Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Laker report #1: LeBron James

Lebron James is a hall fame player. This statement is something no one can take away. At the end of last season he choose to play with the LA Lakers. So many fans were so happy that they got the best player in the game. Was it a good match for the team?

The chemtitsy on any team is very important. the issue people were having is LeBron wont want to many young guys. He said the he would be patient and let the season play out with them. The issue stands that he has not been true to his word. This young team has had many good success but only in short burst. The team LeBron thought he had when he came compared to what he got was a shock for him. He has had many bad teams but was able to push to the playoff. But the problem stands with his attitude towards the rest of the team upset. He tried to use his legacy to get his way on the team. It hasn't worked, it only worked to break the locker room. The Coach has been undermined at every turn. Luke Walton wasn't very good at coaching but when he was allowed to make mistakes the team got better.

The final nail in they coffin was the trade talks. No matter what anyone says about the NBA being a business. The reason I say that is because when you fail to send off all your Young talent in a trade , it can only go south. The team young core was destroyed there relationship with the whole team. The team doesn't have the feeling of safety of their role on the team.

Overall the Lakers have had issues in the locker. the team could have been amazing if they did better management. LeBron Has not helped the team to improve at all. LeBron hasn not fit in the system or the team for any real reason.

Can The Celtics Turn This Disaster Of A Season Around?

The Boston Celtics need to change something, if not they have potential to be an early round exit from the playoffs. Espn predicted the Celtics to go 58-24 and be the first place team in the Eastern Conference, currently the Celtics are 37-22 and are 5th in the Eastern Conference. Against the Raptors the Celtics got blown out, hopefully it's an eye opening lost.

The Celtics are a complete mess this season, with everyone to blame. Brad Stevens systems are typically everyone passing around the ball and whoever is open taking the shot. In the post season everyone was playing for each other and happy to see each other succeed. Scary Terry became a real thing in the playoffs and the Celtics were one game away from making the Finals. In the Celtic's games this season the ball is more sticking to players hands, with Kyrie Irving handling most of this load. When Kyrie Isn't there the Celtics players are happy, as they should be without Kyrie thats an extra 18 shots to go around. When Kyrie Irving is playing the Celtics are 28-22, without him they are 9-2.

Brad Stevens systems typically don't favor a scorer like Kyrie Irving, it ruins his system. With a free flowing basketball system of whoever is open takes a shot, Kyrie doesn't fit in it. Kyrie Irving's talents are too good to have not be shown off, with his handles being scary to most players. Even JJ Redick has called Kyrie's handles his "superpower." Brad Stevens needs to go back into his system and come up with a happy medium where they can show off Kyrie's handles to scare the opposing defensives, while getting the rest of the team involved. When players feel more like they are in the offense they are more likely to give more of an effort. We saw this last year with the Celtics in the playoffs where everyone was giving their max effort and trying their hearts out.

Before we place all the blame on Kyrie and Brad Stevens, we have to place the blame on others to. Against the Raptors the Celtics gave little to no effort, and they keep having this problem. The Celtics will come out to games and not give the same effort every night. In the Nba, unless you're the Warriors, you simply can't do that. The Celtics also have a hard time being teams above 500, with a record of 11-14, but against teams below 500 they are 26-10. This means that against better teams the Celtics are struggling, they need to put a chip on their shoulder and start trying to blow these teams out of the water in this 1st quarter. The Celtics are currently 12th in the league by points per game, with the talent on their roster Brad Stevens should find a way to get them into the top 10.

Gordon Hayward was given a huge contract with the Celtics and he's coming back from a huge traumatic injury. Hayward currently isn't even starting and will show signs of what he was here and there. Hayward is a key in the Celtics success, they are 18-4 when he scores more than 12 points, and 19-20 when he scores less than 12 points. If Hayward can come back into former version of himself than the Celtics could be a force to be recon with. Gordon Hayward is the key to the Celtics success, now they have to learn how to speed up his recover.

The Celtics are not hopeless or a lost-cause, as they have the 3rd highest +/-, with 5.5. The Celtics do show hope and promise, they do have the most talented roster in the Eastern Conference and the deepest bench. With 3 point shooting being such a huge necessity in todays game, the Celtics are tied with the Warriors for 3rd with most 3's made at 13. The Celtics are hitting them at a high pace to with shooting 36.9%, which places them at 6th in the league.

Brad Stevens need to pull his team together and have a serious talk with them. He needs to get them all on the same page before it's too late. The Celtics have potential to be the scariest team in the Eastern Conference and make a deep run in the playoffs. They just need to get on the same page. The Celtics need to learn how to play for each other.

Monday, February 25, 2019

What Does Draymond Green Hiring Rich Paul Mean For This Offseason?

Draymond Green has recently hired a new agent, Rich Paul. This move is very important because of what it could mean for the Warriors future. This summer the Warriors will pay Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson first before him and he knows that. Green is a very excellent player with him being a former Defensive Player of the Year, 3 time Allstar, and 3 time Nba All-Defense First Team.

Draymond Green is going to be presented with 3 main options this offseason. The obvious one is him going to resign with the Warriors. The Warriors are moving into their new arena in San Francisco, with ticket prices are going up. Stephen A. Smith said that he talked to a season ticket holder and they said that he pays $140,000 a year, next season the price is over $550,000. The Warriors are going to have more than enough money to pay everyone and go into the luxury tax. Draymond Green knows this and will demand his money. The Warriors are going to be swimming in money with all the prices going up and the new arena is being known as a cash cow. Moving into San Francisco the town is more expensive and people have more money in that town. The Warriors will have no option but offer Green exactly what he wants if they want to keep him.

Now signing with Rich Paul means that the Lakers are now in competition to sign Green this offseason. They have 2 max contract spots and Green won't be a max offers so they will have more money to sign another good player. Green is a defensive mastermind who doesn't demand a lot of shots. This is a perfect fit for LeBron. LeBron doesn't play his best defense in the regular season, this is where Green can guard the best player on the other team. Green will have no problem getting into the face of these young players that the Lakers have and demand greatness out of them. This will help LeBron out by there will be another championship voice in the locker room to help him teach the young core.

The last option for Draymond Green would be if one of these teams who have max contract spots gets scared when they see that all the big names are off the board. These teams could get worried that they have nothing to show their fans and in-panic offer Green a max contract. The most likely team to do this would be the Knicks. New York is ready to see someone huge play in the Garden next year with it being Kyrie, Butler, Zion, or Durant they want someone. If the Knicks don't get the #1 overall pick and screw up in free agency they could get panic and offer Green a max contract, they did give Hardaway $70 million.

Rich Paul is one of the best agents in the league today and Green knows this. Draymond Green wants to be paid his due of what he deserves. Rich Paul is the best agent to make sure he gets what he is owed. Whether it be the Warriors, Lakers, or some other team Green will get his money this offseason.

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Zion Williamson Is The Most Influential College Player Of All Time

Duke sensation, Zion Williamson, has been the vocal point in discussions recently with his injury against UNC. Zion flew out of his shoe in 30 seconds of the game, thankfully the injury is minor as it's a day-to-day knee sprain. Williamson is the projected 1st overall pick whose been blowing up social media pages since he was in high school. Zion's impact on and off the court is incredible and should be talked about more.

Zion's impact on the court is extremely obvious, as he's the 2nd leading scorer at Duke with 21.6 points per game. Zion will get you the points that can not be measured as he will get the dunks that will either drain the team or give Duke the momentum they need. Zion leads the team in rebounding at 8.8 rebounds, he also leads the teams in steals and blocks. Zion does a little bit of everything for Duke and without him being in the games it shows how much he is missed. Against UNC, Duke couldn't find someone to step up and become the 3rd scoring option for Duke. They missed Williamson's scoring, defense and just his overall presence on the court. Zion's presence on the court is something that can not be measured as he's someone who you have to pay attention to and if you don't then he's going to do something incredible. He will beat you off the dribble or just go right above you. He's very strong and at 285 pounds he's a force to be moved.

His presence off the court is very influential, as he is arguably more influential as a college player than most NBA players. The starter is that since Zion got hurt it brought back the most highly debated question in college sports, should college athletes be paid? Currently the age to enter the NBA is 19 years old and you have to have a year outside of high school, so a year in the pros overseas, G-league or college. After Zion's injury, the NBA officially submitted a proposal to the NBA players association to lower the age to 18. This would mean that athletes could enter the league straight out of high school. If this proposal is approved the 2022 NBA draft will have high schoolers in it. This proposal won't be in effect until 2022 so teams can have ample time to prepare themselves for this change and plan ahead for this. Players like Zion Williamson and Ben Simmons waste a year in college, it is evident throughout their year in college that this is a waste of a year. Ben Simmons practically quit and didn't care at all about college halfway through that season.

The day after Zion's shoes broke Nike's stock dropped by more than 1%. Nike also had to deal with an angry Paul George. Zion got hurt playing in Paul George's shoes and he called them up the next day to figure out what went wrong. It is never a good sign when the best player in the nation gets hurt in your shoes and the demand of them will drop. This shoe ripping could ultimately lead to Zion signing to another shoe brand and Nike would face the ultimate price for it. Duke is currently sponsored by Nike and that's what the players play in. It is easier for Nike to now sign Zion to them for a shoe deal and get him a pair of his own signature shoes.

Ticket prices are through the roof to see Zion and Duke play this year. According to Michael Sauter, Duke has the highest prices tickets in the nation. on average being $198.02. Against UNC the average ticket resale price on SeatGeek was 3,296, one fan even paid $10,000 for his ticket. Tickets to see Duke were almost at the price of Super Bowl tickets. They had celebrities like Obama, Spike Lee, and Todd Gurley were all at the game.

Almost every single one of Duke's games are on National Tv. Zion has made Duke must watch tv, non-Duke fans and Duke fans are tuning into the games to see Zion play. When Zion dunks, social media goes insane with the video and it is shown all over sports networks around the world. When Zion was in high school his mixtapes on Youtube would get millions of views.

Zion was a celebrity even in high school, with everyone waiting for him to get into college. He is one of the most highly talked about high schoolers since LeBron James. Drake even wore Zion's jersey on stage while he was in high school.

Zion Williamson is all over every sports programing with talks of him. He is the most influential college player we have seen in a long time, and when he joins the NBA his games will be must see TV. He is one of the most highly regarded player coming into the league, since Anthony Davis. He will go 1st overall and his influence around the league will be heard.

Demar DeRozan Heartbreaking Return

NBA All-Star DeRozan is back in Toronto for the first time since the Raptors traded him last summer. His new team, the San Antonio Spurs, played the Raptors this past Friday. A four-time All-Star in Toronto who helped the Raptors to five straight playoff appearances, DeRozan received a warm welcome when he was introduced.DeRozan said in a news conference at the Spurs’ team hotel. “It’s crazy when you get a whole arena on their feet just showing appreciation. I’m looking forward to it, to feeling the love.” And he truly received the love last night all the way to the end of the game.
 
Leaving Toronto last summer was difficult for DeRozan. Still a teenager when he was drafted by Toronto in 2009, he turned into an All-Star by 2014, building his game year after year. He left town as the franchise leader in points (13,296), field goals (4,716), free throws (3,539), and games (675) DeRozan saw himself being a Raptor for the rest of his career this similar situation happened to Demarcus Cousins when he got traded from the Sacramento Kings after he publicly stated on national television that he would be a king for the rest of his career. But obviously the kings had other plans. 

After the game DeRozan compared the emotional wounds left by the end of his Raptors career to a breakup, but he mentioned it was one with a happy ending.
“She moved on and I moved on,” he joked. “Now we’re both happy.” Which is true it was an even trade they ended up with Kawhi Leonard which was the Spurs best player on their roster who played with them for seven season but didn’t receive the love from his former team when they visited San Antonio. Leonard endured chants of “Traitor! Traitor!” and “Quitter! Quitter!” from the crowd almost the whole night. 

DeRozan finished the game with 23 points and eight assists in 34 minutes. They fell short at the end to the Raptors by 3 it was bitter sweet game. But even with the loss the crowd still cheered on his name and showed him their love and appreciation for what he has done for their organization.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

The Next Big Problem Facing The NBA

During the last CBA, the owners made a huge monetary value to keep superstar players from switching teams so often. They did this with the super-max deals, the only problem is that players are getting paid too much to care about these deals or they get insulted when they don't offered this deal. This has created the problem that players have more power than ever, that has made them request trades years left in their contracts.

Today's NBA players have more power than ever, partly thanks to LeBron James. In 2010, LeBron made the famous "Decision" to go to the Miami Heat. This is one of the most iconic moments in NBA history, and one of the most important. The Decision has given players more power than ever. It showed the league that the players can move around the league freely without fear of the fans not following them. Since this decision we see over and over how top players in the league are changing teams. Just this year alone we have seen LeBron James, Kwahi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler all change teams.

Originally we were seeing players change in the offseason, which eventually changed into players demanding a trade in the last year of their contract. Paul George had a year left in his contract and demanded to be traded to the Lakers, he said that is where he'll resign when the season was over. We all know how this story went, The Thunder took a chance and traded for him, then he resigned with them. However. it has now turned into players demanding a contract with two years left in their deals.

The growing problem in the NBA is that player are demanding a trade with multiple years left in their contracts. This season we have seen Anthony Davis do it, with two years left in his deal. Davis has almost forced his way out of New Orleans this year. New Orleans was put into this awkward situation where they didn't trade Davis before the deadline and now they have to figure out what to do with him. They can't play him because they want to make sure he's healthy and get the most out of him in any trade, but they can't sit him because the NBA will fine them $100,000 per game he sits. Anthony Davis is officially a distraction to the Pelicans. Anthony Davis has been removed from the team's hype videos, and no posts of him are made on their social media pages. Davis was benched in a close game against the Timberwolves because of "rest," The fans boo Davis and the team just obviously wants to send him home for the season. No one is happy in New Orleans now, with Davis wanting to play but New Orleans not wanting him to.

We've seen it last it year with Kwahi Leonard, where the Spurs didn't offer Leonard the super-max and he didn't trust the diagnosis of the team's doctors. Leonard basically quit basketball last year to get a trade, even though he had two years left in his deal. Kwahi sat most of the year, not even showing up to the arena for the playoffs. Leonard basically forced the Spurs to trade him to a new team entirely.

This era is the Players Empowerment Era where the players have more power than we've ever seen in the league's history. This issue is one that will keep growing and keep getting worst. The super-max made it where the players are getting more power than ever before because they can choose if they'd want to be the center piece or join up with another superstar player. This issue however needs to be resolved soon.

Currently the NBA has done little to nothing about these players requesting trades. The NBA fined Anthony Davis $50,000 for requesting a trade, but that's nothing compared to his $25 million contract. Slowly more and more players are requesting trades with multiple years left in their deals and it makes the league weird with Anthony Davis being the perfect example.

The League needs to fix this issue during this upcoming offseason before it blows up in their face. Adam Silver could prevent a huge issue on his plate if he goes after this issue before the media, fans, and players all give their opinion on this. If this issue continues to escalate we will see players soon asking for trades months after they sign multi-year deals. Players asking for trades with years left on their contract will become the next big issue in the league, if Adam Silver can see this before it becomes a bigger issue and fixes it he could avoid a huge headache that could come.



Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Luke Walton A Laker No More

Luke Walton is the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. That is the case at this moment, but as is so often the case on teams led by Lebron James he might not have that same title anymore. There has been speculation about Walton's job security all year. He reportedly met with Magic Johnson earlier in the season with the impression left that he was on thin ice. The front office has not given any assurance that Walton will hold the job for the rest of the season. And after a how bad they were the whole month of January with the absence of Lebron James,Walton's seat has grown hotter than ever.

The best reason not to fire him had been the simplest. There didn't appear to be an obvious replacement in place. There aren't any star coaches who are currently unemployed. Firing Walton would mean taking a risk on an underwhelming hire, especially if this report from Ric Bucher is true. In his words, via Dan Feldman of NBC Sports, Jason Kidd "appears to be very much in the mix and possibly is even the favorite" for the job.

Bucher's report even claims that the Lakers have gotten back to Kidd after he initially reached out to express interest in the job, though it is unclear how formal such conversations might have been or even within what context they took place. Walton is still employed by the Lakers, and while it certainly wouldn't be unheard of for a team to seek out a replacement before letting go of their current coach, it would be poor etiquette to say the least and not the sort of thing Jeanie Buss would seem keen on doing to a former Lakers champion.

Walton as of right now is in the hot seat as I mentioned earlier. But if the Lakers are smart they would keep Walton we know he hasn’t had great seasons with the Lakers yet but the Lakers are still developing as a team with their extremely young core. He’s truly making the best of what they are giving him and of course they weren’t good when Lebron was out if they didn’t need Lebron they wouldn’t have sign him.

Monday, February 18, 2019

NBA new trend?

In the NBA jerseys are everywhere. Players have them for games, fans have them to show support, or the league has many different versions. The jersey is an important part of the game. It has a lasting impact. The commissioner Adam Sliver has just introduced a new jersey that allows to change the name and number. Is that a good idea to even consider. I'm going to say the pros and the cons of this jersey prospects.

The pro of the jersey can bring many good things for the fans and players. For the fans it is very simple you can rock any player on your team. If one player is doing well or Just did some thing amazing you could show his number and name in support of that moment. Its like a reaction to a big moment. So many fans could also save money so they don't have to get every jersey. It gives smaller players a chance to see there team fans with there name on the back. Also as fans if they do buy a regular Jersey it could be a real spacial one were people could keep in good condition. For the players the benefit could come from being able to be more creativity for special days in the season.

The cons bring new issue we never had to consider and a few that we have always thought coming. the first major issue is safety. I don't know what kind of technology but what could happen. Is this a con? Yes because it raises questions how safe it could be. Potential law suit could come from any small mistake. The second most important thing is the value of the of jerseys as an whole. Can they still hold there value or will they drop in the market. I know I did say in the pros that they hold more value but that's no guarantee that these would work in the long term. People buy jerseys so they can capture a moment of a players career in there home.With this those could destroy the people who have old or vintage jerseys in the long term.  Another major problem stems from players not sticking to one jersey number. This may lead players to devalue the important of the number in the NBA. 

Overall the NBA has a fine line to balance the importance of tradition with the innovation of tomorrow. Also the league needs to make sure the fans are not in danger with these new types of jerseys because of something small.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Dell is no more

In this NBA season there has been a lot of talk about Anthony Davis leaving the Pelicans. It was recent that he no longer wanted to be a Pelican. This has been very hard on the Pelicans gm. He has not been able to do many things in his time as gm.

The first thing he was good at was getting help for Anthony Davis help that could stay healthy for a long stretch or long term. many talented players passed by the team for one or two seasons. If they were effective they wouldn't stay because of money or the players would want to win. A good case is the way he let Rondo go to the lakers. Rondo was a locker room leader and on court coach for the players. he was a major factor t making the playoff and winning a series. the only series they would win for ten years. Everyone else good was hurt most of there time during the time they were there.

The second the reason is the whole Anthony Davis trade talks and rumors. Anthony Davis told the team and Demps that he wanted a trade. He wanted them to get time so they could get a good trade him. The problems came when it felt he was playing with the Lakers during the trade talks. Lakers gave everything they could give plus the things paying for salaries they wouldn't have anymore. that was the best trade you could get from any team. Also if dealing Davis and his people has been way to public. Even if he isn't to blame the pelicans have to put the blame on someone.

Overall Dell Demps has had many mistakes to get him fired. Anthony Davis was just the final nail in the coffin for him. He had no chance if he didn't get rid of Davis. Dell could have just trade him to the lakers for all the young players. He could have given them one or two more years of hope to keep his job.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Is Luke Walton's Job In Jeopardy?

Luke Walton is currently the Laker's head coach, with a record of 28-29 going into All-Star Break Weekend. The Lakers last game was a lost to the Atlanta Hawks 117-113. Luke Walton has lost the locker room and job is in serious jeopardy.

Luke Walton's record currently is 61-103 as a head coach, that's a 37% win percentage. The Lakers are in position to have Luke win now. Ever since LeBron James signed to the Lakers the goal is championship, as of now they are outside of the playoffs. Jalen Rose said that he doesn't believe the Lakers will make the playoffs. They have the 4th toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, and them losing to the Hawks isn't a good sign for the rest of the season.

Lavar Ball went on different shows on Fox Sports to say that Luke Walton needs to be fired. According to Ball, Luke has lost the locker room. In a short time Luke Walton has went from having the young players love him, to having lost them. According to Lavar, Lonzo Ball and Luke Walton have problems with how he uses Ball. Lavar believes Lonzo should have the ball every play and that Lonzo is better is better than LeBron.

Luke Walton losing the team isn't entirely his own fault, LeBron James and Magic Johnson are part of this blame. The Lakers tried to trade most of their young core for Anthony Davis, for the trade to not even happen. Lonzo Ball,  Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma were all in talks to be traded for Davis. These guys are all friends and have to be looking around going hey why would we keep playing for LeBron if he's going to be the reason why they trade us. With LeBron you have to win now and Magic is starting to feel the pressure. The Lakers are going to have to essentially trade these young players now to regain the locker room.

It has been reported that LeBron James' camp wants Luke Walton to stop being the coach of the Lakers. Luke was hired before Magic Johnson and LeBron James got there, and that isn't a good sign. This means that they could easily fire him and say that this isn't the coach they felt should lead them into the future. They would face little backlash for this because they can claim it wasn't their hiring.

If Luke Walton gets fired who replaces him? Lavar Ball, Jalen Rose and others are saying it should be the Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw. Lavar says that Shaw knows the team better than Luke does and will be a great fit. The other strong rumor around the league is that the Lakers would hire Jason Kidd as their new head coach.

As of right now Walton's job is "safe" according to the La Times. They have reported that there has no internal discussion about Luke's job status. This just means that the Lakers are most likely going to finish the year with Walton as their head coach and deal with the head coach situation in the offseason.

Ultimately Luke Walton is going to be fired because of how poorly this season is going. This has been a disaster season and the Lakers won't make the playoffs. The finger will be pointed at Walton instead of anyone else. Luke Walton will be the scapegoat of this awful season and will be fired because of this season.

Do Triple Doubles make westbrook a good player?

Russel Westbrook has been a great player in the last couple years in the league. He has played with many great players in the league. Westbrook has had record breaking season in the last three season of the league. But there was a missing piece of that will pop up. The problem was always hard to find. The problems are very simple, he never truly trusted team mates to take control of game.

Westbrook getting triple doubles is given now days. Its hard to believe that a player could make it a common thing to see. Yet the achievement was in way tainted for the last two season because of reports and video of him getting them with selfless. The problem came with the issue that people started pointing fingers at him for patting stats and not trying to win games. He was known was becoming infamous for not wanting to give up control of all aspects of the game. Being a bad teammate is a way to say that you do not care for winning just your numbers. He did the first year alone when Kevin Durant left for Golden state. The rumors started that he was a bad teammate because the second best player left him for wanting to get stats. After that he avagered a triple double and won a MVP of that year. The second season it came off that he just wanted to do it because of stats stuffing. wanting to make history over wins is what people thought. This season is different because He seems to be in role were he can finally trust someone other then himself. Paul George was playing with for about two seasons and he has been around Westbrook. He has always defended Westbrook in those two years but he backed it up by choosing ton sign a long term contract with the Thunder. This season was a tone shift because Paul took the scoring role while Russell still averages a triple double. But this time it seems like a team effort of the team. He did do everything but now he isn't just looking for stats. The player who once looked selfish seems like a team player again.

Overall Westbrook was seen has a bad teammate for stat stuffing when he should have seen going for wins. westbrook has shown he is willing to let go if the team can pull together.




Sunday, February 10, 2019

What's Next For The Wizards With John Wall's Injury

John Wall has a partially ruptured his Achilles tendon and will be out for at least a year. Reportedly Wall fell in his house. The Wizards team doctor said that because of Wall's age it could take him 11 to 15 months to recover from this injury. After his surgery the team expects Wall to take about a full year to return to full basketball operations.

John Wall's game is based around his athertliscm and him driving to the basketball. When Wall is healthy he is one of the most exciting players in the league to watch. When John Wall is in the playoffs he is incredible, in 2017 Wall averaged 27.2 points per game and 10.2 assists per game and in 2018 he averaged 26 points per game and 11.5 assists per game. John Wall is electrifying in the playoffs and everyone still talks about when he beat the Atlanta Hawks in 2017. Wall scored 42 points in game 6 to send the Hawks home that year.

John Wall's career is controversial, especially with his contract he signed. In 2017 Wall signed a four-year $170 million contract with the Wizards. At the time this contract was essentially a no brainer with Wall entering his prime, being the face of the Wizards. Now Wall is injured and could be out till 2020 and is facing a lot of unnecessary criticism. John Wall is a great player who any team would've gave that same contract to if they had the chance at that time. Wall is averaging 19 points and 9.2 assists over the course of his career so far. Wall is an all-star player and a top point guard who anyone would love to have.

The underlying reason why this injury is such a huge blow to the Wizards is because they haven't truly built a good team around John Wall and Bradley Beal. Without Wall, the Wizards are currently 11th in the Eastern Conference with the record of 24-32. The Wizard's signed Dwight Howard in the offseason, but he has only played 9 games this season. The locker room constantly has had issues with chemistry, between the fights and John Wall using vulgar language to toward the Wizard's coach during practice, they need to work on the culture of the locker room. The Wizards should take this time to rebuild around the Wall and Beal duo, fire the coach, and bring in  good quality players around them. They so far have brought in Bobby Portis, who is a promising power forward who could be very good to go into the future with. They also have brought in Jabari Parker who will be off their team by next season. Parker has a team option for next season, and with how little to no defense he plays the Wizards won't pick him up. Parker is a good gamble though to see how he fits with the team. Parker was highly regarded coming into the league and this could be his final chance at a real shot in the league.

Until John Wall comes back, the Wizards should work on turning Beal into the new form of shooting guard, like how Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are. Beal should get more involved in decision making. Beal is currently averaging 5 assists a game. which is very good, but without Wall, Beal's goal should be to get to at least 7 assists a game. If Beal can become more of a facilitator and become better at becoming at the #1 option, and only option most games, this would benefit the Wizards the most. When Wall returns he won't be 100% he'll need time to readjust, but if Beal can somewhat mimic what the Warriors are doing for Demarcus Cousins, where they are making the game come easier for him, then Wall's return will be smoother.

During this time off John Wall should enjoy some quality time with his son and his mother, who is currently battling cancer, and just get his head right. Wall needs to take his time coming back and make sure he's 100% healthy, if he comes back not fully healthy he could reinjure himself. Wall should also focus more on the decsion-making aspect of the game. He needs to take time watching film and really be dissenting his film, as well as the greats. John needs to talk to the legendary point guard and learn from their mistakes on the court, as well as their greatness. He'll need to talk to Demarcus Cousins to see what is in store for him. Cousins has just returned from an achilles injury and he'll be best suited to helping Wall with what to expect. If Wall comes back mentally stronger and smarter on the court he will be virtually unguardable.

With the year off John Wall has announced he's going to go back to college to get his degree. Wall plans on completing his undergraduate business degree, while working on rehab. Wall is the first person in his family to go to college, spending a year at Kentucky. John Wall has said that "I'm the first in our family to attend college, and although I have not yet completed my degree, it is a goal that I hope to accomplish." Wall inspired his sister to go to college also, she became the first one in their family to graduate college and went on to get her masters. Wall getting his degree is a great future decision as this will help him open more opportunities and help him better manage his money.

John Wall could be sidelined till 2020, but if the Wizards are smart they will use his injury for their advantage. They'll use this time to "audition" good fits around Beal and Wall, use Beal for as a James Harden type role, and prepare Wall with the proper rehab. The Wizards have Wall for 4 more years and they need to take advantage of, what could be, one of the best backcourt duos in the league. John Wall will come back as more of a complete player and will be better than before.


Saturday, February 9, 2019

Raptors New Kings Of The Eastern Conference


As of Thursday the Toronto Raptors have acquired centre Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for center Jonas Valanciunas, guard Delon Wright, forward C.J. Miles and a 2024 second-round draft pick.

This is a great pick up for the Raptors they brought in a highly skilled veteran who has significant playoff experience. He also poses leadership skills which will really be a big thing when post season play comes about for the Raptors. Gasol is also averaging some good numbers season, he’s averaging 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, a career-high 4.7 assists, 1.2 blocks and 33.7 minutes in 53 games this season. He is shooting .444 from the field, .344 from three-point range and .756 at the free throw line. Gasol has scored 20 or more points 13 times and posted 18 double-doubles. Gasol will come in being considered one of the main contributors of the team putting up numbers like that.

Raptors really might have struck gold with this trade Raptors stand second in the east as of right now and that was before Gasol joined now they are going to be even more of powerhouse in the east with his addition. They have even a greater chance at locking down a final appearance this year. This was a good well thought out move on their behalf. Trading for Gasol served as a great counter move to their fellow teams such as the 76ers who traded Markelle Fultz for Jonathan Simmons and in addition got Tobias Harris who had a great season debut. These trades have really shaken up the competition in the east

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Markelle Fultz To The Magic

Markell Fultz to the magic

The Philadelphia 76ers are trading 2017 No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz to the Orlando Magic league sources told ESPN's  Adrian Wojnarowski.

In return the Philadelphia 76ers will be getting first round pick Jonathan Simmons and a second round pick. I would say this trade is a win win for both teams. Simmons is averaging 6.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 41 games this season. He can be a great contributor to the 76ers roster no offense to Fultz but Simmons con serve a better purpose and might even flourish more in the Sixers organization then Fultz has these past two seasons also he can play right away unlike Fultz.

But this is not just to bash Fultz on is inactivity on the court Fultz does have a good reason to be out and shouldn’t be rushing his recovery from his thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition that affects the nerves between the neck and shoulder. Actually According to recent reports from Fultz agents stated that “Fultz is progressing well in rehabilitation on his right shoulder and that he expects Fultz to return to the team this season”. Well now his return will be with the magic which is a good for him and the magic. He gets a fresh start off his injury with a new team which is the best way to jump start his career back up also he will have a bigger role with the Magic which will help him showcase his talents and prove to the NBA community that he is not a bust. Also this trade will be good for the Magic because if they can get Fultz fit in their system he can be star for them and if him and Aaron Gordon are on the same page they can really change their organization around and draw more stars to play with them out in Orlando.

  So this trade as of right now is as I said earlier is a win win for both teams but in the long I feel as if the Orlando Magic will be the beneficiary of this deal.

The Warriors Biggest Weakness

Since the 2014-2015 NBA season the question every year is how do you beat the Warriors? With 5 all-stars and 6 hall-of-famers the answer isn't simple, but there is a way. It could be the best way to beat them and maybe the only way, the only question is if it will really work.Now the Warriors don't have any real glaring weaknesses and this way could be a long shot, but it could be the only way to beat them in a 7-game series.

Any team playing the Warriors need to use Draymond Green and Demarcus Cousins to their advantage. Both of these players have a long history of never controlling their emotions and getting into trouble because of it. Last season Draymond Green was second and Cousins was 14th only playing in 48 games in technical fouls, this season Green is currently in 5th place and Cousins was ejected from a game against the Knicks he didn't even play in. In the 2015-16 NBA Championship Green was actually suspended for a game, which turned the momentum. The Warriors were famously up 3-1 in the series and it looked like LeBron was on the verge of losing another NBA finals. Once Green was suspended this caused the Warriors to not be the same team, and it cause the greatest collapse in NBA history. The Warriors lost the series and it showed the league that Green could be a lose cannon and he was a bigger part of the success of the team than anybody thought.

This season Green is hurting the Warriors, averaging 25% on 3 point shot and it is hurting the Warriors. Teams are daring Green to shoot the ball, which is causing teams to stay more in the paint taking an option away from the Warriors. The Warriors aren't as free flowing moving as they have been in the past years, since team can stay more in paint guarding because of Green. 

Draymond Green has also been known to fight within the team. On November 12th, Green and Kevin Durant got into a heated argument on the last play of the game. Durant wanted the ball to hit the game winner over the Clippers, but Green went ahead and turned over the ball. Although the team has tried to cover it up and acted like it was no big deal Green was suspended for being "detrimental to the team." Green has always been one who is very passionate, but sometimes it does affect the team. If a team does get inside of Green's head it could come back and hurt the Warriors in a playoff series. If they could get inside of Green's head they could cause him to get suspended or even fight with his own players. Green could try to prove something to the other team and try to go hero ball. This could cause some riff in the Warriors chemistry and it could blow up in front of their faces in the playoffs.

The long-term effect of the Draymond Green/Kevin Durant fight might not ever be public knowledge with them even denying it will ever be anything past a heated argument. What we do know is that recently Durant has liked some tweets recently that are very peculiar. He liked a tweet in response to an article about his upcoming free agency where it says to "stop bothering him about it and let him be in peace." This could mean absolutely nothing, it could just be as simple as let Durant play this season out before we speculate anything. It could also mean to leave him alone about his decision because he has already decided what he'll do next. The answer to this question won't be answered until the upcoming free agency but it's an interesting wrinkle to think about. This could be used as fuel for a teams trash talkers to put inside the Warriors heads and lead Green to fight with Durant about leaving behind the scenes. 

Demarcus Cousins is the next big weakness the Warriors have, since Cousins has returned the Warriors look unbeatable but are they really? In his first game back Cousins fouled out and since them he's averaging a little over 4 fouls a game. This could be useful to teams who are playing against the Warriors as they could potentially use this to their benefit. If Cousins gets into foul trouble this could potentially leave him playing a weaker form of defense, he could be hesitant on going for blocks and make it easier to score in the paint. 

Cousins also has an anger issue, which makes it easier to get inside his head. Cousins has already been tossed from a game while being on the bench not even playing! Earlier this season against the Knicks, Cousins was arguing with the ref and he was thrown out. He received a tech and referee Scott Foster said that one technical would suffice him being thrown out since he wasn't even playing. 

Cousins has a long history of receiving technical fouls and a team should use this to help them win a series. If they can get into Cousins head it could cause him to get tossed from the game. It could also cause Green and Cousins to fight each other if they are both heated. This could cause the biggest fight between two teammates in a playoffs series that we've ever seen. This could cause they Warriors to break up in the offseason. If Durant sees that they are falling apart within he might not resign and move on to the next team. This could also cause the Warriors to pick between Cousins and Green which could cause they end of the Warriors as we know it.

A background on Cousins history of anger is a long one. With the Sacramento Kings, in 2011 Cousins was sent home early on a road trip with the team because he unwilling to to embrace traveling in the same direction as the team. In 2012 he was suspended for two games for confronting the Spurs Color Commentator in a "hostile way." In 2017 Cousins was suspended for receiving his 16th technical foul for the season. This is just a very brief overview of all the trouble Cousins has gotten in and it could be used to a team's advantage to destroy the Warriors. 

In the playoffs the Warriors could become the most dominate team in NBA history. There is a very glaring weakness with Green and Cousins and it could be a ticking time bomb that the league needs to have a chance to beat them. Of course there will always be the switching Stephen Curry onto a bigger player, but this strategy of getting into these guys head is the Warriors biggest downfall. They have two guys who are very outspoken and have the most potential to be very detrimental to the team.

Raptors game plan!

The Toronto Raptors land Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Memphis Grizzlies land  Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles and a 2024 second-round draft pick. The trade was done on February 7th in time where we are seeing a lot of them trying to trade for some reason or another. 

The upside of for the Raptors they get a skilled big man who can help them make a push for a chip for the year. It will help the younger players to improve their knowledge from a veteran force. Also he is a free agent after this year and this will open more cap room for potential players coming next year.  The down side is losing marc after one year because he could play well. If he plays well he could leave. The Grizzlies only real upside is to make cap room for  better free agents.

Overall the trade was a cap trade for both teams. They are moving to get more free money so they can sign better players.


The Lakers Are The Biggest Loser Of Trade Deadline

The Los Angeles Lakers just traded Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac to the Clippers in exchange for Mike Muscala. This trades opens a roster spot for the Lakers to potentially sign a buyout contact. Ultimately, the Lakers are the biggest loser of the trade deadline. The Lakers didn’t trade for Anthony Davis and the fear around the league is that the Pelicans did this to try to ruin the Lakers chemistry.  The Lakers offered most of their young core and half of their starting lineup for Anthony Davis, which could be really damaging to a player. An example would be Dennis Smith Jr who Dallas tried to trade but didn’t. Then Smith forced Dallas to trade him to the Knicks. This could happen to the Lakers since the young core knows they are tradable and management will trade them in a heartbeat for the right player. This also causes the Lakers to fail to trade for another big player, Davis is on the same list as Kwahi Leonard, and Paul George for players who the Lakers have failed to trade for. The Lakers are by far the biggest losers of this trade deadline with Anthony Davis not coming, and the potential of the Lakers ruining their chemistry. Their best bet now is to sign Carmelo Anthony in the next couple of days and hope they make a push late into the playoffs to convince free agents to come to Los Angeles.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Anthony Davis Trade affect!

The Anthony Davis trade is the biggest trade this and next season that could shape some teams that we know are good or could get better. Many teams have given offers and they are high offers. The Lakers, Celtics, and Knicks are very interested but the question stands, is this a good trade for any of these teams?

Lakers are the ones who really want to push the hardest. They have offered every but Lebron at this point. The whole team is an assets including all the future picks for the draft. If this trade was go though they would have no future in the assets but lebron and Anthony Davis. There whole team is in the worst condition because they have done nothing to improve there team young players. the team chemistry can not be good at all. The lakers need this trade or they will suffer until he is a free agent in 2020. 

The celtics are in a werid sitution for sure. they have a young talented team like the lakers but the team doesn't need this happen to be a good team in the future. If they do this, it will be out of the chance only. The risk factor is the team chemistry they have is in jeopardy. there young players almost made it to the finals last year but lost the Cavs with Lebron.is Danny Ange really willing to destroy what he has for Anthony Davis the problem lies in the fact he doesn't want to play there. If you trade for him you give up your future fir a one rental player who wants to play in LA. I don't believe the Celtics should go after this with the potential they have right now.

The knicks are the only team that is a maybe because they could get the Number 1 draft pick and that would be good for the Pelicans. They would want to draft Zion Williamson so they would have a young talent for at least 6 years before they would need to reconsider.beyond that the Knicks don't really have anything but young talent that isn't proven yet.

Overall the race for Davis looks more like bomb for any team to get him. He is good but the pelicans are asking for way to much. If any team trades, this will there biggest gamble in there teams history. But i do believe the lakers will get this trade done before the dead line.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Could This Be The Highest Scoring Super Bowl in NFL History?


Today’s game Between the Rams and the Patriots can be the highest scoring Super Bowl game in NFL history. During an NFL, the Rams and Patriots didn’t just have two of the best offenses. They have two of the fastest paced offenses in the NFL this season. There were more touchdowns than ever and points per game approached an all-time high this season. Patriots and Rams don’t just put up big points they also run and gun.

   This year, they played even faster than the exhilarating Chiefs offense who also put up an impressive 51 against the Rams this season. It’s safe to say that you probably don’t want to take your eyes off this game today how fast pace these teams are they only need a second to score. The over-under on the point total for the game had been as high as 58 points earlier this week, which would have been a Super Bowl record. It’s currently at 56 points, which would rank third highest in Super Bowl history. 

   I believe at least a 60 point total will be the case of tonight’s game and with these high powered offenses I’m sure they could put up more. This should a great game for all the fans but a tough one on the defense today and both teams have outstanding defenses who can really be the game changer tonight as well might be a little clique but you know they say offense wins games but defense wins championship.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

How A Team Can Use Woj To Benefit Them

Adrian Wojnarowski has quickly became the most influential reporter in the NBA. Through his tweets he has broken huge stories from the Mavericks Knicks trade to just smaller stories from a guy getting bought out. Woj covers it all, but an NBA team could potentially use him to their advantage.

Many NBA reporters now call Woj the 31st franchise because of his influence, whatever he says is automatically true. If a team is trying to make a trade happen, they should simply pretend to leak info to Woj. In order to keep the record "true" a team should word how they put it to Woj. A team could simply just say that they are considering offering a certain player or pick for someone leak the report out to Woj and hopefully another team would get scared. An example would be if a team would be interested in trading for Kemba Walker and the trade market is strong for him. Lets say the Heat call up Woj and say they are going to offer Whiteside and 2 unprotected future picks, it could potentially scare away other opposing teams who might want to offer for him. Other teams could feel as if they can't compete for Walker and it could dwindle the market making it easier to trade for him. Then the Heat could go in there and offer a smaller package for Walker and walk away bigger winners than they would've before. An NBA team could use Woj to help dwindle the trade market or scare a team into making a huge offer and reducing the assets on their team.

Woj could also be used to help sign a potential free agent player in the offseason. Lets just say there are 5 teams about to offer a contract to Rondo this offseason and one of the teams could really use his services. They make a call to Woj and say they are considering offering him a 3-year deal with a player option and say they might overpay him. This could cause one or two of the teams to go we can't compete with this and back off. This could also do the reverse effect and have a team drastically overpay for a player, causing them to have less cap space for other free agents. Teams could use this to their advantage and cause a team like the Warriors to overpay and help dwindle the talent around them. Teams could use Woj to help change the market for a potential players they want.

Woj could be very useful to a team who might want to use his services to help them either attract a free agent or just help them in a trade market. I believe that teams around the league should use Woj to help themselves out in the market. Woj is a very reliable source to many people, reporters, players, and teams around the league. What he says is always right, it seems like, and teams should take advantage of this.


Friday, February 1, 2019

Dallas Trade result

Early in the day, the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks. The whole thing happen so fast that it was a surprise. There was a meeting between the knicks and Kristaps Porzings but the team got the impression that he no longer wanted to be in new york. So they started inviting trade offers. The deal was done a hour later.

The Dallas mavericks got Courtney Lee, Tim Hardy Jr, Trey Bruk, and Kristaps Porzings. The overall look of the trade goes to the Dallas Mavericks. the trade sent  them a talented young big Man in porzings who can take control of a game. he is still injured but he is set to return healthy next year. Him and Luka have a relationship from playing in Europe and is expected to sign with Dallas at the end of the year.Tim also is a good pick up up with 21 point per game this season giving luka great offenses help. Courtney Lee and Trey Bruke giving Dallas good bench support for the team. The team absolutely won this trade by the pieces they got in return for there talent they gave away.

The New York Knicks is a little more complicated. The best player they received is Dennis Smith Jr. He won the rookie of the year the last season. he is very athletic player with good scoring. The only improvements he needs is to become a better passer while controlling the game with offense. the other pieces were just taken so they could dump salaries for this year free agents. They will have enough money to sign two max contracts plus rebuild around the young players they have already. this trade will only be good for the Knicks if they do get the players they want. Overall team is hoping to tank for the number one daft pick and getting the two stars they need to fill out next years roster. Don't expect to much this year from them.

This trade is very simple Dallas wins because of talent they got. This could put them in the playoff this year an next year be a contender for top team in the west. The knicks are playing Russian roulette and it could work out or fail all together. Even if they get there pieces this trade will change the view of Dallas forever.

Kyrie Irving Set To Retire

 Kyrie Irving is currently the talk all around the NBA world, as the NBA is investing a social media post where he is maskless at a birthday...