Initial Reaction to Last Night's Lottery Results

We should have know. Well, more specifically, I should have known better than to not bet on the NBA-owned Hornets in the lottery (to be fair, Saints owner Tom Benson should officially become the owner over the summer). [EDIT: I should add that while suspect, I am not one to believe in conspiracy theories. Zach Lowe's excellent coverage of the lottery process make it pretty clear that it is practically impossible to rig the results.] When looking at the betting odds for the lottery, I went with the 8/1 Kings because they almost always drop in the lottery process, and I thought they were due for some positive energy to help harbor their arena situation. Plus, an all-Kentucky frontcourt of Anthony Davis with DeMarcus Cousins would have been incredible. I stared long and hard at the 5/1 odds for the Hornets as a secondary bet but didn't pull the trigger. Alas, it's over now, and the lottery order is now set after the unusual occurrence of just one team jumping up while the rest held to form. Let's mock:

1. Hornets: Kentucky F/C Anthony Davis: A no-brainer that should help the team's chances of re-signing restricted free agent Eric Gordon if they open up the wallet. It's unclear whether or not the team will re-sign Chris Kaman and/or trade Emeka Okafor, but Davis would fit with either of them as well as rookie Gustavo Ayon, who showed to be a solid rotation big man.

The 'Brow is excited to go back to the city where he won the  National Championship.

Revisiting Old Ideas for the Thunder and Lakers

Despite the typical excitement of a Game 7, another slugfest between the Celtics and Sixers is not expected to be the highlight of this Memorial Day weekend (I'm picking Boston at home to continue the streak of alternating wins in this series, by the way). That right is reserved for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Thunder and the Spurs. This is the matchup we have been waiting for, and the two teams are a combined 16-1 so far in the playoffs, hardly encountering any speed bumps on their roads to face each other. I should have picked this fairly obvious Conference Finals matchup because, as I said in my playoff picks, if I'm being honest with myself, the Spurs are the best bet to win it all. They are just an absolute machine right now, going 32-3 in their past 35 games (which includes resting their starters), and they are an incredible 43-4 in their last 47 games in which Tony Parker plays, as John Hollinger points out.

I love Leonard 's game, but he lacks the size on KD

However, there are two key factors that I think could give the Thunder the Conference crown. The first is how coach Scott Brooks manages his rotation. As I have consistently argued, Oklahoma City's best lineup is when it goes small with Kevin Durant as the power forward, and as many have pointed out, this strategy can be especially effective against the Spurs. San Antonio prefers to only have one "bruiser" playing inside at a time: coach Popovich usually plays "stretch 4's" Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner alongside Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. Durant would have no difficulties on defense against them, and this lineup would cause matchup  trouble for the Spurs because the Thunder would have an extra perimeter weapon on the floor instead of another non-threatening big man. San Antonio does not necessarily have anyone with the size to guard Durant (although rookie Kawhi Leonard, who I still maintain was the steal of the draft, has made things tough on him), so how Pop handles his rotations against him will be interesting to watch as well.

Could the Thunder emulate the '05 Suns? What if they signed Steve Nash?

With the Oklahoma City Thunder having swept the defending champs on Saturday, there hasn't been much to think about other than their possible second round opponent and the condition of starting center Kendrick Perkins' hip strain. The former seemed like a near certainty once the Lakers took a 3-1 lead on the Nuggets, but after Tuesday's entertaining Nuggets win in L.A., the series looks very interesting with the series returning to the high altitude of Denver tonight and Kobe Bryant a game-time decision with a stomach ailment. Depending on the result of that series and the status of Perkins' hip (he's still listed as "day-to-day"), the Thunder could face some interesting decisions with its starting lineup.

2012 NBA Playoffs

This is such a great time of year. The weather is amazing, the NFL Draft is in full swing, and the NBA playoffs are about start. Beautiful. This space would be remiss without some "forecasting" about the playoffs, but first I should note that the first big postseason win happened on Friday by a non-playoff team. That's right, the Warriors' process of tanking that has probably received too much coverage is almost complete after winning the random draw with the Raptors to secure the 7th best odds in the Lottery. That means they have a ~72% chance of keeping their pick now and just have to pray that a team below them doesn't win the lottery. Is it sad that their biggest win of the year didn't involve an actual game? Let's move on...

Carmelo is not going to stop LeBron's quest for a ring.

Will Shabazz and Nerlens Team Up, Avengers Style?

As my friend Vince likes to constantly say: Timing is EVERYTHING. Right now, the timing is all coming together in a whirlwind of events in the college basketball world. Today, Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad, the top two high school prospects, are set to announce their college choices at the same time on ESPNU. Coming away from playing together at the Nike Hoops Summit just last weekend, it wouldn't be surprising to hear the best defensive and offensive players of their class decide to team up at Kentucky.
(By the way, I can't believe Marvel's greatest heroes are set to team up in the highly anticipated Avengers movie in less than a month now! And as I found out today, you can watch all five previous films from the series before the midnight premiere at select locations. Brilliant.)

Why Tonight's Warriors-Kings Actually Matters

At the surface, this is just a contest between two poor teams that has no playoff impact and minor draft implications. However, if you take a closer look, this could potentially be a huge game for the Warriors season, which is important to the Kings, as a division rivals. This whole year I have advocated "tanking" the season, which isn't popular with the fans or, more importantly, the players and coaches, but is crucial because the Warriors are stuck in mediocrity and badly need a top pick in this loaded draft.

The key point of the tanking movement is that they owe a draft pick to the Jazz that is only top-7 protected, and they currently have the 9th worst record with just 21 games left to play. There's a discrepancy in games played, but the Warriors "trail" the Cavaliers by 2 games, the Kings by 3 games, and the Pistons by 4 games, and each of those teams lost one point games this week that could prove to be critical. Hence, tonight's game is a much needed opportunity to close the gap with a loss. Ideally, the 6th worst record is what the Warriors need to aim for in case they suffer some horrible luck and get jumped a spot in the lottery.

What direction are the Niners headed?

For the second year in a row under general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers have gone about constructing their team in the offseason in a shrewd way. They play it patient and let the market sort itself out. That resolve has shown itself more so than ever with the Peyton Manning situation. They weren't listed among the front runners for the former Colt's services early in the hunt, but they now appear to be among the finalists with the Broncos and Titans. They played it so discreetly that the news of his workout for coach Harbaugh didn't become public until the following weekend, and if he is being honest with himself, the Niners are the best situation for him from a football perspective. From a personal standpoint, he would probably like to keep a possible Super Bowl matchup against his brother Eli alive and stay in the AFC, especially in the South that he has always known with the Titans in the state where he went to college. But let's take a look as to what direction the Niners are headed and why they are best fit for his services.