Stiff’s Shootaround: LeBron James, the Boston Celtics, and the NBA Draft Lottery

For the rest of the NBA playoffs, the Stiffs will be making game threads for the nightly games so that Stiffs readers have a place to hang out and watch with like-minded fans. Sign up for an account and join the rest of the Stiffs to talk about tonight’s games and whatever else is going on around the NBA.

The Eastern Conference finals begin tonight. As I wrote for Vice, they’ll probably be little more than a dress rehearsal for the Cavs who have yet to lose a playoff game and who are coming in on nine days of rest. Still, the Lebron-Celtics rivalry has been one of the best rivalries over the last decade and the Garden will be loud and in LeBron’s ear all night long which should either make for a fun game or at the very least, a fun LeBron performance.

But first, the NBA draft lottery happened…

How would you grade the results of the NBA draft lottery? Are you happy that the Celtics and Lakers no longer have to suffer?

Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares): I’d give this lottery a D-. The only things that could’ve gone worse would’ve been Denver moving back to 14th or the Knicks moving up to join the Celtics and Lakers. LakerLife and CelticLife are the opposite of NuggLife and this draft went exactly how you’d expect.

Ashley Douglas (@AshleyNBAHoops): I’m going to give this year’s draft lottery a plain old C simply because it went 100% as expected. The Celtics are plotting to take over the world, the Lakers’ tanking strategy paid off, and God help the Philadelphia 76ers. I remain optimistic for the Nuggets in this year’s draft simply because it’s a great draft class, and good players don’t always come from a top 3 pick—Nikola Jokic.

Ryan Blackburn (@RyanBlackburn9): F. If the Nuggets don’t jump into the top three, then it’s automatically a D or lower. On top of that, we have to watch the city of Boston celebrate another victory and the Lakers be rewarded by gross incompetence. The Sixers will have a top three pick in four straight drafts, and I guarantee the national media will give them more credit nationally for their young core. It’s an F for me.

Gordon Gross (@GMoneyNuggs): Luck the Fakers. I didn’t expect to move up, but I was hoping at least one of those fanbases would be slightly disgruntled. Nope. It was a rich-get-richer night, and I don’t cheer for that. That said, none of Denver’s expected Western Conference rivals post-2020 got a big hand up in the lottery, so I’m not really upset. D+? And if it helps the Lakers gut their team Knicks-style to add Paul George (who wants to go there anyway) then I might even smile about it – later.

Which team in the lottery is most likely to trade their pick?

Mares: The Magic are in an interesting spot in that they need to make a bunch of trades, perhaps including the #6 pick. They like Wilson Chandler so maybe there is a deal to be done?

Douglas: Minnesota has a solid young core they’re developing, but they need some more veteran experience on the team to help mentor the young guys on the court. I think they’ll make a play at securing some more experience in exchange for their 7th pick.

Blackburn: I think it’s a toss up between the Magic and the Timberwolves. Both teams are wild cards in this draft in my opinion, and they could provide some interesting movement up and down the board.

Gross: Sacramento could trade one of their picks – I don’t know what their new front office balance will choose to do. The Magic and Wolves are also good choices, and the Lakers are gonna flirt with it. I’m still gonna go with the Knicks, though. Phil has one more screwjob to perform on New York’s fanbase, you know he does – and if Denver wants to move up and help, that’s fine with me.

Cavs at Celtics. Who you got?

Mares: I’ve got LeBron inflicting pain on the city of Boston.

Douglas: I’m on the #it’snotluck bandwagon. I’m going to take Boston (in game 1) only because they’ve been in the fight the last couple of weeks, and that tends to keep teams sharp. Perhaps I’m naive, but I’m okay with that. I’m genuinely torn on a series prediction. I want the Celtics to win, but I also know that LeBron can get the win in almost any situation.

Blackburn: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Gross: “Cavs Destroy 8th Grade Travel Squad, Then Share Juice Boxes Afterward.”

Which emoji(s) best describes the NBA playoffs so far?

Mares: I’ll go with trashcan emoji. These playoffs have sucked. They needed more Jokic.

Douglas: The emoji that best describes the NBA playoffs thus far for me would be the three Z’s—as in BORING. Predictability is no fun in the playoffs so I’m hoping for Boston to upset the apple cart.

Blackburn: The smiling poop emoji. The NBA world is trying to smile through the crap show they have provided so far. The only two series in the playoffs worth watching so far have been Houston vs San Antonio and Washington vs Boston. Why act like this is okay?

Gross: I’d go with some Zs as well – or maybe this. Someone on Twitter said the regular season was better than the post-season, and they were 1000% right. Hate these playoffs.