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Let the Lottery Balls Roll...

By on May 18 2010, 7:30a @raptorshq 57

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Can DeMar duplicate BC's luck from 2006?

With the NBA's draft lottery tonight, Toronto Raptors' fans get to find out where there team will be picking come June. Franchise talks a bit about the lottery, and just what attendee DeMar DeRozan may want to bring to help the Raps' chances of landing a top 3 pick...

So here we go.

Let the off-season begin.

Really, it's the draft lottery that truly kicks off the NBA off-season for those non-playoff teams, as it's at this point that GM's can start to plot their strategy's for next season.

Hit the jackpot and land a top 3 pick?

Maybe now you don't need to move that superstar.  Or maybe you can now move that over-priced bum, left over from a previous regime.

Drop a few spots in the draft?

Maybe now it's time for plan B.

For the Toronto Raptors, it's an interesting situation.  The team right now is looking at the 13th pick, and with that pick likely trying to decide if it's adding a piece for the future, or moving the pick to help augment the team for next season.

But should the club somehow jump into a top 3 spot?

Then that changes everything...including maybe Chris Bosh's decision to head back south.

Team
 Combos Pick No. 1 Pick No. 2 Pick No. 3 Any top 3 pick
New Jersey Nets 250 25% 21.49% 17.73% 64.22%
Minnesota Timberwolves 199 19.90% 18.79% 17.08% 55.77%
Sacramento Kings 156 15.60% 15.72% 15.55% 46.87%
Golden State Warriors 104 10.40% 11.20% 12.08% 33.68%
Washington Wizards 103 10.30% 11.10% 12.00% 33.40%
Philadelphia 76ers 53 5.30% 6.03% 6.97% 18.30%
Detroit Pistons 53 5.30% 6.03% 6.97% 25.19%
Los Angeles Clippers 23 2.30% 2.69% 3.22% 8.21%
Utah Jazz 22 2.20% 2.57% 3.08% 7.85%
Indiana Pacers 11 1.10% 1.30% 1.57% 3.97%
New Orleans Hornets 8 0.80% 0.95% 1.15% 2.90%
Memphis Grizzlies 7 0.70% 0.83% 1.01% 2.54%
Toronto Raptors 6 0.60% 0.71% 0.87% 2.18%
Houston Rockets 5 0.50% 0.59% 0.72% 1.81%

As you can see however, Toronto has about a 2% chance of jumping into a top three spot.  Stranger things have happened, but my bet is they stick where they are at in the 13th spot.
DeMar DeRozan will be representing the Raptors at the draft this year so hopefully he brings the club some luck.

(Sidebar - DeRozan strikes me as a bit of an odd choice considering he hardly dominated as a rookie, and wasn't really expected to be the face of the franchise, but maybe BC is too embarrassed to show his face this year?  Even so, wouldn't sending Andrea Bargnani make more sense?  I digress...)

There's been no word as of yet regarding any special trinkets or good luck charms being brought by DeMar, but that doesn't mean he hasn't brought something with him.  After all, as SB Nation's Mike Prada discusses in this post, there's been no shortage of draft lottery stunts over the past few decades.

If I'm DeMar, I'm bringing one of the following for good luck:

1)  Isiah Thomas - Hey, he might have ruined the CBA and basketball in New York as we know it, but the man could draft.  Maybe just having him alongside DeMar would help Toronto's mojo.

2)  Sydney Crosby's Gold Medal-winning puck - The last time the nation's sports fans needed a clutch play, Sid the Kid came through.  If he can't make it, can DeRozan borrow the game-winning puck, or maybe stick that scored the goal?

3)  Michael Ruffin - Raptors' miracles have been few and far between in their history but Mo Pete's last second game-tying heave against the Washington Wizards back in 2007 has to be right up near the top of any list.  Thanks to Michael Ruffin, who threw the ball in the air instead of holding it while time expired, the Dinos were able to send the match into an extra session where they ended up winning.  It hardly altered the course of the franchise, but never-the-less, if fans are looking for a miracle tomorrow, having Ruffin beside DeMar tomorrow evening might not be such a bad idea.

Any other suggestions for DeMar?  Will it even matter?  Check the poll question below and give us your thoughts on the Raps' lottery chances tonight.

As well, we've got one more NBA.com contest (we'll announce the winner of our first contest today in our lunchbox links) for our readers.  Simply leave your guess as to the final lottery results for all 14 teams in the comments below, and the closest to the actual result will win a prize package courtesy of NBA.com!  All entries must be in by 3 PM EST today.

Good luck to all...and good luck to the Raptors tonight.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Poll

What do you think the lottery result for the Toronto Raptors will be when all is said and done?

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