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It's a good time to be a Boston Celtics fan. The Cs are a thriving playoff team, and they're in a prime position to make an impactful move this summer. But they'll need some lottery luck for their war chest of picks to be as valuable as it can be.
Listed below are the latest odds and information on all eight of Boston's draft picks, as of April 8. If you'd like to learn more about players the Celtics could select, please order my 2016 NBA Draft Guide, and keep tabs on CelticsBlog for more prospect profiles.
On Thursday...
- The Suns beat the Rockets. That's good, since the Brooklyn pick is now one half game behind Phoenix.
If the season ended on the morning of April 8, the Celtics would have the 4th-best lottery odds, and the following picks: 16th, 22nd or 23rd, 31st, 35th, 46th, 52nd, and 58th.
Nets pick (unprotected, currently 4th-best odds)
The Nets pick has an 11.0% chance of being No. 1 and a 37.8% chance of landing in the top 3. Brooklyn is one half game behind the Suns (3rd spot). Celtics fans should root for the Nets to lose and the Suns to win. Here are the remaining games with implications on the Nets pick:
| DATE | NETS | SUNS |
| Fri, April 8 | at Hornets | ----- |
| Sat, April 9 | ----- | at Pelicans |
| Sun, April 10 | at Pacers | ----- |
| Mon, April 11 | vs. Wizards | vs. Kings |
| Tue, April 12 | ----- | ----- |
| Wed, April 13 | vs. Raptors | vs. Clippers |
Mavs pick (Top-7 protected, currently 16th)
The Mavs are the 7th seed and they're 2.5 games ahead of the Rockets (9th seed). Celtics fans should root for the Mavs to lose, and the Rockets, Jazz, Blazers, and Grizzlies to win. The Mavs trail the Blazers and Grizzlies by two games.
If the Mavs do end up missing the playoffs, it'll be helpful if the Wizards and Bulls finish with better records. The pick is Top-7 protected, which means you don't want the Mavs to win the lottery. Fortunately, they can't have better than the 12th-best odds. Here are remaining games with implications on the Mavs pick:
| DATE | MAVS | GRIZZLIES | ROCKETS | JAZZ | BLAZERS |
| Fri, April 8 | ***Grizzlies at Mavs*** | ----- | vs. Clippers | ----- | |
| Sat, April 9 | ----- | vs. Warriors | ----- | ----- | vs. Wolves |
| Sun, April 10 | at Clippers | ----- | vs. Lakers | at Nuggets | ----- |
| Mon, April 11 | at Jazz | ----- | at Wolves | vs. Mavs | ----- |
| Tue, April 12 | ----- | at Clipppers | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Wed, April 13 | vs. Spurs | at Warriors | vs. Kings | at Lakers | vs. Nuggets |
Celtics pick (currently 23rd or 24th)
The Celtics are tied as the 4th seed in the East with Miami.
The NBA Draft Lottery will be on May 17. The NBA Draft is on June 23. Go to www.tankathon.com to simulate the lottery.
Follow me on Facebook and Twitter @KevinOConnorNBA. My 2016 NBA Draft Guide can be ordered below. You'll receive emails with updated versions of the guide over the next few months leading up to the NBA Draft on June 23.
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