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Any changes to how draft order is determined would likely serve to punish bad teams. If you put The Wheel into place, let all 30 teams draw for the No. 1 pick or do anything drastic, bad teams will suffer whether they intended to be bad or not. That works against competitive balance. The goal of competitive balance is for more than a handful of teams to think they have a title shot any given year and for all 30 teams to think they can make the playoffs. If you take a 20-62 teams and give them the No. 12 pick instead of a top-three pick, you're working against yourself. Changing the current system will almost assuredly result in good teams strengthening their hold on playoff spots at the expense of the lesser franchises.

Blake is in no way the savior to the offensive woes, bench or otherwise. He isn't going to suddenly and wholesomely change the entire nature and intricacies of Mark Jackson's offense. The inherent predication of isolations permeate through the second five as consistently as it ever has. However, it's Blake ability to initiate the offense without stumbling, make an extra pass and nail an open jumper - yes, all rudimentary basketball things - that has shifted the responsibility of each player down one, allowing Jordan Crawford, Harrison Barnes, Jordan Crawford to do what they can do.

Wally_West wrote: Did any of you guys catch the 3D projection the Cavs did on their court? It’s pretty awesome.

Mori Chu wrote:From the start of the season, everybody has penciled in the Spurs and Thunder as prohibitive favorites to reach the WCF. But the Clippers and Rockets are playing extremely well. I think either one could get to the WCF and that the Clippers could even reach the Finals. Also, can we officially declare that the Blazers are not for real?

carey wrote:How NBA Draft reform damages competitive balance: CLICK

Any changes to how draft order is determined would likely serve to punish bad teams. If you put The Wheel into place, let all 30 teams draw for the No. 1 pick or do anything drastic, bad teams will suffer whether they intended to be bad or not. That works against competitive balance. The goal of competitive balance is for more than a handful of teams to think they have a title shot any given year and for all 30 teams to think they can make the playoffs. If you take a 20-62 teams and give them the No. 12 pick instead of a top-three pick, you're working against yourself. Changing the current system will almost assuredly result in good teams strengthening their hold on playoff spots at the expense of the lesser franchises.

Mori Chu wrote:I think any system that tries to reform the draft lottery should make it so that you are not rewarded for having the league's worst record. Something like, the team with the league's, say, #7 worst record has the best shot at the #1 draft pick, and then downward to #1 worst record, and then further downward toward #14 worst record (barely missing the playoffs). That's not perfect, but the idea would be, if you are at the bottom you must be actively battling and trying to win so that you can get better lottery odds. The Sixers would not be losing 19 in a row, teams would not be willingly buying out and trading away their best players, etc.

Sam Lacey, a former NBA All-Star center who spent most of his 13-year career with the Kansas City Kings, has died. He was 66.

In a statement released through the team Wednesday, Kings general manager Pete D'Alessandro called Lacey "one of the finest and longest-tenured players to ever don a Kings uniform."

He said "Sam's prolific legacy is evident throughout franchise lore, where he ranks first in games played, rebounds, blocks and steals. He was also known as a tireless worker and a wonderful teammate. He will be greatly missed and forever remembered for his contributions on the game of basketball and in life."

Lacey was drafted fifth overall by the Cincinnati Royals in 1970 after a stellar career at New Mexico State. The franchise became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in 1972-73, and later just the Kansas City Kings before the 1975-76 season.

Lacey made his only All-Star appearance in 1975. He averaged 10.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in his career, which ended after the 1982-83 season with Cleveland. Lacey's No. 44 jersey has been retired by the Kings and hangs in the rafters at Sacramento's arena."

Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook left Friday's game against Toronto in the third quarter after appearing to injure his right knee.

Westbrook, who sat out Thursday's win at Cleveland to rest the knee that was surgically repaired earlier this season, was injured when Toronto's Kyle Lowry collided with him on a pump-fake near the sideline with 7:37 left in the third quarter.

After being struck on the knee by Lowry's leg, Westbrook immediately turned and called timeout, bending over in pain. He hobbled along the sideline for a few steps and was tended to briefly by the trainer before walking off the court with help from center Hasheem Thabeet.