05/17 (NBA Lottery) Quickie

Thanks to all for the good wishes for my kid's 5th birthday yesterday. Much appreciated.

He ended the day by opening a dozen or so presents, ranging from a new box of crayons to a LEGO Pizza Store that he REALLY wanted to a new two-wheel scooter (gifting his old three-wheel scooter to his little brother, who was ecstatic). There was also a new mini basketball hoop (the old one got demolished in an unfortunate dunking accident), which he is now obsessed with. The next Jon Scheyer!

Tonight is the NBA Draft Lottery or -- as it is known to we Bullets/Wizards fans -- "The Playoffs." Winning the Lottery this year is underwhelming -- Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams? The Wizards winning the John Wall Lottery last year was one of the most exciting moments of my life as a fan, if only for the combination of the player involved and the sheer unexpectedness of the Ping-Pong balls going for the Wiz, which only happens when Kwame Brown is involved.

I think the draft isn't nearly as bad as many say -- just because so many of the top college players skipped out doesn't mean it is full of duds, and I could easily see the foreign players that will make up at least half of the Top 10 turning into legit contributors. (Euros, typically, get short-shrift from fans in advance of the draft.)

Speaking of lightly regarded (at the time) Euro draftees, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs play Game 1 tonight against the Thunder. The Thunder have youth, energy and some tough match-ups; the Mavs have veteran savvy and arguably the best player of the playoffs so far in Dirk. I'm rooting for the Thunder but will say Mavs in 5.

The story of the day? I'm sort of obsessed with Royals RP Vin Mazzaro, who gave up 14 runs in less than 3 innings of work last night, unprecedented and probably underappreciated. Before last night, no one knew who Mazzaro was; now, everyone does. That's something, isn't it?

Last question: The Heat figure out how to rebound yet? Even with a few extra days between games, doesn't seem like the kind of adjustment you can make in the middle of a series.

-- D.S.