Tuesday, May 20, 2008

NBA Draft Lottery Live Blog


The blogging begins at around 8:00pm tonight. Here are the odds for the 14 lottery teams of getting the #1 pick:
-Golden State: 5/1000 (.05%)
-Portland: 6/1000 (.06%)
-Sacramento: 7/1000 (.07%)
-Indiana: 8/1000 (.08%)
-New Jersey: 11/1000 (1.1%)
-Chicago: 17/1000 (1.7%)
-Charlotte: 28/1000 (2.8%)
-Milwaukee: 43/1000 (4.3%)
-LA Clippers: 75/1000 (7.5%)
-NY Knicks: 76/1000 (7.6%)
-Memphis: 137/1000 (13.7%)
-Minnesota: 138/1000 (13.8%)
-Seattle/Oklahoma City: 199/1000 (19.9%)
-Miami: 250/1000 (25%)

8:00: Alright, ready to go. A few historical notes first- (1): Just 4 teams with the best percentage chance of winning the lottery having actually won the lottery. Not good news for the Heat. (2): The team with the second greatest probability of recieving the #1 pick has only been awarded it twice. Bad news for the Seattle (soon to be Oklahoma City) Sonics.
8:01: Jay Z in the house representing the Nets in Secaucus, New Jersey. Nice to see Jay Bilas again. I wonder what he's been up to since the Final Four. O yeah, he took part in this memorable interview with Dan Le Batard... http://ballhype.com/video/dan_le_batard_vs_jay_bilas/
8:02: Ok, predictions time. #3 pick-Minnesota, #2 pick-NY Knicks, #1 pick-Memphis. Won't it be fun to listen to the debate over whether the Grizz should take Beasley or Rose? Rose is the home-town product, but plays the same position as Mike Conley Jr, who Memphis took last year. Doesn't that remind of you the Houston Texans supposed Vince Young-Reggie Bush debate? O yeah, they took neither.
8:03: Mark Jones of ESPN just rubs me the wrong way. He described the lottery as "seducing lady luck" and the anticipation as "tangible." Is that even possible?
8:04: Bilas breaking down Rose and Beasley. Jay compares Beasley to Derrick Coleman. Is that supposed to be a good thing?
8:05: Russell Westbrook is #10 on Jay Bilas' top available players. I think he'll be a superstar in a few years.
8:06: Doris Burke is interviewing Jay-Z. He calls himself an "investor" with the team. Jay Z tells us that he loves OJ Mayo. We go to commercial.
8:07: By the way, Hillary won by alomst 30 points in Kentucky. Results from Oregon expected at 11pm tonight.
8:08: ESPN piece on Margie Parilo, a fan of the Sacramento Kings, who will represent the team tonight at the the lottery. Her grandmother had a ticket to sail the Titanic, but missed the boat.
8:10: Off to Breenie, Van Gundy, and Mark (I'm not the Knicks coach) Jackson to preview Game 1 of the Eastern Finals.
8:11: 4 out of the 9 voters on the blog believe the Knicks will the Lottery. Let the conspiracy theories begin.
8:13: Ok, the envelopes to open after the break.
8:17: Let's meet the team representatives: Mitch Richmond (GS), Larry Miller (POR), Margie Parillo (SAC), Jay Z (NJ), Stan Schanwald (CHI), Rod Higgens (CHA), John Hammons (MIL), Mike Dunleavy (LAC), Mike D'Antoni (NYK), Rudy Gay (MEM), Fred Hoiberg (MIN), Kevin Durant (SEA) and Dwayne Wade (MIA).
8:18: Adam Silver of the NBA to give the results. Pick #14 to Golden State
8:18: The 13th pick to Portland. #12 to Sacramento. No suprises yet.
8:18: #11 to the Pacers. The 10th pick goes to the NJ Nets.
8:19: #9 to the Charlotte Bobcats. BULLS into TOP 3. Wow, what a move. They only had a 1.7% chance of getting the #1 pick.
8:19: #8 to the Bucks.
8:19:The 7th pick to the LA Clippers.
8:20: Pick #6 belongs to the NY Knicks. No conspiracy theories this year.
8:20: Pick #5 goes to Memphis. Oops, my prediction was wrong.
8:21: The 4th pick goes to the Seattle/Oklahoma City Sonics.
8:21: The Miami Heat, Minnesota T'Wolves, and Chicago Bulls remain. Off we go to commercial.
8:24: Top 3 picks. The 3rd pick will be made by Minnesota. Bulls still alive.
8:24: 2nd pick goes to the Miami Heat. WOW!!!
8:24: The #1 pick goes to the Chicago Bulls.
8:25: Season ticket phone number given out by the Bulls rep.
8:26: Well, that was unexpected. I guess the Bulls take Beasley with Hinrich already at the point. Yet, Rose is from Chicago, so who knows?
8:27: Mark Jones sends it to Boston with Stu Scott, Jon Barry, Mike Wilbon, and Avery Johnson. Man, doesn't Avery wish he took that Bulls job now?
8:29: Alright, that's it for tonight. Again, the Bulls had a 1.7% chance of winning the lottery. Unbelievable! It looks like the young Bulls are about to get younger. Add Beasley or Rose to Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Thomas, and Noah. Now, that's a pretty good young core. I assume the Heat will take either Beasley or Rose, whoever is left with the #2 pick. Add him to Wade and Marion and they are probably a playoff team in the East next year. Good night!

2 comments:

Matt Boyer said...

Russell Westbrook is the next Keyon Dooling and the Heat won't make the playoffs next year. All potential free agency moves aside, I think a Beasley or Rose can't help that franchise get to the playoffs their first season.

Looking forward to Game 1 of the West Finals tonight (Lakers in Six). You live blogging this one, Rob?

Rob S said...

Not live-blogging tonight, I have less important things to do.