News from May 30. The NBA held the draft lottery, which determines the top 3 draft picks. There was really only one winner as New Orleans won the lottery and will draft #1, despite having the 4th worst record - 3 other team moved down one position from their record position and the other 10 lottery teams remained in the same position as their record. Charlotte will draft #2 (worst record), Washington will draft #3 (2nd worst record), and Cleveland will draft #4 (3rd worst record). Since they didn't move up, New Jersey's #6 pick goes to Portland (was top 3 protected). Since none of the teams with better records moved above Golden State, Golden State retains the #7 pick (was top 7 protected, else it would have gone to Utah via New Jersey). The NBA draft is June 28. Draft Order First Round Order 1. New Orleans 2. Charlotte 3. Washington 4. Cleveland 5. Sacramento 6. Portland (from New Jersey) 7. Golden State 8. Toronto 9. Detroit 10. New Orleans (from Minnesota via LA Clippers) 11. Portland 12. Milwaukee 13. Phoenix 14. Houston 15. Philadelphia 16. Houston (from New York) 17. Dallas 18. Minnesota (from Utah) 19. Orlando 20. Denver 21. Boston 22. Boston (from LA Clippers via Oklahoma City) 23. Atlanta 24. Cleveland (from LA Lakers) 25. Memphis 26. Indiana 27. Miami 28. Oklahoma City 29. Chicago 30. Golden State (from San Antonio) Second Round Order 31. Charlotte 32. Washington 33. Cleveland 34. Cleveland (from New Orleans via Miami) 35. Golden State (from New Jersey) 36. Sacramento 37. Toronto 38. Denver (from Golden State via New York) 39. Detroit 40. Portland (from Minnesota via Houston) 41. Portland 42. Milwaukee 43. Atlanta (from Phoenix) 44. Detroit (from Houston) 45. Philadelphia 46. Washington (from Dallas) 47. Utah 48. New York 49. Orlando 50. Denver 51. Boston 52. Golden State (from Atlanta) 53. LA Clippers 54. Philadelphia (from Memphis) 55. Dallas (from LA Lakers) 56. Toronto (from Indiana) 57. New Jersey (from Miami) 58. Minnesota (from Oklahoma City) 59. San Antonio 60. New Jersey (from Chicago via Milwaukee, may go to LA Lakers) Mia 115, Bos 111 OT at Mia LeBron James (Mia) had 34 points on 7-20 FG and 18-24 FT, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. Mario Chalmers (Mia) had 22 points and 6 assists. Dwyane Wade (Mia) had 23 points including 7-11 FT and 6 rebounds. Udonis Haslem (Mia) had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce (Bos) had 21 points and 6 rebounds. Kevin Garnett (Bos) had 18 points including 6-18 FG and 8 rebounds. Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 44 points on 16-24 FG and 10-12 FT, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists in 53 minutes. Dexter Pittman (Mia, suspended) did not play. Bos leads the series 2-0. Playoff Standings 1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round Finals (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) (Best of 7) 1 SA (4) ____ 8 Uta (0) |_ 1 San Antonio (4) ___ _ 5 LA Clippers (0) | 4 Mem (3) ___| |_ 1 San Antonio (2) _ 5 LAC (4) _ 2 Oklahoma City (0) | | | 2 OKC (4) ___ | | 7 Dal (0) |_ 2 Oklahoma City (4) _| | _ 3 LA Lakers (1) | 3 LAL (4) ___| | 6 Den (3) |_ _ | 1 Chi (2) ___ | 8 Phi (4) |_ 8 Philadelphia (3) __ | _ 4 Boston (4) | | 4 Bos (4) ___| | | 5 Atl (2) |_ 4 Boston (0) ________| _ 2 Miami (2) 2 Mia (4) ___ | 7 NY (1) |_ 2 Miami (4) ______| _ 3 Indiana (2) 3 Ind (4) ___| 6 Orl (1) Conference Finals (Central times) *if necessary Thursday, May 31 Game 3 San Antonio at Oklahoma City 8:00 pm TNT Friday, June 1 Game 3 Miami at Boston 7:30 pm ESPN Saturday, June 2 Game 4 San Antonio at Oklahoma City 7:30 pm TNT Sunday, June 3 Game 4 Miami at Boston 7:30 pm ESPN Monday, June 4 *Game 5 Oklahoma City at San Antonio 8:00 pm TNT Tuesday, June 5 *Game 5 Boston at Miami 7:30 pm ESPN Wednesday, June 6 *Game 6 San Antonio at Oklahoma City 8:00 pm TNT Thursday, June 7 *Game 6 Miami at Boston 7:30 pm ESPN Friday, June 8 *Game 7 Oklahoma City at San Antonio 8:00 pm TNT Saturday, June 9 *Game 7 Boston at Miami 7:30 pm ESPN ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html