IN THE LANE

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 regularseason finale at Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets.

Miami Heat: It is one thing to count yourself as a championship organization, it is another to have a relatively blank recent resume when it comes to the postseason.

Miss the playoffs this season and it means three of the past five seasons out of the playoffs, with a lessthan-positive outlook for next season.

Considering the Heat’s goal is to sell free agents on the franchise during the

2020 offseason, it would help to have more than a single playoff-game victory on the resume since the close of the 2016 playoffs (in last season’s first round, against the Philadelphia

76ers).

Erik Spoelstra continues to mention the value of last season’s playoffs to Justise Winslow. A return could further expose Bam Adebayo and Derrick Jones Jr. to the next level, or, on the other hand, expose flaws at such a level. The Heat close their season at Barclays Center against the Nets on April 10, which could be when they learn their playoff fate.

Brooklyn Nets: Make no mistake, this might be the last chance for the Nets to own the New York basketball landscape for years to come, considering the free-agency space tucked away for this summer by the New York Knicks.

By July, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving (or two other top-tier free agents) could be kings of the city, at Madison Square Garden.

This is the Nets’ time to show that D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert are emerging talents, the type of players the Knicks seemingly have been unable to develop.

The playoffs would be a coronation for successful revival work of coach Kenny Atkinson and General Manager Sean Marks, as well as serve as a reminder of another area of failure by the Knicks, based on their revolving door in both those areas.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons have been all-in on the playoffs the past two years, first the futuremortgaging trade for Blake Griffin and then replacing Stan Van Gundy with Dwane Casey as coach.

This is a roster — with All-Star-level talents in Griffin and Andre Drummond — that seemingly shouldn’t have to be sweating such moments. But the drafting in recent years hardly has been up to snuff, with Luke Kennard only coming around now and Stanley Johnson and Henry Ellenson already gone.

If not now for the Pistons, then when?

Orlando Magic: There has been so much regime change in Orlando that there only have been missteps to this point.

And that’s the thing — even a playoff berth might not create stability, with All-Star center Nikola Vucevic an impending free agent and already linked to the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and other potential suitors.

While Steve Clifford has provided stability on the bench and Jonathan Isaac finally has made strides on the court, until the Magic know what they have in Mo Bamba and Markelle Fultz or whether they will have Vucevic back, it’s not as if a playoff berth is going to change the long-term outlook, especially with Aaron Gordon underperforming the four-year, $76 million contract he signed last summer.

Charlotte Hornets: It would seem as if even a playoff berth won’t be enough to keep Kemba Walker around, not with so many albatross contracts weighing down the salary cap. If Walker leaves, there won’t be much in the way of salary flexibility to find a replacement, so a playoff berth could be one and done. WAITING GAME: CLOSING ACT: While there weren’t formal gift presentations for Dwyane Wade amid his retirement tour, Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis told NBCSports Washington that the Heat guard managed to receive one in last weekend’s Heat victory at Capital One Arena. “We wanted to beat them. They played better. The no-call on Dwyane on the travel was apropos,” Leonsis said of a key second-half sequence. “I thought he took five steps. You say, ‘Well, that’s when you’re a Hall of Famer, you get that respect. But, good for him.”

ULTIMATE RIVAL: You wouldn’t know it by the Heat’s 1-3 record against the Orlando Magic this season, but Wade more than loaded up against the intrastate rival during his 16 seasons. His 1,249 points against Orlando are the most against a single opponent and the most any Heat player has scored against any opponent. His 53 games (45 starts) against the Magic also rank as his highest figure against any opponent, in addition to his 58 blocked shots, which are the most by any guard against the Magic. Wade’s 37 career 20-point games, including Tuesday’s 22 points, are second only to the 42 such games LeBron James has had against Orlando. Wade, though, has never faced the Magic in the playoffs.

CURRY GETS SALTY: Having acknowledged “I have a huge popcorn addiction,” Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry recently rated popcorn at NBA arenas, with AmericanAirlines Arena coming in second on his list to what is offered up in Brooklyn at Barclays Center, with Dallas’ American Airlines Center ranked third. Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers came up last on his list.

NUMBER

Other Heat players to have worn the No. 1 that the team retired Tuesday in honor of Chris Bosh: Khalid Reeves, Rod Strickland, Travis Best, Loren Woods and Dorell Wright.

ALEX TRAUTWIG/GETTY SUPER COOL TIME: Of all the nuggets to come out of the voluminous interviews Chris Bosh conducted in advance of his Heat jersey retirement, perhaps the most fascinating was this: Bosh once attended the Coachella music and arts festival in Southern California desert with former Heat teammates Michael Beasley and Josh McRoberts. “We did it right,” Bosh told GQ. “We stayed in Palm Springs and went to Coachella every night. Then we went down to Joshua Tree and were just hanging out in the desert looking at the trees and walking in the state park. We did a hike and everything. Beas, he’s a legend, man. One of the best to ever do it. People don’t even know that. Making it, where he made it from, he’s a special guy. Him and Josh McRoberts, that was our crew. We got pictures.” While Bosh’s jersey retirement came at halftime of Tuesday’s loss to the Orlando Magic, the San Antonio Spurs waited until after their Thursday game against the Cleveland Cavaliers to retire Manu Ginobili’s jersey. In light of the 36-minute halftime for Bosh’s No. 1 ceremony, a lesson should be taken from the Spurs by staging such jersey retirements postgame, so you never have to feel rushed. The next time the Heat retire a jersey should be for Dwyane Wade, and that should, in this view, come as a freestanding event, perhaps with proceeds going to Wade’s foundation. In fact, the perfect approach would be a two-stage event where the jersey first is hoisted to the rafters and then fans are escorted to the East Plaza or elsewhere for the unveiling of a Wade statue. As for the retirement of Udonis Haslem’s jersey, perhaps some sort of outdoor festival in downtown Miami for Mr. 305, again, making it into a civic event, rather than anything that could become game-intrusive. The most interesting approach will be how the LeBron James jersey retirement is handled. For as perfect as the Bosh ceremony was, as one from the heart, it was a shame that more former teammates from the Big Three era were not in attendance.