NBA SEASON PREVIEW

This blog thing is real to me. I got a passion for sports, a passion for writing, and a passion for causing reactions! I want to see what readers think when they read my work, and see if they agree or disagree. Most of all, I love debating sports. I could honestly do it all day long. I can sit and watch First Take, or any other ESPN debate show, KNOWING that I have a better thought or perspective than them. Debating is fun. Now I don’t just mean debating with some idiot who just talks because he happened to catch a Sportcenter episode last night, I mean matching wits with someone who actually knows what the hell he’s talking about (sort of!). Which is why I brought my bro Jalynn back into this blog scene with me! I think I write and debate better when it’s another person involved and NOONE fires me up about sports like him, plus this will allow me to cover more sports, and give the people what they want! So from now on, this “My Take” blog will be a little different. I’ll give mine and he’ll give his and you decide whose take is on point. With that said, he’ll drop the intro for the first NBA blog of the year! Welcome Back Jalynn!!

It’s here! It’s FINALLY here!!! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, basketball season is here. I love sports of all kinds but I must say that I’m a basketball guy through and through. I don’t enjoy anything more than a competitive, high level basketball game. So it’s only right that my guy D-Will welcomes me to his blog (again) with an NBA Kickoff Edition. With that said let’s get right into some preseason picks…

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – CJ MCCOLLUM

Me being a Duke fan, it kills me to make this pick. I watched this guy single-handedly destroy my Blue Devils en route to one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history in 2012. But I can’t be biased, and with Wesley Matthews sporting a Mavericks uniform this year and LaMarcus Aldridge signing up to be Tim Duncan’s successor, the way has been paved for him to become Damian Lillard’s backcourt running mate. I expect CJ to have a big year doing what he does best, scoring the basketball. There’ll be plenty of shot attempts available as that Portland roster is currently under reconstruction.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – JAHLIL OKAFOR

The most polished and pro-ready NBA prospect in this rookie class, offensively. Much like last year’s R.O.Y. I think Big Jah will put up big numbers on a very bad team. The fact that he has Nerlens Noel to help mask his defensive deficiencies, means he’ll be able to play an even bigger role in the Philadelphia offense.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – ANTHONY  DAVIS

I’m not as far on the Anthony Davis bandwagon as everyone else may be right now, maybe one foot on and one foot off, but his talent is definitely undeniable. He led the league in blocks last year and can legitimately guard 4 positions on the floor effectively. I can’t think of another player I would want anchoring my team on the defensive end. I can also see Jimmy Butler and LeBron James challenging Davis for this award. With Kevin Love being expected to take on a bigger offensive role, and LeBron feeling a little disrespected by not already having this award on his mantle, I can see him locking in defensively all year.  

MVP – RUSSELL WESTBROOK

I’m going out on a limb with this one but while everyone is infatuated with Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook has quietly been arguably the best player in the NBA since Kevin Durant went down with his foot injury. KD has been telling us that we don’t know what we’re talking about when it comes to Russ. He spoke about his shot selection and leadership style, and now that we’ve seen what he’s capable of with and without KD in the lineup, I can’t say that he was wrong. He has looked absolutely unstoppable as of late and a full year with a completely healthy and reloaded OKC team behind him, I can see him putting up BIG numbers.

WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPS - Oklahoma City Thunder

In a loaded Western Conference, this was a TOUGH pick. There are 4 teams that have a legitimate shot at coming out of the West. I went back and forth a million times on who I should pick. With Pop possibly having the most talented team that he’s ever had, it’s hard for me to see him fumbling at the opportunity to send Timmy D out in style with his 6^th championship. And I can’t go without mentioning that the reigning NBA Champs are looking to repeat. But I have to make these predictions assuming that everyone will be healthy and if the Thunder is healthy, they have 2 top 5 players in the league surrounded by size, athleticism, youth and for the first time since their last Finals run, DEPTH!!!! If my pick for the MVP, the former MVP and that loaded front court can stay healthy, I got the Thunder over the Spurs in 6.

EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPS- Cleveland Cavaliers

Yea…..not sure much else is needed here… no, I’m serious that’s all I have to say.

NBA CHAMPS – Cleveland Cavaliers

As I mentioned before, my picks are based on the assumption that everyone will be healthy. If Cleveland is healthy and my Western Conference pick holds true, Cleveland should come away with this series. For some reason, it seems like KD has some type of mental block against REALLY going at LeBron in big moments. Kind of like LeBron with the Spurs, he just has his number. The NBA is all about matchups and there’s one thing that the Cavs can do that no one else in the league can, take Russell Westbrook completely out of the game on the defensive end by letting LeBron dominate the ball. Russ wears on Point Guards with his size and hounding them on defense, and making them guard him on the offensive end. Cleveland will spread the floor, put LeBron at the point and dare OKC to collapse so LeBron can kick to open shooters. Cleveland over OKC in a 7 game series.

By the way…. If Spurs come out of the West, that changes everything. It’s okay to hedge my bet, right?

-Jalynn

             

              

Not bad. You made some solid picks and I even agree with a couple but you definitely missed on a couple as well. I’m glad you mentioned you were basing this on everyone remaining healthy because that’s all we can judge! If everyone’s healthy, I definitely like my picks over yours. Here’s “My Take”

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – JORDAN CLARKSON

I admit it. I love the pick of C.J. McCollum but I had to be different on this one! I’ll go with Jordan Clarkson. Yea, I know you might be thinking he plays with Kobe and how will he ever get shots with Kobe chasing Jordan’s scoring record. I’ve been a fan of Clarkson since he played for Tulsa! I knew   when he transferred to Mizzou he would do exactly what he did, which was get buckets. This guy has great talent and potential and I think he’s headed for a great year. Also, I have a theory. D’Angelo Russell will be TERRIBLE! Eventually, Jordan will be moved to the point where he’s more likely to be able to put up some really solid numbers.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – EMMANUEL MUDIAY

Again, hell of a pick by Jalynn. I’m a DUKE fan so of course I’m riding with Okafor. But Mudiay will be a great too. This will be a guy who will put up fill the stat sheet night in, night out. Okafor will put up great numbers on an awful team but I think winning has something to do with this award and I believe that Denver will have a much better record than Philadelphia, simply because Philadelphia doesn’t even want to win games right now. So yea, I see Mudiay being a 16, 5, and 7 guy which should be enough for him to hold up that trophy at season’s end. 

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – DWIGHT HOWARD

Yea, I know I’m in the minority but yes, this is the year Dwight gets back to his Orlando days. This was the first offseason in a few years where he hasn’t spent the offseason rehabbing some injury. He had a chance to just work on his game on both ends, get stronger, and live in the gym. With Ty Lawson playing the point for the Rockets now, defenders will easily get around him and into the paint where Dwight will block shots all night long!

MVP- JAMES HARDEN

Why do I feel like I’m the only person picking the guy who finished 2^nd in the MVP race last year? I think people forget how ridiculously talented Harden is, and he doesn’t get enough credit for the improved defense he showed last year. A great scorer who now will have another ball handler to take some of the pressure off of him. Now he doesn’t have to bring the ball down, call the play, pass the ball, get it back, and then score. He can simply do what he does best, which is put the ball in the basket and still play a great all-around game. Plus he’s dating a Kardashian, and everything they touch has success right?

WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPS – GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Can you say REPEAT? I almost picked the Spurs, and yes I know everyone in the media made a big deal about how the Warriors got lucky last year and that’s how they won the championship. Look, I understand they played some teams without their best player(s), but I think all this talk only adds to the fire and the chips on their shoulder. They will be even more motivated this year and bring back mostly the same team, except David Lee. Almost forgot to mention, they also bring back the MVP Steph Curry. If they stay healthy, I see no reason why they can’t come out of the West. They are the champs until someone beats them, and I don’t see anyone in the West knocking them out.

EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPS – CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Yea, sorry. Can’t disagree on this one. Kyrie, Lebron, Love, role players, and it’s the East.

NBA CHAMPS – CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

I REALLY wish I could disagree with Jalynn on this one but I can’t. If these teams meet again, as I suggested, I have the Cavs in 6 games. Cleveland took them to 6 games last year with no Kyrie, no Love, and no Varejeo. The Cavs will have the depth to match the Warriors this time around. Kyrie outplayed Steph in Game 1 last year. Unfortunately, he was injured in the overtime and we missed out on what could have been an EPIC finals matchup at that point guard position. He should be healthy this time around and I have no doubt he will play this series with rage. With Love, the Cavs can match the Warriors small ball lineup that hurt them last year and not miss a step on either end. For the first time, the city of Cleveland will have their moment.

-D-Will

So there you have it! The first NBA blog of the year. Mainly predictions and thoughts on this upcoming season. Should be a great year as the Western Conference is STACKED and the East should be slightly more competitive as well. I can’t wait to see the year Kobe has, and I’m looking forward to “Kyrie’s Return”. We’ll keep the blogs coming you just keep reading! And keep the feedback coming, whether it be positive or negative, we’re here for it!

This is “My Take”

MID SEASON REVIEW

As we head toward the final stretch of the college football season, I wanted to take a look at the playoff outlook and see what teams still had the best chance to make the College Football Playoff. There are still a ton of BIG games coming up with major playoff implications. Teams still looking to make a statement. For some teams like Iowa, that opportunity won’t come until a conference championship games. For others, such as LSU, and Florida State, those opportunities come as early as next week! This is what makes it so exciting for all college football fans. Teams with one loss, like an Alabama, a Florida State, a Notre Dame, among others know they can’t afford another loss if they want a chance to hold the trophy. So I’ll break it down by conference, and see who still has a chance and who I think will get it done. Here’s “My Take”…

ACC

Clemson is DEFINITELY my pick here. I guess Florida State still has a chance if they manage to  go get a win in death valley which I do not see happening. And does anyone really believe in 1 loss Pittsburgh? They’re schedule is about to get tougher and I can easily see them losing another 2-3 games before this year ends.

BIG 10

The BIG TEN has played out pretty much the way I expected it too. While Ohio State hasn’t been the dominant team we all expected, they are still undefeated and remain the one of, if not the most talented team in the country. Cardale Jones struggled all year at the quarterback position and with the change to J.T. Barrett at that position, I expect that talent to finally be able to flourish. Michigan State, like Ohio State, hasn’t been dominant this year but still are undefeated and control their own destiny to get to the playoff. Win out and they’re in. Michigan has been impressive, particularly on the defensive end and but a 2 loss BIG TEN team probably is not going to make it in. Also, Iowa is undefeated and have a good a chance of anyone to make it to the conference title game, and with a weak schedule the rest of the way, I don’t see them losing until they  get there.

BIG 12

For some reason this is the only conference that schedules all  of their big games at the end of the year so there is still a lot to play for to win this conference, especially when all these schedule literally no one in the non-conference. So basically we have TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma State who are all undefeated. We also have Oklahoma who has 1 loss and still plays each unbeaten team so they will have a chance to play themselves into the playoff.  This should set up a great stretch run for the BIG 12. With the injury to Baylor quarterback Seth Russell, I definitely think that hurts their chances. My pick is TCU. I know they have a VERY suspect defense, but how can you bet against Trevone Boykin??

PAC 12

Stanford looks like the favorite to win the PAC 12 this year. With traditional powers like Oregon and USC having down years, the stage is set for Stanford to take over. Utah is still in the mix but you have to wonder how they will respond after the beat down USC just gave them. Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan is climbing up draft boards and seeing him lead Stanford to the playoff will show you why.

SEC

It all seems so simple. LSU VS BAMA on November 7^th, winner takes all right? NOT SO FAST. While that is the likely outcome of the SEC, there are still a couple other teams who will have a say in how the SEC is won. Ole Miss with only one conference loss and a win over Alabama is still number 1 in the West and Florida also only has 1 loss on the season. As good as Florida is, I think losing their starting quarterback will be too much for them to overcome. Ole Miss looked great against Texas A&M, but looked anything but that against Memphis. I just don’t believe in the consistency of Ole Miss to pick them to win the SEC. So to my original question. The answers yes. LSU vs Bama, November 7^th..winner takes the SEC. I’ll go with Alabama.

"THE U"

Full disclosure. I am a Miami Hurricanes football fan. I have always been loyal to the U. From the ups when we were consistently winning in the late 90’s, early 2000’s and the last several years as we have struggled to make bowl games. No matter what, I’ll be a Miami fan. Over the weekend, we FINALLY made the decision to fire Al Golden. Now I respect and appreciate what he did for the program. Stood by the Canes as they went through NCAA investigations, and sanctions and still managed to recruit great recruiting classes year in and year out. Miami currently has the number 6 ranked recruiting class so it’s obvious he was doing something right. Golden’s main issues was not winning. He could not develop talent and guys never seemed to improve under his watch. If you want to keep students, and fans interested in your program you must win games and win excitingly! There is WAYYY to much to do in Miami for people to want to watch your team play when you’re not very good. Also, having a stadium that’s 45 minutes away from campus probably isn’t going to entice many students to make that trip. Miami needs to upgrade their facilities, their stadium, and there coaching staff before they should be taken seriously again. I’ve seen several names come up as far as possible coaching candidates, and not many excite me. Miami typically doesn’t pay a lot to coaches but if they want to return to national relevance, the time for that to change is now. As a fan, I just want them to hire the best coach possible. Kevin Sumlin would be GREAT, but I doubt that happens. I believe in the AD knowing how essential it is now to make the right hire, so I’ll comment on that once I see a few more realistic names comes up! It’s been said that “The U invented swagger”. Now is the time to get it back.

I am extremely excited for the rest of the year! Bigtime matchups almost every week that will define what we see in January. Close conference races, Heisman moments, and players climbing draft boards. We’re at the point where we don’t have to guess who’s pretending and who’s contending now. All the big boys have stepped up and shown us they’re real. Now it’s just a matter of who’s the realest!

                                                                      “My Take”

                                                   College Football Playoff Rankings

                                                                  1.  Ohio State

                                                                                        2.  Clemson

                                                                                        3.     TCU

                                                                                       4.  Stanford

                                                                  5.   Baylor

                                                                  6. Alabama

                                                  

                                                         

WEEK 6 REVIEW

MY TAKE

So when I took last week off from my blog, I did it for 2 reasons. 1) Because I wanted to get a better look at a few more teams before giving such defined opinions on them. 2) Because I figured halfway through the college football season, a story or 2 may drop. And break they did!! Several things I’m going to touch on with this blog, as there was major news on and off the football field. So much happened that I won’t even get to speak on how Arkansas coach Bret Bielema continues to embarrass himself and again show how much of a classless individual he is. Another time and place for that. ANYWAYS, here’s my take….

ON THE FIELD

Michigan

Could Michigan be the best team in the BIG 10? I'll admit, I didn't see this coming. My co-worker Cori did, and now she won't let me hear the end of it. Yea, I know that Ohio State and Michigan State are both undefeated and NFL talent all over the field, but if you’re simply looking at who’s been most impressive, it’s CLEARLY Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines. Now they haven’t gone out and beaten any highly ranked teams or anything, but the way they’re playing certainly makes me believe they wouldn’t have any problems doing so. I don’t care if you’re playing Michigan State Community College, 3  straight shutouts is extremely impressive and shows a level of defensive dominance we haven’t seen in years. Now there is plenty of room for offensive improvement, but for now it’s enough to help stack up the W’s! They say a team takes on the mentality of their head coach and you can see the toughness of Harbaugh all over this team. So now we have a primetime matchup against Michigan State this Saturday. In my opinion Conner Cook is the best QB in the country and I am looking forward to seeing him matchup with that Michigan defense. It’s been awhile but Saturday night, all eyes will be on the state of Michigan.

Oregon

What the hell happened to Oregon? They’ve been a title contender for several years straight. In fact, from 2007-2014, they won 89 games. They have 3 losses midway through the year, which is crazy considering they haven’t had 3 losses in an entire season since 2009 and that included a bowl loss. Transfer quarterback Vernon Adams was solid early on, but since his injury Oregon has been a disaster. From losing by almost 50 at home to Utah, to losing at home to Washington State, it doesn’t look like it’s getting any better. The crazy part is they have a lot of talent on this roster on both sides of the ball. To me, this is simply a coaching issue. Last year’s Heisman winner Marcus Mariota covered up a lot of their flaws but now it’s more revealing than ever. It’ll be interesting to see how they finish the year, because if things don’t turn around soon there will be changes in Oregon. That area has gotten so used to winning, they won’t accept anything less.

Georgia

Another big game for Georgia, another loss for Georgia. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mark Richt the man, and he’s a good coach but it feels like every year he loses games he NEEDS to win.. This past weekend was no exception. Losing to a reeling Tennessee team when you are still competing for the SEC East title, is crippling to their chances. Yes, Heisman contender Nick Chubb got hurt but as I believe and the Georgia coaches say, Sony Michel is their best pure football player and he stepped in and played well despite a fumble late. I can’t give them any more excuses, I can’t give Richt any more excuses. There is too much talent on that team and in that state for them to not be in thick of the championship race every year. Georgia needs to finish the year strong or Richt’s seat will continue to burn.

OFF THE FIELD

USC

In a day filled with news, the biggest came from the news capital of the world, Los Angeles. USC fired head coach Steve Sarkisian. Now at the preseason kickoff banquet, Sark showed up under the influence of alcohol and made crazy comments and acted in a very unprofessional manner. I personally gave him a pass, thinking it was a one-time thing and that wouldn’t happen again. But apparently I was very wrong. Reports have surfaced of him showing up drunk to practices, meetings, and even appearing to be under the influence of alcohol while coaching against Arizona State. Ironically, that was their best game of the year. Now don’t want to focus too much on his issues at this time. It’s a major problem and hopefully he can get the help he needs to become a better person. I want to look at the initial 5 names that jumped out to me as possible candidates to replace him at USC.

1) Kliff Kingsbury – Before USC hired Sark to begin with, it was reported they were turned down by Kevin Sumlin. If they want to follow that mold and go with a similar coach, Kingsburg is the guy. Young, exciting offense, competitive, and seemingly meant for Hollywood, I feel he could get the job done in recruiting and win over the city. He hasn’t won any major titles at Texas Tech, but I thinks that’s more so personnel rather than his coaching ability. I truly feel he would be a GREAT fit at USC.

2) Art Briles - Big personality, and done a lot of winning at Baylor but maybe he’s ready for a new challenge. Also, I think LA would like seeing their team score 60 every night.

3) Gary Patterson- Similar to Briles, a very confident and outspoken coach who would embrace the challenge of a premiere job in college coaching. When he’s had good defensive personnel, he’s shown what he can do.

4) Kyle Whittingham – An up and coming coach pro style coach who would be a great fit to lead this program. He has made Utah a winner and very competitive the last several years and his star will only get brighter. But after being a part of the Utah program for 20 years, I think it’ll be tough to get him away.

5) Sean Payton – Definitely my dark horse pick, Sean Payton has the kind of personality and attitude I think would make a great college coach. I think he can recruit the West Coast and has that big name USC is looking for. It’ll be tough to get him out of the NFL, but it’s definitely worth reaching out.

Florida 

“It was all good just a week ago”!! A week ago, Florida was coming off a dominating win against Ole Miss and not only making themselves a pick to win the SEC East, but a trendy pick to win the SEC Title. Gainesville received bad news today when starting quarterback Will Grier was suspended for ONE FULL YEAR, after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Will Grier was finally living up to his potential and showing promise for the Gator offense, so this is definitely a tough blow for him and first year head coach Jim 

McElwain. The defense is good enough to where they still have a shot to win the East but Treon Harris steps in and I have zero faith in him to lead this team. We’ll find out very quickly how this will go as they get ready to face LSU.

Spurrier

The “Head Ball Coach” also made headlines Monday nights as he announced his resignation from South Carolina. Steve Spurrier is a college football legend and icon and it take a while to list all of his accomplishments to this point. But this is a guy who won at Duke which no one until recently has done before. He basically made Florida what it is today, and made South Carolina relevant. Though Spurrier made it clear that he wasn’t retiring officially, I don’t see him coaching again. I’ll remember him for being one of the realest coaches to ever do it! He always kept it real with the media and told it like it was. He was never afraid to say what he felt, rather that was taking shots at other teams, or even other coaches. I’ll never forget him throwing shots at Georgia, Clemson, Florida State and others. Spurrier is truly one of a kind, and I hope in some capacity he stays around the game of football…its simply better with him in it.

TOP 6

1)Baylor

2)Utah

3)Alabama

4)Clemson

5)LSU

6)Michigan

Wow, that’s enough news to last me a week but its only week 6 and I think it’s only getting started!  As a Miami fan, I hope we can makes some news soon as well! A great week ahead though with several bigtime games as the season continues to take shape. Teams we thought were good will show their true colors and teams we thought were underrated will show that they belong. It’s week 6 and I don’t think there is a single GREAT team in the country. Several good teams, but no teams that’s great and has truly stood out among the country. 2^nd half of the season will be great though and I’m interested in seeing how the teams that made news today end their year. Maybe this will be a spark for someone and they carry it all the way to the playoff, maybe not. Either way, we are all witnesses.

This is “My Take”