Indiana Pacers will have eyes on San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers game tonight
The San Antonio Spurs square off with the Portland Trail Blazers tonight, and that game has important NBA Draft implications for the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers currently have 34 wins, which puts them in a tie for sixth place in the NBA Draft lottery standings. They have the exact same record as the Washington Wizards at 34-46.
The Orlando Magic (34-45) are half a game ahead of Indiana while the Trail Blazers (33-46) are half a game behind, meaning every game for those four teams is critical. That alone makes every Portland game important for the Pacers — if they win enough times before the season ends, it will increase the Pacers lottery odds in May.
But this game has an added layer of importance. San Antonio is involved, and the Pacers wouldn't mind seeing them win.
The Spurs and the Houston Rockets are tied for the second fewest wins in the NBA with 20, though the Rockets have played one more game. After tonight, each team will have played 80 games.
The Pacers could end up with the Rockets second-round pick. If Houston's second-round selection ends up being pick 31 or 32, it goes to Indiana, but if it's 33, it goes to the Boston Celtics and the Pacers would instead get the Miami Heat's second rounder, which currently would be pick 50. That is a massive drop, so Indiana will hope that Houston finishes below San Antonio in the standings.
Because the Pacers would be happy to see a Spurs win or a Trail Blazers win, tonight is a unique one for them. The blue and gold will either be benefitted in the first round or second round, though it is tough to say which benefit it larger in the aggregate.
A jump in lottery odds is significant, but it isn't guaranteed. A Portland win would move the Blazers up to 34 wins, but the Pacers still play two more games this season, and both of them are against teams with little to play for. It's possible that Indiana ends up with more than 34 wins, thus making a Portland win tonight less impactful.
A Spurs win, meanwhile, has a chance to be a significant boost to the Pacers second round draft capital. But the Rockets could win one of their final two games, which are against the Wizards and Charlotte Hornets. Both of those teams already have a decided fate this season as well.
So while either team winning would provide the Pacers a guaranteed boost in draft positioning, someone is going to grab a victory and change Indiana's outlook. It likely won't change the Pacers approach to their final two games, but the team will still benefit from tonight's action in San Antonio in some way.
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