I promised myself I wouldn't lose it. My rudimentary math skills told me there was very little chance the Knicks would nab the No. 1 overall pick. The fact that life-size voodoo doll Steve Mills was representing them all but assured that something terrible would happen. My spirit was ready.
And then, it happened. My spirit was not at all ready. Falling to No. 4 wasn't even the worst-case scenario I had envisioned, yet the humiliation of being the only team to drop in the lottery, while the Lakers of all teams moved up.