Hoops Habit
Fansided

Start Rooting For The Phoenix Suns

By Eric Laboissonniere

Mar 26, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Mirza Teletovic (35) shoots over Boston Celtics forward Amir Johnson (90) during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Mirza Teletovic (35) shoots over Boston Celtics forward Amir Johnson (90) during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Brooklyn Nets have lost eight games in a row and the Phoenix Suns have won two games in a row as the season winds down, which is great news for the Boston Celtics and their 2016 first-round pick from the Nets.

Many people are locked in on the NBA Playoffs, which start Saturday, but Boston Celtics fans should keep their eye on how the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns end the season. Currently, the Suns are 22-58 and the Nets are 21-59, which means the Celtics are projected to have the third-best odds of securing the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Draft positions do not matter that much due to the lottery, but the Celtics have a much higher chance of getting a top-three pick if the Nets finish worse than the Suns.

As of right now, the Brooklyn pick has a 96 percent chance of being a top-five pick, there would be a 46.9 percent chance of the pick being in the top three and there would be a 15.6 percent chance of the pick being No. 1. The lowest pick the Celtics could get if Brooklyn finished with the third-worst record in the league would be No. 6.

If the Nets ended up with fourth-worst record in the league the Celtics would have an 82.8 percent chance of getting a top-five pick, a 37.8 percent of it being a top-three pick and a 11.9 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick.

Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Boston Celtics

The Suns are on a two-game winning streak right now and the Nets have lost their last eight games and a big reason why is because they shut down both Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young for the season.

There are only two games left for both the Nets and Suns, so how will that play out for the Celtics?

End Of Season Outlook For The Suns And Nets

The Suns are facing off with the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers at home in their final two games of the season, while the Nets are playing the Washington Wizards and the Toronto Raptors at home. The Suns have been playing pretty good as of late, which is why they might be able to sneak out a win against one of their next two opponents.

The Clippers might rest their starting lineup, depending on if they want to fight for a higher seed (the Clippers trail the Oklahoma City Thunder by two games but do have the tiebreaker advantage).

The Nets will probably get all they can from the Wizards Monday night, but the Raptors could rest their starters in their game on Wednesday. Toronto is going to be the No. 2 seed, unless the Cleveland Cavaliers lose both of their home games and the Raptors win both.

Neither the Nets or the Suns have anything to play for, particularly the Nets, who do not have a a first-round draft pick, so it will be interesting to see how the season unfolds.

More hoops habit: 25 Greatest Individual Seasons in NBA History

Overall

The Celtics could use a top three pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, and the team would love a top two pick because then Boston would either draft Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons (the top two draft prospects by far). Boston should keep rooting for the Suns to finish the season strong and for the Nets to finish the season poorly, so the Celtics have a great shot of getting a pick they want.

Home/Boston Celtics