![Inside the NBA Draft Lottery, where the Pacers’ big gamble came up agonizingly short CHICAGO – Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard could hardly sleep the night before the NBA Draft lottery.Who could, in his situation? In a daring trade to acquire Ivica Zubac back in February, the Pacers sent, among other things, their 2026 first-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers. It was protected 1-4 and 10-30, meaning the Clippers could only receive the selection if it landed 5-9. On Sunday, a machine full of ping pong balls would decide which team would be blessed by fate. 52.1% of the time, the answer would be the Pacers. The other 47.9% would benefit L.A.It was basically a coin flip, at least by odds. Maybe that’s too tame. It was closer to Russian Roulette but with a shade under 2.9 bullets; with just a couple of spins in a chamber they didn’t have eyes on to decide their fate.Coin flip odds are more instructive. Heads, the trade looks incredible for the Pacers. They acquire a center that they covet, one who nearly made an All–NBA team in 2024-25. They send out two first-rounders in future seasons with worse lottery odds, plus two players who were fading in their plans. A near-perfect addition. Tails, it looks much worse for them. Add a top-five prospect in a very strong draft to that above trade package, and that’s after Zubac barely suited up thanks to injuries. Worst of all, it would mean the Pacers finished with the second-worst record in the NBA and didn’t get the lotto luck for it. How the deal feels could change over the next five years as assets continue to be exchanged, but the Pacers 2026 first-rounder was the best non-Zubac asset moved in the deal. Who would actually use that pick came down to the lottery.“The truth is, I didn’t sleep much last night. And [Pacers general manager] Chad (Buchanan) and I kind of got away and walked. And we were trying to plan out everything, for the good, for the bad,” Pritchard explained.As the lottery results were being revealed, Pritchard said his heart was beating like Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He would have been a terrible poker player on Sunday – his emotional state was obvious even to onlookers 30 feet away. And truly, as a trio of Pacers involved in the lottery broadcast sat to witness their fate, only one was able to hide their emotions as a Clippers logo was shown to a room filled with hundreds of people. Millions more watched on television.The draft lottery and subsequent unveiling of results were held in Chicago’s Navy Pier. A massive Festival Hall was sectioned off, with about one-fourth of the room converted into a stage and viewing area for the proceedings. Every team involved in the lottery had a table in the front of the room for their executives to sit at – the Pacers’ was in the middle row on the left side between the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets.The only two at the Pacers table were Pritchard and Buchanan. They’ve worked together for years, originally overlapping with the Portland Trail Blazers over two decades ago. Now, they’re the leaders of Indiana’s front office – the other top figure of the group, vice president of basketball operations Ted Wu, was the team’s lottery representative who was in the room for the drawing.So it was just Buchanan and Pritchard, the smallest number of team representatives at any table. The third figure in the room was guard T.J. McConnell, the Pacers’ on-stage lottery representative. He’s the longest-tenured Pacer and was a rookie with the 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers, a team that went 10-72 before winning the 2016 draft lottery. McConnell wanted to bring that luck to the Pacers.There was a hope emanating from the Pacers about 30 minutes before the big reveal. Pritchard and Buchanan spoke with league figures like any other big NBA event – Pritchard congratulated new Mavericks president Masai Ujiri on his new job. Buchanan caught up with executives on another lottery team. There were smiles, at first. They believed they were due for some luck.“Obviously not good news,” McConnell would be saying about a half hour later.The two executives sat down, still awaiting the results. Something about doing so made reality settle in. For the next eternity – okay, still just 30 minutes – the Pacers front office leaders had to sit there, powerless against their fate, with judgment coming their way regardless of the result. For a few minutes, neither said a word.Pritchard showed the most outward emotion. He chewed gum the entire event. At 1:48 p.m. local time, he put on his glasses. Four minutes later, he took them off to fidget with them on the table. The next minute, he put them on for the second time in five minutes.Buchanan was far more rigid. At 1:51, he adjusted his collar, then was still for several minutes. Next to Pritchard, he looked like a statue. It was the perfect picture of the two and their personalities – and a display of why they’ve worked so well together for all these years as partners in the NBA.At 1:59, Buchanan’s trance ended as he checked his phone. At the same time, Pritchard did the same. He put his phone away four minutes later, then frantically looked around the room before running his hands through his hair. Both executives were looking for something, anything, to distract them at that moment.“I know the Twitterverse is probably going to be a little brutal. And I get it, man, I get it,” Pritchard would say later, fitting for someone whose phone became a key prop for fiddling and posting during the day. ”To those people, I’m sorry.”In came McConnell to provide that diversion. In a sea of suit-wearing lottery representatives, McConnell took the court in a yellow button-up shirt and black pants. He was situated on the same side of the room as the Pacers’ executive table, so he had a clear view of Pritchard and Buchanan.McConnell reached his seat. He gave John Wall – the Washington Wizards lottery representative – a high five before pulling his phone out and putting it on silent. The next moment, he gave a quick glance to the Pacers front office members gathered about 40 feet away from him. They all made eye contact. Suddenly, McConnell’s mood was serious. Nerves returned for everyone.The broadcast began as ESPN’s Malika Andrews began to walk across the front of the room to interview the consensus top-three prospects in the coming draft. AJ Dybantsa was first. Right in the background of the interview, Pritchard could be seen as clear as day. Six minutes later, Andrews was finished and NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum took the stage. He was about to reveal the results.As Tatum pulled the first card out of a folder to reveal which team would be picking 14th, Buchanan put his elbows on the table. It was his first movement in over five minutes. The Pacers had nothing to worry about until the sixth pick, but the start of the process increased the tension.No teams jumped into the top four until the Chicago Bulls, who entered the day with the ninth-best odds to do so. When the Dallas Mavericks were revealed to have the ninth pick, that meant the Bulls jumped into the top four. Pritchard stroked his chin, thinking about how that would impact his team.One minute later, the Memphis Grizzlies also jumped up into the top four. It’s 2:17 now, and both Buchanan and Pritchard are rubbing their chins. They each leaned forward. The team picking sixth was about to be announced. Time for the stressful part.Tatum pulled out the card for the sixth slot. Up came a Brooklyn Nets logo. There was little reaction from Pacers executives. McConnell looked out over the crowd. There was one final reveal to go.Between Tatum saying “Nets” and pulling out the card for the fifth pick, 13 seconds passed. To Pritchard and Buchanan, it felt like 13 days. Tatum began his lines. “The fifth pick in the NBA Draft will be made by…“The LA Clippers,” he said, holding up a Clippers logo. McConnell stared off into space. Buchanan didn’t move. Pritchard took a few seconds before re-adjusting in his chair.The team’s gamble was a loss. The best possible pick they could send to the Clippers is, in fact, going to the Clippers. It took five minutes before Buchanan moved at all, slightly loosening his posture at 2:23. McConnell walked off the stage and chatted briefly with Charlotte Hornets forward and lottery representative Kon Knueppel.There was a commercial break before the top-four picks were announced, but that break in the action did little to change the demeanor of Buchanan, Pritchard, or McConnell. All three looked almost shell-shocked despite knowing the odds entering the event.McConnell’s darting glances after it became reality the pick was going to the Clippers were intentional. Moments earlier, his heart was beating “so fast,” yet there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. LA got the pick, and McConnell couldn’t even look at his front office reps“In a way, I felt like I was letting him down,” McConnell said. “I know there’s no reason to feel that way, but just weirdly do.”Wall’s Wizards were announced as the winners of the lottery a few minutes later. The broadcast ended, then executives and some high-profile draft prospects all chatted at the front of the room. Buchanan and Pritchard stayed near their table area but stood up and joined in on some conversations.The 47.9% chance of losing their pick had actually happened. The odds said that was the most likely outcome for the team, but something about the draft lottery messes with everyone’s brain. It just seems like nothing bad will happen, until it does.Pritchard couldn’t hide his emotions all afternoon. He was so fidgety that it was clear he was nervous in some way. As he began to speak with reporters not long after the event ended, the team president made his mental state even more clear.“We’re all disappointed,” Pritchard said. That was a theme. “Disappointed because this is a great draft,” he added later. As he continued speaking, Pritchard kept making it clear how talented the team thinks Zubac is. But he would also catch himself by repeating that emotion.“What we’ve learned from (Zubac) so far is he’s super smart, and he wants to fit in, and he’s all about winning. And again, disappointed. I’m not trying to smooth over that. We wanted to pick, but we’ll be okay,” Pritchard said. Just over 30 seconds later, a repeat. “Again, I wanted to pick. We wanted to pick, and I know people are going to be disappointed. But you have to remember, our top seven or eight players are still with us. So today it stings. But wait till next season. Let’s give this group an opportunity to go compete for a championship. Because they’ve proven they can do it.”Indeed they have. The Pacers made the NBA Finals in 2025, then upgraded at center from Myles Turner to Zubac. A top-four would have been a perfect addition to round out the team for the next few years.Many Pacers players couldn’t sleep before Game 7 of that series. They were nervous for the big stage. That was identical to Pritchard on Sunday, who had a ton of anticipation and wanted the lottery win for his owner, longtime Pacers governor Herb Simon.“My heart hurts for Mr. Simon, if I’m honest. He’s such a good person and he wants it for Indiana like we all want it. In a way, I feel like I’ve let the organization down,” Pritchard said.He and McConnell shared that emotion. The lottery brings out the hope in everybody. But instead, the Clippers will pick fifth, a painful twist of fate. It’s why Pritchard couldn’t sleep the night before and why the Pacers trade was viewed as risky. This risk didn’t pay off, but the Zubac trade still can. If Pritchard has his way, his next sleepless night will come before an NBA Finals game with Zubac leading his team’s defense. But there could be more tossing and turning in store for him if Zubac isn’t a perfect fit right away or, worse, the fifth pick turns into a star for the Clippers. Time, as with all trades, will tell if Pritchard’s future sleepless nights will be for positive or negative reasons. He’ll just have to hope for better than 52.1% odds of positive outcomes this time. #NBA #Draft #Lottery #Pacers #big #gamble #agonizingly #short](https://i0.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/gettyimages-2275016945.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C7.9361049815462%2C100%2C65.433308178695&w=1200&ssl=1 "Inside the NBA Draft Lottery, where the Pacers’ big gamble came up agonizingly short CHICAGO – Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard could hardly sleep the night before the NBA Draft lottery.Who could, in his situation? In a daring trade to acquire Ivica Zubac back in February, the Pacers sent, among other things, their 2026 first-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers. It was protected 1-4 and 10-30, meaning the Clippers could only receive the selection if it landed 5-9. On Sunday, a machine full of ping pong balls would decide which team would be blessed by fate. 52.1% of the time, the answer would be the Pacers. The other 47.9% would benefit L.A.It was basically a coin flip, at least by odds. Maybe that’s too tame. It was closer to Russian Roulette but with a shade under 2.9 bullets; with just a couple of spins in a chamber they didn’t have eyes on to decide their fate.Coin flip odds are more instructive. Heads, the trade looks incredible for the Pacers. They acquire a center that they covet, one who nearly made an All–NBA team in 2024-25. They send out two first-rounders in future seasons with worse lottery odds, plus two players who were fading in their plans. A near-perfect addition. Tails, it looks much worse for them. Add a top-five prospect in a very strong draft to that above trade package, and that’s after Zubac barely suited up thanks to injuries. Worst of all, it would mean the Pacers finished with the second-worst record in the NBA and didn’t get the lotto luck for it. How the deal feels could change over the next five years as assets continue to be exchanged, but the Pacers 2026 first-rounder was the best non-Zubac asset moved in the deal. Who would actually use that pick came down to the lottery.“The truth is, I didn’t sleep much last night. And [Pacers general manager] Chad (Buchanan) and I kind of got away and walked. And we were trying to plan out everything, for the good, for the bad,” Pritchard explained.As the lottery results were being revealed, Pritchard said his heart was beating like Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He would have been a terrible poker player on Sunday – his emotional state was obvious even to onlookers 30 feet away. And truly, as a trio of Pacers involved in the lottery broadcast sat to witness their fate, only one was able to hide their emotions as a Clippers logo was shown to a room filled with hundreds of people. Millions more watched on television.The draft lottery and subsequent unveiling of results were held in Chicago’s Navy Pier. A massive Festival Hall was sectioned off, with about one-fourth of the room converted into a stage and viewing area for the proceedings. Every team involved in the lottery had a table in the front of the room for their executives to sit at – the Pacers’ was in the middle row on the left side between the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets.The only two at the Pacers table were Pritchard and Buchanan. They’ve worked together for years, originally overlapping with the Portland Trail Blazers over two decades ago. Now, they’re the leaders of Indiana’s front office – the other top figure of the group, vice president of basketball operations Ted Wu, was the team’s lottery representative who was in the room for the drawing.So it was just Buchanan and Pritchard, the smallest number of team representatives at any table. The third figure in the room was guard T.J. McConnell, the Pacers’ on-stage lottery representative. He’s the longest-tenured Pacer and was a rookie with the 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers, a team that went 10-72 before winning the 2016 draft lottery. McConnell wanted to bring that luck to the Pacers.There was a hope emanating from the Pacers about 30 minutes before the big reveal. Pritchard and Buchanan spoke with league figures like any other big NBA event – Pritchard congratulated new Mavericks president Masai Ujiri on his new job. Buchanan caught up with executives on another lottery team. There were smiles, at first. They believed they were due for some luck.“Obviously not good news,” McConnell would be saying about a half hour later.The two executives sat down, still awaiting the results. Something about doing so made reality settle in. For the next eternity – okay, still just 30 minutes – the Pacers front office leaders had to sit there, powerless against their fate, with judgment coming their way regardless of the result. For a few minutes, neither said a word.Pritchard showed the most outward emotion. He chewed gum the entire event. At 1:48 p.m. local time, he put on his glasses. Four minutes later, he took them off to fidget with them on the table. The next minute, he put them on for the second time in five minutes.Buchanan was far more rigid. At 1:51, he adjusted his collar, then was still for several minutes. Next to Pritchard, he looked like a statue. It was the perfect picture of the two and their personalities – and a display of why they’ve worked so well together for all these years as partners in the NBA.At 1:59, Buchanan’s trance ended as he checked his phone. At the same time, Pritchard did the same. He put his phone away four minutes later, then frantically looked around the room before running his hands through his hair. Both executives were looking for something, anything, to distract them at that moment.“I know the Twitterverse is probably going to be a little brutal. And I get it, man, I get it,” Pritchard would say later, fitting for someone whose phone became a key prop for fiddling and posting during the day. ”To those people, I’m sorry.”In came McConnell to provide that diversion. In a sea of suit-wearing lottery representatives, McConnell took the court in a yellow button-up shirt and black pants. He was situated on the same side of the room as the Pacers’ executive table, so he had a clear view of Pritchard and Buchanan.McConnell reached his seat. He gave John Wall – the Washington Wizards lottery representative – a high five before pulling his phone out and putting it on silent. The next moment, he gave a quick glance to the Pacers front office members gathered about 40 feet away from him. They all made eye contact. Suddenly, McConnell’s mood was serious. Nerves returned for everyone.The broadcast began as ESPN’s Malika Andrews began to walk across the front of the room to interview the consensus top-three prospects in the coming draft. AJ Dybantsa was first. Right in the background of the interview, Pritchard could be seen as clear as day. Six minutes later, Andrews was finished and NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum took the stage. He was about to reveal the results.As Tatum pulled the first card out of a folder to reveal which team would be picking 14th, Buchanan put his elbows on the table. It was his first movement in over five minutes. The Pacers had nothing to worry about until the sixth pick, but the start of the process increased the tension.No teams jumped into the top four until the Chicago Bulls, who entered the day with the ninth-best odds to do so. When the Dallas Mavericks were revealed to have the ninth pick, that meant the Bulls jumped into the top four. Pritchard stroked his chin, thinking about how that would impact his team.One minute later, the Memphis Grizzlies also jumped up into the top four. It’s 2:17 now, and both Buchanan and Pritchard are rubbing their chins. They each leaned forward. The team picking sixth was about to be announced. Time for the stressful part.Tatum pulled out the card for the sixth slot. Up came a Brooklyn Nets logo. There was little reaction from Pacers executives. McConnell looked out over the crowd. There was one final reveal to go.Between Tatum saying “Nets” and pulling out the card for the fifth pick, 13 seconds passed. To Pritchard and Buchanan, it felt like 13 days. Tatum began his lines. “The fifth pick in the NBA Draft will be made by…“The LA Clippers,” he said, holding up a Clippers logo. McConnell stared off into space. Buchanan didn’t move. Pritchard took a few seconds before re-adjusting in his chair.The team’s gamble was a loss. The best possible pick they could send to the Clippers is, in fact, going to the Clippers. It took five minutes before Buchanan moved at all, slightly loosening his posture at 2:23. McConnell walked off the stage and chatted briefly with Charlotte Hornets forward and lottery representative Kon Knueppel.There was a commercial break before the top-four picks were announced, but that break in the action did little to change the demeanor of Buchanan, Pritchard, or McConnell. All three looked almost shell-shocked despite knowing the odds entering the event.McConnell’s darting glances after it became reality the pick was going to the Clippers were intentional. Moments earlier, his heart was beating “so fast,” yet there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. LA got the pick, and McConnell couldn’t even look at his front office reps“In a way, I felt like I was letting him down,” McConnell said. “I know there’s no reason to feel that way, but just weirdly do.”Wall’s Wizards were announced as the winners of the lottery a few minutes later. The broadcast ended, then executives and some high-profile draft prospects all chatted at the front of the room. Buchanan and Pritchard stayed near their table area but stood up and joined in on some conversations.The 47.9% chance of losing their pick had actually happened. The odds said that was the most likely outcome for the team, but something about the draft lottery messes with everyone’s brain. It just seems like nothing bad will happen, until it does.Pritchard couldn’t hide his emotions all afternoon. He was so fidgety that it was clear he was nervous in some way. As he began to speak with reporters not long after the event ended, the team president made his mental state even more clear.“We’re all disappointed,” Pritchard said. That was a theme. “Disappointed because this is a great draft,” he added later. As he continued speaking, Pritchard kept making it clear how talented the team thinks Zubac is. But he would also catch himself by repeating that emotion.“What we’ve learned from (Zubac) so far is he’s super smart, and he wants to fit in, and he’s all about winning. And again, disappointed. I’m not trying to smooth over that. We wanted to pick, but we’ll be okay,” Pritchard said. Just over 30 seconds later, a repeat. “Again, I wanted to pick. We wanted to pick, and I know people are going to be disappointed. But you have to remember, our top seven or eight players are still with us. So today it stings. But wait till next season. Let’s give this group an opportunity to go compete for a championship. Because they’ve proven they can do it.”Indeed they have. The Pacers made the NBA Finals in 2025, then upgraded at center from Myles Turner to Zubac. A top-four would have been a perfect addition to round out the team for the next few years.Many Pacers players couldn’t sleep before Game 7 of that series. They were nervous for the big stage. That was identical to Pritchard on Sunday, who had a ton of anticipation and wanted the lottery win for his owner, longtime Pacers governor Herb Simon.“My heart hurts for Mr. Simon, if I’m honest. He’s such a good person and he wants it for Indiana like we all want it. In a way, I feel like I’ve let the organization down,” Pritchard said.He and McConnell shared that emotion. The lottery brings out the hope in everybody. But instead, the Clippers will pick fifth, a painful twist of fate. It’s why Pritchard couldn’t sleep the night before and why the Pacers trade was viewed as risky. This risk didn’t pay off, but the Zubac trade still can. If Pritchard has his way, his next sleepless night will come before an NBA Finals game with Zubac leading his team’s defense. But there could be more tossing and turning in store for him if Zubac isn’t a perfect fit right away or, worse, the fifth pick turns into a star for the Clippers. Time, as with all trades, will tell if Pritchard’s future sleepless nights will be for positive or negative reasons. He’ll just have to hope for better than 52.1% odds of positive outcomes this time. #NBA #Draft #Lottery #Pacers #big #gamble #agonizingly #short")
Inside the NBA Draft Lottery, where the Pacers’ big gamble came up agonizingly short CHICAGO – Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard could hardly sleep the night before the NBA Draft lottery.
Who could, in his situation? In a daring trade to acquire Ivica Zubac back in February, the Pacers sent, among other things, their 2026 first-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers. It was protected 1-4 and 10-30, meaning the Clippers could only receive the selection if it landed 5-9. On Sunday, a machine full of ping pong balls would decide which team would be blessed by fate. 52.1% of the time, the answer would be the Pacers. The other 47.9% would benefit L.A.
It was basically a coin flip, at least by odds. Maybe that’s too tame. It was closer to Russian Roulette but with a shade under 2.9 bullets; with just a couple of spins in a chamber they didn’t have eyes on to decide their fate.
Coin flip odds are more instructive. Heads, the trade looks incredible for the Pacers. They acquire a center that they covet, one who nearly made an All–NBA team in 2024-25. They send out two first-rounders in future seasons with worse lottery odds, plus two players who were fading in their plans. A near-perfect addition. Tails, it looks much worse for them. Add a top-five prospect in a very strong draft to that above trade package, and that’s after Zubac barely suited up thanks to injuries. Worst of all, it would mean the Pacers finished with the second-worst record in the NBA and didn’t get the lotto luck for it. How the deal feels could change over the next five years as assets continue to be exchanged, but the Pacers 2026 first-rounder was the best non-Zubac asset moved in the deal. Who would actually use that pick came down to the lottery.
“The truth is, I didn’t sleep much last night. And [Pacers general manager] Chad (Buchanan) and I kind of got away and walked. And we were trying to plan out everything, for the good, for the bad,” Pritchard explained.
As the lottery results were being revealed, Pritchard said his heart was beating like Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He would have been a terrible poker player on Sunday – his emotional state was obvious even to onlookers 30 feet away. And truly, as a trio of Pacers involved in the lottery broadcast sat to witness their fate, only one was able to hide their emotions as a Clippers logo was shown to a room filled with hundreds of people. Millions more watched on television.
The draft lottery and subsequent unveiling of results were held in Chicago’s Navy Pier. A massive Festival Hall was sectioned off, with about one-fourth of the room converted into a stage and viewing area for the proceedings. Every team involved in the lottery had a table in the front of the room for their executives to sit at – the Pacers’ was in the middle row on the left side between the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets.
The only two at the Pacers table were Pritchard and Buchanan. They’ve worked together for years, originally overlapping with the Portland Trail Blazers over two decades ago. Now, they’re the leaders of Indiana’s front office – the other top figure of the group, vice president of basketball operations Ted Wu, was the team’s lottery representative who was in the room for the drawing.
So it was just Buchanan and Pritchard, the smallest number of team representatives at any table. The third figure in the room was guard T.J. McConnell, the Pacers’ on-stage lottery representative. He’s the longest-tenured Pacer and was a rookie with the 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers, a team that went 10-72 before winning the 2016 draft lottery. McConnell wanted to bring that luck to the Pacers.
There was a hope emanating from the Pacers about 30 minutes before the big reveal. Pritchard and Buchanan spoke with league figures like any other big NBA event – Pritchard congratulated new Mavericks president Masai Ujiri on his new job. Buchanan caught up with executives on another lottery team. There were smiles, at first. They believed they were due for some luck.
“Obviously not good news,” McConnell would be saying about a half hour later.
The two executives sat down, still awaiting the results. Something about doing so made reality settle in. For the next eternity – okay, still just 30 minutes – the Pacers front office leaders had to sit there, powerless against their fate, with judgment coming their way regardless of the result. For a few minutes, neither said a word.
Pritchard showed the most outward emotion. He chewed gum the entire event. At 1:48 p.m. local time, he put on his glasses. Four minutes later, he took them off to fidget with them on the table. The next minute, he put them on for the second time in five minutes.
Buchanan was far more rigid. At 1:51, he adjusted his collar, then was still for several minutes. Next to Pritchard, he looked like a statue. It was the perfect picture of the two and their personalities – and a display of why they’ve worked so well together for all these years as partners in the NBA.
At 1:59, Buchanan’s trance ended as he checked his phone. At the same time, Pritchard did the same. He put his phone away four minutes later, then frantically looked around the room before running his hands through his hair. Both executives were looking for something, anything, to distract them at that moment.
“I know the Twitterverse is probably going to be a little brutal. And I get it, man, I get it,” Pritchard would say later, fitting for someone whose phone became a key prop for fiddling and posting during the day. ”To those people, I’m sorry.”
In came McConnell to provide that diversion. In a sea of suit-wearing lottery representatives, McConnell took the court in a yellow button-up shirt and black pants. He was situated on the same side of the room as the Pacers’ executive table, so he had a clear view of Pritchard and Buchanan.
McConnell reached his seat. He gave John Wall – the Washington Wizards lottery representative – a high five before pulling his phone out and putting it on silent. The next moment, he gave a quick glance to the Pacers front office members gathered about 40 feet away from him. They all made eye contact. Suddenly, McConnell’s mood was serious. Nerves returned for everyone.
The broadcast began as ESPN’s Malika Andrews began to walk across the front of the room to interview the consensus top-three prospects in the coming draft. AJ Dybantsa was first. Right in the background of the interview, Pritchard could be seen as clear as day. Six minutes later, Andrews was finished and NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum took the stage. He was about to reveal the results.
As Tatum pulled the first card out of a folder to reveal which team would be picking 14th, Buchanan put his elbows on the table. It was his first movement in over five minutes. The Pacers had nothing to worry about until the sixth pick, but the start of the process increased the tension.
No teams jumped into the top four until the Chicago Bulls, who entered the day with the ninth-best odds to do so. When the Dallas Mavericks were revealed to have the ninth pick, that meant the Bulls jumped into the top four. Pritchard stroked his chin, thinking about how that would impact his team.
One minute later, the Memphis Grizzlies also jumped up into the top four. It’s 2:17 now, and both Buchanan and Pritchard are rubbing their chins. They each leaned forward. The team picking sixth was about to be announced. Time for the stressful part.
Tatum pulled out the card for the sixth slot. Up came a Brooklyn Nets logo. There was little reaction from Pacers executives. McConnell looked out over the crowd. There was one final reveal to go.
Between Tatum saying “Nets” and pulling out the card for the fifth pick, 13 seconds passed. To Pritchard and Buchanan, it felt like 13 days. Tatum began his lines. “The fifth pick in the NBA Draft will be made by…
“The LA Clippers,” he said, holding up a Clippers logo. McConnell stared off into space. Buchanan didn’t move. Pritchard took a few seconds before re-adjusting in his chair.
The team’s gamble was a loss. The best possible pick they could send to the Clippers is, in fact, going to the Clippers. It took five minutes before Buchanan moved at all, slightly loosening his posture at 2:23. McConnell walked off the stage and chatted briefly with Charlotte Hornets forward and lottery representative Kon Knueppel.
There was a commercial break before the top-four picks were announced, but that break in the action did little to change the demeanor of Buchanan, Pritchard, or McConnell. All three looked almost shell-shocked despite knowing the odds entering the event.
McConnell’s darting glances after it became reality the pick was going to the Clippers were intentional. Moments earlier, his heart was beating “so fast,” yet there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. LA got the pick, and McConnell couldn’t even look at his front office reps
“In a way, I felt like I was letting him down,” McConnell said. “I know there’s no reason to feel that way, but just weirdly do.”
Wall’s Wizards were announced as the winners of the lottery a few minutes later. The broadcast ended, then executives and some high-profile draft prospects all chatted at the front of the room. Buchanan and Pritchard stayed near their table area but stood up and joined in on some conversations.
The 47.9% chance of losing their pick had actually happened. The odds said that was the most likely outcome for the team, but something about the draft lottery messes with everyone’s brain. It just seems like nothing bad will happen, until it does.
Pritchard couldn’t hide his emotions all afternoon. He was so fidgety that it was clear he was nervous in some way. As he began to speak with reporters not long after the event ended, the team president made his mental state even more clear.
“We’re all disappointed,” Pritchard said. That was a theme. “Disappointed because this is a great draft,” he added later. As he continued speaking, Pritchard kept making it clear how talented the team thinks Zubac is. But he would also catch himself by repeating that emotion.
“What we’ve learned from (Zubac) so far is he’s super smart, and he wants to fit in, and he’s all about winning. And again, disappointed. I’m not trying to smooth over that. We wanted to pick, but we’ll be okay,” Pritchard said. Just over 30 seconds later, a repeat. “Again, I wanted to pick. We wanted to pick, and I know people are going to be disappointed. But you have to remember, our top seven or eight players are still with us. So today it stings. But wait till next season. Let’s give this group an opportunity to go compete for a championship. Because they’ve proven they can do it.”
Indeed they have. The Pacers made the NBA Finals in 2025, then upgraded at center from Myles Turner to Zubac. A top-four would have been a perfect addition to round out the team for the next few years.
Many Pacers players couldn’t sleep before Game 7 of that series. They were nervous for the big stage. That was identical to Pritchard on Sunday, who had a ton of anticipation and wanted the lottery win for his owner, longtime Pacers governor Herb Simon.
“My heart hurts for Mr. Simon, if I’m honest. He’s such a good person and he wants it for Indiana like we all want it. In a way, I feel like I’ve let the organization down,” Pritchard said.
He and McConnell shared that emotion. The lottery brings out the hope in everybody. But instead, the Clippers will pick fifth, a painful twist of fate. It’s why Pritchard couldn’t sleep the night before and why the Pacers trade was viewed as risky. This risk didn’t pay off, but the Zubac trade still can. If Pritchard has his way, his next sleepless night will come before an NBA Finals game with Zubac leading his team’s defense. But there could be more tossing and turning in store for him if Zubac isn’t a perfect fit right away or, worse, the fifth pick turns into a star for the Clippers. Time, as with all trades, will tell if Pritchard’s future sleepless nights will be for positive or negative reasons. He’ll just have to hope for better than 52.1% odds of positive outcomes this time.
#NBA #Draft #Lottery #Pacers #big #gamble #agonizingly #short
CHICAGO – Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard could hardly sleep the night before the NBA Draft lottery.
Who could, in his situation? In a daring trade to acquire Ivica Zubac back in February, the Pacers sent, among other things, their 2026 first-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers. It was protected 1-4 and 10-30, meaning the Clippers could only receive the selection if it landed 5-9. On Sunday, a machine full of ping pong balls would decide which team would be blessed by fate. 52.1% of the time, the answer would be the Pacers. The other 47.9% would benefit L.A.
It was basically a coin flip, at least by odds. Maybe that’s too tame. It was closer to Russian Roulette but with a shade under 2.9 bullets; with just a couple of spins in a chamber they didn’t have eyes on to decide their fate.
Coin flip odds are more instructive. Heads, the trade looks incredible for the Pacers. They acquire a center that they covet, one who nearly made an All–NBA team in 2024-25. They send out two first-rounders in future seasons with worse lottery odds, plus two players who were fading in their plans. A near-perfect addition. Tails, it looks much worse for them. Add a top-five prospect in a very strong draft to that above trade package, and that’s after Zubac barely suited up thanks to injuries. Worst of all, it would mean the Pacers finished with the second-worst record in the NBA and didn’t get the lotto luck for it. How the deal feels could change over the next five years as assets continue to be exchanged, but the Pacers 2026 first-rounder was the best non-Zubac asset moved in the deal. Who would actually use that pick came down to the lottery.
“The truth is, I didn’t sleep much last night. And [Pacers general manager] Chad (Buchanan) and I kind of got away and walked. And we were trying to plan out everything, for the good, for the bad,” Pritchard explained.
As the lottery results were being revealed, Pritchard said his heart was beating like Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He would have been a terrible poker player on Sunday – his emotional state was obvious even to onlookers 30 feet away. And truly, as a trio of Pacers involved in the lottery broadcast sat to witness their fate, only one was able to hide their emotions as a Clippers logo was shown to a room filled with hundreds of people. Millions more watched on television.
The draft lottery and subsequent unveiling of results were held in Chicago’s Navy Pier. A massive Festival Hall was sectioned off, with about one-fourth of the room converted into a stage and viewing area for the proceedings. Every team involved in the lottery had a table in the front of the room for their executives to sit at – the Pacers’ was in the middle row on the left side between the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets.
The only two at the Pacers table were Pritchard and Buchanan. They’ve worked together for years, originally overlapping with the Portland Trail Blazers over two decades ago. Now, they’re the leaders of Indiana’s front office – the other top figure of the group, vice president of basketball operations Ted Wu, was the team’s lottery representative who was in the room for the drawing.
So it was just Buchanan and Pritchard, the smallest number of team representatives at any table. The third figure in the room was guard T.J. McConnell, the Pacers’ on-stage lottery representative. He’s the longest-tenured Pacer and was a rookie with the 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers, a team that went 10-72 before winning the 2016 draft lottery. McConnell wanted to bring that luck to the Pacers.
There was a hope emanating from the Pacers about 30 minutes before the big reveal. Pritchard and Buchanan spoke with league figures like any other big NBA event – Pritchard congratulated new Mavericks president Masai Ujiri on his new job. Buchanan caught up with executives on another lottery team. There were smiles, at first. They believed they were due for some luck.
“Obviously not good news,” McConnell would be saying about a half hour later.
The two executives sat down, still awaiting the results. Something about doing so made reality settle in. For the next eternity – okay, still just 30 minutes – the Pacers front office leaders had to sit there, powerless against their fate, with judgment coming their way regardless of the result. For a few minutes, neither said a word.
Pritchard showed the most outward emotion. He chewed gum the entire event. At 1:48 p.m. local time, he put on his glasses. Four minutes later, he took them off to fidget with them on the table. The next minute, he put them on for the second time in five minutes.
Buchanan was far more rigid. At 1:51, he adjusted his collar, then was still for several minutes. Next to Pritchard, he looked like a statue. It was the perfect picture of the two and their personalities – and a display of why they’ve worked so well together for all these years as partners in the NBA.
At 1:59, Buchanan’s trance ended as he checked his phone. At the same time, Pritchard did the same. He put his phone away four minutes later, then frantically looked around the room before running his hands through his hair. Both executives were looking for something, anything, to distract them at that moment.
“I know the Twitterverse is probably going to be a little brutal. And I get it, man, I get it,” Pritchard would say later, fitting for someone whose phone became a key prop for fiddling and posting during the day. ”To those people, I’m sorry.”
In came McConnell to provide that diversion. In a sea of suit-wearing lottery representatives, McConnell took the court in a yellow button-up shirt and black pants. He was situated on the same side of the room as the Pacers’ executive table, so he had a clear view of Pritchard and Buchanan.
McConnell reached his seat. He gave John Wall – the Washington Wizards lottery representative – a high five before pulling his phone out and putting it on silent. The next moment, he gave a quick glance to the Pacers front office members gathered about 40 feet away from him. They all made eye contact. Suddenly, McConnell’s mood was serious. Nerves returned for everyone.
The broadcast began as ESPN’s Malika Andrews began to walk across the front of the room to interview the consensus top-three prospects in the coming draft. AJ Dybantsa was first. Right in the background of the interview, Pritchard could be seen as clear as day. Six minutes later, Andrews was finished and NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum took the stage. He was about to reveal the results.
As Tatum pulled the first card out of a folder to reveal which team would be picking 14th, Buchanan put his elbows on the table. It was his first movement in over five minutes. The Pacers had nothing to worry about until the sixth pick, but the start of the process increased the tension.
No teams jumped into the top four until the Chicago Bulls, who entered the day with the ninth-best odds to do so. When the Dallas Mavericks were revealed to have the ninth pick, that meant the Bulls jumped into the top four. Pritchard stroked his chin, thinking about how that would impact his team.
One minute later, the Memphis Grizzlies also jumped up into the top four. It’s 2:17 now, and both Buchanan and Pritchard are rubbing their chins. They each leaned forward. The team picking sixth was about to be announced. Time for the stressful part.
Tatum pulled out the card for the sixth slot. Up came a Brooklyn Nets logo. There was little reaction from Pacers executives. McConnell looked out over the crowd. There was one final reveal to go.
Between Tatum saying “Nets” and pulling out the card for the fifth pick, 13 seconds passed. To Pritchard and Buchanan, it felt like 13 days. Tatum began his lines. “The fifth pick in the NBA Draft will be made by…
“The LA Clippers,” he said, holding up a Clippers logo. McConnell stared off into space. Buchanan didn’t move. Pritchard took a few seconds before re-adjusting in his chair.
The team’s gamble was a loss. The best possible pick they could send to the Clippers is, in fact, going to the Clippers. It took five minutes before Buchanan moved at all, slightly loosening his posture at 2:23. McConnell walked off the stage and chatted briefly with Charlotte Hornets forward and lottery representative Kon Knueppel.
There was a commercial break before the top-four picks were announced, but that break in the action did little to change the demeanor of Buchanan, Pritchard, or McConnell. All three looked almost shell-shocked despite knowing the odds entering the event.
McConnell’s darting glances after it became reality the pick was going to the Clippers were intentional. Moments earlier, his heart was beating “so fast,” yet there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. LA got the pick, and McConnell couldn’t even look at his front office reps
“In a way, I felt like I was letting him down,” McConnell said. “I know there’s no reason to feel that way, but just weirdly do.”
Wall’s Wizards were announced as the winners of the lottery a few minutes later. The broadcast ended, then executives and some high-profile draft prospects all chatted at the front of the room. Buchanan and Pritchard stayed near their table area but stood up and joined in on some conversations.
The 47.9% chance of losing their pick had actually happened. The odds said that was the most likely outcome for the team, but something about the draft lottery messes with everyone’s brain. It just seems like nothing bad will happen, until it does.
Pritchard couldn’t hide his emotions all afternoon. He was so fidgety that it was clear he was nervous in some way. As he began to speak with reporters not long after the event ended, the team president made his mental state even more clear.
“We’re all disappointed,” Pritchard said. That was a theme. “Disappointed because this is a great draft,” he added later. As he continued speaking, Pritchard kept making it clear how talented the team thinks Zubac is. But he would also catch himself by repeating that emotion.
“What we’ve learned from (Zubac) so far is he’s super smart, and he wants to fit in, and he’s all about winning. And again, disappointed. I’m not trying to smooth over that. We wanted to pick, but we’ll be okay,” Pritchard said. Just over 30 seconds later, a repeat. “Again, I wanted to pick. We wanted to pick, and I know people are going to be disappointed. But you have to remember, our top seven or eight players are still with us. So today it stings. But wait till next season. Let’s give this group an opportunity to go compete for a championship. Because they’ve proven they can do it.”
Indeed they have. The Pacers made the NBA Finals in 2025, then upgraded at center from Myles Turner to Zubac. A top-four would have been a perfect addition to round out the team for the next few years.
Many Pacers players couldn’t sleep before Game 7 of that series. They were nervous for the big stage. That was identical to Pritchard on Sunday, who had a ton of anticipation and wanted the lottery win for his owner, longtime Pacers governor Herb Simon.
“My heart hurts for Mr. Simon, if I’m honest. He’s such a good person and he wants it for Indiana like we all want it. In a way, I feel like I’ve let the organization down,” Pritchard said.
He and McConnell shared that emotion. The lottery brings out the hope in everybody. But instead, the Clippers will pick fifth, a painful twist of fate. It’s why Pritchard couldn’t sleep the night before and why the Pacers trade was viewed as risky. This risk didn’t pay off, but the Zubac trade still can. If Pritchard has his way, his next sleepless night will come before an NBA Finals game with Zubac leading his team’s defense. But there could be more tossing and turning in store for him if Zubac isn’t a perfect fit right away or, worse, the fifth pick turns into a star for the Clippers. Time, as with all trades, will tell if Pritchard’s future sleepless nights will be for positive or negative reasons. He’ll just have to hope for better than 52.1% odds of positive outcomes this time.
![The Carolina Hurricanes made history, but the Stanley Cup is a different story The Carolina Hurricanes are either the best team in hockey, or the biggest frauds in the Stanley Cup Playoffs — it all depends on who you ask. The Canes made history on Saturday night in Philadelphia with their eighth straight playoff win, and their second sweep in a row. It made them the first team in NHL history to sweep their first two series since the 1987 best-of-seven format began, the first team to start 8-0 in the playoffs since 1985, and only the fifth team in NHL history to start the playoffs 8-0.Yet nobody can settle on whether this team is really a Stanley Cup favorite yet.A lot of factors go into the acrimony when discussing Carolina. There’s long-standing bitterness over southern hockey being a thing, especially following back-to-back years of the Florida Panthers hoisting the cup. There’s the fact that the team plays hockey in a manner that runs counter to everything we know about success in the modern NHL. Also, there’s simply a reality that the Canes have had a pretty easy path through the postseason thus far, facing two teams that were bad strategic mismatches for them.What that doesn’t mean, however, is that either the Ottawa Senators or Philadelphia Flyers are “bad teams.” Finishing with 99 and 98 points on the season, respectively, the Sens and Flyers were better than the entire Western Conference Pacific Division, better than the Utah Mammoth who the Golden Knights beat in the first round, and just one win worse than the Bruins, who the Sabres bested in the opening round. Yet, it’s become cool to hate on the Hurricanes’ opponents thus far as a means to discredit Carolina as being a legitimate team — foisting them with criticism no other team in the field is left with.It’s absolutely fair to say that both Ottawa and Philadelphia were thrown into a mismatch blender. Both teams thrived during the regular season when playing on clean ice, with open passing lanes and room to set up plays. This is what the Hurricanes excel at stopping, running brutal forechecks with gutsy defensive rotations that flip the formation to send defensemen up ice to hassle opposing defenseman on the puck, allowing the forwards to stay home.One of the hallmarks of Carolina hockey is to forget the model of play that wins in the NHL, and instead change the game into Hurricanes hockey. They thrive in limiting the effectiveness of star players, making the game be about depth rather than top-line strength, then take over when their third and fourth lines are stronger than their opponents. There’s no coincidence that hockey fans were wondering why Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle disappeared in the Sens series, or why Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny couldn’t make inroads in round two. This was the Canes’ doing, and it worked.This past week Brady Tkachuk explained why it was near-impossible to deal with the Hurricanes’ defense in his series, and noticing that it was happening to the Flyers as well.“Their D… they have the best sticks I’ve ever seen. It was crazy. Some of the plays you’d just be like ‘I can get this through,’ like Slav [Jaccob Slavin] has probably the best stick in the league. I had two Grade-A’s [scoring chances] and they hit his stick and up in the netting. I was like ‘how on earth is that not in the back of the net?’”The length of the Carolina blueliners is causing massive problems for any team trying to play pretty, puck rotation hockey. Throughout the Flyers series we saw the Philly attack get decimated due to deflections from Slavin, K’Andre Miller, and Alexander Nikishin — with their pairings in Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Sean Walker serving more as the more traditional net battlers. This layered defense has been impenetrable in the playoffs and has been offset with the Canes showing more fight and edge that they have previously.So why is there so much doubt that this can carry over to the cup? There are three fair statements to make:The Hurricanes haven’t faced an elite, 90+ point player yet in the playoffsThey’ve been so good defensively that it seems impossible to keep it upCarolina’s best players really haven’t turned up yetForgive the pun, but you can see the storm brewing for Carolina that this incredible run could go south quickly (another pun, sorry). Getting the better of Stützle or Konecny is one thing, but when that caliber of player changes to Nathan McKinnon, Martin Nečas, Nick Suzuki, or Kirill Kaprizov — can this same approach still work? Is there a break point to this defensive dominance where Carolina can be overwhelmed by star players, and if that happens can the Canes recover?That is the real worry right now, and it’s fair to question what is happening with the Carolina top line. The heroes of the playoffs thus far for the Canes has been the Hall/Stankoven/Blake line two, which has been phenomenal — but there has been pronounced quietness from Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Seth Jarvis on the top line, outside of a few glimmers of magic. We know that historically the NHL playoffs have been won through star power, even by teams like the Panthers who were bruising, but still leaned on Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand to drag them through.If the Canes can’t get that top-line performance firing then there’s a chance they can’t assert their will on the game, which has a domino effect on the rest of the lines, thereby putting more pressure on the defense to bail the team out.The biggest questions about the Hurricanes won’t get answered for some time, with Saturday being the earliest their next series can begin. Whether the Sabres or Canadiens come out of the Atlantic, either team will be the best opposition Carolina has faced, with more star power and deeper lines. If the Canes are able to keep up this dominance in the Eastern Conference Finals then we can really talk about their chances to beat the Avs or Wild in the West.So are the Canes really cup favorites or pretenders? They’re both, and neither, and bizarrely somewhere in the middle. Carolina is a unique Rod Brind’Amour team that approaches hockey in a way no one else does, which means we can’t use the typical yardsticks to measure their potential. It’s all a big guessing game, but that’s what make these playoffs so much fun. #Carolina #Hurricanes #history #Stanley #Cup #story](https://i2.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/gettyimages-2275370171.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.744744405714%2C100%2C78.510511188571&w=1200&ssl=1 "The Carolina Hurricanes made history, but the Stanley Cup is a different story The Carolina Hurricanes are either the best team in hockey, or the biggest frauds in the Stanley Cup Playoffs — it all depends on who you ask. The Canes made history on Saturday night in Philadelphia with their eighth straight playoff win, and their second sweep in a row. It made them the first team in NHL history to sweep their first two series since the 1987 best-of-seven format began, the first team to start 8-0 in the playoffs since 1985, and only the fifth team in NHL history to start the playoffs 8-0.Yet nobody can settle on whether this team is really a Stanley Cup favorite yet.A lot of factors go into the acrimony when discussing Carolina. There’s long-standing bitterness over southern hockey being a thing, especially following back-to-back years of the Florida Panthers hoisting the cup. There’s the fact that the team plays hockey in a manner that runs counter to everything we know about success in the modern NHL. Also, there’s simply a reality that the Canes have had a pretty easy path through the postseason thus far, facing two teams that were bad strategic mismatches for them.What that doesn’t mean, however, is that either the Ottawa Senators or Philadelphia Flyers are “bad teams.” Finishing with 99 and 98 points on the season, respectively, the Sens and Flyers were better than the entire Western Conference Pacific Division, better than the Utah Mammoth who the Golden Knights beat in the first round, and just one win worse than the Bruins, who the Sabres bested in the opening round. Yet, it’s become cool to hate on the Hurricanes’ opponents thus far as a means to discredit Carolina as being a legitimate team — foisting them with criticism no other team in the field is left with.It’s absolutely fair to say that both Ottawa and Philadelphia were thrown into a mismatch blender. Both teams thrived during the regular season when playing on clean ice, with open passing lanes and room to set up plays. This is what the Hurricanes excel at stopping, running brutal forechecks with gutsy defensive rotations that flip the formation to send defensemen up ice to hassle opposing defenseman on the puck, allowing the forwards to stay home.One of the hallmarks of Carolina hockey is to forget the model of play that wins in the NHL, and instead change the game into Hurricanes hockey. They thrive in limiting the effectiveness of star players, making the game be about depth rather than top-line strength, then take over when their third and fourth lines are stronger than their opponents. There’s no coincidence that hockey fans were wondering why Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle disappeared in the Sens series, or why Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny couldn’t make inroads in round two. This was the Canes’ doing, and it worked.This past week Brady Tkachuk explained why it was near-impossible to deal with the Hurricanes’ defense in his series, and noticing that it was happening to the Flyers as well.“Their D… they have the best sticks I’ve ever seen. It was crazy. Some of the plays you’d just be like ‘I can get this through,’ like Slav [Jaccob Slavin] has probably the best stick in the league. I had two Grade-A’s [scoring chances] and they hit his stick and up in the netting. I was like ‘how on earth is that not in the back of the net?’”The length of the Carolina blueliners is causing massive problems for any team trying to play pretty, puck rotation hockey. Throughout the Flyers series we saw the Philly attack get decimated due to deflections from Slavin, K’Andre Miller, and Alexander Nikishin — with their pairings in Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Sean Walker serving more as the more traditional net battlers. This layered defense has been impenetrable in the playoffs and has been offset with the Canes showing more fight and edge that they have previously.So why is there so much doubt that this can carry over to the cup? There are three fair statements to make:The Hurricanes haven’t faced an elite, 90+ point player yet in the playoffsThey’ve been so good defensively that it seems impossible to keep it upCarolina’s best players really haven’t turned up yetForgive the pun, but you can see the storm brewing for Carolina that this incredible run could go south quickly (another pun, sorry). Getting the better of Stützle or Konecny is one thing, but when that caliber of player changes to Nathan McKinnon, Martin Nečas, Nick Suzuki, or Kirill Kaprizov — can this same approach still work? Is there a break point to this defensive dominance where Carolina can be overwhelmed by star players, and if that happens can the Canes recover?That is the real worry right now, and it’s fair to question what is happening with the Carolina top line. The heroes of the playoffs thus far for the Canes has been the Hall/Stankoven/Blake line two, which has been phenomenal — but there has been pronounced quietness from Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Seth Jarvis on the top line, outside of a few glimmers of magic. We know that historically the NHL playoffs have been won through star power, even by teams like the Panthers who were bruising, but still leaned on Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand to drag them through.If the Canes can’t get that top-line performance firing then there’s a chance they can’t assert their will on the game, which has a domino effect on the rest of the lines, thereby putting more pressure on the defense to bail the team out.The biggest questions about the Hurricanes won’t get answered for some time, with Saturday being the earliest their next series can begin. Whether the Sabres or Canadiens come out of the Atlantic, either team will be the best opposition Carolina has faced, with more star power and deeper lines. If the Canes are able to keep up this dominance in the Eastern Conference Finals then we can really talk about their chances to beat the Avs or Wild in the West.So are the Canes really cup favorites or pretenders? They’re both, and neither, and bizarrely somewhere in the middle. Carolina is a unique Rod Brind’Amour team that approaches hockey in a way no one else does, which means we can’t use the typical yardsticks to measure their potential. It’s all a big guessing game, but that’s what make these playoffs so much fun. #Carolina #Hurricanes #history #Stanley #Cup #story")
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