Rockets vs Jazz - NBA 2019 - Live TV Coverage.
Rockets vs Jazz : Rockets vs Jazz is the only first-round series that's a rematch of a playoff series from last season. They were the league's two best teams in that regard
after the All-Star break. The Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in point differential per 100 possessions.
Antetokounmpo, better known as the "Greek Freak," averaged 27 points, 12 rebounds and six assists while playing elite defense during the regular season. The Pistons stumbled into the playoffs with 41 wins as they rode the back of superstar forward Blake Griffin, who had arguably the best season of his 10-year career. Griffin's knee has flared up recently and Detroit doesn't stand much a chance if he's hobbled. The Eastern Conference rivals meet yet again in a series that should be competitive. After nearly making the NBA Finals last year, this season couldn't help but feel like a letdown for the Celtics: They couldn't crack 50 wins, were dogged by Kyrie Irving drama, saw Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown struggle at times, and saw Gordon Hayward fail to return to form from his ankle injury.
Even so, the Celtics are still deep enough to make a Finals run. The gritty Pacers could've folded when superstar guard Victor Oladipo was lost for the season in March, but they hung in there and rallied around forward Bojan Bogdanovic, center Myles Turner, and sixth-man of the year candidate Domantas Sabonis. This matchup is up for grabs. Perhaps no team made bigger in-season moves than the 76ers, who traded for both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Along with All-Star center Joel Embiid (who averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds per game), All-Star point guard Ben Simmons, and ageless sharpshooter J.J. Reddick, the 76ers boast arguably the best starting five in the entire conference. Their bench has been disastrous though and the mercurial Butler hasn't yet found a rhythm. The Nets certainly won't make this easy for Philadelphia. One of the surprise stories of the NBA season, the young team won 42 games while playing a fast-and-loose style led by D'Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Caris LeVert.
Center Jarrett Allen won't back down from Embiid. Don't be surprised if the Nets push this to seven games. The Raptors are one of the favorites to win the NBA Finals this year, as they feature arguably the best player in the Eastern Conference in All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard. In his first season in Toronto, Leonard returned to form by averaging 27 points and seven rebounds, while playing his usual stellar defense. Forward Pascal Siakam is one of the league's most improved players, and the Raptors also feature the solid veteran trio of Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, and Danny Green. The Orlando Magic return to the playoffs after nearly a decade away. This rag-tag bunch is powered by All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, but feature little else that can scare the Raptors. Expect this series to be one-sided. even ties among teams that finished the 2018-19 NBA regular season with identical records were broken Friday through random drawings to determine the order of selection for NBA Draft 2019 presented by State Farm.
The drawings were conducted by NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Kiki VanDeWeghe at the St. Regis Hotel in New York and broadcast live on NBA TV. The tiebreaker process was overseen by Darrington Hobson, a representative from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young. Boylen stirred up the locker room a bit from the get-go, boasting a much different style than Hoiberg. Eventually, the team showed minor improvement and learned to play winning basketball at times. Going into next season, it’s all about staying healthy and adding more talent. With that said, Chicago still has a great shot at a top-3 pick, which could yield a franchise-changing player. Depending on where they land in the lottery, the Bulls will either end up with a home run, or they’ll be settling for less. It’s pretty blatant that the top two or three players in this draft will have strong NBA careers, but beyond them, there aren’t any guarantees.
I’ll take on the challenge of predicting the top six picks, assuming the Bulls have better luck than last year’s seven spot. Let’s look at who the Bulls would end up with, should they pick anywhere in the top six. Their first opportunity to add more talent will be via the 2019 NBA Draft in June. But first, the Bulls will find out their fate at the NBA Draft Lottery on May 14. At the moment, the Bulls have the fourth-best odds at securing the no. 1 overall pick. Here’s how it breaks down for the Bulls’ odds in the lottery.
