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Memphis point guard Derrick Rose and Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley will likely be the top two picks in the NBA draft on June 26.
The outcome of the draft lottery will determine which player goes where. If Miami gets the top selection, for instance, it is leaning toward taking Rose. But several other teams are enamored with Beasley.
Most personnel scouts think the two players are ready to step in and play at a high level.
However, the 2008 draft is quite deep, and teams such as the Cavaliers, who own the 19th overall selection, should be able to find a player who can help them down the road.
"Look, everybody would like to have the opportunity to date Miss America," Bobcats director of scouting Scott Howard said. "So you say I want 1 or 2. But there are a lot of beautiful girls in the draft."
Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said it's never a two-player draft.
"There are players all over the draft," he said. "Most drafts yield more than two All-Stars. You just have to work to find them."
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas admits there is a dropoff in talent after Rose and Beasley.
"I think that the first two picks are tantalizing in their potential," Bilas said. "I think there's a drop, but I don't think it's as great as some may suggest."
Trivia question
The last time the Rockets won a playoff series was in 1997. That team featured Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley. Three current teams have a longer drought in the playoffs. Name them. (Answer below)
Best of rest
Wallace broke down the second tier of the 2008 draft in the following manner (players are listed in alphabetical order):
n Jerryd Bayless, 6-3, freshman, Arizona: "A combination guard. He had a strong freshman year. He was probably most effective this year for Arizona at more of a '2' position. That's one of the questions with him."
n Eric Gordon, 6-4, freshman, Indiana: "If the draft was being held Jan. 1, he would have been in the top three. The second half of the season did not treat him well. He had a wrist injury, and the controversy at Indiana seemed to have a detrimental effect."
n Danilo Gallinari, 6-9, Italy: "A scorer, whose father was a well-known Italian player, was on Mike D'Antoni's teams in Milan. He would have started on any college team in the country last year."
n Brook Lopez, 7-0, sophomore, Stanford: "Will (be picked) between Nos. 3 and 5. He's a big body, plays hard, who scores easily on the block, who has a lot of tools you can develop."
n Kevin Love, 6-10, freshman, UCLA: "He might be as good an outlet passer as anyone. He also stretches the defense. He shot the college 3, rebounded. And you have to look at his productivity in a very strong league."
n O.J. Mayo, 6-5, freshman, Southern Cal: "A very, very highly regarded high school player, right up there with Rose and Beasley and had a strong season for USC. He's going to be in that second group."
n Anthony Randolph, 6-10, freshman, Louisiana State: "He didn't get a great deal of media attention because his team wasn't in the postseason. But another player who will be up there."
What's up with Ray?
Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen is 32 years old. In the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cavs, he's starting to show his age. He's averaging 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists and shooting 34.5 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from the 3-point line.
"He needs one night," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "It might be Sunday. I believe in Ray 100 percent. He got some great looks (in Game 6). He's going to make them."
Cavs coach Mike Brown said he's continued to mix up his coverages on Allen. The Cavs have played him straight up with Wally Szczerbiak and then mixed in some occasional double teams.
"We've tried to make him work for his shot and keep him guessing a little bit," Brown said. "You can't give him the same coverage all the time because he'll catch his rhythm and burn you."
The Cavs were burned in Game 5 in Boston when point guard Rajon Rondo had 20 points and 13 assists. He was held to two points, five rebounds and five assists in Game 6.
The Cavs have double-teamed off Rondo for most of this series.
"He's a great young player," Brown said. "We can't take away all of their options. We have to live with some guys taking some shots. He hit two big 3s up in Boston.
"We've tried to keep him out of the paint, especially in pick-and-roll situations."
Pass the Mayo
If the Timberwolves don't win one of the draft's first two picks, one of the players they might have to decide upon is Mayo, who according to an ESPN report received thousands of dollars in illegal benefits from a sports agent when he was in high school and a college freshman.
Two connections to keep in mind: Mayo's agent is Bill Duffy, head of a Northern California sports agency that allegedly supplied cash and gifts in return for the right to represent Mayo when he turned pro (he vehemently denied the report). Duffy is the former college roommate of Timberwolves executive Kevin McHale. Mayo's college coach was Tim Floyd, who coached Wolves assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State.
When asked if the allegations about Mayo would affect the Wolves' draft opinion about him, Hoiberg said he had talked to Floyd "a lot" about a number of his USC players.
"I can't really comment specifically, but when you get to know the kids and get the chance to talk to them, that plays a much more important role," Hoiberg said.
By the numbers
9: The Cavs have won nine consecutive games against the Celtics at The Q.
28.3: LeBron James' scoring average in six home playoff games this season.
328: James became the franchise leader in playoff assists on Friday, surpassing Mark Price.
Trivia answer
The only other teams that have a longer drought of winning a playoff series than Houston are Denver (1994) and Memphis (never since 1996). Charlotte (2005) has never made the playoffs since getting an expansion team.
Quick shots
n Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas made just 3 of 11 shots in Game 6 for seven points. He also had 10 rebounds and three blocks. The Cavs will need more out of him in Game 7.
"Boston is doing a nice job defending him on the low block," Brown said. "They are making him post further out on the floor. We have to continue to find areas to pick-and-pop that jump shot."
n Quicken Loans Arena will host a Cavs watch party for Game 7 today. Doors will open at 2:30 p.m., and action can be watched on Q-Tube, the 20-by-30-foot HD video scoreboard.
n Cavs forward Joe Smith played Connie Hawkins in the movie "Rebound." He said he didn't have any speaking lines.
n Hoiberg knows all about No. 1 picks. He was one once.
"Me and Joe Smith," he said with a smile.
Smith was the No. 1 overall selection out of Maryland in the 1995 NBA draft. That same year, the Omaha Racers took Hoiberg first overall in the Continental Basketball Association's draft.
"They probably figured I didn't have a chance of making it in the NBA," said Hoiberg, who played 10 NBA seasons.
Rumor mill
n The Bulls apparently settled on Mike D'Antoni as their coach late last week, but were slow in informing D'Antoni of the decision. They never got the opportunity to make an offer.
Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf met with D'Antoni late last week and called him on May 10 to set up a meeting and start talking contract. But by that time, D'Antoni had decided to accept the Knicks' six-year, $24 million offer.
After the news of D'Antoni accepting the Knicks' offer broke, Bulls management went into spin mode.
The question is why it took the Bulls so long to get around to talking contract - especially since it was known for days that the Knicks had made a substantial offer.
If the Bulls had moved faster after GM John Paxson and Reinsdorf talked about D'Antoni last Tuesday, they might have had a better chance. Reinsdorf lives in the same neighborhood in Arizona as D'Antoni, but it took three days for them to get together. Reinsdorf called D'Antoni's actions "rude."
"I'm disappointed in him," Reinsdorf said. "I don't know what else we could've done. He chose to go to New York knowing there was a good chance we would make him an offer. If he had really wanted to be in Chicago, he would've waited. Instead, he misled us. It's not the end of the world."
n The Bulls' search continues. Former Dallas coach Avery Johnson remains in the picture, but hasn't interviewed for the job yet. Mark Jackson has interviewed, and other candidates include Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau, Pistons assistant Michael Curry and former Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey.
n Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard took his management staff to Spain earlier this month to meet with Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez, whom the Blazers drafted last summer in the first round and hope to lure to the U.S. for next season.
n With his rehabilitation from last week's ankle surgery expected to extend well into July, Rockets forward Shane Battier said he will no longer be a candidate for the Olympic team that will compete in Beijing.
n Front-office executive Bernie Bickerstaff, 63, was let go by the Bobcats. He could join the Knicks in some capacity.
n Heat owner Micky Arison reportedly called Bobcats owner Bob Johnson to task at the board of governors meeting for Johnson ripping the Charlotte business community.
n New Bucks coach Scott Skiles received a four-year, $18 million deal.
