Pistons being 27th sounds about right. It was buoyed by them winning the “Fade for Cade” lottery.
god the photo for the Cavs of Stern shaking Anthony Bennett’s hand is such a brutal own
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Your Preferred Finals
- Indiana Pacers vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- Indiana Pacers vs Denver Nuggets
- Indiana Pacers vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- Indiana Pacers vs Golden State Warriors
- New York Knicks vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- New York Knicks vs Denver Nuggets
- New York Knicks vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks vs Golden State Warriors
- Boston Celtics vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- Boston Celtics vs Denver Nuggets
- Boston Celtics vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- Boston Celtics vs Golden State Warriors
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs Denver Nuggets
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors
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voters
Anyway we can eliminate all four East teams and just pick two of Denver, Minnesota, OKC, and Golden State to play in the Finals??
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You still have to evaluate players and develop them? I think too much is made of lottery luck anyways, and I know I’m not allowed to say that as a Spurs fan bc they have been “fortunate” to win the lottery three times.
I was just researching drafts over the past weekend and the #1 pick doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to get the best player in the draft regardless of that prospect’s status. I was exclusively looking at the 2015 - 2022 draft classes and these events occurred:
- Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram were drafted before Jaylen Brown in 2016. Sabonis was taken at 11 and Siakam at 27.
- Jayson Tatum was drafted 3rd overall in 2017 behind Fultz and Lonzo Ball. Donovan Mitchell was went 13th and Bam went 14th.
- Luka was drafted 3rd overall in his draft behind Ayton and Bagley. JJJ at 4, Trae Young at 5, SGA at 11, and Brunson at 33.
We can say that teams get “lucky”, but the Celtics literally won the lottery in 2017 (called a bad draft year earlier in the thread bc of Fultz), traded back from 1 to 3 with the Sixers and added an additional future first round pick while still ending up with Tatum! Was 2017 really a bad year to win the lottery or did the Sixers just draft the wrong player? The Celtics supposedly wanted Tatum all along, and that was the reporting back then.
Idk, there were more examples in that 8 year timeframe where the best player wasn’t selected first overall, so it’s not like it is uncommon.
My answer would have been Cleveland-OKC but there’s no point in pretending the Cavs have a chance
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Here’s my ranked order of teams I would LEAST like to see win the title:
- Boston
- NYK
- Golden State
- Indiana
- Cleveland
- Minnesota
- Denver
- OKC
I hate Golden State. I respect Stephen “Steph” Curry but I hate Draymond and Kerr
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I like Steph. Hate Draymond. They’ve won enough titles though. Time for someone else to win.
You hate Kerr?
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I’m pulling for Denver, GSW and Indiana. Russ or Butler get their ring. Indiana winning would just be cool
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Windy said to pay attention to SAS and Houston as potential destination for Giannis on Get Up interview.
OKC was my preseason pick with the Wolves and the Celtics right behind them.
I dislike the Pacers but it is kind of funny the Cavs fired their coach for not getting in done in the playoffs and they won’t get it done in the playoffs. Obviously hate the Celtics but them versus any of the West teams would be a good series. My recent hatred of the Knicks has subsided so I wouldn’t mind them advancing but if I’m rooting for the best series, it’s probably Thunder-Celtics.
OKC-Boston would probably be the best series (and I’d win some money from futures bets), but it also opens the door to Boston possibly winning another title, which would be annoying.
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I don’t follow the NBA that closely but while I don’t like Draymond it is hard for me to hate the Warriors. For the most part this group was developed organically rather than being hired guns and while success gets old for any dynasty, I don’t mind this group.
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I’d say most years the first overall pick is consensus. Like not a single person, at least in mainstream media that I’m aware of, advocated taking Luka over Ayton. Certainly no one said you should take Jaylen Brown over Ben Simmons. So there’s luck simply in how guys pan out, although I agree there is a measure of development and organizational fit that plays a role.
But again, then there’s also just the luck of winning the lottery. The Spurs had an 86% chance of not getting the first overall pick if my overly simplistic brain is reading that correctly? Which is to say, all of their overt tanking could have simply landed them Brandon Miller. Who is promising! Not transcendent.
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I would say that I’m in agreement if we accept what @mgl said above that every team winning the lottery is inherently lucky, then sure. Bc you’ll never have higher than 14% odds at the first pick.
You still have to evaluate and develop the players regardless of consensus. I was just pointing out that there are years where you wouldn’t think there’s a transcendent player at 1, and there are still really good to elite players scattered throughout the rest of the draft. Luka, SGA, and Tatum are all top 5-8 players in the league rn and got passed on by players that aren’t even starting caliber players on a good team.
That’s why I don’t think the lottery matters all that much most years. No good organization is gonna throw their hands up in the air and admit defeat if they lose the lottery tonight. I only think fans do that. You go through the entire scouting process and you’re likely going to take the best player available, some guys are hits while others are misses. Drafting isn’t an exact science.
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Spurs
Mavs
Hornets
76ers
All in the top 4
Mavericks win the lottery. Harrison is vindicated…
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