Just to note, the NBA breaks ties by flipping a coin to see who gets more ping-pong combinations. Last year, we won a flip over the Clippers to get the second-most ping pong balls. That's actually significant, because you can only slip a maximum of three spots in the lottery (hence, us slipping to fifth). If we have the third-most ping pong combinations, the worst pick we could get is sixth. If we have the fourth, the worst pick we could get is seventh, and so on.
To sum it all up, if we lose tonight, we're guaranteed a top five lottery spot and could potentially rise to three. If we lose, we could tie for sixth if the Pistons also lose.