It shouldn't make a difference, but that generally is not the way fans look at these things. First, if the "Brooklyn Pick" does end up being the eighth pick, that could be seen as a disappointment in and of itself if the hope was a top three pick. The "Brooklyn Pick" represents the only good thing to come directly from the Kyrie Irving trade from the Cavs point of view. The Cavs chose the "Brooklyn Pick" instead of moving that pick for something at the trade deadline. Finally, the "Brooklyn Pick" will be a key piece in the Cavs quest for a title if Lebron stays or the key piece in the rebuild moving forward if Lebron leaves.

At some point, the "Brooklyn Pick" will be replaced by a actual player. It will be interesting to see what the expectations will be for the actual player after he is drafted.

Balance of power in the East has been restored now that the evil double engines from Boston have been dispatched

I think Toronto's the best team in the East... nice game today for the Cavs. Celtics did miss a lot of open looks in the 2nd/3rd quarters. PS why was Cedi Osman basically out of the rotation for long stretches? He seems like a solid wing.

Lots of Cavs fans had been calling for Osman minutes most of the past 4-6 weeks, as he's looked good in brief glimpses. I think it was a matter of Lue wanting to keep the vets happy with their minutes, all while throwing Crowder out there and hoping he begins to resemble the guy we thought we got in the trade, versus the junk we'd seen since.

I just can't take Toronto seriously until I see them perform in the playoffs. DeRozan has taken a sneaky leap this year and is putting up some incredible numbers, but year after year we've seen them get torn to shreds come playoffs, so we'll see.

I'll probably be a conspiracy guy here, but I think that they maybe knew what they had and didn't want to have to throw him in a trade.

Yeah, I'm hesitant on Toronto for that reason too, but it's not just DeRozan it's the whole team changing their offensive philosophy to fit a little better analytically, and that bench being pretty great when before their numbers would collapse with Lowry off the court. It is still closer between all 3 teams than raw numbers suggest, since LeBron is re-energized and especially if Boston gets something positive from Hayward (I like Semi Ojeleye's potential if he can develop a shot, but he and Abdel Nader should not be playing wing minutes vs anyone, and even though Marcus Smart can take most of those minutes the 2nd unit really struggles offensively and being able to juice it a little by staggering Hayward with Kyrie & Horford could be huge.) But at the end of the day right now Toronto has a +8.3 ppg differential, which is actually better than the Warriors & just slightly behind Houston for #1 in the NBA, and the highest in the Eastern Conference in 9 years. Last few years they were in the +3 to 4.5 range.

I don't know about that. Certainly he's done some amazing things, but there's concerns about how he'd transition to the NBA style of play, and his comparative lack of athleticism will hurt him defensively. There's also arguments over what exactly his ceiling is - I've read everything from Magic Johnson to Hedo Turkoglu by various scouts.

I'd say he's definitely in contention for #1 overall pick, but I think there's enough question marks that it's not so much a slam dunk as that.

Lavar said that Lonzo isn't going to resign with the Lakers unless they sign Liangelo. Right.

And they can all go play Norwegian JV ball together, seems perfect to me.

Seems like a team like the Hawks could just offer all three NBA minimum and get Lonzo for a steal

Shhhh ... I wouldn't put it past 'em.

Anybody disappointed that we missed the opportunity to watch Al Horford and LaMarcus Aldridge react to being the last picks in the draft?

This whole Shaq - Kobe conversation feels like a bit of revisionist history.

They must be grading Larry Nance on a curve tonight. Those dunks aren't very impressive in 2018.

I thought Dennis Smith and Oladipo were the best dunkers. Oladipo just couldn't make a dunk.

The revised All-Star game format led to a competitive game and down to the last possession game. A really entertaining all-star game as it turns out.

Agree that the game was well played. I just dont know how this type of format is going to keep fans interested. I mean which side do you cheer for if you are a Golden State fan? Now next year(with different captains) all of these players will be re-drafted on to new teams. Its just kind of unusual I guess.

It was cool that some of them actually tried on defense this year.

Oladipo at least made up for it with a nice breakaway dunk in the All-Star game. Thought he played well overall save for losing his touch beyond the arc.

The game was entertaining, and the intensity at the end was refreshing to see.

I don't know that I ever truly cheer for the AFC or National League to win in their All-Star games. I kind of just root for whatever Bengals or Reds player is on the field. I would apply that same logic to this format.

Derrick Rose is looking at the Kawhi situation with such envy.

As a Golden State fan, I can tell you that the game was thoroughly enjoyable, and I love that it ended on a defensive stop.

Edit: meant to quote both yours and the original, but I'm on mobile so here it stays.

Starting to get tired of Zaza Pachulia and his antics. The dive/roll onto an already prone Westbrook was completely indefensible.

That was his most idiotic move so far. Definitely should be suspended.

I've seen some footage since I posted that which actually makes me change my mind, but the guy running the Warriors' SB Nation blog actually states it perfectly:


If you watch the replay, Westbrook collides with Nick Young, whose foot is pinned between the back of Zaza's left knee and an already-falling-down Westbrook:

Edit: it's not letting me embed the image, so here's the link if you are so inclined:

https://imgur.com/a/waMr6

I don't think Zaza intentionally did a knee drop onto Russ. However I also don't think he was concerned enough that he tried not to fall on Russ. I feel the same with the Kawhi injury. At some point, questions will be asked as to why this guy is always involved in these situations. Being a clumsy 7 footer in the NBA is not sound like an acceptable excuse.

Hes just a klutz in a world of amazing athletes. I dont think the NBA can suspend him for being klutzy. They probably just hope teams finally figure out hes pretty useless as a player.

I still think he did it intentionally. Looked very casual and controlled to me when watching the clip in motion.

I think that we should, like, all get a day off work or something to commemorate James Harden's shot last night. That was Jordan-level disrespect of an opponent:

�� Every angle, replay & slow motion zoom on James Harden breaking Wesley Johnsons' ankles and disrespectfully staring at him before knocking down a three! pic.twitter.com/xPAKuhdUCe

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 1, 2018

Harden is a bad, bad man.

I'm not much of an NBA fan, but that is my new favorite play ever.

I'm surprised that Harden didn't get a technical foul

Thankfully, the Referees Crawford have retired.

Dame Lillard is just flat-out disgusting. He pretty much single-handedly beat the Lakers last night

Man, the Warriors are hard to watch. Clearly and team not interested in the regular season. I find it hard to believe they can all of a sudden turn up the intensity to match what OKC, Houston and Boston have been doing all year.

Emeka Okafor is still a thing? Wow.

You don't think the 50-14 Golden State Warriors will be able to match the intensity of the 37-29 OKC Thunder and that will be a problem?

I find "hard to watch" about the last thing I would describe the Warriors as, even if they are "disinterested."

TBH the only NBA team I particularly enjoy watching these days is the Sixers, and that's mainly because of Simmons.

it's the sloppy turnovers. watching this great team average the second most turnovers per game, to me, is hard to watch.

OMG!

Fuck TNT! Stop with the replays!

Sounds like Jaylen is okay (and tbh the Kris Dunn fall was harder for me to watch. The reaction was bad on this one, but it seemed obvious he didn't fall in a way that risked actual paralysis, even before he got up and walked off the court.)

Btw, Marcus Smart was 2-7 tonight, and that exact game is why I won't mind if the Celtics "overpay" to keep him this summer. (Which they might do anyways just to have his salary as trade filler.) But the energy and attitude he brings makes his terrible shooting worth it, and that alley-oop was crazy!

+1 on Smart. Love the guy. Him and Rozier together on the 2nd unit has been a bright spot since the All Star break. I like Rozier as well, but I think he's easier to replace than Smart, if they had to choose.

Eighteen straight losses for the Griz.

What do the Lakers do about Randle? He's been playing extremely well, but I dont think he's a max player and would take the spot away from someone else, potentially.

Last I checked the Bulls, Mavs, Pacers, and the Hawks are the only teams with significant cap room this offseason besides the Lakers. Are any of those teams really going to give Randle the max? I won’t underestimate the lack of self control of an NBA owner but I would not offer him the max.

IT finally getting that hip surgery that he needed 14 months ago.

Huh, it's almost like other people might've been the root of the chemistry (and defensive!) problem in Cleveland.

Hope he gets healthy. I still don't think he would've gotten close to the max he was looking for if he was a completely healthy FA coming off a repeat of last season, but I hope he gets at least solidly in the 8 figures in lifetime earnings going forward - and it's a more fun league when he's healthy and playing well.

Or that could be coach speak. Did you expect Walton to bury him?