One year ago
The NBA Draft Lottery is tonight, and the Celtics, having qualified for the playoffs as the No. 1 team in the East, are not a part of it.
Flash back to a year ago, when the lottery was the only hope for the Celtics. But with Greg Oden and Kevin Durant waiting to be drafted, Boston drew the No. 5 pick. At the time, the news was devastating.
What a difference a year makes.
“I was the luckiest guy on earth,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said tonight, an hour before his team was set to face the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. “If we got No. 1 or No. 2, I would probably be interviewing somebody today for ABC or TNT or somebody. Expectations would have been unrealistic with one of those two young guys. As a coach and a staff we all knew we would have been a little better with talent…but it would have been one long year.
“The best break was that night.”
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