Playoffs on the line for several NBA teams, plus Knicks can't do ANYTHING right

Let me start with the Knicks and just get them out of the way.  Before yesterday, they were only able to string back-to-back wins together three times this season.  Three!  By beating the Eastern Conference #1 seed Atlanta Hawks, they guaranteed themselves to not be the worst team in the league, and I couldn't be more pissed.  It's not bad enough that the team was totally unwatchable, but now the fans can't even celebrate having the best odds of landing the number 1 pick.  New York is sitting at 17 wins with their final game coming against the Detroit Pistons, which is a winnable game.  Minnesota has 16 wins, and tangles with the Oklahoma City Thunder tomorrow, a game, mind you, that Oklahoma City has to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.  Check and mate.  And to add injury to insult, if the Knicks had at least tied Minnesota for the worst record, they still would have landed the most ping-pong balls, because they lost both games to the Timberwolves this year.  Ridiculous.

Despite the fact that New York has pissed me off most of the season, there isn't all bad news with them not being the worst team in the NBA.  Since 1990, the team with the worst record has won the draft lottery only 3 times.  Plus, since there isn't a "can't miss" prospect in this draft, it could take a little pressure off the Knicks by letting the draft come to them.  However, if New York does land the first pick, I'd jump on Karl-Anthony Towns.  He's a defensive big man who shoots 81% from the free throw line.  That's a winning combo for the next level.  Hmm, kind of sounds like a former Knick (cough, Patrick Ewing, cough). 

Ok, no more Knicks talk, my blood pressure is just starting to stabilize.  There are a few teams still battling for the playoffs: Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Brooklyn and Indiana.  Let me start with the Eastern Conference. 

Brooklyn should be able to squeeze into the post-season, and here's why.  They have 1 game left, and it's against the Orlando Magic (25-56).  The Pacers have 2 games left, against the Washington Wizards (46-34), and the Memphis Grizzlies (54-27).  Doesn't look very promising for Indiana, but you never know.  Something to keep in mind is that Brooklyn owns the tie-breaker if they should end with the same record. 

The Western Conference 8th seed will be determined on Wednesday.  The New Orleans Pelicans play the San Antonio Spurs (55-26), while the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Minnesota Timberwolves (16-65).  Need I say more?  Congrats to the Thunder, now go play Golden State (66-15). 

Speaking of the Western Conference, there are a bunch of seeds still up for grabs.  The Spurs, Clippers and Rockets are all vying for the 2nd seed.  If the Spurs win, they're the #2 seed.  Houston needs to win and have the Spurs lose, while the Clippers need both Houston and San Antonio to lose.  It's technically a bit more complicated than that, but I've always been an abridge sort of guy. 

Now, the real question is how do I think this will all play out?  Glad you asked. 

Eastern Conference

Brooklyn will beat Orlando

Indiana will beat Washington, but lose to Memphis.

Washington is locked into the 5th spot, so they may wind up resting their players. 
Memphis, on the other hand, can either be the 5th or 6th seed.  They need help from other teams to grab 5, but they have to first win their own game, so I think they'll be playing hard. 

Brooklyn gets in.

Western Conference

Los Angeles (Clippers) beat Phoenix (Tonight)

Oklahoma City annihilates Minnesota

San Antonio beats New Orleans

Houston beats Utah

-Oklahoma City makes it to the post-season with their win and New Orleans' loss. 
-San Antonio grabs the 2 seed
-Los Angeles ends up 3rd
-Houston finishes 5th
-Memphis stays at 6

There you have it.  Should be a very exciting ending to a pretty good NBA regular season.  I'll be posting again later this week with my playoff predictions, so get excited, America!