NBA Draft 2012: How This Year's Draft Could Swing the 2013 Playoff Race

The NBA draft is most meaningful to the worst teams in the Association, but don't think for a moment that the draft has no bearing on the NBA Championship. It very well could swing who wins the championship. 

LeBron James and the Miami Heat won their first of "not five, not six..." this year, but they hardly ran away with it. They had to come from behind in their last three series, something that no other team has ever done. 

That's an impressive accomplishment, but it's also a testament to the fact that they aren't that far ahead of the rest of the league. 

The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have played 12 times in the last two years and the total point differential is four points with both teams taking six wins. Derrick Rose might start the season injured, but if he's healthy in the postseason then they could be dangerous. 

The Indiana Pacers were far more of a threat than the Heat anticipated. Although they fell apart in the end, the Pacers aren't as far away from the Heat as we thought they were. 

In the Western Conference, there are teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs who are not far away from the Heat either. 

Last year, the Spurs added Kawhi Leonard and he was one of the surprise players in the league who helped the Spurs to tie for the best record in the league. 

The Pacers gave them that pick in the draft, but on draft night they obtained George Hill, who was a big part of the reason the Pacers were able to challenge the Heat in the semifinals. 

There are a smattering of teams who are good enough to win the title next year, and it might not be a superstar player that swings that deal.

Frequently, it's a role player that makes the difference. For the Heat last year it was Shane Battier and Norris Cole. 

Were they the stars of the team? No, but they were able to be that extra two percent that the Heat needed.

All of the teams that are close to the Heat are teams that have a history of making the most out of mid- to late-selections and have a history of drafting well. 

The player that swings the championship might not be a perennial All-Star. It might just be John Jenkins nailing a string of threes for the Bulls. It might be Willl Barton's bench scoring for the Pacers. It might be Draymond Green getting the Thunder some points in the paint. 

The bottom line is that these teams are so close together that it's impossible to say for sure that any team will win and each team could pass the others with the right draft pick. So don't turn off your TV after we get out of the lottery. The pick that determines the title could come at the end.