Any NBA Basketball fans?

I forgot that pick was protected. Is it protected next year? Because I could see the Bulls getting worse. They fleeced Chicago in that trade. That being said, I know this might sound crazy, but I think they should look into moving Carter Jr. I like him a lot, but I see him as more of a power forward and thus a bit of an awkward fit. With his contract his value is pretty high. I also like Fultz, but it's hard having a starting guard making that money who is a poor shooter. Either way, I think they have a lot of options.

I hated watching Detroit (or any team) tank.. I really think Silver will probably purposely make sure the worst team doesn't get the #1 pick as a lesson, and I wouldn't mind one bit. I hope he keeps reforming the lottery odds, year by year. I wasn't sure about the play-in, but it's been a great idea. He's had some good ideas (mid-season is dumb, though), but Stern was stern.



I just read how this off-season might have the most stars traded, which is too bad. The best teams out there right now have had the same star/core for a while. I was hoping it would continue... We'll know soon, since there are many trades on Draft Day... I always think of Boston getting KG and Ray Allen.

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Wasn't Detroit looking to compete until Cade got hurt? If they were really tanking, it seems they would have traded Bogdanovic. By the way, Isaiah Stewart looks like he might be getting squeezed out. Is he available?

Yes, until he got hurt. But I guess they plan on trying to make the playoffs the next two seasons, because they gave Bogie about 40 million for 2 additional years. He's an amazing scorer - efficient, too.



I love Stew. He is the epitome of the Detroit Pistons history, and I do also like Cade (franchise player) and Diallo. I have a feeling Bagley and Wiseman might be trade bait. Stew was a guy who scored in double figures, but in the paint, short jumpers, great use of the glass. Because those two other bigs can't shoot, they make HIM be a 3-pt shooter, where he's standing out beyond the 3-pt line. Before, being down low, he was able to box out multiple guys at once, something many don't do, because they want to get the rebound, the number, knowing how contracts are. But he enabled our other guys to compile those rebounds. Tough guy.



I guess besides Wemby, the rest of the top guys are guards. I'd be happy trading Ivey. He can't play defense, and I rather trade him and this Top 5 pick for a proven all-star instead. Mikal Bridges type.

I printed out a spread spreadsheet for the past drafts and where the picks normally land. The team with the the worst record won the lottery from 2015 - 2018 during the process years but non since. The #2 worst has won the past two years and hasn't fallen outside the top 5 since 2019. Since 2004 (the current # of lottery teams), 14 -12 have gone in order to start. LaL moved up to the top 4 in 2019 the first year of the new system as a #11. #9 has landed the first pick twice and # 8 has won one time. Also a pair of #7's have won. But, it's all rigged. Has anyone heard of the Thompson twins also as the guards are well represented outside of Wemby.

2016 is also the only year the picks went in order from 14 - 1 based on w-l records. Interesting. Can't wait for tonight.

Wow, thought Charlotte had it.

F’ the NBA 🤬🤬🤬

Even better, the NWS alert came on as he was announcing the 4th pick and the feed comes back with SA and this bull$#!+. You got Robinson, you got Duncan and now you get Wembanyama. My gf who doesn’t care about basketball is also a Spurs fan. Definitely gonna have to backtrack on taking her to that game this year…

NBA isn't even at the level of roller derby and second rate wrestling.

It's dead to me.

Pop officially out tanked the process.

Okay. The outburst is behind me. I’m glad I’ll still be able to get lower level tickies for <$200 for the one game I go to every year.

Please draft Scoot over Miller.

Damn Joker can ball.

Lol man I thought yall were going get it. It would be bad for the Magic to play Vic 4 times a year but I was like man Hornets finally got a dude. whoops. Spurs...barf. Oh well I am not sold on him not being brittle. Scoot could have a better career if injuries play a part in this.

Yea I already see every mock draft picking Miller over Scoot. Miller kid could be great, I mean he made Alabama a juggarnaut this year in basketball, that's hard to do. However I just think you'd be over thinking it if you don't pick Scoot. You can figure out him and LaMelo after the fact. When you are that high just pick the best player and figure out the rest later. I wonder what LaMelo could fetch yall?

I also see no possibility where Portland just drafts a guy at 3 and thats it. They are either trading the pick or trading Dame. Neither Scoot or MIller is going do a thing for Dame NEXT year...Hell Scoot might not even start with Dame and Simons there.

Also when Portland jumped into the top 3 I almost jumped off a bridge if they got 1. They jumped us in the odds the last week of the season...we were basically the 5th worst team record wise all year. We really should be at 3 (Orlando) . All and all not bad though. Staying put at 6 and 11 wasn't a bad option. Just glad the Bulls pick conveyed. I can't see us picking two lotto picks to add to this already young team...we going do some dealing too.

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lol Detriot fan? My brother n law is. I texted him "ouch" when they popped up 5th. Worse you could do. Oh well got your #1 pick in Cade...just got to keep him healthy.

Damn good post John...

Jamal Murray was HE who is referred to as HIM tonight in Mile High.

It's too bad they won't have early games on the weekends like the previous rounds. I don't mind watching them in the morning, but it's easy to FF the "boring" parts...


VERY surprised Boston lost. Miami has to play 100% every game, and Boston has to make mistakes for them to lose. I actually don't mind any of the 4 teams, so I hope every series goes 7.

This MIA/BOS series is breaking the rule of “most talent” wins.

I’m sure there’s a reason to let Grant keep getting cooked at the end of the game…

3-0 and 2-0. Not much of a Conference Finals.

In the last 8 minutes of Bos/Mia game 2, Butler outscored G. Williams 8-7. Williams was not the reason Boston lost, and Butler was not the reason Miami won.

Boston looks deflated at times in the half court and it is because they're being set up to fail. They may, or may not, realize it, but the schemes they're running are playing directly into Miamis defense. When Boston goes on runs, it's typically after a Miami missed shot or turnover, and that is because they push before Miami can get set up. They can get guys in enough space in the half court but they're being completely out-schemed. That can become extremely frustrating and exhausting. I'm sure that Boston feels like they're playing against 7 Miami defenders at times instead of 5. I'm sure there's a desire to just shoot 30ft shots a times. That's on Mazzulla. He is not making the game easier for his guys at all.

Spolestra is extremely tricky. He throws different zones out there. He'll throw a 2-1-2, a 1-1-3 and a 1-3-1 pretty commonly. He'll even change them up from possession to possession. He typically implements them at times when there are at least 2 non-shooting threats on the floor. Then, he'll send traps to certain spots, based on the type of zone they're running and who has the ball. This is particularly effective because Boston has a habit of standing around and watching. Thus, a guy gets trapped, they panic, their teammates take a second or two to recognize what's going on, but they're also at a stand-still stuck in mud. From there, a risky pass is thrown and if Miami intercepts, they're off to the races. If they don't, Boston's rhythm and timing is all thrown off. What's most frustrating is that each of these zones have vulnerable spots. However, it's often not advised to attack it directly up top by the dribble... yet Boston continually does it anyways. This is especially true for the 2-1-2; That's an automatic trap. But, if you overload one of the sides with a floppy action where Tatum starts down low, receives a screen or two, and shoots out towards the wing (or corner), then, the screener slips to the other perimeter spot (the corner or wing - whichever Tatum didn't go to), one will be open almost every single time.

Nonetheless, once you add up these little defensive changes that cause constant adjustments for Bostons guys, it creates confusion and messes up the rhythm. Imagine how difficult that can become, it's a complete masterclass of coaching. This brings up another issue. Mazzulla is always late to call timeouts. When you see Miami go on these runs, there's typically a schematic change or wrinkle that Boston isn't recognizing. It causes misses, bad shots and turnovers. Mazzulla is late to recognize what's going on and before you know it, the lead is gone and then he calls timeout.

Mazzulla has to step it up and get his guys better prepared for everything being thrown at them. You may also notice that Spolestra refuses to specify what they're doing on the defensive end in his press conferences. He's not saying the words "hedge", "2-1-2", etc. because then it gives clues. Boston has shown very little ability to read the defense and execute the proper attack. Spo isn't going to help.

If Boston had been properly prepared for this series, it's 2-0 their way with 2 convincing wins.