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Details On Traded Picks, Upcoming Draft Tiebreakers

April 12th, 2018 at 12:20am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2017/18 NBA regular season in the books, the postseason matchups are set in both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

More importantly for fans of most non-playoff teams, the end of the regular season means that the 2018 NBA draft picture is clearer than ever. The 2018 draft order is close to being set and – with a small handful of exceptions – most of this year’s traded draft picks with protections on them have now officially changed hands or officially stayed put.

However, there are still some major question marks surrounding the draft order, since several clubs finished the regular season with identical records, and draft tiebreakers don’t work like playoff tiebreakers do. In order to break these ties, the NBA will conduct random drawings this Friday, as Jonathan Givony of ESPN notes (via Twitter).

[RELATED: 2017/18 NBA Reverse Standings]

For lottery teams, such as the 24-58 Mavericks and Hawks, who finished tied for third in the lottery standings, the implications of those drawings are huge. Whichever team wins that tiebreaker will have ever-so-slightly better odds at the first overall pick (13.8% to 13.7%), and will be in position to claim the higher first-round pick if neither team lands in the top three.

For instance, if the Suns and Grizzlies remain at No. 1 and No. 2 in the lottery and another team leapfrogs the Mavs and Hawks, the winner of the tiebreaker between Dallas and Atlanta would claim the No. 4 overall pick — the loser would get No. 5. For the second round, the loser of the tiebreaker would receive the higher selection.

Here are the draft tiebreakers that will be conducted on Friday:

Mavericks vs. Hawks for Nos. 3, 4.
Kings vs. Bulls for Nos. 6, 7.
Bucks vs. Heat for Nos. 16, 17.
Spurs vs. Timberwolves for Nos. 18, 19.
Pacers vs. Pelicans vs. Thunder vs. Jazz for Nos. 20-23.

Several of those tiebreakers will also affect this year’s traded picks. Most notably, the Bucks/Heat drawing has massive implications for Milwaukee and Phoenix — the Bucks’ first-round pick will head to the Suns if it lands at No. 16, but Milwaukee would keep it if it ends up at No. 17. In other words, each team has a 50/50 shot at the pick. If the Bucks keep it, they’d owe their 2019 first-round selection to Phoenix, albeit with somewhat similar protections.

Here’s a breakdown of the traded first-round picks for 2018. A check mark indicates the pick will definitely be sent to the indicated team:

Nets pick to Cavaliers (✔️): Eighth in lottery standings
Lakers pick to Sixers (97.1%) or Celtics (2.9%): 10th in lottery standings
- Note: Celtics will receive pick if it lands at No. 2 or No. 3 via the lottery.
Pistons pick to Clippers (97.5%): 12th in lottery standings
- Note: Pistons will keep pick if it lands in top three via the lottery.
Heat pick to Suns (✔️): No. 16 or 17 (tie)
Bucks pick to Suns (50%): No. 16 or 17 (tie)
- Note: Bucks will keep pick if it lands at No. 17 via a random drawing.
Timberwolves pick to Hawks (✔️): No. 18 or 19 (tie)
Thunder pick to Timberwolves (✔️): No. 20, 21, 22, or 23 (four-way tie)
Pelicans pick to Bulls (✔️): No. 20, 21, 22, or 23 (four-way tie)
Cavaliers pick to Lakers (✔️): No. 25
Raptors pick to Nets (✔️): No. 29
Rockets pick to Hawks (✔️): No. 30

Here’s a breakdown of the traded second-round picks that will change hands in 2018:

Bulls pick to Knicks (✔️): No. 36 or 37 (tie)
Nets pick to Sixers (✔️): No. 38
Knicks pick to Sixers (✔️): No. 39
Lakers pick to Nets (✔️): No. 40
Hornets pick to Magic (✔️): No. 41
Clippers pick to Nuggets (✔️): No. 43
Bucks pick to Nets (✔️): No. 45 or 46 (tie)
Heat pick to Rockets (✔️): No. 45 or 46 (tie)
Nuggets pick to Lakers (✔️): No. 47
Trail Blazers pick to Mavericks (✔️): No. 54
Cavaliers pick to Hornets (✔️): No. 55
Celtics pick to Thunder (✔️): No. 57
Warriors pick to Nuggets (✔️): No. 58
Raptors pick to Suns (✔️): No. 59
Rockets pick to Sixers (✔️): No. 60

Eastern Conference Playoff Seeding

April 11th, 2018 at 9:38pm CST by clarkcrum

9:38pm: The Heat have beaten the Raptors, meaning we know the playoff pairings and seeds for the Eastern Conference.

Raptors (No. 1) vs. Wizards (No. 8)
Celtics (No. 2) vs. Bucks (No. 7)
Sixers (No. 3) vs. Heat (No. 6)
Cavaliers (No. 4) vs. Pacers (No. 5)

9:32pm: The Magic have beaten the Wizards. We now know the following.

The Wizards are the No. 8 seed, which means the only seeds still up for grabs are the 6 and 7 seeds.
If MIA wins, they are the No. 6 seed and MIL is No. 7.
If TOR wins, MIL is the No. 6 seed and MIA is No. 7.

9:05pm: Philadelphia now leads Milwaukee by 34 points with less than eight minutes remaining. Safe to say, the Sixers aren’t losing this game. As such, we now know the following.

The Sixers are the No. 3 seed.
The Cavaliers are the No. 4 seed.
The Heat will be the No. 6 seed with a win over the Raptors.

8:18pm: At halftime of both games, the Knicks lead the Cavs by 20 and the Sixers lead the Bucks by an all-but insurmountable 36 points. Barring an epic turnaround, the Sixers will be the No. 3 seed and the Cavs will be the No. 4 seed.

6:07pm: While not as undecided as the Western Conference, the Eastern Conference still has some seeding implications in tonight’s games as well. Like the top two seeds in the West, both the Raptors and Celtics are locked in to the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the East, respectively.

Likewise, the Pacers will be the No. 5 seed regardless of tonight’s results. However, seeds three, four, and six through eight are still up in the air, as follows:

Sixers: 3 or 4

Cavaliers: 3 or 4

Bucks: 6, 7, or 8

Heat: 6, 7, or 8

Wizards: 6, 7, or 8

As we did for the Western Conference, here are some initial notes that are not conditional upon other game results:

The Sixers will be the No. 3 seed with a win over the Bucks.
The Cavs will be the No. 4 seed with a loss to the Knicks.
The Bucks will be the No. 6 seed with a win over the Sixers.
The Wizards will be the No. 8 seed with a loss to the Magic.

We will be updating the Eastern Conference playoff seeding scenarios as the night goes on, so stay with us throughout the evening. The playoff seeding should be set by the time we sign off.

Postseason Incentives In Play For Victor Oladipo

April 11th, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Kyle Lowry (Raptors) and Victor Oladipo (Pacers) would get sizable bonuses if their teams make deep playoff runs. Lowry would receive $500K for reaching the Eastern Finals, another $500K for winning the East, and another $500K for a title. Oladipo would earn $250K if Indiana reaches the NBA Finals.

Kevin Pritchard Has Case For Executive Of The Year

April 11th, 2018 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Victor Oladipo is the strong frontrunner for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, and his play this season may indirectly result in another award landing in Indiana. As Dakota Crawford of The Indianapolis Star writes, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has a strong case for Executive of the Year, in large part due to how his much-criticized trade for Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis has worked out.

Bogdanovic's Role Living Up To Expectations

April 6th, 2018 at 10:01pm CST by Austin Kent

Offseason addition Bojan Bogdanovic has thrived for the Pacers this season and is filling the role he expected when he signed with the club over the summer. “I was not looking for the money. I was looking for the opportunity that I was going to be a starter and play a decent amount of minutes,” Bogdanovic, who averages a career high 30.8 minutes per game for the Pacers, told J. Michael Falgoust of The Indianapolis Post. “Talking to the coaching staff during the summer in free agency they told me exactly it was going to be this way I didn’t have any doubts signing with the Pacers.“

Pacers Recall Ike Anigbogu

April 4th, 2018 at 4:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers have recalled Ike Anigbogu from Fort Wayne, the team announced on its website. He had five points, five rebounds and a block last night in the Mad Ants’ loss to Erie in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Booker Playing An Important Role

March 28th, 2018 at 9:52pm CST by clarkcrum

Despite playing a limited role – only 16.0 minutes per game – the Pacers believe that recently-acquired forward Trevor Booker is an important piece of Indiana’s chances come playoff time, reports Mark Montieth of Pacers.com, especially with big man Domantas Sabonis missing six of the team’s last seven games with an ankle injury.

Booker was brought in to back-up Thaddeus Young at power forward, but has filled in admirably for the Pacers while Sabonis has been out.

“He brings a physicality to the floor,” Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. “With these injuries and teams playing smaller fives, we’ve had to play him there some, and he’s done a good job for us. It allows us to make adjustments. He’s a power forward, but he plays bigger than that.”

“He’s a hard-nosed guy who’s going to go out and rebound the basketball,” says Young, the Pacers’ starting power forward who Booker backs up. “He has the ability to score on the block. To make a few jumpers here and there — not consistently, but he gives us the energy and the poise and the passion that we need. When he’s stepping out there with that second unit he does a really good job of carving out space and putting guys in the right place.”

Power Forward Spot Must Be Addressed

March 27th, 2018 at 5:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers will have to address the power forward spot even if Thaddeus Young opts in this summer, Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports opines in a mailbag column. Trevor Booker, whom the team recently signed as a free agent, could be an option, Agness adds. Booker is averaging 5.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 17.4 MPG over 10 games since joining Indiana.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/26/18

March 26th, 2018 at 7:19pm CST by marksuleymanov

Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

Lakers‘ rookie big man Thomas Bryant has been recalled from the South Bay Lakers, the team announced today . Bryant, 20, has averaged 19.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 37 G League games this season.
The Pacers assigned center Ike Anigbogu to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team’s G League affiliate, the team announced. Anigbogu has appeared in 10 games with Indiana, averaging 1.3 PPG and 0.9 RPG.

Central Notes: Collison, Big Three, Horst, Blakeney

March 22nd, 2018 at 9:26pm CST by marksuleymanov

In a young man’s league, Pacers point guard Darren Collison, 30, is the definition of a veteran, but doesn’t want his ability to reflect it. In his ninth NBA season, Collison wanted to make some adjustments and improvements, which led him to a phone conversation with one of the all-time greats.

Mark Monteith of NBA.com writes that Collision set up a call with future Hall-of-Famer Steve Nash. Collison wanted to pick Nash’s brain on how to adapt to playing against younger guards, implementing new moves, and improving his diet. Collison said he has long admired Nash and wanted to learn as much as he can.

“He was one of my favorite players to watch, because he’s not athletic, he’s not big, he’s not strong,” Collison said. “But when you guard him, it’s the hardest thing to do because he just knows how to keep the defense honest in the pick-and-roll. He doesn’t go fast, he doesn’t go slow. He makes every read precisely. I’ve watched a lot of film on him, so I figured why not just call him and pick his brain?”

Collison is averaging his usually solid numbers this season with 12.7 PPG and 5.3 APG in 59 games. If he ever needs it, he now has one of the greatest point guards in league history just a phone call away.

Check out more Central Division notes below:

With Reggie Jackson back on the court, the Pistons finally have their three best players healthy simultaneously. Midseason acquisition Blake Griffin, prolific rebounder Andre Drummond, and Jackson are a strong trio that can do a lot of damage if healthy, NBA.com’s Keith Langlois writes. “If we can get Reggie healthy and keep him healthy,” head coach Stan Van Gundy said, “with those three guys, that’s going to be a formidable group to play against for anybody.”
After recent reports suggested that the Bucks nearly traded Jabari Parker at the deadline and have a list of potential replacements for interim head coach Joe Prunty, general manager Jon Horst rejected those stories during a radio appearance in Milwaukee. Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays Horst’s comments, in which the Bucks GM denied the reports and indicated they came from erroneous sources.
As we relayed earlier today, Bulls two-way guard Antonio Blakeney suffered a fractured left wrist and he will miss the rest of the season.