FanHouse Hornets

The NBA Draft started with a no-brainer -- Blake Griffin going No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers. Then, the fun happened, with Memphis taking Hasheem Thabeet and the Timberwolves' vexing decision to horde as many point guards as they could. A few other teams lucked out when players dropped down the board and into their laps. Check out the grades for the Western Conference after the jump.

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FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in Revisiting the NBA Draft.

Hard to believe that several NBA general managers can have regrets after two years, but it's true. The results of the 2007 NBA Draft are slowly reaping, which should teach a lesson to their 2009 brethren on Thursday about taking chances on raw college players, international prospects and even those who are allegedly "proven."

The biggest debate two years ago was whether the Portland Trail Blazers should take Greg Oden or Kevin Durant first overall. Oden was a franchise center out of Ohio State while Durant was the smooth scoring swingman from Texas. Durant had the better workout with the Blazers, apparently blowing the mind of coach Nate McMillan. Yet, the Blazers stuck with conventional thinking and took the big man.

FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in Revisiting the NBA Draft.

The 2005 NBA Draft would change the course of the future of two teams -- the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks. There was no clear-cut No. 1 pick, but Utah's Andrew Bogut was big, skilled and NBA ready. He wasn't the most convincing or dominant No. 1 pick, especially with Dwight Howard averaging a double-double in his rookie season, but he appeared to be the best choice for the Bucks.

Meanwhile, the Hawks decided on a player who was a sixth man of his college team. Marvin Williams had all the physical tools to be a star but played just one season at North Carolina. He fed off the Tar Heels' national title run and opted for the draft. It sounded like a good idea, although he was only 19. It's not that these were poor choices. Neither Bogut nor Williams are busts. They are productive NBA players, but when compared with the next two drafted, they are disappointments.

Some things figure. The Southwest Division is considered the NBA's toughest – or at least it is by some – so it's no wonder most of the teams in it aren't involved at the top of the draft.

One team isn't involved at all. But the Memphis Grizzlies – selecting at No. 2 – in some ways will dictate the direction of the thing. Will the Grizz take Ricky Rubio or not? That's the big question.

By now, you've probably seen the play from Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, where Chauncey Billups inbounded the ball to himself off of Kobe Bryant's back, and got himself an easy layup because of it. Crafty move by a cagey veteran, and a play that you almost never see in a real game, much less at this stage of the playoffs, right?

Actually, that's wrong. Because we saw the same thing happen back in February, and it once again happened to Kobe -- courtesy of Chris Paul.

Cherry Picking recaps the previous day's NBA playoff action.

There's no disputing the importance of Chauncey Billups on the Nuggets -- he revitalized a team many had left for dead after the front office literally gave away Marcus Camby, and his leadership and championship experience helped convince a team of gunslingers to finally accept the challenge of being a respectable defensive team.

That said, after playing a starring role for much of the first-round matchup against the Hornets, it was nice to see Billups take a backseat to Carmelo Anthony, who scored a playoff career-high 34 points, in Wednesday's series-clinching win. Anthony has been the target of undue criticism the last few years for his team's playoff struggles, so the fact that he was able to step up and perform so well when the stakes were at their highest is a nice chance at vindication.

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There really are no words to describe the Hornets' 58-point home loss on Monday, in what was unquestionably a must-win playoff game against the Nuggets. But embarrassing, humiliating, inexcusable, and unconscionable are all good places to start.

After trailing by 22 points at the break, there was no fight in New Orleans to start the third quarter, and they managed just 11 points in the period while Denver continued to play as if it were Game 7 of the Finals.

Part of the blame for the second half lack of effort falls on Byron Scott, but a more than equal share should also fall on the shoulders of Chris Paul. Either way, give Denver their due for providing teams with a blueprint for how to defend one of the league's best point guards.

After the Nuggets crushed the Hornets by 58 points on Monday, and after the Lakers eliminated the Jazz -- but allowed their reserves to trim a 21-point fourth quarter lead down to six before doing so -- the internets are alive with people warning (wishing?) of a possible Denver upset of L.A. in the Conference Finals.

I have two words for you: Stop it.

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James Posey and Chris Paul were all smiles after their Game 3 victory over the Nuggets, and why not? New Orleans did everything it could to blow a 10-point lead in the final two minutes, but hung on for the win anyway and cut Denver's series lead to two games to one.

The Hornets have a chance to tie things up at home tonight, and considering how chippy the series is starting to get (58 fouls, including three flagrants were called in Game 3), we should be in for a good one. Whether you have NBATV or not (that's the only place it's being televised), join me right here at 8:30 PM ET for all the action.