The Cleveland Cavaliers have won the NBA Draft lottery for the 2nd time in three years. 10 years ago they also won the lottery and take LeBron. Two years ago they took Kyrie Irving. Sadly for the Cavs this time around there are no players with the type of talent like James and Irving.

Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert’s thoughts:

“We were hoping regardless of what pick we got that this would be our last lottery,” Dan Gilbert said. “We thought originally after everything had to be reset that it would be a three-year process. You never know. It could be four. We thought three years, but having No. 1 and 19, we’ve got a pretty good chance of this being the last one for a while.”

Here are the results of last night’s lottery

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

2. Orlando Magic

3. Washington Wizards

4. Charlotte Bobcats

5. Phoenix Suns

6. New Orleans Pelicans

7. Sacramento Kings

8. Detroit Pistons

9. Minnesota Timberwolves

10. Portland Trail Blazers

11. Philadelphia 76ers

12. Oklahoma City (via Toronto Raptors)

13. Dallas Mavericks

14. Utah Jazz

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The San Antonio Spurs won game 2 to take and 2-0 series lead but the play of the game came from the Grizzlies Quincy Pondexter.

Late in the 4th quarter, with the Grizzlies making a comeback Pondexter dunked on Boris Diaw. He acted like he was going to shot the three but he head faked his defender and went to the basket. He then threw down a monster one hand jam.

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Top 5 Players

1. Tony Parker (Spurs)

2. Tim Duncan (Spurs)

3. Marc Gasol (Grizzlies)

4. Zach Randolph (Grizzlies)

5. Manu Ginobili (Spurs)

3 X-Factors

1. Tony Alllen (Grizzlies)

2. Kawhi Leonard (Spurs)

3. Danny Green (Spurs)

Best scorer : Tony Parker (Spurs)

Best passer: Tony Parker (Spurs)

Best shooter: Matt Bonner (Sprus)

Best low-post scorer: Tim Duncan (Spurs)

Best rebounder: Zach Randolph (Grizzlies)

Best Defender: Marc Gasol (Grizzlies)

Best Leader: Tim Duncan (Spurs)

Ranking the Coaches:

1. Gregg Popovich (Spurs)

2. Lionel Hollins (Grizzlies)

Stats and Facts

- The two teams split their regular season match up of 4 games. Each team were 2-0 on their home court.

- The Spurs are the leading scoring team in the playoffs with 103 points per game.

- The Grizzlies are 5-0 at home during the playoffs and the Spurs are 4-1 on the road.

- The Spurs are in the Western Conference Final for the 8th time in 15 years. While this is the first one for the Grizzlies franchise.

- Memphis was the best defensive team in the regular season in terms of points allowed.

- Two years ago the Grizzlies upset the #1 seeded Spurs in the 1st round.

Prediction: Spurs in 6

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Below is a chart of the odds each team has of getting the number one picks it tonight’s NBA lottery drawing. There are 14 teams in the lottery. The Orlando Magic have the best shot an earning the first overall pick but history isn’t on their side. Recently the teams with the best odds of getting the first pick have not had a lot of success.

Many experts are saying that this is one of the weakest draft at the top in years. That being said there is said to be great depth in the draft. Check out the chart below (Thanks to Sports Illustrated for the chart). As you can see the Magic have a 25 % for the 1st pick followed by the Bobcats at 20 % and so on.

Click on Image to get better view.

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We are now down to 4 teams fighting for the NBA championship. Now it’s time to look back on the top plays from the NBA Conference Semifinals.

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The Indiana Pacers won Game 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals but after the game everyone was talking about the Roy Hibbert block on Carmelo Anthony.

Hibbert’s block came at a huge part of the game. In the 4th quarter with 5 minutes left the Pacers were up 2 when Anthony decided to attack the rim. It looked like Anthony was going to tie the game but Hibbert had other ideas as he stuffed Anthony with a powerful block. Hibbert really showed his strength on that block. Check out the block below.

The Indiana Pacers won Game 6 106-99 and it was never really close after Hibbert’s block.

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Believe it or not we are already down to the Conference finals; it seemed like just yesterday we started. In the West it will be the Spurs and Grizzlies and in the East it will be the Pacers and Heat. Check out the schedule for both of these series below.

Spurs vs. Grizzlies
Game 1 – Sunday, May 19 – 2:30 p.m.
Spurs vs. Grizzlies
TV – ABC

Game 2 – Tuesday, May 21 – 8 p.m.
Spurs vs. Grizzlies
TV – ESPN

Game 3 – Saturday, May 25 – 8 p.m.
Spurs at Grizzlies
TV – ESPN

Game 4 – Monday, May 27 – 8 p.m.
Spurs at Grizzlies
TV – ESPN

Game 5* – Wednesday, May 29 – 8 p.m.
Spurs vs. Grizzlies
TV – ESPN

Game 6* – Friday, May 31 – 8 p.m.
Spurs at Grizzlies
TV – ESPN

Game 7* – Sunday, June 2 – 8 p.m. Spurs vs. Grizzlies TV – ESPN

Heat vs. Pacers

Game 1 – Wed May 22 Indiana at Miami 8:30PM

Game 2 – Fri May 24 Indiana at Miami 8:30PM

Game 3 – Sun May 26 Miami at Indiana 8:30PM

Game 4 – Tue May 28 Miami at Indiana 8:30PM

Game 5 * Thu May 30 Indiana at Miami 8:30PM

Game 6 * Sat June 1 Miami at Indiana 8:30PM

Game 7 * Mon June 3 Indiana at Miami 8:30PM

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If there is one person on the planet that could compare Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant it would be Phil Jackson. Just think how lucky Jackson was to coach two of the best players ever to play the game and when NBA titles with them.

Now Jackson is writing a 339 page memoir. The book is titled “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success.” And will be on book shelves on Tuesday. In that book Jackson compares Jordan and Bryant.

Bryant is the closest player to have all of Jordan’s skillset, will to win, and so much more, but has Jackson explains in his book Jordan was just on another level.

Here are the quotes from the LA Times:

“Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe. He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around.”

“Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn’t developed strong social skills in college. When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road.”

“No question, Michael was a tougher, more intimidating defender. He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense,”

“Kobe has learned a lot from studying Michael’s tricks, and we often used him as our secret weapon on defense when we needed to turn the direction of a game. In general, Kobe tends to rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness, but he takes a lot of gambles on defense and sometimes pays the price.”

“Michael was more likely to break through his attackers with power and strength, while Kobe often tries to finesse his way through mass pileups,” Jackson wrote. “Michael was stronger, with bigger shoulders and a sturdier frame. He also had large hands that allowed him to control the ball better and make subtle fakes.

“Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn’t going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game.”

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It was all but a done deal the Sacramento Kings were headed to Seattle, but this is not the case now. On Wednesday the NBA owners voted against the move that would have sent the Kings from Sacramento to Seattle.

The owners rejected the move with a final vote of 22 to 8.

It was sad story when the Seattle Supersonics left Seattle and went to Oklahoma City. The Supersonics left behind 40 years of history. They also left behind a successful franchise and a bunch of passionate fans. Just think right now the Seattle Supersonics would be one of the best teams in the NBA as the Oklahoma City Thunder are now. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would be dominating in Seattle not Oklahoma City.

David Stern on the Vote:

“It’s my expectation that we’ll be able to make a deal with the Maloofs and the Ranadive group to transfer title of the team in Sacramento. It’s not a certainty but we’re going to work for that result.”

No one can be happier than Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. Here is what Johnson said on Twitter:

That’s what I’m talking about SACRAMENTO!!!!! WE DID IT!!!!! I’ve never been prouder of this city. I thank the ownership group, city leaders, but most of all the BEST FANS IN THE NBA!!!

The biggest loser in all this news is the city of Seattle. The fans lost the Super Sonics to Oklahoma City already ,and now this news.

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The Memphis Grizzlies are headed to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. They did so in only 5 games. They will now await the winner of the Spurs and Warriors.

The play of the game came in the 3rd quarter when Marc Gasol swatted a Kendrick Perkins shot. Then the Grizzlies got the ball and they were on a fast break. The ball was in the hands of Tayshaun Prince, who attacked the rim and threw down a monster one handed jam. Prince dunked on Serge Ibaka and Reggie Jackson. Ibaka is one of the best shot blockers in the NBA. Not a bad dunk for the 33 year old Prince.

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