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Indystar.com says: The odds of the pingpong balls bouncing the Indiana Pacers’ way in tonight’s NBA draft lottery (8 p.m., ESPN) are not good. The Pacers have a 1.1 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick, 1.3 percent chance at No. 2 and 1.57 at No. 3. They’ll pick 10th in the June 24 draft if the lottery positions hold.

Since the current format was adopted in 1994 to increase the odds for the worst teams, only one team seeded lower than 10 has moved into a top-three spot: In 1999, Charlotte jumped from No. 13 to No. 3 and selected Baron Davis. Two years ago, Chicago was No. 9 and won the lottery, selecting Derrick Rose. Every year features a twist. The three worst teams have never finished 1-2-3, and 2004 was the only year the worst team won the lottery.

New Jersey (25 percent), Minnesota (19.9) and Sacramento (15.6) have the best odds of landing (likely) Kentucky’s John Wall with the first pick next month.

The Pacers had significantly better odds when they had the fourth-worst record in the league in March. They closed the season 11-5, however, to finish with the 10th-worst record.

Coach Jim O’Brien referred to every pick outside of the three as a “crapshoot.”

Sure, they all look like Hall of Famers now, but history suggests the top three picks aren’t a sure thing, either.

Here’s an analysis of the past 10 drafts, with who was chosen and, with hindsight, who should have been: