By Jeremy Weiner
The NBA season is coming to a close. Our beloved Boston Celtics have done everything we expected them to do this season: tank it.
With five games left in the regular season, the Celtics find themselves in the basement of the NBA with a 23-54 record.
They hold the 4th worst record, which means they’re bound to get a top-5 draft pick.
Unlike every other sport, the NBA has a lottery to decipher the order of the draft. The worst your record is, the better chance you get to win the lottery:
Top 5
Milwaukee Bucks (14-63): 25.0% chance
Philadelphia 76ers (17-60): 19.9% chance
Orlando Magic (22-55): 15.6% chance
Boston Celtics (23-54): 11.9% chance
Utah Jazz (24-53): 8.8% chance
Orlando, Boston and Utah are all separated by a couple of games in the loss column and are likely to switch spots on the cellar totem pole before season’s end.
This draft class has been hyped up all year. Names like Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid. It’s time for the Celtics to get lucky and get a future-franchise player in this draft.
The last time the Celtics were in this situation was in 2007 when they finished 24-58. They held the 2nd worst record in the NBA.
In any other sports world they would draft 2nd overall and possibly draft Kevin Durant, who is now one of the best players in the game. With a 19.9% chance to win the lottery the Celtics were given the 5th pick overall.
Since we have another month to wait for the lottery, let’s have an NBA Mock Draft using the ESPN Lottery Machine for the draft order:
- Milwaukee Bucks (25.0%)
- Orlando Magic (15.6%)
- Los Angeles Lakers (6.3%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (19.9%)
- Boston Celtics (11.9%)
This looks just about right except for the fact the Lakers got extremely lucky and the Utah Jazz got bumped out of the Top 5. But for now, the Bucks are on the clock:
1.) Milwaukee Bucks:Andrew Wiggins (Forward/Kansas)
Analysis: The Bucks are awful. They need a scorer and someone who can come in and turn their franchise around.
2.) Orlando Magic: Dante Exum (Guard/Australia)
Analysis: Dante Exum is an absolute stud coming out of Australia. The Orlando Magic could use a point guard to pair up with breakout rookie Victor Oladipo.
3.) Los Angeles Lakers: Jabari Parker (Forward/Duke)
Analysis: The Kobe Bryant era is ending. They desperately need a point guard, but with Parker still on the board he can’t be ignored. Parker is NBA ready and reminds a lot of scouts of a young Melo.
4.) Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid (Center/Kansas)
Analysis: Philadelphia got jipped in this lottery, but pairing up Embiid with Nerlens Noel is potentially lethal.
- Boston Celtics: Noah Vonleh (Center/Indiana)
Hopefully the Celtics get a little more luck and potentially bump up to a Top 3 draft pick. We’ll just have to wait until Tuesday, May 20th to find out!
