5-at-10: NBA Draft news, Top 10 projection, Baseball unwritten stupidity, Overrated/underrated on a Thursdays


              FILE - In this March 17, 2017, file photo, Kansas's Josh Jackson (11) goes up for a shot over UC Davis's Garrison Goode (44), Brynton Lemar (0) and Mikey Henn (24) in the first half of a first-round game in the men's NCAA college basketball tournament in Tulsa, Okla. Jackson spent one season at Kansas and is expected to be a top-five pick in Thursday's NBA draft. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
FILE - In this March 17, 2017, file photo, Kansas's Josh Jackson (11) goes up for a shot over UC Davis's Garrison Goode (44), Brynton Lemar (0) and Mikey Henn (24) in the first half of a first-round game in the men's NCAA college basketball tournament in Tulsa, Okla. Jackson spent one season at Kansas and is expected to be a top-five pick in Thursday's NBA draft. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

NBA draft

All the craziness leading up to tonight's NBA draft has been fun and interesting.

Has any of it really mattered in the big picture?

Nope, not really.

No contender has added a true game-changer to rise to the level of the Warriors. No team in the East has added a piece that makes them better than LeBron's Cavs.
But that's in the short term. The long-term effects could be quite different.

The Lakers have acquired bricks to reconstruct their nucleus. That likely will be around Lonzo Ball and, they hope any way, Paul George. (Would that be enough to lure LeBron next offseason? Who knows?)

The Cavs have the look of a team with exactly one more run in its tank. If the reports are true that current Cavs players are telling Jimmy Butler to stay way, then the knowledge is known within the locker room that LeBron will be on the move, it just has not been confirmed.

The Celtics likely will add another talented and athletic perimeter player. We expect them to draft Josh Jackson at 3, but they could Jayson Tatum, who is more polished but not as dynamic as Jackson. Both are dynamic perimeter prospects with size.

Speaking of James, it will be interesting to see what the Clippers do, considering that a) they brought in Jerry West, who reportedly is charged with doing whatever it takes to get James to their side of L.A.; b) have floated trade rumors about DeAndre Jordan; and c) still have not totally decided what they are going to do with Chris Paul. (That said, a) of that trio will simply not happen if c) does not return to the Clips.)

photo FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2017, file photo, Washington's Markelle Fultz brings the ball upcourt against Arizona during an NCAA college basketball game in Seattle. Fultz was selected to the AP All-Pac-12 Conference first team, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Night of memories and disasters

As for the night, here's our projection on the top 10:

  1. Philadelphia - Markelle Fultz
  2. L.A. Lakers - Lonzo Ball
  3. Boston - Josh Jackson
  4. Phoenix - Jayson Tatum
  5. Sacramento - DeAaron Fox (who we think may be the best player in this draft in three years)
  6. Orlando - Luke Kennard
  7. Minnesota - Lauri Markkanen
  8. New York - Marcus Monk
  9. Dallas - Dennis Smith
  10. Sacramento - Joanthan Isaac

The truth is that for all the tanking and the chance at getting that one franchise changing player, more times than not the draft lottery is a recycled collection of the same franchises making the same mistakes.

In fact, look at the teams listed above and there are no real surprises other than Boston, but that's because Danny Ainge fleeced Brooklyn out of their pick tonight and next year. So there you go.

Is one of those guys going to be the difference maker on an NBA championship team? Hard to know. (We never thought Steph Curry would be that guy; we all believed Lebron James would be that guy.)

Thoughts?

photo New York Mets' Wilmer Flores hits a grand slam during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Baseball silliness - again

And we're back.

A day after what could be described as an interesting new view on baseball's culture to answer everything with throwing fastballs at people, the unwritten rule police are out in full force. First there's Mets first baseman Wilmer Flores who was upset that Yasiel Puig watched a mammoth three-run homer for a few extra seconds.

"I don't think he knows what having respect for the game is," Flores told reporters afterward. "We're playing horrible right now. We don't need his [behavior]. He disrespected us."

And here's the real kicker, again from Flores:

"I think there's a way to enjoy a home run. That was too much."

So there it is, and this is the baseline on the absurdity of all of this. It's all up to the individual. Flores thinks Puig crossed the line. OK, why does Flores' opinion mean more than anyone else's?

Who elected Wilmer the Mets rep on the baseball etiquette committee and is Brian McCann OK with his appointment? (Side note: This is the same Mets bunch for the most part that had an absolute party when Bartolo Colon took more than 40 seconds to round the bases after hitting his first career homer last year. Again, the problem with these is which one is offensive, which one is fun?)

Then there was the folks on social media blasting Jarrod Dyson for breaking up Justin Verlander's perfect game with one out in the sixth with a bunt single.

Oh the outrage, expect, well you know, Dyson's single jumpstarted a three-run inning that chased Verlander and led the Mariners to the win.

So, if Dyson broke the "unwritten rules" as some claimed, then somewhere in that crock-and-bull book is that trying to win the game violates baseball's unwritten code.

Perfect, indeed.

This and that

* Thought this was interesting. And predictable. Yes, renowned cheater Jim Boeheim says he believes Rick Pitino didn't know about the sex scandal at Louisville. Proving that there may be honor among thieves.

* Got to love college football, right? Here's a story on a fan of THE Ohio State, who cut his neighbors lawn while they were out of town. That neighbor - a Michigan fan - may not think it was so neighborly after all.

* The Braves captured their NL-leading sixth walk-off win on Wednesday when Matt Kemp's 11th-inning homer led to a 5-3 win over the Giants.

* Here's a pretty thorough update from Barton Simmons of 247sports.com on the elite quarterback prospects in the 2018 class.

Today's question

Man, lots of interesting stuff happened on this day, June 22, in history.

For example, Galileo was forced by the Pope to recant his view that the Earth orbits the Sun. Of course we all know that he was right, and even the Vatican admitted the Pope was wrong. It just took the Vatican until 1992 to do it.

John Dilliger was born on this day in 1903 and became America's first "Public Enemy No. 1" on this day in 1934. Forty years ago today, Disney's "The Rescuers" was released. Today in 1981 was John McEnroe's famous Wimbledon "You can't be serious" meltdown.

In 1987, the Pacers let their fans down by passing on Steve Alford and drafting some cat named Reggie Miller. That turned out pretty good.

In the same draft the Bulls dealt Olden Polynice to the SuperSonics for some cat named Scottie Pippen. That turned out pretty good. (For the Bulls anyway.)

In 1990, the Atlanta Braves fired manager Russ Nixon and replaced him with some guy named Bobby Cox. That turned out pretty good.

Let's borrow from the Russilo Show and play a little overrated, underrated or properly rated on this Thursday

The first ring doughnut was introduced on this by Hanson Gregory in 1847. The doughnut, overrated, underrated or properly rated?

Meryl Streep is 68 today. Overrated, underrated or properly rated? Pete Maravich would have been 70 today. Overrated, underrated or properly rated? Kurt Warner is 46 today. Overrated, underrated or properly rated? Dustin Johnson is 33 today. Overrated, underrated or properly rated?

On this day in 1990, Adam Sandler joined SNL. Adam Sandler overrated, underrated or properly rated?

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