George Karl will be an interested observer when the NBA draft lottery airs at 7 p.m. Thursday on ABC before to the playoff game between the New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons.

The Milwaukee Bucks coach will be following the pingpong balls and hoping they don't bounce in favor of the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks, one of 13 lottery teams, have a 10.3% chance of landing one of the top three picks in the draft.

But if the Hawks don't get one of the top three spots, their first-round pick will go to the Bucks as part of the Glenn Robinson trade made last summer. Milwaukee then will pick anywhere from the eighth to 11th overall selection, and it will send its own first-round choice (No. 14 overall) to Seattle as part of the Ray Allen-Gary Payton deal.

"I'm not an expert on the draft, but I'd say No. 8 has a lot better chance of being a starter or a guy to have an impact in very few years, than a No. 14," Karl said. "I've always thought the top 10 is a cutoff point. After 10, it gets a little chancy."