The Dugout – Lotteries, Chokes & Russ' Lucky Shirt
Russell Westbrook wore his lucky shirt to the Lottery. It didn't work.
Playing The Lottery
It’s funny that after months of, in some cases deliberately, abysmal basketball, ultimately the fate of the NBA’s cellar dwellers comes down to a lottery. Tanking only gets you so far.
The NBA Draft lottery was held today and it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves who’ll pick at numero uno. The first time in franchise history that they’ll select first. They were the favourites, with 25% odds, but the last time the favourites got the top spot was way back in 2004. Last year the Cavaliers came from nowhere to get number one – picking Andrew Wiggins who they traded for Kevin Love to… the Minnesota Timberwolves. How about that? They’re gonna have both the 2014 and 2015 number one overall draft selections. Boom.
The New York Knicks slipped from a projected second or third to fourth, while the Miami Heat got tenth which means they get to keep their pick. Had that one fallen outside the top ten, and had the Lakers’ pick fallen outside the top five then the Philadelphia 76ers would have gotten each of them. Three lottery picks, that’d have been a record. Instead they settle for their third overall pick alone, while the LA Lakers will be stoked with number two, the highest they’ve picked since 1982 when they took James Worthy (a three time champ, 1988 finals MVP and Hall of Famer).
So who are they picking? Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor are the two best prospects, a couple of big lads with major potential. Okafor is an NBA-ready centre, who can dominate in the low post and although he has a couple things to even out on defence, he has big game mentality, having just led Duke to a national championship. Meanwhile Towns is a little more of a stretch big, probably a PF, with better defence than Okafor and possibly more upside (but at the same time not quite as polished). Either way, both Minny and LAL are desperate for some down low players, the Lakers would probably prefer Okafor, the Wolves Towns, but we’ll see. The 76ers have no use for either with Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid already on the roster, so falling to three’s fine by them (they’d have traded down, probably). Instead they have their pick of the likes of probably D'Angelo Russell, Emmanuel Mudiay or Justise Winslow – though you never really know what Sam Hinkie’s thinking. But Russell could be perfect for them. The Knicks will consider trading their pick, they had eyes on the top two, but may settle for any of this trio. Mudiay in NY seems like fun. He’s a creative, composed point guard drawing comparisons to John Wall. Pair him and Jose Calderon at the point, get a fit Carmelo Anthony and a centre in free agency and see how it goes. Or maybe they try level out the starting five with a possible wing player like Winslow.
NBA Draft Order:
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Philadelphia 76ers
- New York Knicks
- Orlando Magic
- Sacramento Kings
- Denver Nuggets
- Detroit Pistons
- Charlotte Hornets
- Miami Heat
- Indiana Pacers
- Utah Jazz
- Phoenix Suns
- Oklahoma City Thunder
Oh, The Poor Clippers
Hey hey, what can you say? The Clippers need a bench ‘fore they can ball all day.
Game six against the Rockets is gonna go down as one of the great choke’s in NBA playoff history. It’s not something we like to have to acknowledge but it really was that bad. They were cruising to a series victory when they suddenly collapsed like the ground beneath them had opened up. They probably wish it had. Outscored 40-15 in the fourth quarter, that’s dreadful on both ends. And it wasn’t James Harden who killed them either. It was the fringe contributions of Josh Smith (who was nothing when Detroit cut him, but has been sensational these playoffs), Corey Brewer and Terrence Jones. Dwight Howard had 20p and 21r. At the same time, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were magnificent for three quarters but couldn’t score when they needed to most, of course they couldn’t. The entire Houston defence was on them as Matt Barnes, Jamal Crawford, J.J. Reddick and Austin Rivers all threw up bricks. DeAndre Jordan was kept to 8 points, and now it sounds like he’s fallen out with his teammates as free agency looms. This was a mess.
After that capitulation, there wasn’t much chance of recovering emotionally to win game seven on the road. They didn’t. The Rockets advance to face the Warriors, the Clippers forced to console themselves with some smart words from Doc Rivers.
"I told them I was a player for 13 years, and I had my heart broken for 13 straight years. I told them every night I prayed, every single night my only goal was to win a world championship. Every year I'd give my heart completely to the team, and every year it got completely broken. I told them it was worth it. I told them it's so worth it to buy in and give yourself to a team, and this is part of sports, only one winner. If we didn't win this round or the next, it wouldn't have mattered. But it's worth giving yourself to the team. It's worth getting your heart broken and taking all the criticism. It should excite you. It does to me. I told them that.”
He also admitted that he needs a few more talented bodies on the team to help out his big two (and DJ if he re-signs).
Rise of the Yankees
The New York Yankees, sitting atop the AL East, still five games above .500 despite a 1-5 stretch against the Royals and Rays, led by the power bats of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez and some flawless work from their closer… wait. What year is this!?
2015, actually. With all their troubles of the last couple seasons, the retirements and the busted signings, it’s easy to forget that a core of Teixeira, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner and Carlos Beltran is a pretty fine one. Plus they’re getting absolute quality from Andrew Miller as closer and Michael Pineda as the starting ace. C.C. Sabbathia’s been awful, as has the bottom of their line-up, yet they’re top of their division and back contending where they used to be. Hell, even 39 year old A-Rod is on pace for 41 homers this season. Jeezus!
MLB Power Rankings:
- Kansas City Royals
- Detroit Tigers
- Washington Nationals
- Houston Astros
- St Louis Cardinals
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- New York Yankees
- New York Mets
- Chicago Cubs
- Tampa Bay Rays
Problem Solved?
THAT PASS!
Anyone Wanna Buy Ndamukong Suh’s House?
He’s selling his Detroit residence, given his move to Miami and all, and it’s going cheap! Well, that’s if you count US$3.4m as cheap, which we certainly don’t. Click the pic for the real estate listing.
Quote of the Week:
Mark Cuban, say what you want about him, but he’s honest to a fault. Even magnanimous enough to admit defeat to a bitter rival. Credit to ya, son. Morey had his own generous reply.
Good Week:
Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals) – More of the same. He’s hitting at over .500 this week, with three more home runs taking his season tally to 15 – good for second in the Majors. This lad’s got something.
Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins) – 6 years and $96m. That’s the contract Tanny signed this week. And for a man with a career QBR of 84.0 and a starting record of 23 wins and 25 losses. Still, he’s a very handy quarterback and this is the way that money’s going in the NFL – every year the salaries get higher. Guts to the Seahawks, who’ve now gotta cop this example in negotiations for Russell Wilson’s extension.
Bad Week:
San Francisco 49ers – Another week, another defensive player disappears. Justin Smith announced his retirement on Monday after 14 years of sacrificing his body for sport. Smith was a ruthlessly talented defensive end, who somehow managed to miss only three games in his entire pro career. Add him to the list of crucial locker room personalities and on-field leaders that have left San Fran for whatever reason. It ain’t pretty.
Chris Paul (LA Clippers) – It isn’t his fault, but he’s gonna cop the blame because yet again he’s failed to reach the conference finals. He’s never had a better chance, either.
Miami Marlins – 5 straight losses and only 2 wins in their last 10. Maybe they won’t be challenging for the World Series after all?
Player of the Week:
Corey Kluber (Cleveland Indians) – The best pitcher in baseball at the moment. He had a pretty terrible start to the season considering he’s a reigning Cy Young champ, going 0-5 with an ERA over 5, but that’s all forgotten now. He posted 12 Ks for one hit in a no-decision loss against the White Sox, but it was previous game that really got folks talking. He struck out 18 men in 8 innings, with a shot at beating the single-game strikeout record had his manager only left him in for the ninth. This against a very solid Cardinals offence too, he took a no-hitter into the seventh. Untouchable.