Saturday, May 24, 2008

TODAY ON WASHINGTONTIMES.COM

D1scourse: Patrick Stevens will have live updates from the college lacrosse final four in Foxborough, Mass.

TODAY’S BEST BET ON TELEVISION

The Celtics attempt to take a 2-1 lead in their series against the Pistons in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. 8:30 p.m., Chs. 7, 2

ON WASHINGTONTIMES.COM - EXCERPT FROM OUTLET, OUR NBA BLOG

Chicago had only a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top spot in this year’s NBA lottery, but the Bulls wound up with the No. 1 pick. The woeful Miami Heat, who had a 25 percent chance of getting the No. 1 ping pong ball to bounce their way, instead got the second pick and the Minnesota Timberwolves will pick third. The SuperSonics will get the fourth pick and the Memphis Grizzlies the fifth pick.

So how will it all shape up? Do the Bulls take Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose?

If I’m the Bulls, I go with Rose, a super-fast, bigger point guard who is from Chicago. The two most important positions on a team are center and point guard. You saw what Chris Paul and Deron Williams have meant to New Orleans and Utah. Rose can have the same type of impact. So if I’m John Paxson, I’m taking Rose and beaming Kirk Hinrich out of town.

Here’s what I think of the next four picks:

2. Miami Heat: Beasley. The D.C. area native will give the Heat a much-needed low post scoring presence and third option to go with Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves: Brook Lopez, Stanford. Al Jefferson could use some help down low and the 7-foot, 260-pound Lopez, who averaged 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds last season, could be just the fit.

4. Seattle SuperSonics: Jerryd Bayless, Arizona. The SuperSonics need a distributor for Kevin Durant, and they could take either Bayless or USC’s O.J. Mayo. Bayless is supposedly a mix of Gilbert Arenas and Monta Ellis. He’s extremely quick and a very good shooter. I’d take him over Mayo.

5. Memphis Grizzlies: Mayo. The Grizzlies have two young point guards in Mike Conley Jr. and Kyle Lowry, but the star quality of Mayo might be too great for them to pass on. They also need a big man, and Anthony Randolph out LSU is generating a buzz.

Mike Jones

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