The Bulls were blown out on Saturday night against the Nets, who hit an absurd 24 3-pointers. The good news is that it was a massive victory in the loss column (yes, this has been a thing for a while now) in that it pits the Bulls and Nets tied for 7th in the Lottery Watch standings.

With just a few days left in the NBA regular season, we wanted to break down all the scenarios the Bulls have in front of them and where they might finish in the ping pong ball standings. Also we'll give you an update on the Pelicans as the Bulls scoreboard-watch in hopes of a second Lottery pick.

The first record to remember is 27-55. It's the worst record the Bulls can finish with which, of course, means the best they can finish in the Lottery Watch standings.

We'll start with the obvious. Regardless of where the teams finish, the Bulls can't catch the Suns, Grizzlies, Hawks or Mavericks. All three teams have 56 or more losses, so they're out of the Bulls' picture. Congratulations to them.

We'll also quickly throw the Magic in to this category; yes, Orlando has 55 losses and the Bulls could "catch" them, but it would mean the Bulls losing their last two games AND, more difficult, the Magic winning their final three games. And, well, Orlando hasn't won three straight since Feb. 8. Forgive us if we don't see them reeling off victories over the Raptors, Bucks and Wizards to finish the year.

So that puts the Bulls out of contention for the first five slots. Mathematically they can still finish tied for fifth, but realistically they're looking at No. 6 or worse. That's what we're going off.

Sacramento currently sits No. 6, and they've got games at San Antonio and home against Houston remaining. The Spurs are still fighting for playoff positioning, and they've won nine straight at home. We'll chalk that up as a loss. Where it gets interesting is if the Rockets rest everyone and Cliff Paul on the final day of the regular season. That's almost certain to happen, so the Kings could sneak a victory in there. Of course, the Kings could also counter by resting their veterans like they've done much of the regular season on a rotation. Our guess is at best the Kings finish 27-55, beating the Rockets' B Team, meaning the Bulls would need to lose against Brooklyn and Detroit just to tie the Kings.

What Bulls fans should hope for: A miracle in San Antonio and for Mike D'Antoni to give the entire Rockets' rotation the final day off

Months ago Bulls fans circled this home-and-home with the Nets as what would likely have massive ping pong ball ramifications. They were right, as the Nets' victory on Saturday night put the Bulls and Nets in a lock at No. 8 with two games left to play. The two teams will play Monday in Brooklyn, and with the Nets having no real need to tank (Cleveland owns their 2018 first-round pick; Philadelphia owns their 2018 second-round pick) Kenny Atkinson's group should be at full-strength. Plus, Brooklyn finishes with a Celtics team that is as injured as any team in the league and will likely be resting rotation players on the season's final day. The Bulls nearly pulled off a win in Boston on Friday, and that was without Dunn/LaVine/Valentine. A healthy Nets team might even be favored in that contest.

What Bulls fans should hope for: More of the same from Brooklyn on Monday, and for Brad Stevens to give the entire Celtics' rotation the final day off

We'll keep it nice and quick here. The Bulls and Nets play again on Monday. If Saturday's drubbing was any indication this one won't be closer, either. The Bulls close with the Pistons, who have won six of seven since they were all but eliminated from playoff contention. But it'll be interesting to see what Stan Van Gundy does on the season's final day, potentially resting veterans like Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson. Then again, a year ago Van Gundy played his starters in a meaningless game against the Magic on the final day of the year (and lost to the 29-53 Magic) so who knows what will happen?

What Bulls fans should hope for: That the Nets keep shooting at will against the Bulls, and that the Pistons come out inspired, wanting to end the season on a high note

The Knicks went and messed up their run at a top-6 pick when they knocked off the Miami Heat on Friday. But they were back to their tanking ways, dropping a Saturday tilt against the Heat. They're still a game behind the Bulls and the Nets for the No. 8 spot. Since one of the Bulls and Nets will win on Monday, New York will go into a tie for 8th with a loss to the Cavaliers on Monday, which seems likely. Then they would control their destiny to finish, at worst, tied for 8th if they again lose to the Cavaliers on Wednesday.

What Bulls fans should hope for: The Cavaliers play their key players on both Monday and Wednesday

OK, so that's that for the teams surrounding the Bulls. What about those pesky Pelicans? They've been tough to get a read on since mid-February. That stretch has included a 10-game win streak, a four-game win streak followed directly by a four-game losing streak.

But now they've won three straight after knocking off the Warriors, which will go a long way toward putting them into the postseason. They now just need one more victory (at LA Clippers, vs. San Antonio) and they will lock themselves into a postseason berth. They can still lose out and make the postseason, though they lose tiebreakers to both the Nuggets and Timberwolves.

IF, and it's a really big if, the Pelicans lose out, they would miss the postseason and go into the Lottery (good for the Bulls) with the Nuggets and TImberwolves getting to 46 or 47 wins. It's complicated, but what you need to know is the Pelicans are now in great shape for a postseason berth.