San Antonio - Detroit OH GOD ...
San Antonio - Boston ... MY EYES ...
Los Angeles Lakers - Boston ... ARE BLEEDING.
Los Angeles Lakers - Detroit This is the only series I could possibly care about and it's the one least likely to occur. You never know with Boston's propensity for making things interesting and seven games long. But without a 100 % healthy Chauncey Billups the Pistons will need to capitalize on the Celtics mistakes more than they will be able to play their own game. If this Finals happens, I'll watch every game. Otherwise I'm turn my complete concentration to...
THE NBA DRAFT!!!
Chances are I've spent 80% of my basketball thoughts in the last month thinking about the draft with 18% going to the playoffs and 2% to Mike D'Antoni first coming to Chicago and then going to New York. When you cheer for a team like Minnesota who finished so far out of contention, you could even argue a quarter of my in-season thoughts were about who the Timberwolves were going to draft this off-season. In fact, if you stop by my desk at work you'll find pictures of two basketball players. One is Al Jefferson. The other is Derrick Rose. El Jefe went up second.
It is perhaps premature to post an entry about the NBA Draft before the draft lottery has even taken place. As of tonight we'll know whether the Timberwolves have the fourth pick in a three man draft or if their franchise good luck will blossom. Despite our team's history of having the X+1 pick in a draft where there are X elite players, I have to feel hopeful.
The truth is I don't feel like we're going to drop into the top three for any rational reason. It's just this feeling in my gut that feels like hope. Either that or, hopefully, sensing when it's about to rain.
Update: It looks like my choice of a Christian Laettner picture was prescient because like 1992 the T'wolves ended up with the 3rd pick in an draft where the first two guys were obvious picks. On the whole, I feel good about the way the lottery played out.
The Bulls got the top pick and, if I have a second team, it's Chicago. They've had a rough patch this season because of injuries to their top three guys after being picked by a lot of experts to be a championship contender. Adding Michael Beasley to their line-up means they'll be pretty formidable.
Theoretically they could start Kirk Heinrich at PG, Luol Deng at SG, Tyrus Thomas at SF, Beasley at PF and Susie's second favorite player Joakim Noah at C. This does mean the incompetent John Paxson gets to keep his job. But the Bulls will have some pieces for the next coach to put together into something.
The Heat got the second pick and at first I was cursing the luck of the Wolves. Miami pretty clearly tanked the end of the season by shutting down Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion and playing NBDL players for the last quarter of the season. Karma should've smote them and given them the fourth pick for good measure.
Then I remembered they play in the East, they'll have Wade and Marion healthy for the whole season next year, they'll be drafting Derrick Rose (who is perfect for them and vice versa) and if they make the playoffs Minnesota gets their first round pick next year. So the Wolves could have two first round picks next year. Go Heat!
As I said, I was disappointed the Wolves only got the third pick. I like the choice Minnesota has though. We have two glaring needs on the roster and it's the same glaring needs everyone seems to have, a point guard and/or a center. Now we do have internal options like re-signing Sebastian Telfair to play PG or moving Jefe to C. But there are also talented guys at #3 we can pick to fill those holes instead of just patching over them. It's just a decision of which one you'd like to address.
The pick seems to be between OJ Mayo, Brook Lopez, Jerryd Bayless and maybe Kevin Love which makes me wish I'd seen more Pac-10 basketball this season. I prefer OJ Mayo since I think he's more adaptable to the NBA game and could create a good mix on offense with Foye and Al while playing good defense next to Brewer. The truth is the T'Wolves have changed a lot since this time last summer and yet it's not as though the future is bleak. In fact, I'm still feeling good about it.
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