Over last few years, the hype surrounding the 2014 NBA Draft has continued to sky rocket, especially after Andrew Wiggins reclassified and entered school in 2013.
Wiggins, the Kansas Jayhawks’ forward, his teammate, center Joel Embiid, Australian point guard Dante Exum and Oklahoma State Cowboys’ guard Marcus Smart headline a group that has already declared for the daft and most expect Kentucky Wildcats power forward Julius Randle and Duke Blue Devils’ forward Jabari Parker (although he has applied for housing next year) to do the same any day now.
It comes as no surprise that teams like the Orlando Magic, who had the worst record last season and selected Indiana Hoosiers’ guard Victor Oladipo with the second overall pick, and Utah Jazz, who netted Michigan Wolverines’ star point guard Trey Burke in the 2013 Draft, didn’t do a lot to improve while teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics cleaned house before the season.
Although the 76ers threatened the Milwaukee Bucks with a 26-game losing streak, after a loss to the Indiana Pacers on a night where the Pacers rested all five starters on Wednesday, the Bucks, with a record of 14-64, have a three game “lead” on the 17-61 76ers with four games to go.
The Orlando Magic have been the team suffering lately. The reason? They’ve played much better. A win over the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday gave them their second straight victory and their fourth win in their last seven games. They are now tied with the Boston Celtics, who blew a late lead against the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday, with a record of 23-55. With a record of 24-54, the Utah Jazz are right behind. The Los Angeles Lakers, who are 25-53, are still in the mix as well.
With only four games to go, there is a lot that still needs to be decided.
Of course, once the season ends, the lottery will probably just shake things up again.
