News from May 17.

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held tonight (Tuesday) at 7 pm Central on
ESPN.  The lottery determines which teams get the #1, #2, and #3 picks,
with the rest of the draft order by record.

Lottery Chances
Team           Chances (out of 1,000)
New Jersey       250
Minnesota        199
Sacramento       156
Golden State     104
Washington       103
Philadelphia      53
Detroit           53
LA Clippers       23
Utah              22  (from New York via Phoenix)
Indiana           11
New Orleans        8
Memphis            7
Toronto            6
Houston            5


The LA Lakers activated Sasha Vujacic and placed Adam Morrison on IL.

Phoenix activated Robin Lopez and placed Dwayne Jones on IL.


LAL 128, Pho 107  at LAL
Ron Artest (LAL) had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Pau Gasol (LAL) had 21 points including 10-13 FG and 5 assists.
Kobe Bryant (LAL) had 40 points including 11-12 FT, 5 rebounds, and 5
assists.
Lamar Odom (LAL) had 19 points on 9-15 FG and 19 rebounds including 7
offensive.
Amare Stoudemire (Pho) had 23 points including 7-10 FT.
Steve Nash (Pho) had 13 points and 13 assists.
Jason Richardson (Pho) had 15 points and 6 rebounds.
LAL shot 58% (51-88) FG and Pho shot 49.4% (39-79) FG.
LAL leads the series 1-0.


Playoff Standings
  1st Round             2nd Round             3rd Round           Finals
  (Best of 7)           (Best of 7)           (Best of 7)         (Best of 7)
1 LA Lakers (4)     _
8 Oklahoma City (2)  |_ 1 LA Lakers (4) ___
                      _ 5 Utah (0)         |
4 Denver (2) ________|                     |_ 1 LA Lakers (1) _
5 Utah (4)                                  _ 3 Phoenix (0)    |
                                           |                   |
2 Dallas (2)      ___                      |                   |
7 San Antonio (4)    |_ 7 San Antonio (0) _|                   |
                      _ 3 Phoenix (4)                          |
3 Phoenix (4)  ______|                                         |
6 Portland (2)                                                 |_ ___________
                                                                _ ___________
                                                               |
1 Cleveland (4) _____                                          |
8 Chicago (1)        |_ 1 Cleveland (2)                        |
                      _ 4 Boston (4) ______                    |
4 Boston (4) ________|                     |                   |
5 Miami (1)                                |_ 4 Boston (1)  ___|
                                            _ 2 Orlando (0)
2 Orlando (4)   _____                      |
7 Charlotte (0)      |_ 2 Orlando (4) _____|
                      _ 3 Atlanta (0)
3 Atlanta (4)   _____|
6 Milwaukee (3)
 

Conference Finals  (all time Central)  *if necessary
Tuesday, May 18
  Game 2  Boston at Orlando            7:30 pm  ESPN

Wednesday, May 19
  Game 2  Phoenix at LA Lakers         8:00 pm  TNT

Saturday, May 22
  Game 3  Orlando at Boston            7:30 pm  ESPN

Sunday, May 23
  Game 3  LA Lakers at Phoenix         7:30 pm  TNT

Monday, May 24
  Game 4  Orlando at Boston            7:30 pm  ESPN

Tuesday, May 25
  Game 4  LA Lakers at Phoenix         8:00 pm  TNT

Wednesday, May 26
 *Game 5  Boston at Orlando            7:30 pm  ESPN

Thursday, May 27
 *Game 5  Phoenix at LA Lakers         8:00 pm  TNT

Friday, May 28
 *Game 6  Orlando at Boston            7:30 pm  ESPN

Saturday, May 29 
 *Game 6  LA Lakers at Phoenix         7:30 pm  TNT

Sunday, May 30
 *Game 7  Boston at Orlando            7:30 pm  ESPN

Monday, May 31
 *Game 7  Phoenix at LA Lakers         8:00 pm  TNT


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  Patricia Bender                       pbender@eskimo.com
  For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html
  For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html