Day: May 18, 2010

Wizards win first pick in 2010 NBA Draft Lottery

The National Basketball Association announced tonight that the Washington Wizards received the first overall pick in the 2010 Draft during tonight’s Draft Lottery in Secaucus, NJ.

“This is a great night for our franchise and particularly for our fans,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “They have shown great support and passion during what has been a difficult stretch over the last two seasons, but they can celebrate tonight knowing that we’ve taken a big step towards building the team that they deserve.”

The Wizards, who had a 10.3% chance of landing the first pick in tonight’s Draft Lottery, have held the number one overall pick twice before in franchise history. They chose Walt Bellamy number one in 1961 and Kwame Brown with the top pick in 2001.

In addition to the number one pick, the Wizards own Cleveland’s first round selection (30th overall) as a result of a three-team deal on Feb. 17 and hold their own second round pick (35th overall).

Washington is totally rebuilding, and chances are they’ll go make John Wall the first overall selection.

The Philadelphia 76ers are likely to take Evan Turner second, playing him alongside Andre Iguodala.

At third, the Nets will probably go for a power forward. There are several good candidates worthy of going that high up.

Complete 2010 NBA Draft Lottery results are here.

Cavaliers exercise Leon Powe option

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have exercised the team option on forward Leon Powe, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

In returning from a knee-injury that kept him out of action for the first half of the 2009-10 season, Powe returned to the court and played in 20 games (two starts), averaging 4.0 points on .429 shooting and 3.1 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game. In 209 career games (16 starts), Powe has averaged 6.3 points on .517 shooting and 4.1 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game.

“Leon has worked hard to rehab and get himself back on the court this past season. Now he has a full summer to continue working, play more basketball and come back to start next season better than ever,” said Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry.

The 6-foot-8 forward was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 49th overall draft pick in the 2006 NBA Draft and traded for by Boston on draft night. He signed with the Cavaliers as a free agent on August 12, 2009. In 2005-06, Powe led the PAC-10 in scoring (20.5 points per game) and rebounding (10.1 rebounds per game) at California, becoming only the sixth player in conference history to accomplish the feat while earning All-PAC-10 honors.

Read NBA fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Game 1: Kobe scores 40, Lakers wreck Suns

The AP reports:

Game 1: Kobe scores 40, Lakers wreck Suns

Even with a balky knee and a litany of additional woes, Kobe Bryant still is among the most dangerous postseason scorers in NBA history—and he had no problem giving Los Angeles an early leg up in the Western Conference finals.

Bryant scored 40 points, Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 rebounds, and the Lakers opened the series with ruthless offensive efficiency in a 128-107 victory on Monday night…

Pau Gasol had 21 points for the top-seeded Lakers, who won their seventh straight playoff game and snapped the Suns’ six-game streak with a phenomenal second half, highlighted by Bryant’s 21-point third quarter. He barely stepped on the Lakers’ practice court during the past week to rest his ailing knee, ankle, finger and back—all minor impediments to a major talent…

Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and Steve Nash had 13 points and 13 assists for the Suns, who hadn’t lost since April 24. Robin Lopez started at center and scored 14 points in his playoff debut, but Phoenix couldn’t keep up with the champs’ height and 58-percent shooting in the Suns’ first conference finals appearance since 2006…

Bryant and Grant Hill got technical fouls for arguing with officials 57 seconds apart in the third quarter.

InsideHoops.com notes:

This was not a defensive game. The Laker shot 58%, the Suns 49.4%. The Lakers hit 8-of-17 three-pointers, the Suns just 5-of-22.

Gasol shot 10-of-13. Bryant hit 13-of-23. Odom hit 9-of-15.

Several Suns bench players tossed bricks: Channing Frye shot 1-of-8, Jared Dudley 1-of-5, Louis Amundson 1-of-4.