Thursday, May 24, 2007

Timeout: Lottery letdown

I can’t believe it. I can’t believe this is happening AGAIN.

The Celtics find themselves on the losing end of the lottery yet again. After the whole 1997 Tim Duncan-debacle, I thought nothing could have been worse. Losing Duncan set the team back 10 years, and as he is on the verge of his fourth NBA ring, the 2007 NBA lottery just set them back 10 more years.

Maybe the team is so cursed in order to make up for the blessings they have received over the years: Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton and 16 championships. 

I’d say Boston has sufficiently suffered in the following years - losing Lenny Bias just two days after drafting him second overall in 1986; losing Reggie Lewis as he was on the verge of stardom in 1993; hiring Rick Pitino; losing out on Duncan in the ‘97 lottery despite having TWO lottery picks; extending Doc Rivers’ contract despite a 102-144 record over the past three seasons. But nothing, I repeat nothing, is worse than what transpired on Tuesday night (okay, so obviously the deaths of two young men was a lot worse, but right now it seems like nothing could be worse for the Cs).

As I watched the lottery, I had my hands clenched, knowing in my mind that the Celtics had a great chance at one of the top two picks, but also knowing in my heart that it probably wouldn’t happen (I’m from Boston - this is ingrained in us).

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Celtics will get a good player with the fifth pick. But they won’t have Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. That’s like getting Darko Milcic instead of Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh; like getting Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan.

In a draft headed by Oden and Durant, is there anything worse than finishing third? Atlanta is like the guy who finishes fourth in the Olympics, .001 out of a medal. The guy who barely beat him will always be an Olympic medalist, and he’ll be someone no one will remember, who almost won an Olympic medal. But, seeing as how the Hawks had only a slim chance to get the top pick, and since they finished in the top three they don’t have to give the pick to the Suns, I don’t think they can complain too much.

For Portland they have a decision to make, but it doesn’t seem like they can go wrong, does it? It’s like the pretty girl in high school who complains that she has too many dates and can’t choose who to go to the prom with. We have no sympathy - whoever you end up with, everyone else will want. But do beware, Portland, choose wrong and you’ll be the Jordan-less Trailblazers of 1984. You can’t put your fans through that again. Ouch.

Portland has had three previous number-one picks in franchise history: two being huge disappointments (LaRue Martin and Mychal Thompson), and the other being Bill Walton. This year they will most likely take Oden, and he’ll be playing alongside what is probably already the best young nucleus in the NBA, headed by the Brandon Roy, reigning Rookie of the Year.

I really hate the lottery system. If going in reverse order works for the NFL and the NHL, why can’t the NBA follow suit? The whole reason they switched to the lottery system was to prevent tanking, and clearly, after this season, it hasn’t done that (Milwaukee and Boston, I’m talking to you).

I was really excited about next year, after going through so many rough ones as a Celtics fan since they last won in 1986. Well, I can forget that.

Thanks a lot, karma.