Heading into the matchup with the lowly Utah Jazz, the 2014 NBA Draft implications were being talked about in terms of where the Los Angeles Lakers would end up in draft position with a loss in Salt Lake City.
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The Lakers ultimately came out on top against the Jazz on the road and now are locked in the sixth spot due to a tie with the Boston Celtics. Apparently, head coach Mike D’Antoni sounded unaware of the lottery rules following the game according to Lakers Nation’s Serena Winters in his post-game interview on Time Warner Cable SportsNet:
D'Antoni: "I think, if I'm not mistaken, it's the same number of ping pong balls. right? Don't they flip a coin or something?"
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 15, 2014
Reporter then responded w/ no…Utah guarantees that they finish w/ the worst record…
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 15, 2014
After realizing what the win meant in terms of draft positioning for both teams, D’Antoni thought they had the same rank:
To which D'Antoni upon realizing it, said, “I mean, you kind of hate that,” but after a pause, "I thought we (LAL & Utah) had the same record?”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 15, 2014
After a reporter informed D’Antoni that Utah needed a win to have the same record as the Lakers, D’Antoni admitted he didn’t know that but said they’d win Wedensday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. Following the win over the Jazz, only one game remains in one of the most forgettable seasons in franchise history for the Lakers. The team will end their season against the San Antonio Spurs on the road.
With all the uncertainty surrounding the team heading into the off-season, the 2014 NBA Draft will be extremely important in terms of their chances of turning things around with a promising young prospect.
A loss to Utah would’ve helped the team’s draft position, but now the Lakers are locked into the sixth position. Apparently, D’Antoni wasn’t alone in not knowing the draft implications with Nick Young also unaware of what the win over the Jazz had done to the Lakers’ draft position.
Ironically enough, Young was on fire in Utah scoring a season-high 41 points.
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