Category: In the News

Why Spurs fans should pause and praise the lottery tonight

David Stern’s annual role as a game-show host rolls around tonight as he hosts the league’s draft lottery to determine which team will earn the No. 1 pick in the June 23 draft.

The league’s previous system of picking envelopes is long gone away. No longer does Stern face allegations of grasping any alleged frozen envelope when the order is sorted out tonight.

Even though the system is flawed — the worst team doesn’t necessarily get the best player — the league has continued with the lottery system since NBA teams blatantly began throwing games to get a shot at the best player in the mid-1980s.

There will be 14 balls in a lottery machine, with the numbers 1-14 on them. It will result in 1,001 potential combinations that can come out as order does not matter, with 1,000 of those combinations assigned to teams.

The lottery machine will spit out four balls and the team with that combination will get the first pick. The process will be repeated two more times for the second and third pick. After that, the draft will go in order of record with the worst team first. 

Drew Carey or Pat Sajak couldn’t do it better.

No team has benefitted from the current lottery system in place more than the Spurs. Luck has played a huge factor in the success of the franchise over the years.  

After finishing with the fourth-worst record in the league in 1987, the Spurs  won the lottery and the chance to pick David Robinson. If they had picked fourth that season, they would have had the opportunity to pick among Reggie Williams, Scottie Pippen, Kenny Smith, Kevin Johnson and Reggie Miller. Pippen, Johnson and Miller had great careers. But none was as dominant as Robinson.

And in 1997, after finishing with the third-worst record in the league in Gregg Popovich’s first season coaching the team, the Spurs again won the lottery and picked up the chance to pick Tim Duncan. If they were picking third, they would have had their choice of Chauncey Billups, Tony Battie, Antonio Daniels and Ron Mercer. Tracy McGrady was the only player in the draft to average 20 points during his career other than Duncan. No player in the draft had the career of Duncan.

Here are the chances tonight for  the No. 1 pick among the teams that are eligible.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves 25 percent chance of getting the top pick (they have 250 combinations)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers, 19.9 percent chance
3. Toronto Raptors, 15.6 percent chance
4. Washington Wizards, 11.9 percent chance
5. Sacramento Kings, 7.6 percent chance
6. Utah Jazz (from New Jersey Nets), 7.5 percent chance
7. Detroit Pistons, 4.3% chance
8. Cleveland Cavaliers (from L.A. Clippers), 2.8 percent chance
9. Charlotte Bobcats, 1.7 percent chance
10. Milwaukee Bucks, 1.1 percent chance
11. Golden State Warriors, 0.8 percent chance
12. Utah Jazz, 0.7 percent chance
13. Phoenix Suns, 0.6 percent chance
14. Houston Rockets, 0.5% chance

Tonight’s lottery will mark the Timberwolves’ 14th time in the lottery. Minnesota has gone backward seven times and stayed in the same position the other six times in their 13 previous lottery appearances. And not since 2004, when Orlando claimed the pick and the right to select Dwight Howard, has the team with the worst record picked up the top pick.

So while Stern and the NBA honchos determine who gets the shot at Kyrie Irving of Duke in this year’s draft, Spurs Nation might pause for a few moments to be thankful that the current system brought them who it did and when it happened.

Because it’s not a stretch to think if the Spurs didn’t win the lottery in either of those two seasons, the team now likely could be playing somewhere else.

Rose’s big night pushes Bulls within one game of Eastern Finals

Derrick Rose is so close to the NBA Eastern Finals he can almost taste it.

The NBA’s MVP erupted for 33 points and nine assists Tuesday to lead the Bulls to a 95-83 Game 5 victory over Atlanta, pushing them within one game of their first trip to the conference finals since 1998.

The Bulls, who hold a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series, can advance by beating the Hawks Thursday night in Atlanta.

“We can’t get tired or bored,” Rose told reporters after the game. “We know that going down there, they’re going to give us their all. I think we have to come out and play our way — defense first and make things tough on them. We’re a good team when we have pace to us.”

And they are an especially good team when the NBA’s MVP plays like he did Tuesday night.

STUDS

Chicago G Derrick Rose: Blistered Atlanta for 33 points, nine assists and a team-best plus-17 in the Bulls’ 95-83 Game 5 triumph over Atlanta.

Chicago F Luol Deng: Went for 23 points, four rebounds, three assists and was plus-15 in the Bulls’ triumph over the Hawks.

Chicago F Carlos Boozer: Notched 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Bulls’ triumph over the Hawks.

Chicago F Taj Gibson: Came off the bench to score all 11 points in the fourth quarter on a 5-for-5 shooting spree in the Bulls’ triumph over Atlanta.

Atlanta G Jeff Teague: Had another strong game with 21 points, seven assists and four rebounds in the Hawks’ loss to Chicago.

Atlanta F Josh Smith: Went for 16 points and seven rebounds in the Hawks’ loss to the Bulls.

DUDS

Atlanta G Jamal Crawford: Clanked through a 1-for-9 shooting night with two turnovers and was minus-11 in a two-point effort in the Hawks’ loss to Chicago.

Atlanta F Al Horford: Produced 12 points and 10 rebounds, but had four turnovers and was a team-worst minus-13 in the Hawks’ loss to the Bulls.

Did Manu play in the playoffs with a broken arm?

Manu Ginobili’s elbow injury appears to be more extensive than might have first been reported.

Ginobili told the Argentine website Noticiasmdq.com that he sustained a, the long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. The injury occurred in the final game of the regular season on April 13 when he was trapped in a collision between Tim Duncan and Phoenix’s Grant Hill.

The Spurs originally announced that Ginobili sustained a sprained elbow. He missed the first game of the playoffs and then played the remaining five games with the injury in the six-game series loss to Memphis. He averaged a team-leading 20.6 points per game against the Grizzlies despite playing with a balky brace. 

Here’s ().

“Last Wednesday, the medical staff of San Antonio I had the last MRI,” Ginobili said. “The liquid has been absorbed and small fracture in the humerus is welded at 85 percent. I have to be doing nothing for 3 weeks and then begin slowly.”

If Ginobili in fact played with a broken arm, there’s no wonder that Gregg Popovich was so adamant in compared to Rajon Rondo’s comeback from a hyperextended elbow for Boston against Miami.

What about it Spurs Nation?

Is Popovich’s blast at Rondo a little more understandable now if in fact Ginobili did play against the Grizzlies with a broken arm?