Built Ford Tough

C: Emeka Okafor PF: Anthony Davis SF: Trevor Ariza SG: Eric Gordon PG: Kendall Marshall is that a playoff team next year? Regardless, that is a very nice core to build around. Team is going to be very good if Gordon stays and his knees don't fail him.

Cue the conspiracy theories even though it would mean that every single team would be in on the fix!

New prediction: 1. Washington 2. New Orleans 3. Charlotte

Lame lottery. No real shocking movements, haha.

[expletive].

My top 3 prediction: 1. Washington 2. Charlotte 3. Brooklyn (only because I just played the mock lottery on ESPN and that was what came up on my first try)

I really don't see Thad being dealt. Doesn't Collins absolutely love him? Unless the Sixers end up surprising everybody and pulling off some completely out of left field trade for a star, I really don't see Thad being dealt. I can see all the others, though.

Personally, I'd just take my chances with Beal if I were them. I think he'd be the perfect compliment to Wall and Nene. His shooting ability would give Wall more driving lanes and he can take some ball handling and playmaking pressure off of Wall as well. Hell, even if they fall - or trade down - to 4th or something I'd still keep the pick as I think Robinson would be a great fit for them as well. Would you trade the pick if you were Washington? If so, what would you look to acquire?

Ewing will not be the next head coach of the Bobcats: http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2012/05/30/ewing_jordan_bobcats/

Assuming they win the lottery tonight. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--nets-need-more-than-anthony-davis-to-hold-onto-deron-williams.html;_ylt=Al9tbh0KGvCzTXOe7t.9u5M5nYcB What would be more worthwhile, taking the chance on Davis' potential and still having cap room to add another very good piece or two, or just taking the safer route and trading Davis for Howard and using up all your cap space?

"This is a big boy game." I love Pop.

Parker has hit some very impressive shots in this game. I think Brooks is a very overrated coach, but I do have to give him credit for pulling a page out of Pop's book and hacking Splitter. That really killed the Spurs momentum and offensive flow. If he didn't do that I don't think they make the game interesting in the 4th. I think the hole was a bit too deep for the Thunder to dig themselves out of, though. It was still a good coaching move.

I'll say Washington wins. Obviously I want Toronto to win, but if not them I would like to see Sacramento win. A Davis/Cousins frontcourt would be nasty. Either that or a team below Golden State for the lulz, even if it does knock Toronto back a spot in the process. I don't want Brooklyn to win simply because I don't want an Deron Williams/Anthony Davis (or Dwight Howard) combination in the Atlantic Division.

Thames down to Vegas. If only Snider didn't get injured and was still racking in AAA. He definitely would've been up with the Jays if he didn't suffer that wrist injury and then re-aggrivate it. Rajai Davis will be playing in left for the time being.

It is just for the 2012/13 season. I am a bit surprised by this, but not entirely given it is the Clippers. I thought they would make a hard push for somebody like Sloan, SVG or even try and take a chance on somebody like Mike Malone and hope for a Thibbs type of jump from an assistaint to a head coach. I just don't ever see Del Negro being able to coach a team deep into the playoffs. He is so drastically outmatched when going up against elite coaches like Pop that he would need a significant talent advantage in order to win a series.

As if they weren't going to be hard pressed to beat Norfolk, word came out today that Frattin is out for the rest of the playoffs as he needs surgery on his knee. No word on how long the rehab will take, so hopefully he is ready for training camp next year. He injured himself while scoring the empty netter to clinch the series against the Barons. That means he is out, Kadri and Zigomanis are both still questionable, Colborne has been injured all playoff run and Ashton is still out with a concussion. The Marlies top 6 is seriously banged up right now, haha. On the bright side, the Marlies calling card all season long has been their defense and goaltending, so hopefully that will be enough to compensate for the injured top 6.

Added another poll question of who you want to win, although this one is obviously more for posters who are fans of teams that aren't in the lottery. EDIT: I figured if I added who you want to win, I might as well add a poll for who you don't want to win as well, so edited that in as well.

Figured I'd make a thread for it now. For anybody who doesn't know, it is on May 30th at 8 PM EST on ESPN (and TSN in Canada). Here are the odds for all teams in the lottery: http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2655/lotterypc.jpg

When he started playing on jacked up ankles.

Raptors will be sending Dwane Casey to represent them for the lottery. Hopefully he slaps the dumb bow tie off of Gilbert's goofy ass son.

The scary thing is that the Spurs really only played well for one quarter in this game and still came away with a fairly easy win (forget the final score, this game wasn't as close as it suggests since the Thunder's three pointers with the game already out of hand made it seem closer than it was) behind the strength of that one quarter. I'm not suggesting that it will be a cake walk for them because I still think this series goes 6 games, but I do fully believe San Antonio will win this series and should be the favourites for the championship. It is just scary how good this team is that they can play sloppy, mistake prone basketball for 3 quarters and still come away with a relatively easy win against a team as good as the Thunder. What I really liked from the Spurs was the way they forced Perkins into a significant offensive role. They kept on giving the Thunder no choice but to pass the ball into him. I remember reading a tweet from somebody that mentioned this and couldn't agree more. It really was great defense by them.

Anybody else watch the final of the Memorial Cup? I know it isn't a big deal in the States but what the other Canadians on here? Anyways, a fantastic game. Very entertaining. That was also a beautiful overtime goal. Nobody can say that was a cheap goal.

Does anybody else think it is pretty funny how commentators keep on bringing up how many close games the Thunder have played in the playoffs so far and playing it up like it is some huge advantage for them in this series? I mean, I'm sure Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Gregg Popovich are terrified of playing close games and can't handle playing in high pressure situations.

You're a Lakers fan. You should know that is incorrect, haha. 2001 ring a bell? As far as the game goes, the Spurs have been taking awful care of the ball, which is the one thing that they especially needed to avoid in this series. I don't remember the last time I saw them commit this many turnovers in a half. If they want to win this game they are going to have to do a much better job taking care of the ball, especially with Durant and Westbrook starting to heat up towards the end of that 2nd quarter. On the bright side for San Antonio, Ginobili played his best half of the playoffs so far. It is definitely an encouraging sign to see him play like he did in that half after struggling for the first two rounds. I do like the pace this game is being played at even if it was a sloppy half. If this is the type of ball we are seeing with both teams coming off an extended layoff and a bit rusty, I can't wait to see how great the games will be when they are both playing at their best.

The Portland deal is moving into the top 5. That is the entire point of the trade. EDIT: My bad. I thought I typed out that they would already have a deal in place with a team to move up prior to making the trade. Now that I've read the post again, it is a giant mess, so it is easy to see how you missed the point I was making, haha.