The Pacers are off today but the rest of the league is back in action. Up until now, any discussion about draft position has required speaking in fractions, as the Pacers have played one more game than their neighbors in the standings.  That changes when Washington, Portland, and Orlando take the court tonight.  

Currently, the standings look like so:

Courtesy of Tankathon

Let's dive into the games and see what we can expect.

Cavaliers at Magic

This is a bit of a double dip for Pacers fans. The Magic winning would not only put them a full game ahead of the Pacers in the standings, but also make it more likely that Sacramento catches Cleveland, which in turn would make the pick they traded us slightly better. Is the 24th pick materially better than the 25th pick? As Al Pacino said, it's a game of inches.

The Cavs don't have a ton to play for as they are one win or a NYK loss away from clinching the 4th seed. Additionally, they're 2.5 games behind Philly with only 3 games remaining, making the 3rd seed unlikely. However, they're sitting on 49 wins and something tells me that getting to 50 is a goal, so I'd expect them to keep their rotations intact.

Orlando is the only team in the East outside of the play-in race but not eliminated. But their tragic number is 1, so the aforementioned elimination is a foregone conclusion.  

Still the Magic are playing their best ball of the season, winning five of six since March 21st, and six of eight since March 18th. Tonight is the first game of a back-to-back home stand against Cleveland, so I'm hopeful that they can take at least one.

Milwaukee at Washington

Unfortunately, Milwaukee is still chasing the number one seed. They currently sit two games ahead of Boston with four games left, making their magic number three. In addition to motivation, they also bring momentum into this game after a statement win against Philly on Sunday.

In other words, the prognosis is grim for a Washington team that's eliminated from the playoffs and will be playing without Porizingis or Beal.

Portland at Memphis

Memphis is unlikely to catch Denver for the one seed but they still need to fend off Sacramento for the two seed. Like Milwaukee, they have a two game lead with four games left. Memphis was rolling in the month of March but has dropped two of their last three games, including an embarrassing loss to the Bulls on Sunday.

The Grizz should be motivated to give the home crowd a show against the zombie Trailblazers. The Blazers have shut down Lillard, Nurkic, Grant, Simons, Reddish, and Johnson, requiring them to sign three players in less than a week.

While the Blazers are full-on tanking, their rookie sensation Shaedon Sharpe has been balling out as the number one option, averaging just under 25 ppg over the last seven games and leading them to a win against the T-Wolves on Sunday.

If Portland is going to win, Sharpe needs to put up numbers that will make us regret passing on him in last year's draft.

The Rockets Pick

Denver at Houston: Denver is one win away from clinching the one seed in the West for the first time in franchise history. They've won three in a row without Jokic, who is questionable tonight with calf soreness. Hopefully they decide to crush the inferior Rockets so that they can rest their starters before a deep playoff run.

Spurs at Suns: The Suns are on a red hot five game winning streak. Durant is everything Phoenix hoped he'd be when they made the trade. The Spurs, on the other hand, have been sputtering. At least they were until Sunday, when they snapped a six-game losing streak with an overtime win against Sacramento. Can lightning strike twice? Pacers fans can hope.

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