Just a few short words on the NBA Draft Lottery ... which I love.
Rarely do I make it a point to watch anything related to the NBA in a given year (we've discussed this matter before). But I make sure I watch the NBA Draft Lottery every year.
Why do I make it a priority? I'm not sure. But there are a few known reasons here, which will be listed numerically but without significance:
1. I like the "chance" the event is rigged. Nobody likes David Stern and he definitely let the New York Knicks get Patrick Ewing in 1985 but who cares? The whole season is predictable to a degree and you can count on the top teams finishing in the catbird seat (I just wanted to use that phrase). The lottery is so stupid and ridiculous that I have to watch it. I do wish it was live, so we could see the true despair in David Kahn's face, instead of getting it ten minutes later when he infers that Dan Gilbert's kid was the reason Minnesota lost the lottery last year. I don't care that the Timberwolves, who I claim to be my favorite team, have NEVER moved up in the lottery. Or that Minnesota finished with the worst record and landed with the third pick in 1992 with Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning going No. 1 and 2. Minnesota has been poorly run for a while, so I can see why Stern might not want to give them the No. 1 pick. ESPN tells me the team with the best odds has only received the No. 1 pick three of 18 times since 1994. The Draft Lottery is hysterically unpredictable.
2. The unpredictable order is beautiful. I like it when the eighth-worst team gets the top pick because everyone else in the room is pretty much indifferent or miserable. In typical NBA fashion, you have to be skillfully bad and be lucky when it counts. It makes us watch, much like the actual draft, something that requires no jumpshots or inbound plays.
3. The fate of a franchise is decided quickly. The actual process takes about six minutes (counting the tedious commercial break when they get down to the final three picks. A short period to decide the future of a team for at least five years.
4. I like how David Stern doesn't even show anymore.
5. I like how I know where the Wolves will finish. That's nice.
Can you believe it? Back to back NBA posts.
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