There may only be four teams left battling out Season 2002 but that does not mean that the other 25 teams are out on vacation.  Each team have spent much time planning and plotting moves to help their organization take the steps necessary to be in the same position that New Jersey, Boston, Sacramento and the Lakers are in now, and for the thirteen teams who were not good enough to make this year?s playoffs tomorrow is a major day.

At half time of Game 1 in the series between the Nets and the Celtics the NBA will conduct its annual NBA Lottery to decide who will pick first, second and third in the upcoming NBA draft.  Golden State and Chicago have the best chance of landing that elusive first selection, each team holding 225 of the 1001 balls in the draw.  The Bucks are facing the longest odds with only 5 balls.

While some teams were lucky enough to escape the clutches of the NBA lottery this season, both Boston (last six seasons) and New Jersey (11 of past 15 seasons) being two, Chicago is another trying desperately to eliminate themselves from contention and get back into the playoffs.  Each year Jerry Krause takes his lucky pennies into New Jersey for the drawing, but after holding the worst record last season and the second worst the season before meaning the Bulls had the best  and second best chances the Bulls dropped to fourth place, so how lucky are these pennies really?  Last year the fourth placing was the worst scenario for the NBA?s worst team.

"Boston was in [the lottery] for six straight years and New Jersey was in it for [11 of 15] years," Krause said. "This is our fourth year, but we've seen it happen. They're playing in the conference finals. That makes you feel good."

Superstitions are also flowing in San Francisco as Golden State?s Chief Operating Officer Robert Rowell acquired a blue Duke wristband ?for good luck? in tomorrow?s lottery.  The Warriors arranged through David McClain, one of the university's equipment managers, a delivery of one wristband as well as a Blue Devils T-shirt.  Does this mean that the Warriors have eyes for Jason Williams or even Mike Dunleavy with their top selection?  Not so fast.  Rowell also planned to travel east today with a souvenir purchased in San Francisco's Chinatown, indicating that Golden State has eyes for one of the Duke duo or Yao Ming with their top selection.  Ming, the 7-5 Chinese Center, hopes to be drafted by either Golden State, Chicago or New York for their large Asian populations.

Even though both teams have the best odds to land that first pick history has not been kind to teams who have finished with the worst record in the NBA.  One would have to venture all the way back to 1990 when New Jersey selected Derrick Coleman with the top selection to find such a case. The Bulls and Warriors both finished with a 21-61 record in 2001-02, prompting a tie breaking situation which the Warriors won.  Both sides get 225 balls for the lottery but in the case that both teams fall out of the top three Golden State will chose fourth and Chicago fifth.  However the way tie breakers work the picks are reversed in the second round, meaning Chicago will pick 30th (29th with Minnesota losing their pick) and Golden State 31st (30th).

"I don't like going to New Jersey this time of year except to play," Krause said.

"It's no fun being in the lottery. I don't like it and I want to be out of it."