Phildelpia 76ers Win Lottery Pick

The Philadelphia 76ers landed their first No1 overall draft pick in 20 years on Tuesday at the NBA’s draft lottery, putting Australia’s Ben Simmons in line to head to the team that finished the season as the worst in the league.

Philadelphia have endured a dreadful three-year stretch that was a part of a rebuilding plan to restock the franchise with top picks. Their record of 10-72 this past season gave them the best chance at getting the No1 selection for the 23 June draft and it paid off as they came out ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, who will draft second and third.

“My immediate thought goes straight to the city of Philadelphia,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. “They have been amazing in allowing us to go through the process we have. We’re excited about the news we have tonight.”

Louisiana State University standout Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram are expected to be the first two choices. Should Simmons go first he would team-up with one of the NBA’s brightest young cores in Brown, who coached Australia at the 2012 Olympics.

Brown’s connections to Australia could open the way for the Melbourne-born teenager to join the Australian Olympic team this year, despite Simmons having already indicated he was unavailable to go to Rio.

The 76ers have given little away about who they will choose with their top pick. Simmons’ biggest threat is Ingram, with some draft analysts suggesting Ingram could be a better fit for the 76ers.

The last time Philadelphia were in this position they chose Hall of Famer Allen Iverson first overall in 1996.

Their recent results have been mixed as they drafted Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid in the top three of the past two drafts. Embiid has yet to make his debut due to foot surgeries, while Okafor is coming off a solid rookie season.

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Cleveland Love Cavaliers Clean Sweep

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Kevin Love scored 27 points, LeBron James hit a huge shot with 39.2 seconds to go and the Cleveland Cavaliers finished off their second straight playoff sweep, beating the Atlanta Hawks 100-99 Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

The Hawks had one last chance to extend the series after James missed a three-pointer with the clock winding down. Atlanta got the rebound and put the ball in the hands of Dennis Schroder, who led the team with 21 points.

The speedy point guard drove into the lane but was surrounded by James and Tristan Thompson. Schroder slipped and James tied up the ball, forcing a huge mismatch of a jump ball with 2.8 seconds left. With a seven-inch height advantage, James flicked the ball toward the sideline. Paul Millsap tried to get off a desperation shot, but it was after the buzzer and didn’t go in anyway.

The Cavaliers, who opened the playoffs with four straight wins over Detroit, made short work of the Hawks in a series that mirrored last year’s conference finals. In that series, the Hawks were the top seed but lost four straight to Cleveland. This time, the Cavaliers were healthy, seeded No1 and simply too much for Atlanta down the stretch in three of their four wins. They improved to 12-0 against the Hawks in the postseason.

The Cavaliers will face the winner of the Miami-Toronto series in the conference final. Toronto lead 2-1.

Schroder put the Hawks ahead 97-96 on a drive with 1:31 remaining. But James, after having one shot blocked and missing two tip-ins, got another chance when a video review overturned a call that Cleveland had knocked the ball out of bounds. Off the inbounds pass, Matthew Dellavedova found James streaking into the lane and Millsap was called for goaltending as he went for the block.

Schroder’s next shot was blocked by Thompson, and the Cavaliers isolated James on the wing against Millsap. James stepped back and hit the jumper, pushing Cleveland ahead 100-97. Schroder scored on a drive with 34.4 seconds left and James missed a potential clinching three. It didn’t matter. The Cavaliers buckled down at the defensive end and wrapped up the series.

Love carried Cleveland in the early going, hitting one three-pointer after another as the Hawks continually left him open in the corner. He went cold in the second half but still finished eight of 15 from beyond the arc. He was fouled on one long-range shot, knocking down a free throw for a four-point play, and his only basket that wasn’t a three was a jumper with his toe on the line.

James and Kyrie Irving finished with 21 points apiece. Millsap had 19 for the Hawks.

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Andrew Smith 1990 - 2016

Former Butler star Andrew Smith, a key player on Brad Stevens’ team that went to the national title game in successive years, died on Tuesday from cancer. He was 25.

His wife, Samantha, confirmed his death on Tuesday afternoon.

Smith’s father Curt said in a statement: “Andrew packed more living into his 25 years than most of us will enjoy in a full 75 years. He lived his faith, relished his family, selflessly served his wife, and pursued his passion of basketball at the highest levels.”

Butler University said: “The Butler community is profoundly sad today with the news of Andrew’s passing.

“He gave his all, all the time. As an academic all-American, he represented the best of Butler in the classroom and on the court. He is, was, and always will be a Bulldog. The Butler community is proud to have been part of his life, and our thoughts are with his wife, Samantha; his parents, Debbie and Curt; and the rest of his family.”

The 6ft 11in Smith was a freshman reserve on the 2010 team, and started as a sophomore on the 2011 squad. Smith scored five points and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss to UConn in the title game. He spent two more seasons at Butler, then played professionally in Lithuania. He returned home to Indiana in 2013 and was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2014.

In July 2014, he went into cardiac arrest and spent three days in a coma. Smith had a bone marrow transplant in November and on December 7, Samantha Smith wrote that the transplant had failed and the lymphoma had turned into leukaemia.

Smith attended Butler’s December 19 game in Indianapolis, where the Bulldogs defeated Purdue.

Stevens, now the head coach of the Boston Celtics, did not attend his team’s game last Thursday in Chicago and instead went to visit Smith in the hospital in Indianapolis.

#RIP 

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Knicks Early Suffers Gunshot in Uber Car

New York Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early was held up at gunpoint and shot in the right leg during an early-morning attack in Queens on Wednesday.

Early, 24, who had played 29 seconds in the Knicks’ 108-96 victory over the Pistons earlier that night, was shot in his right leg while travelling in an Uber car, detectives said. The attack took place at about 4am after Early left a strip club in the Maspeth neighborhood of Queens.

According to the New York Daily News, Early, 24, was surrounded by four to six people wearing ski masks and robbed of his items and jewelry – including a gold necklace and gold caps on his teeth, sources said. Early was taken to Elmhurst hospital in stable condition, and was later being transported to another hospital. His injury does not appear to be life-threatening.

“We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation,” the Knicks said in a statement. “We ill not comment any further until we receive more information.”

Early, who grew up in the Bronx, is in his second season with the Knicks. He was drafted in 2014 after attending Wichita State.

The theft comes about 10 days after Knicks forward Derrick Williams was robbed of $617,000 in jewelry from his home. He had taken home two women from a Manhattan club. Police are still looking for suspects.

Williams has declined to comment on the theft, but the case raised questions about whether NBA players should have a curfew like other professional sports. In April, Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland, his girlfriend and another woman were stabbed following a late-night argument on the street near a Manhattan nightclub.

Knicks coach Derek Fisher was asked about the policy at a news conference after Williams was robbed.

“I don’t really have to get into our policies of what you can and can’t do,” he told reporters last week. “We don’t have a curfew like in the NFL or other sports do on certain nights. It’s an unfortunate incident.”

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Cavaliers Kyrie Irving Returns

Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving will make his season debut on Sunday against Philadelphia, his first game since breaking his left kneecap in the NBA Finals.

Irving posted “I’m back” on his Twitter account Saturday and later said following the team’s practice that he’s excited to play. Irving hasn’t been on the floor since getting hurt in Game 1 of the Finals against Golden State.

“I’m pretty F’ing excited,” Irving said Saturday. “There were a few things I had to clear, but there was no rush on it. ... I’ve been ready to play, but biomechanically we just wanted to make sure everything was good so I wouldn’t put myself at risk.”

The 23-year-old has gone through extensive rehab over the past six months. He said he wouldn’t wish his injury on anyone.

The Cavs and Irving have exercised patience during his long recovery. He had been expected to make his return earlier this week, but Irving said there were still some medical hurdles to overcome.

Irving said his minutes will be restricted and he’ll ease his way back before his playing time increases in the coming weeks.

“The emotions and thoughts, that’s hardest thing,” Irving said. “A lot has changed on the basketball court and in my life.”

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