It’s been a while…

Due to life events and situations beyond my control, I have not been able to write in some time. It’s been two months and I’m finally able to get to it!

The nba playoffs

My predictions for the playoffs were pretty wrong. I did get OKC correct; but did they really earn the title? I definitely underestimated the Indiana Pacers. I had Milwaukee beating them in the first round. If Tyrese doesn’t get hurt in game seven, it’s likely that they win the championship. They could have won game 5 if Haliburton was more aggressive. He only took 6 shots. And yes, OKC played better defense against him. But, six shots? And then OKC only won a Tyrese-less game seven by 12 points. And played them really close until the third quarter. Seventeen minutes after Tyrese went down. OKC may have won the title; but, they were an incredibly flawed team. OKC better get some shooters this off-season. Because they won’t be able to shoot the way that they did in the playoffs and expect to win. The statistics say that they shot 47.6% in the Pacers series. But anyone who watched those games know that they did not shoot that well.

nba off-season

A wild one already. KD to Houston. Jrue Holiday to Portland; although I suspect that he will be traded for other assets at some point before the season starts. Desmond Bane to the Magic. Porzingas to the Hawks. And the NBA Draft is in a few hours as I write this.

First, Bane to the Magic. The Magic needed a shooter in the worst way. And a wide open Eastern Conference is within reach thanks to the Tatum injury. Ironically enough, the Magic traded away KCP, who was supposed to be the shooter that they needed but did not play well in his time with Orlando. They gave up Cole Anthony as well. Just that trade alone is an good deal for both teams. But then the Magic gave up four(!) first round picks and an additional pick swap! What? Trading that many first round picks are what you do when you are trying to get a superstar. That’s the kind of deal that you make when you are trading for a Luka Doncic. You don’t give up those assets for a Desmond Band or a Mikal Bridges. Now, I do realize that first round picks in the NBA are way different than those in the NFL. Late first round picks in the NFL can result in players that are starter level. Where as in the NBA, your chance of getting a sure fire starter with a late round first, is roughly the same as getting a rotational piece. But the first few years of a massive trade like this, isn’t the problem with first round picks. It’s those picks that are six, seven, eight years down the line, because of how first round picks are sent out.

Kevin Durant goes to the Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the tenth pick in tonight’s draft and five second round picks. The Rockets did not give up much to acquire KD, so I really like this trade for them. Can KD mesh with the youth that Houston has and get this team a championship? A lot of fire power in the Western Conference. Houston won 52 games last year and this deal could very well make them a 60 win team. As far as Phoenix goes? They can’t really do much until they are able to get out of Bradley Beal’s contract. And with his no-trade clause, good luck with that.

Washington made a good trade getting out of Jordan Poole’s contract. I don’t know what the Pelicans are thinking in this trade. CJ McCollum wasn’t really working out in New Orleans. The problem with New Orleans though has more to do with the Zion Williamson issue that they have. Is Jordan Poole going to elevate the Pelicans that much? Doubt it. For Washington, depending on what they do with their first round pick tonight, they have a decent shot at making a push to the playoffs next year. They also open up an incredible amount of cap space a year from now.

The Celtics needed to cut salary and boy have they. They traded Jrue Holiday to Portland for Anfernee Simons and two second round picks. They then traded Porzingas to the Atlanta Hawks for Georges Niang and a second round pick. Brooklyn was a recipient of Terence Mann and the 22nd pick in tonight’s draft in this trade as well. Which gives the Nets five(!) first round picks tonight alone.

the john cena “pipe bomb”

What an incredible promo from John Cena. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A great call back to the CM Punk pipe bomb. My only gripe is that I felt like CM Punk sold the table spot too much. After a couple of minutes, he should have slid back to the opposite corner and looked groggily at Cena.

64 foot putt to greatness

The US Open in golf should be played on tough courses. It’s way more exciting golf when the elements and hardness of a golf course play a factor. 11 guys shot even or better in the final round of the US Open. Eventual champion JJ Spaun had a horrible front nine in the final round. He was +5 after six holes in the final round. That put him at +2 for the tournament. Great rebound for him though. He parred the next 5 holes before getting birdies at 12 and 14. Bogey on 16 dropped him to +1 for the tourney and a tie with eventual runner-up Robert Macintyre. Birdie on 17 meant that a par would win. He hit a good approach shot on the 18th green and then madness. An incredible 64 foot birdie putt to win by two strokes. Go check out the putt if you haven’t seen it yet. Incredible putt.

Ace bailey

A small gripe that I have about this kid is this. He didn’t work out for any team in the pre-draft process. He claims that he was just trying to focus on basketball. Hey kid, everything that happens when you declare for the NBA draft is a part of basketball. Showing up for the private workouts. The interviews. All of that is a part of basketball. He will still be picked high. As high as four but most believe that he will go sixth to the Wizards. So his stock won’t be hurt too much by his decision. But doing those little things is what being a professional is all about.