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What’s good, family. It’s your boy Sykes here to usher you into tonight’s playoff action with the Warriors and Mavericks. But first, a quick word on the NBA Draft Lottery.
Enough of it. Please. I am so tired of watching the NBA’s draft lottery year after year.
And this isn’t me campaigning to take the lottery system away or anything like that. I’m not looking for some major NBA draft reform (although, I do think getting rid of the draft could be a great idea). That’s another post for another day, though.
I’m just tired of watching a literal lottery on television. It’s the most boring thing ever.
There’s drama, I guess, in that we don’t really know who will pick number one overall. But I feel like it’d be just as tense if that information was released via a screencap on Twitter or something like the first wave of team cuts for your high school JV basketball team.
Like, do we really need to chat with Damian Lillard ahead of the draft lottery? Or see the faces of every single coach there that literally does not care about this stuff? Or look at Chet Holmgren standing awkwardly in his first suit? It never seems like anyone who ends up at the lottery actually wants to be there. Because being there means you stunk. The only folks who seem OK with making appearances are the executives who finally get the little bit of camera time they’ve been waiting for.
Yes, there are tons of winners and losers here. And there are interesting storylines that come out of the draft lottery. But there’s absolutely no need for all the pageantry that comes out of this thing. It’s bad enough that we get so much of it from the NBA draft itself.
So maybe, NBA, just save us a bit of time next year. Drop a tweet with the draft order and start the Eastern Conference Finals at 8 instead of 8:30.
Some of us have bedtimes, you know.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Even after seeing them make it all the way to the conference finals, it’s still sort of hard to trust any player on the Dallas Mavericks outside of Luka Doncic. The talent level just doesn’t feel like it’s there.
For bettors, that can be pretty unsettling. But not to worry. The homie Prince has y’all covered on how to bet on the series.
“Dallas’ surprise ascent after first-round exits the last two years can be attributed to the continued brilliance of Luka Doncic, the continued growth of Jalen Brunson and an unheralded supporting cast that new head coach Jason Kidd has found a way to get the most out of.
However, I found it hard to believe those guys would find a way to scrap together four wins against the Phoenix Suns. And even after seeing it happen, I’m still faced with that conundrum. Could they actually beat the Warriors? The answer, of course, is yes. But I’m not ready to say they will.”
Tap in and figure out which way to go.
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Warriors (-5.5, -230) vs. Mavericks (+180), O/U 213.5, 9 PM ET
Both of these teams have really made their bread and butter their defense throughout the regular season. But neither was really that impressive defensively through the conference semi-finals. The Mavericks’ 112.3 defensive rating ranked 6th out of the 8 teams left in the playoffs and that was boosted a bit by their game 7 drubbing of the Suns.
I think this is a close one, but I also see it being a barn burner. I’m taking the over.
Who’s in and out?
— Otto Porter (foot) is probable for Wednesday’s matchup against the Mavericks
— Marcus Smart (foot) is questionable for Thursday’s game against the Miami Heat
—Al Horford is (COVID protocols) is out indefinitely
Shootaround
— The Oklahoma City Thunder made out like bandits in the draft lottery. Sam Presti had some closing thoughts on it.
— Matisse Thybulle to the Kings? Sixers Wire has more.
— Sixers’ fans have to be some of the pettiest fans in the world. They have to be.
— Dunks for Humanity has the biggest winners and losers of the NBA Draft Lottery this year.
That’s all, folks! Enjoy tonight’s action.
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