The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami was busying crunching the numbers on the Golden State Warriors lottery pick chances, taking into account the litany of other teams and outside variables that all play into their chances at getting a protecting pick in this year's draft. Obviously the Warriors No. 1 factor is losing, which they need to keep doing in earnest, though that still might not secure them the pick.
Currently sitting with the ninth-worst record in the NBA, Kawakami feels zero wins the rest of the way would almost ensure them the pick, but if they win two they are finished. Trying to fall into that No. 7 spot certainly is a sticky situation, but it's not the end of the road either, as they still have a shot to land one of the top-three picks if they finish 8th or 9th as well.
The team in the 8th spot has a 2.8 percent chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick, 3.26 for No. 2 and 3.88 for No. 3, equivalent to a 9.94 percent chance at moving into top three. The 9th spot has a 6.11 percent overall chance, while No. 10 3.98 percent.
Here's the W's record the rest of the way:
Current record: 22-35
Games left: 9 (4 on the road)
vs. Mavericks (GSW back-to-back)
@ LA Clippers
vs. Spurs
vs. LA Lakers (LAL back-to-back)
@ Mavericks
@ Rockets (GSW back-to-back)
@ Timberwolves (GSW back-to-back-to-back)
vs. Hornets
vs. Spurs (SAS back-to-back)
That's an interesting mix of teams, though a lot of them are quality. Wins and losses could be hard to predict, especially with this Golden State squad.
Sacramento, Cleveland, Detroit, New Jersey and Toronto will all be in the mix to finish around the Warriors as well, with every win and loss having huge implications for each team's lottery placement. It's going to go down to the wire, and likely will require a bit of luck as well, something the W's could certainly use after another lost season.
For more on the Warriors, head over to Golden State of Mind.