Celtics favorites to land top pick; Kings’ odds slim
NEW YORK – The Boston Celtics are trying to go from No. 1 seed to No. 1 pick.
The Los Angeles Lakers don’t need to be first, but they sure better not be worse than third.
A night that’s normally for the NBA’s biggest losers has huge consequences this time for its greatest champions as the league holds its annual draft lottery tonight. ESPN will televise the lottery at 5:30 p.m.
There’s plenty at stake for teams such as Sacramento, Philadelphia and New Orleans, whose draft strategies can change enormously if the Ping-Pong balls bounce right in a New York hotel ballroom. But for the Celtics and Lakers, who were busy playing each other in the NBA Finals back when the lottery was instituted in 1985, the swings could help determine how quickly they can get back to their former heights.
A night after the Celtics, the East’s top seed, defeated Washington 115-105 in Game 7 of its second-round series, the Celtics will have a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick, thanks to a trade that keeps paying off for them nearly four years after they made it.
When the Celtics decided to break up the remaining core of their 17th NBA championship team, they dealt Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn as part of a draft-night deal in 2013. Boston got back first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018, as well as the right to swap picks this year.
The Nets are in a rebuilding mode and had the NBA’s worst record this season, so the timing worked out perfectly for the Celtics. After falling back for a decade, the team in the pole position has won the lottery the last two seasons.
That’s why team president Danny Ainge refused to make any win-now deals before February’s deadline that would have affected their good chances of winning later.
“It’s a win-win and when you’re the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and you have all these assets, you don’t need to be in a hurry and can just take your time,”
Competing at The Reserve at Spanos Park, Bell shot 1-over-par 73 for 18 holes and Davis 3-over 75. That left them respectively within one and three strokes of having a chance to advance to a playoff to determine who moves on to the NorCal Tournament in Roseville next Monday.
Four individuals in the event who were not part of the team competition qualified for NorCals – Justin Gums of Lodi, who shot a 68, and the trio of Matt Sutherland of Rio Americano, Kevin Huff of Vista del Lago and Christian Guzman of Lathrop, all of whom shot 72. The latter three were tied with a fourth player at 72, necessitating the playoff.
Bell looked good to qualify through the first 13 holes, which he completed in four under par. But he posted at triple bogey on the 14th hole after losing his ball in the bushes.
“It was very unlucky. It was one of those things,” River Valley coach Craig Taylor said.
Taylor said Davis’ round was subpar by his standards. The TriCounty Conference’s MVP, Davis has been the Falcons best golfer for the past three seasons.
In the team competition, Davis (382), Oak Ridge (382) and Jesuit (384) finished in the top three spots. They will move on to the NorCals at Sierra View Country Club. The CIF State Tournament is May 31 at Poppy Hills Golf Course, Pebble Beach.