NEW YORK _ Last week in this space we chronicled how the NBA draft lottery could play a major role in reshaping the Eastern Conference going forward, should a team such as the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks or Washington Wizards land Zion Williamson at the May 14 drawing in Chicago.
This week, we turn to the playoff race at the bottom of the conference, and the potential long-term implications there, with the Heat, at the moment, caught in a limbo seemingly not to be resolved until the April 10 regular-season finale at Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets.
