With each team in the NBA having no more than three games remaining and the tanking talk hotter than ever, I thought it might be valuable to lay out the potential scenarios presented to the ping-pong ball chasers. For an explanation of how the lottery works see here. As of Saturday morning, April 12th the standings look thusly:

I show the top six because after running "best" and "worst" scenarios Milwaukee always stayed in 7th (in this post best and worst use the Wolves' lottery odds as a frame of reference). So even if the Clippers win their last three (all on the road, no less) and the Bucks lose their last three, the Bucks will still be 7th in the lottery rankings.

In part two of our examination of the teams with the worst records in the league we'll look at fellow Northwest Division rebuilders the soon-to-be Oklahoma City Sonics. While Stop-n-Pop may be excited for hoops in his beloved Sooner State, I think it's an absolute travesty that the city of Seattle will bear the cost. I can't think of another fan campaign to save a sports franchise that was so well organized and publicized (although I'm sure there must be one).