NBA Finals Sweep??? How'd we get here?
Chapter 38 (Boston flexes its muscle, meanwhile the NBA Draft is days away)
What’s up everybody, welcome back (or welcome) to today’s YourFavoriteCasual Newsletter. Personally, my summer has been getting off to a great start and I hope you guys are all feeling the same way unless of course, you root for the Dallas Mavericks who find themselves down 3-0 in the NBA Finals (is now a good time to remind you guys NBA teams are 0-156 when down 3-0 in a playoff series???). Well anyway, I’m here to tell you guys about how we got to this point (and how wrong my prediction was) and I also have an NBA lottery mock draft that features my choices for who should be the first 14 players selected at this year’s draft on June 26.
Don’t forget to leave a like on this post and subscribe with your email if you haven’t already. I also want to know who you all think should be the first overall pick in this year’s NBA draft for the Atlanta Hawks (or if they should trade the pick), there’s been a lot of discussions but no consensus player yet, so leave your thoughts down below in the comments as well. If that’s all for the intro, why don’t we jump right into today’s basketball content shall we?!?!
A pair of Legends:
Before we get into the Finals, I just wanted to ensure that I acknowledged the lives and careers of two of the biggest NBA legends who passed away recently. Bill Walton and Jerry West were not only Hall of Fame players on the court but Hall of Fame people off it.
They both spawned long and successful careers after their playing days. Walton showcased his one-of-a-kind personality for decades while broadcasting and West was able to move up the ranks from head coach to top executive and helped put together some of the greatest teams in basketball history including the 2000s Lakers and 2010s Warriors (I mean he drafted Kobe Bryant and traded for Shaq in the same week!). Both men will be missed, and I hope their impact on the game continues to be felt long after today.
NBA Finals:
The Boston Celtics now boast a commanding 3-0 series lead on the Dallas Mavericks and look to win their franchise’s 18th NBA championship (this would break their tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA championships as they both currently sit at 17). I have a lot of thoughts about this series, but first off, I feel this team deserves its flowers, especially their top 6 rotation players. In what was a statistically dominant season from start to finish the Celtics still managed to fly under the NBA media radar as everyone on this team fully committed to their role in helping this unit become better than any single player in the NBA.
Big shoutout to Jaylen Brown who is unquestionably playing the best basketball of his NBA career and has taken the reigns for this team in all the right moments and should leave this year’s playoffs with an Eastern Conference Finals MVP and an NBA Finals MVP in his trophy case. I also think this roster construction will be imitated throughout the NBA in future seasons as the talent and contract distribution blended perfectly for this season.
There are big questions for both teams moving forward, but since the Mavs used the majority of their assets to upgrade for this year’s playoff run their roster’s core is likely to be untouched for the time being. The Celtics however have a lot of questions to answer and they’re all about $$$. What happens after Jayson Tatum receives his contract extension? Will they be able to keep Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis with Brown, Tatum, and Holiday all making over 30 million a year? Will Al Horford retire or look for one more big contract somewhere else to end his career? These are all questions that the Celtics front needs to handle sooner rather than later, but for now it’s time to celebrate and appreciate the efforts of this same front office that built an NBA juggernaut in the NBA’s 2024 season.
NBA Lottery Mock Draft:
“And with the first pick…” the NBA draft is right around the corner, and although this class of players is generating severely less exposure than in other years, there is still a lot of NBA-level talent that is ready to enter the league and help some of these teams take a step closer to their championship goals.
Pick 1: Atlanta Hawks [Alexandre Sarr] || France || C/PF || 7’1 || Age 19 ||
The Atlanta Hawks have a boatload of decisions to make this offseason (we’re looking at you Trae Young), but after getting lucky in this year’s NBA lottery, their most important decision is now what to do with the number 1 overall pick.
Alex Sarr is the likely favorite to be the first player taken in this year’s draft as the combination of his size and athleticism is hard to ignore and rare to find. There are concerns about his ability to become a legit offensive force at the NBA level, but Sarr’s defensive capabilities and Atlanta’s roster flexibility make this an easy match as he is the best player on the board in my opinion.
Pick 2: Washington Wizards [Ron Holland] || G-league Ignite || G/F || 6’7 || Age 19 ||
The Washington Wizards need help…EVERYWHERE. This is a situation where the lack of “star power” in this year’s draft hurts some teams, but Holland is a project that may be worth taking a swing on. Even after a disappointing season in the G-League Holland is a score-first wing with NBA size and athleticism that can develop into the key offensive piece the Wizards have been looking for.
Pick 3: Houston Rockets (via Brooklyn) [Matas Buzelis] || G-league Ignite || SF/PF || 6’10 || Age 20 ||
This was one of the harder choices for me in this mock draft as the Rockets are well-positioned with talent across their roster. The Rockets also benefitted from some NBA lottery luck and find themselves in a position to take the best player on their draft board.
Buzelis is an interesting prospect with a creative offensive game and the size to become a difference-maker on defense, but with an injury to another top prospect in this year’s class and with Houston’s roster already loaded with guards, I can see them adding to their frontcourt by adding more size and versatility to the team.
Pick 4: San Antonio Spurs [Reed Sheppard] || Kentucky || G || 6’3 || Age 20 ||
Sheppard would be a good fit if he was drafted at #3 to the Rockets, but he’s an even better fit for the Spurs if he’s still on the board for San Antonio’s pick. Sheppard is a lights-out shooter who also put together one of the best defensive seasons by any guard this season in college basketball.
His ability to make plays with his passing while being effective off the ball by moving and shooting makes him a perfect fit for the Spurs rebuild next to Victor Wembanyama who already proved to be the team’s franchise cornerstone in just one season.
Pick 5: Detroit Pistons [Zaccarie Risacher] || France || F || 6’9 || Age 19 ||
I don’t know what the Pistons are going to do with this pick, but after another season with one of the 3 worst records in the NBA, it’s time to try anything. Risacher is one of the few prospects in this class that “draft experts” have projected could become a “superstar”. He also may not be ready for NBA basketball and his streaky shooting in the French league is cause for concern. The Pistons seem like a team that could benefit from taking a “boom or bust” prospect (it can’t get worse right???).
Pick 6: Charlotte Hornets [Stepon Castle] || Uconn || G || 6’6 || Age 20 ||
The Hornets have a lot of cool pieces on this team, but their biggest enemy on the road to sustained success has been the injury bug. They could go with a big man in this spot, but I really like Castle as a prospect, and the thought of him and LaMelo Ball running a backcourt together excites me for this team’s future.
If Castle pans out the Hornets could have 3 players to trust with the ability to ball handle, score on their own, and facilitate (Castle: 20, LaMelo Ball: 22, and Brandon Miller: 21) which is something that most playoff teams don’t even have, and their collective youth makes them even scarier as an idea.
Pick 7: Portland Trail Blazers [Cody Williams] || Colorado || F || 6’7 || Age 20 ||
This is one of my favorite “player-to-team” picks in this mock draft. Cody Williams may not project out to be a future MVP, but he has all the tools NBA teams look for in prospects when evaluating talent and could develop into a high-level player.
Williams is the younger brother of one of OKC’s best players Jalen Williams and although he may not be on the same level as a shot creator and passer, he’s solid and he could be even better defensively and reach similar heights with his shooting ability. The Trail Blazers also just need to finally hit on a 3&D forward as it’s a problem they haven’t been able to solve for years.
Pick 8: San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto) [Nikola Topic] || Serbia || G || 6’6 || Age 19 ||
Topic is one of my favorite prospects in this class, but unfortunately, he just suffered an ACL injury that will likely put an end to his rookie season before it even begins. This injury is also why I have him falling to pick 8 in this draft, but the good news is the Spurs would be a great landing spot for Topic’s development.
Topic likes to play on the ball so that he can use his passing ability get his teammates involved. If my mock draft were to hold up, Topic, Sheppard, and Wemby would create a lot of problems offensively for other teams to try and stop moving forward,
Pick 9: Memphis Grizzlies [Donovan Clingan] || Uconn || C || 7’3 || Age 20 ||
The Grizzlies are coming off of one of the most injury-riddled seasons in the NBA, but that allowed for a lot of their young talent to show potential throughout the year. One thing we learned about this team (aside from they really need Ja Morant) is that even though Jarren Jackson Jr has won a Defensive Player of the Year award he is best suited to play power forward next to a real center to highlight his strengths, especially on defense. Jackson’s defensive skillset is more similar to Giannis Antetokounmpo who likes to play with a center (Brook Lopez) than Bam Adebayo (who is at his best as the center) for example.
This, paired with the Grizzlies recently trading veteran center Steven Adams is the reason why I believe Donovan Clingan can have an instant impact on a team that is ready to make some noise in the playoffs if healthy. Clingan moves really well and has a lot of stamina for his size while also having a great understanding of where to position his body on defense against other big men. He’d also be a perfect pick-and-roll partner for Morant as a major alley-oop threat.
Pick 10: Utah Jazz [Dalton Knecht] || Tennessee || F || 6’6 || Age 23 ||
The Utah Jazz are an interesting case for this year’s draft as there are many directions this team could decide to go, but one thing the NBA won’t ever shy away from this the emphasis on having good shooters on the court. Dalton Knecht was one of the most red-hot shooters in college basketball this past season and was able to generate the bulk of his scoring on his own.
That ability to create his own shot while also having the size to defend wings and forwards could fill that hole on Utah’s roster as they already have talented guards and big men but have struggled with the positions in between.
Pick 11: Chicago Bulls [Zach Edey] || Purdue || C || 7’5 || Age 22 ||
Zach Edey may be the most polarizing player in this year’s draft (and that’s saying an awful lot in a draft that features Lebron James’ son). The 2x Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year has received a lot of hate throughout his college career as he likes to dominate on the low block with post moves like he’s an 80’s big man in 2024.
His game may not be “sexy”, but it has obviously been effective and even if he doesn’t see the same volume of touches in the NBA, his defense, size, and touch around the basket are too impressive to pass up if you’re a team currently looking to replace their starting center like the Chicago Bulls currently are.
Pick 12: Oklahoma City Thunder (via Houston) [Kyle Filipowski] || Duke || PF/C || 7’0 || Age 21 ||
If you read my last article, I mentioned how I wanted the Thunder to use some of their extensive draft capital trade for All-Star Lauri Markkanen. If that’s not an option, why not just use a lottery pick on a player whose NBA comp is probably closest to Lauri Markkanen?
Filipowski had a disappointing freshman season at Duke, but staying an extra year in college helped his game and production as he was able to average more points, rebounds, and blocks while also shooting way better from the 3-point line. If Filipowski can continue to develop his game, he slots very well on an OKC team that needs more size and rebounding on the court while not sacrificing the ability to shoot the 3-ball either.
Pick 13: Sacramento Kings [Isaiah Collier] || USC || G || 6’3 || Age 20 ||
The Kings could go in a variety of directions for this year’s draft but with Malik Monk’s impending free agency and with Kevin Huerter’s recent struggles the Kings seem to have a problem at shooting guard.
Collier is an aggressive guard who does give up size on the defensive end but makes up for it with his strength. He likes to attack the basket and find his own shot (maybe too much sometimes), but this aggressiveness would relieve some of the pressure off of De’Aaron Fox to create offense at every moment for the Kings. Collier and Fox could become an effective offensive backcourt as their skill sets wouldn’t allow defenses to take many breaks during a game.
Pick 14: Portland Trail Blazers (via Golden State) [Tristan da Silva] || Colorado || F || 6’9 || Age 23 ||
With the final pick in the lottery, I have the Trail Blazers spinning back to Colorado and drafting Cody William’s teammate Tristan da Silva. da Silva is the more NBA-ready version of a 3&D wing compared to William’s raw potential, but both players are so versatile that they were able to share the court effectively while at Colorado this year.
da Silva reminds me of Jamie Jaquez who also stayed in college all 4 years and was a first-round pick last year for the Miami Heat. They both are comfortable with their games, and you can tell when watching them operate with the ball as they’re both very decisive players. They both offer a little bit of extra value on the defensive end by making smart plays with their hands and they both have some “sneaky athleticism” in their bag too. For a team trying to figure out a rebuild like the Trail Blazers, da Silva is the type of prospect to help the team back on the track to success.
Outro:
Well, that’s all I got for you all today. Thank you so much for the support, and shoutout if you made it this far today’s blog was fun to put together for you guys. Also, for those that enjoy the NFL content more than the NBA content, I do have some NFL offseason notes to catch up on that I want to get to you guys after the NBA Finals reaches its conclusion. Other than that, go ahead and close the laptop and enjoy your weekend and this nice summer weather. As always thank you, stay safe, and until next time…
-YouFavoriteCasual
Good stuff as always. I think Wizards will stay away from holland in favor of a shooting wing/forward or one of the bigs
What up guys! Let me know who yall think will be the first pick, and yes, I did leave Rob Dillingham out of the lottery. I just couldn’t find the right fit for him though. Let me know what team you guys think should draft him!