Celtics lose draft lottery tiebreaker coin flip to Jazz, Nets move up one place


 A short while ago, the virtual coin flip occurred for teams that were tied in the standings in order to determine draft positioning. The Boston Celtics, who were tied with the Utah Jazz for the 4th worst record, unfortunately lost the coin flip, decreasing their chance at a higher draft position.

So what does that mean for the Celtics? At the May Draft Lottery, the C's will have a 10.3% chance at the #1 pick with 103 ping pong balls out of 1,000 total. Their odds of selecting a top 3 pick are about 1/3, at 33.4%. Meanwhile, Utah has slightly better odds, at 10.4% for 1st pick and 33.7% for top 3.

After losing the coin flip to the Jazz, if neither team is able to grab a top 3 selection, the Jazz owns the tie-breaker and will select before Boston. So Boston has a 0% chance of selecting 4th. The lowest Utah can select is 7th, while the lowest Boston can select is 8th.


While losing the coin flip is disappointing, a bright spot is that the Nets won their coin flip against the Wizards to determine draft selection for non-lottery teams. Boston acquired Brooklyn's first round pick in the trade that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets, and will be able to select 17th overall instead of 18th in addition to their other top-8 pick.

Related:
Celtics lose, Jazz win, Nets lose; a final look at Celtics lottery odds and draft picks
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