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thesportssoundoff · 5 years

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Sometimes Good Enough Just Ain’t Good Enough: 10 Challenges For The Yankees Going Forward

Joey

October 21st

At the end of the year, 29 teams will head into the latter stages of the Fall simply saying they weren't good enough. On Saturday night, it was the Yankees turn to stand up, look in the mirror and say "Not good enough" as they bowed out of the ALCS in the deciding sixth game of the series. When you win 100 games, survive countless injuries, win with a sweep in the ALDS and lose on a walk off in game 6 of the ALCS it's normally a successful season but this is New York where expectations aren't the same as Milwaukee, Oakland, St. Louis or any of the teams who played into October before finally saying "Not good enough!" as they hung up their hats. The Yankees expect championships and it's sometimes mutant fanbase (of which I am firmly a member of) are now going on 10 years of no ticker tape parades. Still let's not lose ourselves to delirium and point out that this is a damn good team with a deep core and plenty of organizational depth to take the next step. The Yankees aren't falling off or in a rebuild; they have a team that guarantees every October, they'll be talking about the chase for 28 in earnest. With the season in the rear view mirror, let's chit chat about ten things the Yankees have to do or figure out as they continue that chase for 28.

1. Fire the training staff

Easy enough! Injuries can sometimes be fluky but good lord, the Yankees were besieged with them. All three starting outfielders (Judge, Stanton, Hicks) saw IL time, their back up OFs saw IL time, their starting catcher saw IL time, starting 1B saw IL time, pitchers both high on the totem pole and in the jabroni ranks went on the IL. Clean house!

2. The same ol' same ol' scramble for a lead starter

Since the end of 2016 when the rebuild was officially over, this team has been chasing the #1 starter you normally need in the post season. At the end of the day, it's just easier to win in the playoffs when you have a game 1 starter you have endless confidence in. While Boston got away with it in 2018, they also had Chris Sale who maybe didn't pitch like an ace but was clearly one of the top 5 starters in the AL that year. The big myth is that the Yankees don't have good starting pitching and that is for the most part a lie. The Yankees pitching after the All Star break was pretty solid and in the playoffs they got quality enough from guys like Severino, Paxton and Tanaka on an inconsistent basis. The Yankees pitching rotation is NOT awful and plenty of teams would kill for a 1-2-3 of a healthy Louis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka in big games and James Paxton after the All Star Break where he went 10-3 with a 3.59 ERA and an 11 K/9. In the playoffs, Paxton was more good than bad and Tanaka shoved in two of the three games he pitched in. That said those three have all battled injuries (Paxton admittedly pitched with a knee he never quite felt great about) and all three of them weren't good enough in the playoffs. Maybe that changes with Severino healthy, Paxton more comfortable and Tanaka staying his usual course but it would be difficult to return with the same rotation in tact and say you feel confident about your chances against the Astros. This has been a chase that has spanned three years now as the Yankees tried with James Paxton, Sonny Gray and J.A Happ, were outbit on the likes of Carlos Quintana, Yu Darvish and Gerritt Cole and allegedly never tried for the likes of Marcus Stroman, Patrick Corbin, Justin Verlander and countless others. 2019 will be yet another year where they'll enter Christmas hoping to have a starter locked up.

The two obvious names will play next week when Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg take the bump for Houston and Washington respectively. In the Yankees of old, George Steinbrenner would hand Brian Cashman a blank check and tell him to pay for one IF not both. Time's have changed for better and/or worse with the Yankees. Brian Cashman is a man of due diligence and a man with the longest leash in sports. The Yankees didn't spend on Corbin, didn't try on Harper and made a modicum of effort for Manny Machado last year. In the free agent market, they're likely to not play heavily unless Hal Steinbrenner pretty much demands it. Paying for Cole and Strasburg is the easier fix but it's an avenue they've shied away from recently plus there are teams who "need" those guys more. The Yankees probably aren't as desperate as, say, the Angels are to win in the Mike Trout era and they've got money to play with so why not? The solution may be the trade market where the Yankees can make some hay in their search for a #1. Brian Cashman has parlayed his farm system (which is still plenty deep) into the opportunity to trade for arms in the past which figures to once again be the case. Conversely in the trade market, the farm is thinner than it's been in recent years AND Cashman prides himself on not losing trades. Also there's not much TO trade out there. Obviously it's his job as a GM to go out and find a potential solution that maybe the public hasn't heard is available but right now who is the best starter knowing that the Mets and the Yankees won't trade? It's not a robust market.

So your solutions are to pull a rabbit out of your hat or pay or hope Severino becomes an ace again after an injury plagued season. I suppose the only potential opt out route would be to sign a Hyun Jin-Ryu or a Jake Odorizzi and hope you can just build a deep rotation of names and faces that will give you quantity (while not high end quality) at the end of it.

3. Figure out Luke Voit

Let's play a game.

Player A- .333/.405/.689 195 wRC+ 14 HR 26.4% K rate Player B- .280/.393/.509 140 wRC+ 19 HR 25.8% K rate Player C- .238/.348/.368 95 wRC+ 4 HR 32.3% K rate

Player A is Luke Voit during his 2018 run with the Yankees Player B is Luke Voit up until he got hurt in the London Series Player C is Luke Voit from July 12th to the end of the year

Voit will never be the guy who took over the MLB in 2018. The sample size was bound to even itself out over time and Voit was bound to cool off when pitchers got to know him better. Player B though is a borderline All Star level first basemen. A power hitter who could hit for average, got on base at a solid clip and play a somewhat manageable first base is an asset for any team but especially a Yankees squad that has been hungry for competent first base play since injuries robbed Mark Texeira of his ability. Then? Voit got hurt. Back issues limited down the stretch and as you can tell by the numbers, Player C was awful. He just looked timid and afraid like he had been sapped of his confidence entirely. Luke Voit got left off the ALCS roster and had to watch as the offense struggled without him. Imagine a confident and healthy Luke Voit at the DH spot instead of Edwin Encarnacion when he went ice cold in the ALCS and maybe the series is a bit different. The Yankees are saddled with determining which half of the Luke Voit story is the real one. The Yankees are a better team when DJ LeMahieu is freed up to play 2B where he's an insanely elite defender and Luke Voit could help in that regard. At the same time? The Yankees have been burnt in the past by gambling at 1B (like when they kept thinking Greg Bird would finally put it together) and options would help. Even if he ran out of gas, Edwin Encarnacion did some good work when he was healthy and few dudes hit dingers the way he does when he's locked in. There's also Greg Bird I guess? Which reminds me....

4. MAYBE chase better balance

I don't believe a team gets better by marrying itself to letters next to names ie: we have to have x amount of leties in our pen. I do think that the Yankees righty heavy lineup could use some better balance. The team was batting Gardner 3rd in the playoffs despite his inability to do much of anything for stretches because they felt like they needed someone to break up the righties at the top of the bill. With two lefties about to hit free agency, maybe the Yankees need to flirt a bit with shaking things up in their lineup. Getting back a healthy Hicks would help of course but in general, this team could benefit from having maybe one more competent lefty bat especially if Did is out of here. It's not the sexiest name alive but given Voit's struggles down the stretch and the fact that they could probably use a more competent 1B defensively, maybe Mitch Moreland (former Red Sox 1B) as a back up/defensive replacement could make sense. Coming off an injury plagued season where he was still pretty damn productive vs righties. Maybe this is even where Mike Ford (who caught on late) fits as a future part of the team.

5. Figure out your free agents

Dellin Betances- There's some serious rebound value in bringing Betances back at fair market value. The Yankees just never had a replacement for what Betances could do as a pseudo fireman; a guy with low contact rates who can K a side and come in the middle of an inning to calm things down. Betances at a multi year deal would be a fair and modest investment.

Brett Gardner- There's a group of mutant Yankee fans who hate Brett Gardner and I feel like people forget Gardner was supposed to be at the very most a part time 4th OF. Injuries forced Gardner to continually play and he answered the bell quite well every time. He'll likely take a step back next year BUT he'll also be asked to play less.

Edwin Encarnacion- Was absolutely brutal in the ALCS but hits for power and usually has composed at bats. Was always a hired gun who the Yankees were probably gonna buy out when the time was right.

Didi Gregorios- Ugh. Didi went from being one of Brian Cashman's biggest steals and a potential cornerstone to a guy who will probably be allowed to test the open market. Didi's strengths are his defense, his clubhouse presence and his better than advertised bat but the Yankees have been waiting on him to take a firm step into top 10 SS for about two years now and it's not coming. He deserves a lot of credit for battling back from injury but he was brutal outside of games vs the Twins. I also sort of feel like his approach is all wrong for the Yankees as its constructed. For a team that preaches patience at the place and commanding the strike zone, Didi's approach often gets worse the more pitches he takes so he often swings at the first pitch and often does so when it's the wrong time. Defensively it looked like he took a step back as well although that may have been due to injury. The Yankees are better with DJ at 2nd and Gleyber at short and a competent 1B manning that spot but they love Didi so much (and he's so valuable when he's right) that they kept forcing him into the spot.

Austin Romine- Catching across the league is bad and Romine, noodle arm aside, is a solid back up catcher. Those tend to get signed for decent coin and normally for multi year deals. As such the Yankees need to maybe consider their options at the BUC spot because they won't have Romine.

Cameron Maybin- I'm not entirely sure Maybin's got a real fit here now. If Stanton, Judge and Hicks are healthy then it's probably him vs Gardner because Mike Tauchman has a long term future here. I wish Cameron Maybin well, he was a breath of fresh of air in the locker room and he deserves to have a good spot on a team somewhere.

6. Figure your outfield situation out

We know Judge, Stanton and Hicks are going to be here. Mike Tauchman was a star and a half for a month and change before injuries finally sapped him of his super powers. Gardner is a free agent but I'm betting the Yankees will bring him back comfortably so. Beyond them you have Estevan Florial (a former Yankees top prospect on a slide), Clint Frazier (a borderline toxic fit for the Yankees) as well as pseudo OFs Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada. The Yankees OF depth tends to get tested throughout the year but is Clint Frazier better suited to be a trade piece for some team in desperate need of an outfielder?

7. Settle the 'pen out a bit.

Yankees have four tremendous bullpen arms tied up with Britton, Ottavino, Green and Kahnle comfortably under wraps. Aroldis Chapman will probably opt out in a so-so closer's market and the Yankees will probably re-sign him (they took the PR smear after trading for him and then brought him back so clearly they value him). If not? Britton was an ace closer but in general the bullpen needs more arms. Remember the CLOSEST they got for a trade in July was for Bluejays closer Ken Giles so I'd imagine they'll poke around there too. If you can't find a starter of high quality and won't trade for one then you need one more big arm in the pen. It'd be pretty cool to both a) get a stud reliever and b) hurt your primary rivalries by signing either Joe Smith or Will Harris from under Houston.

8. Find a role for whatever J.A. Happ is.

The Yankees got ace level production of J.A. Happ when they had him in 2018 and even including his playoff bust vs Boston, bringing him back in some form or fashion seemed like a can't miss concept. Well it done missed. Pick whatever metric you want and Happ was genuinely bad for a Yankees team that desperately needed him to ONLY be a competent arm. He did improve as the season went along (imagine how awful he had to be that his last five starts with a 2.33 ERA that it managed to ONLY finish at a sub 5 ERA) and a lot of his game felt like it was just blitzed by the juiced ball and a lack of adapting to that. Happ is still under contract for 2020 and it's going to be hard to shake his deal so you're stuck with him. Figure out I guess if he's a long man, a 5th starter or a really overly expensive LOOGY type.

9. Battle royal the 5th spot

Keeping with that, the Yankees were roasted for their lack of SP depth and it showed up big last year. The fact that this team turned to an opener and wound up riding the likes of Chance Adams and Nestor Cortes as long men suggests they got got by the lack of options in the rotation. Turn the 5th spot into a battle royal position. Jordan Montgomery, J.A. Happ, Johnny Lasagna, a few retreads on other teams who are a tinkered arm angle away from being a competent 5th starter etc etc etc. Don't go into the year just figuring your minor league depth options are going to be enough because it probably won't be.

Unless you want to sign Zack Wheeler or Jake Odorizzi and be done with it.

10. Accept Gary Sanchez

I guess this is more for Yankees fans than anybody else. Gary Sanchez is a good catcher. Offensively when he's healthy, he's among the game's best and defensively? He's actually improving really well to be one of the better catches in the AL. He has a crazy throwing arm and while stolen bases are becoming less frequent, he's still got the ability to further mitigate that. Sanchez is a good player who plays the most physically demanding position in baseball and does a good job at it. His playoff numbers were abysmal this year but I still have faith.

#MLB #Yankees #playoffs #2019 #aaron judge #tanaka #severino #chapman #baseball #sports #hicks #stanton #sanchez

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defensefilms · 2 years

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State Of The League: The Playoffs, The Playoffs, The Playoffs

The ending of the NFL season, has given me a chance to recollect and survey the field to find out who’s who and worth looking out for heading in to the 2022 NBA post season.

So let’s look around the league and try to get a feel for what’s up.

1. The Miami Cold

heheheheheheheheheheheheheh!!!!!!! We’re gonna start off on a toxic note here.

So I’m watching highlights of that Heat-Warriors game, and the Warriors didn’t have Steph Curry, Klay or Draymond for that game, but somehow won that game 118-104.

Long story short, I have no faith in the Miami Heat and nothing has changed, they will go down as one of the least intimidating 1 seeds in recent memory.

Let me address Jimmy Butler real quick, cos if you look at actual impact on the court it’s actually questionable whether Jimmy is actually an all-star level performer.

Defenses have started daring this guy to shoot and instead opt to contest him at the rim, and it’s part of the reason why Miami can’t beat Milwaukee lately. Here’s a video on Youtube by HeatCheck, that explains in all too great detail, why Jimmy Butler has been living a lie for years.

I also find it hilarious that dude had all that aggressive energy for Karl Towns and Erik Spoelstra, but backed down quick when Udonis Haslem got in his face during a timeout, and in a situation where Jimmy was attempting to go at his head coach.

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a selective badman, and Jimmy Butler is a perfect mascot for a team I simply don’t see as a threat even if they are the 1-seed.

2. Boston Resurgent

I am going to start this by praising the Celtics current head coach, Ime Udoka.

I was incredibly down on the Boston Celtics at the start of the season, and some of their performances validated that, but the Celtics appear to have turned it around when it really appeared that they wouldn’t.

To his credit, Udoka has had his full starting five together in less than half of the games he’s coached and if it appears to you that the basketball community is showing this guy too much love, then you need to take a look at the roster he’s been given to work with, it’s a bit of a mess, just a hodgepodge of NBA veterans who are kind of past it and then unknown g-league level dudes like Payton Pritchard.

The front office kind of tried to help Udoka by signing Derrick White, who is good for pushing the pace and hopefully this post season, Udoka will have his entire starting five because the Celtics need every bit of their top guys to play most of the minutes.

Udoka’s switch-heavy defense, is a plus against some teams, and will open them up to mismatches against other teams, and the Celtics had developed a habit of surrendering leads earlier in the season, they appear to have gotten it together and more focused on closing out games.

However staying on the topic of their defense, you can certainly take not of Robert “Timelord” Williams, his lateral quickness and switching is the key to it all for Udoka’s scheme

All told, I won’t say that I have high expectations for the Celtics in the post season. A first round matchup with Cleveland or Chicago seems possible, but one of their potential matchups could present Boston with a lot of headaches.

3. The Frankenstein In Toronto

The Toronto Raptors in 2021/22 are a fascinating basketball experiment and I mean that literally.

Seriously, check out some of the lineups Nick Nurse is using these guys in. Some of it is because the Raptors don’t really have a center, and a lot of it because they have a bunch of guys that are 6 foot 7 and sometimes lineups with no guards, featuring Precious Achiuwa, Pascal Siakam, Trent Harris, OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes

Do you know that this squad is made up of 76% G-League players? Here’s a video by a guy named Treese about that, if you’re curious.

Proving once again, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Masai Ujiri is a basketball genius.

So if I’m so high on the Raptors, why can’t I pick them to go all the way?

Cos I’m not crazy.

While I love their lineups, their players and their style of play, the problem is because of their style of play.

When the Raptors look good, it’s because they hold the opponents to way below their season average in total points scored in the game.

The issue is that they do that because they have to and they cannot win by outscoring opponents, and they don’t have a guy that will give them an automatic 25-30 points every game.

I like Scottie Barnes and he is definitely fulfilling the expectations the Raptors had when they drafted him, but I don’t think that he is on a Kawhi Leonard type trajectory as far as the development of his offensive game is concerned.

I am a huge fan of Pascal Siakam and he has found a role in this offense that really only he could play, notching up career highs in assists while he’s at it.

Fred Vanvleet is still averaging a healthy 20 points and 6.7 assists per game, OG Anunoby has continued his development and Gary Trent Jr. is averaging 18.0 points and 2.1 assists.

So they’ve got a bunch of guys that are around and under that 20 point mark, however I don’t know if this offense is built to take you deep into the post season.

For that reason, I’ll back them as a dark horse for the playoffs but a lot will have to go wrong for the other teams in the Conference for Toronto to make the Conference Finals and beyond.

For instance, they’ll be a problem for the Celtics or the Miami Heat, but I think any team that can drop a easy 120 points a game can handle Toronto. That being said, any game they play in will be must-see basketball.

4. Milwaukee Better Chill Bro

This has been as turbulent a season as I can remember for the Bucks.

The injury bug definitely tried to get the best of them. The bodies just kept falling in Milwaukee. First was Jrue Holiday, then Brook Lopez was out for what felt like forever and then next was Pat Connaughton.

Milwaukee’s front office however compensated with what appeared to be some patchwork signings, and now it’s looking like they were actually great pickups.

Starting with a guy like Grayson Allen, who they acquired in the off season and who is currently averaging 40.8% from 3 point range. They also brought back some old veterans like Wesley Mathews and George Hill, and then brought in Jevon Carter and Serge Ibaka in mid season, and you know how much I love me some Serge Ibaka.

All those little pick ups have turned them in to one of the deepest teams in the league and they currently have 4 guys in Jrue Holiday, Pat Connaughton, Grayson Allen and Javen Carter, that are shooting better than 40% from 3 point range.

And do you know that Jrue Holiday is having the best offensive season of his career? Here’s a video by Thinking Basketball on Youtube to break that all down for you.

Let me just say that “Milwaukee better not do this”.

Don’t even think of going back-to-back. Giannis, who is actually 3rd in the league in scoring, better not think of doing this. This will push the Giannis fanboys over the moon. Do you know how much s### I’ve been talking for the last year? Y’all ain’t even my team.

For the sake and the mental health of all Youtube commentors who dare to come across me, Milwaukee should do the prudent thing and not make another Finals.

Because if they do................

5. This ain’t 1998, Chicago

Look, my hats go off to the Chicago Bulls in the 2021/22 season.

They finally got rid of the toxic Gar-Pax front office and what they’ve pulled off this season is remarkable. The signings of Alex Carusso and Lonzo Ball proved to be big boosts and since those 2 have been injured, the Bulls have held on to their place in the standings and they’ve had guys step up.

But when bloggers, NBA media, or even Bulls fans started comparing DeMar DeRozan to Michael Jordan, for any reason, that’s when I knew that Chicago sports was starting to drink their own bath water again.

Now, if memory serves me correctly the 4th and 5th seeded teams still play each other in the first round which means most likely Chicago will play Milwaukee in the first round and ya’ll not built for these types of struggles.

The Bulls and the Bucks played each other very recently and it wasn’t pretty. It was a beatdown of the highest order anything less than a 100% healthy Bulls squad is going to be like lambs to slaughter.

And that’s where the Bulls’ concerns should be, they should mind they business and actually make sure that their healthy before any kind of hype train can attempt to get going.

In all seriousness though, it is very fun to watch DeMar Derozan because he’s one of those guys that turns expectations on their head with his stye of play and the supposed limitations of the mid range game.

6. The Golden State Warriors And Tempered Optimism

The problem with the NBA, is that seasons are long, and how a team looks at the start is seldom how they look when the post season rolls around. That’s certainly been the case for the Warriors.

Golden State are in great position, still, there is every reason for this team and this organization to believe that they can make the finals and even win it all.

Despite a recent injury to Steph, they have had everything else go their way.

Klay Thompson finally had his long awaited return and while he won’t be the old Klay for a while he can still give you shooting in large doses. Draymond finally returned from injury and that will definitely help them on both ends of the court, there has been an uptick in Andrew Wiggins’ production and Jordan Poole looks like he is setting himself up for a pay day, averaging a healthy 17.7 points and 3.8 assists and Jonathan Kuminga has been incredible in his rookie season.

Now, the problem that remains with the Warriors, as was the case in the 2019 Finals, is a lack of size. Opposition big men are going to be doing their best Kareem/Hakeem impressions, no matter who the Warriors are matched up against.

Outside of all that, this could be the year for Golden State to get back to the Finals and the only reason that wouldn’t happen is because they couldn’t beat the other top team in the Western Conference.

7. The Phoenix Suns Are Still For Real

Here’s the thing, I don’t enjoy talking about the Phoenix Suns at all but the reality is that, barring injury, these guys will probably be in the NBA Finals for a 2nd year in a row.

See, the reason that the Suns lost the 2021 NBA Finals was that they were too much of a finesse team.

They didn’t have enough depth in their front court and enough depth at the wing positions, and more than not having the depth, the personnel they did have forced them to be jump shot reliant whether they played their starters or their bench.

This year they look like they’ve addressed that. The additions of JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo means that, you have more physical options than just Deandre Ayton. Then the addition of Torey Craig, who spent a few years in Denver means you finally have a capable backup for Devin Booker, who can kind of space the floor but most importantly gives you energy and hustle.

That’s a solid ingredient to add to the guys the had last year, almost all of whom they kept on board this season.

Unlike in the East, the Suns are a 1 seed you can trust and the potential of a series between the Suns and Golden State is something we should all hope comes to fruition. That would be an awesome series.

8. The Crooklyn Nets Have No Excuse

Where do we even start with Brooklyn?

I feel like an entire lifetime has happened for this team in just this season alone and it’s been so rocky. However, as always with Brooklyn, if they can get it together in the playoffs then they still have a shot.

From a roster perspective, the front office in Brooklyn has been hampered by 3 things.

The first was James Harden and the apparent friction between him and the other all stars on the team. They appear to have gotten over that

The next was the injury to Joe Harris, that was a problem oppositions were starting to exploit by double teaming Kevin Durant before Irving came back but I think someone is going to try that strategy again come playoff season, it worked to well and had Durant complaining about it in the post game interviews.

And the last of these three barriers, was and still is, Steve Nash’s coaching.

Still, the Nets front office deserves credit. They compensated for all three of these barriers by acquiring Andre Drummond in the Harden trade, and helping their front court depth while their at it but most significantly, is how the acquisitions of Patty Mills, Goran Dragic and Seth Curry, have essentially given the Nets the deepest back court in the league and that also allows Steve Nash to essentially coach in the way that he played.

It’s all about guard-play in Brooklyn, guards that shoot like Patty and Seth, a guard that gets to the paint like Goran Dragic and a guard that creates his own shot like Kyrie.

And speaking of Kyrie Irving.

Boy, you wanna talk about having the luck of the gods on your side.

I never ever wanna hear Kyrie talk about conspiracy theories, or in any way, make the assumption that people in positions of power are holding him back, holding him captive or impeding his progress.

The Mayor of New York is not out here to make decisions solely to please the professional athletes of his city. Yet Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving essentially used their platform to try to sway an elected public official so that they can win more basketball games.

It’s cool, but I don’t know if you understand how much this kills a lot of Kyrie’s points and/or principals but I’ll leave that alone because now bro gets to play every game and Brooklyn has no excuse.

Now they’re likely making the playoffs as an 8th seed, which means most likely, they’ll play Miami, Philly or Boston in the 1st round. All of those are matchups the Nets will feel good about.

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Honorable Mention: The Los Angeles Fakers

The one thing that hurts about this situation, is that I probably won’t get to see LeBron in the playoffs this year. Other than that, bro I’ve been on LOL the whole season.

This is utterly hilarious.

Would it have been cool if the Lakers were good and they could actually get stops and shoot 3′s consistently? Sure.

The opposite of that is still entertaining and has been the source of about 70% of the on-court basketball comedy in the 2021/22 season.

But hypothetically, let’s say the Lakers did make the playoffs. What would that look like?

Like hot garbage. They would be some trash.

LeBron knows this.

As the end of the regular season draws closer, there is more and more talk of shutting LeBron down for the rest of the season because why wouldn’t they?

This roster was a joke pretty much from their first game of the season.

Not enough shooters, too many slashers and a back court rotation that just looked like one of the worst in the league, and one they never quite figured out and Russell dominated the minutes even though he was more turnover prone than any of the other guards.

Now, Rus has gotten a better handle on that recently, he’s currently averaging 3.8 turnovers per game but bro really had games where he easily had more than 5 in a single game. Easily.

So who do we blame for all this?

We have to start with the obvious, and that’s LeBron.

I love LeBron, but this is bad homie. I know Pelinka screwed up and LeBron and his camp are reportedly unhappy, but that’s a smokescreen fam.

LeBron needs to stop acting like people are stupid. The Westbrook trade, and a whole bunch of other moves couldn’t have happened without his pushing for it.

We know the deal, dawg.

You like to make the franchise and the billionaires that run it, bend to your will and get them to make the acquisitions you want them to make. LeBron makes these dudes break themselves, and honestly, that’s the coolest thing about LeBron.

But when it fails, and when it goes belly up, can you just own some of it bro? Can you at least say that some of this is your fault, guy? Like come on, fam.

The word is LeBron’s camp is beefing with Lakers General Manager, Rob Pelinka because Pelinka refused to make a trade for former all-star point guard, John Wall at the trade deadline.

See? Stuff like that, is the problem!!!! That would have been a horrible f#####n trade!!!!! Are you serious? Wall ain’t a jump shooter. What in blazes makes you think that would have saved your season?

Jeanie Buss was seen walking out of the Lakers loss to the Pelicans at home, she’s always fun to watch when the Lakers are bad, and you get the feeling that she is very much siding with Rob Pelinka in as far as the Lakers internal affairs are concerned.

The messaging by Rob and Jeanie has been clear for a while now. LeBron and Klutch Sports made their bed and now they have to lie in it, like it or not.

The part of this that Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka must own, is the decision to hire Frank Vogel as head coach and then the decision to keep him for this season. This particular group of players needed a stronger voice on the sidelines, and needed the kind of guy that would not hesitate to bench a Westbrook or a Carmelo, maybe even doing so permanently.

Ya’ll kind of threw Vogel to the wolves, and the real issue is that Vogel didn’t help himself by figuring out his lineups and in particular, the floor spacing, sooner.

Keeping Vogel as head coach had more to do with Rob and Jeanie keeping control because he wasn’t built for this.

Perhaps Frank putting more faith in Stanley Johnson, Avery Bradley, Kent Bazemore and Wayne Ellington, all of whom are closer to 39% shooting from 3. Those guys aren’t great options and wouldn’t change the Lakers fortunes by much, but that goes back to Pelinka and the rest of this roster.

The thing of it is, is that if you’re Rob Pelinka, you’ll get frustrated because, “are you the general manager or not?”. If LeBron and Klutch are bringing in their guys, why don’t they go and find the jump shooters too, and just bring in their own roster altogether?

You can talk NBA cap magicians, and what an NBA GM’s job is, but anyone will tell you that you can’t add a 44 million dollar expense/cap hit, like Westbrook’s, and think Pelinka will have a lot of wiggle room. Hence you sign guys like Stanley Johnson, Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore, and they’re all making between 800 grand and 2.5 million.

It’s a mess in LA and this will actually need a complete purging and changing of the roster to fix.

It’s gonna be a wild off season in LA.

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rosepmarkert · 3 years

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Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

Recap of the Bulls vs. Warriors game: Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

The Chicago Bulls knew this was going to be a difficult game: on the road, against one of the top teams in the NBA, on national television, and without Nikola Vucevic. And, regrettably, those concerns were realised, as the Bulls suffered their worst defeat of the season, falling to the Warriors 119-93. Zach LaVine led the squad with 23 points, but he also committed seven turnovers as Chicago's offence was suffocated all night, unable to shoot efficiently from the floor. The Bulls are now 8-4 on the season as a result of the loss.

Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season Chicago got out to a fast start, leading by as many as eleven points in the first quarter. LaVine provided the most of the offence, scoring 10 points on his own. For the most of the quarter, the Bulls were able to cause difficulties defensively, pushing Golden State into five turnovers. Some of the Warriors' gaffes were self-inflicted, as a handful of Warriors' fast breaks were ruined by an inaccurate pass out of bounds. Chicago appeared to be on track to finish the quarter with a double-digit lead thanks to Ayo Dosunmu's back-to-back corner threes, but Golden State had other plans. They embarked on a 9-3 run in two minutes to cut the deficit in half. Derrick Jones Jr.'s three-pointer made it 29-23 Bulls at the end of the first quarter. more from here about The Bulls vs : NBA roundup The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks despite being without Giannis Antetokounmpo and who Antetokounmpo ? The evidence of Chicago's wheels slipping off initially appeared in the second quarter. The offence began to stall, with the Bulls scoring only 16 points in the quarter. Chicago's space became extremely constrained without Vucevic, and even when they had open looks, they simply weren't hitting them down. Turnovers also hampered Chicago; there was a spell when the Bulls lost the ball three times in 40 seconds. The Warriors are simply too talented a team to make mistakes against, and they capitalised as predicted. With 7:18 remaining in the quarter, they seized the lead and never looked back. The Bulls stayed within striking distance, but the Warriors came back with a late-quarter flurry. Despite a Lonzo dunk at the conclusion of the half (after missing his first seven attempts from the field), the home team had the upper hand. The Warriors are one of the strongest third-quarter teams in the league, as seen by their 35-17 victory over the Bulls, which increased their advantage to 24 points. And, as he frequently does, Steph Curry can take over a game anytime he wants, scoring 15 points in the third quarter alone as he pounded down long-range jumpers. Even when the Bulls moved up to eliminate that option, Curry dived to the basket for easy layups. The Bulls offence stagnated as a result, and with neither DeRozan (4-13 from the field) nor Ball (2-11) shooting well, LaVine began pressing things and had five turnovers in the third quarter. Something to note -- the Warriors lead the NBA in net rating in third quarters, outscoring their opponents by 31 points per 100. Bulls have to weather this pending surge. Bulls lead league in net rating in fourth quarters. pic.twitter.com/JZ3wo1d6f1 — Mark K (@mkhoops) November 13, 2021 more from new 24 hour WILL MILWAUKEE’S success give SMALLER MARKETS A SHOT AT large-name loose marketers? Predicting where the eleven great NBA free sellers will register 2021 the 11 best NBA free agency will sign in 2021 BTC fee burns to undergo en direction to $40K: 5 things to observe in Bitcoin this week SOURCE : blogabul#instagram #happy #nature #photography #fashion #instadaily #beauty #instalike #fun #friends #me #summer #tbt #cute #beautiful #likeforlike #smile #music #ootd #family #model #follow4follow #lifestyle #design #motivation #beach #sunset #amazing #dog #makeup Read the full article

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bernadettedmoreno · 3 years

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Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

Recap of the Bulls vs. Warriors game: Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

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dalerwalker2 · 3 years

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Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

Recap of the Bulls vs. Warriors game: Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

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mrfogmaxpro · 3 years

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Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

Recap of the Bulls vs. Warriors game: Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

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lilianjdubose · 3 years

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Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

Recap of the Bulls vs. Warriors game: Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

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laylavonrueden · 3 years

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Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

Recap of the Bulls vs. Warriors game: Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

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suejbueche · 3 years

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Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

Recap of the Bulls vs. Warriors game: Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

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debbiebfansler · 3 years

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Recap of the Bulls vs Warriors game Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

Recap of the Bulls vs. Warriors game: Chicago suffers its first blowout loss of the season

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thepatriotsandwe · 7 years

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Three Up, Three Down: Titans at Patriots, Divisional Round

The New England Patriots are going back to the AFC Championship for the seventh straight year. The Titans proved to be completely outclassed by the Patriots in just about every area of the game as New England rolled to a 35-14 victory on a cold night in Foxborough. This was a particularly difficult list to make as the Patriots executed the game plan well all night long, but nonetheless let’s take a look at three top performances and three areas that could use improvement.

Three Up

The Trenches

This is largest blanket statement made all season in these articles, but it cannot be understated just how well the Pats played at the line of scrimmage against the Titans. It often comes down to line play to determine games, and this is an immensely positive sign for the Patriots moving forward.

In terms of pass protection, the unit had their best night all season. The Titans were no slouch at rushing the passer posting the fifth highest sack total in the NFL, and that’s while having a poor secondary. Brady wasn’t sacked at any point in the affair, and the future hall of famer made the most of this opportunity by delivering one of his most efficient games of the season. The group will continue to face staunch pass rushes as the playoffs advance, and performances like this one will increases New England’s chances of bring home Lombardi number 6 drastically.

Speaking of pass rush, the subject of nearly every criticism article about the Patriots in the last nine years broke out into a monstrous game. In a historic effort, the defensive line of the Patriots put together eight sacks on mobile quarterback Marcus Mariota and set the new franchise record. Multi-sack outings for rookie Deatrich Wise and the perennial practice squad player Geneo Grissom are encouraging as the Pats show that impact can come from anywhere on the field.

Finally, the Patriots had to shut down Tennessee running back Derrick Henry in order to fully lay siege to the Titans offense, and the guys in the front seven demolished the 6′3 back. Henry was held to just 28 yards on 12 attempts with his longest rush of the day going for a putrid four yards. The Titans could not find any momentum at all on offense and quickly became one dimensional. The Patriots defense often tries to take away a team’s biggest weapon, and this game was an example of that strategy being executed on the highest level imaginable to fantastic results.

Rob Gronkowski

Robert Gronkowski is the greatest tight end to ever grace a football field, and can be completely unstoppable if the chemistry between him and Brady is on point. Unfortunately for the Titans, the two players were practically reading each others’ minds.

Gronk was targeted nine times for six receptions and 81 yards with a touchdown. There really isn’t much to say about the effort than it was another dominant performance from the 6′6 tight end. Every jump ball seemed to go his way, and he offers stability in the Patriots offense which was sorely lacking after the preseason injury to Julian Edelman.

Gronk very well could be the MVP of this team when it’s all said and done. Teams are forced to respect him which can open up options that may not be reliable under base defense conditions. His ability to continue to justify why teams must focus on him will be crucial in the AFC Championship and possibly beyond.

Danny Amendola

Gronk isn’t the only one to deliver on stability, and how could I leave out Mr. Danny “Playoff” Amendola after this occurred during the game:

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Amendola showed up once again, as he always does when the calendar switches to January and February. The 32 year old has certainly not been Julian Edelman this season, but on Saturday night he looked the part. He was the most targeted receiver as Brady tried to go to him 13 times and he hauled in 11 of those balls for 112 yards. ‘Dola just always seems to come down with that hotly contested catch when he needs to on critical downs.

Giving Brady these shorter options in the passing game will allow him to get the ball out quicker. This will be crucial as the Pats continue to play against some of the top defenses the league has to offer. Look for Amendola to be an expansive target in the weeks to come.

Three Down

Malcolm Butler

Patriots fans decided an early scapegoat for defensive struggles would be Stephon Gilmore. Since then, however, it’s clear who the weakest player in the starting secondary is. Butler has not had a good 2017 campaign, and that continued with another brutal night against the Titans.

The Titans did not have much to celebrate on Saturday night, but Butler allowed the fans something to cling to. Both of the Tennessee touchdowns came with Butler in coverage, and he allowed seven catches for 83 yards. This is a very disappointing outing for the Super Bowl 49 hero especially when it’s considered just how weak the Tennessee receiving core had been this season.

Butler is on a contract year, and he’ll almost assuredly not be a Patriot next season due to the Stephon Gilmore five year contract the Patriots offered this off-season. It very well may be a good thing as something seems off with Butler, and the magic of his last two seasons appears to have fully vanished. Butler will always live in Boston sports history and be a Patriot legend, but with performances like this one it only cements that he’ll be in a different uniform next season.

Brandin Cooks

Again, Brandin Cooks continues to be targeted often by Brady, but the production from the high speed receiver has dropped off a cliff since his early season dominance.

The Patriots did make more of an effort to include Cooks in the shorter passing game, but it largely did not come to fruition. Brady’s completion percentage when targeting Cooks was a terrible 33% with just three receptions on nine targets for 32 yards. One of these incomplete passes came on a deeper throw from Brady which appeared to be within arms reach of Cooks, but it fell harmlessly to the ground. While it’s not totally clear who was at fault for the incompletion it just furthers shows the mercurial nature of the chemistry between Cooks and Brady.

The Patriots will obviously hope to see more from Cooks next week, and one would hope the connection will improve after a full off-season in the 2018 season. Regardless, Cooks has been one of the few rare success stories of the Patriots reaching out for bigger name receivers in recent years. Cooks is certainly not another Brandon Lloyd or Chad Ochocinco, but he’s also definitely not quite a Randy Moss.

Chris Hogan

Please put down the pitchforks. Chris Hogan had a touchdown in the affair which would often render someone exempt from the negative list, but the Patriots really did not have many negatives in the game. The touchdown was definitely a positive sign of the receiver’s health after missing a number of games and a clearly unhealthy showing in Miami.

Hogan is one of the receivers the Patriots would lean on to fill the Edelman role to some extent (although Hogan is not thought of a short threat, his medium yardage routes can lead to quicker completion than someone like Cooks), and he was not providing consistent production for Brady in the game. This includes a pass that he allowed to go right between his hands early on in the game. Hogan was targeted four times for only one completion (his touchdown) for four yards.

While this selection is still a bit of a reach, one would hope Hogan will emerge as a bigger threat next week when the Patriots will be looking for any openings at all against a ferocious Jacksonville secondary and pass rush. The hope is that the Titans game will have served as a bit of a “tune up” for Hogan, and he’ll become more comfortable as he gets further time to get back in sync with the offensive unit.

There were many players that could fit into the positive section of this list, and I don’t believe they should go unmentioned. So, honorable mentions go to: Dion Lewis, James White, Tom Brady, and Stephon Gilmore. Hopefully Brady will not be too furious with me leaving him off the unofficial “Patriot of the Week” award list.

Next week the Patriots will be hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars in Foxborough. The winner will be going off to Minnesota to represent the AFC, and, unlike another AFC team, the Pats will be totally focused on getting it done this week.

Until we convene again on Friday for the preview,

Go Pats

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rosepmarkert · 3 years

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NBA roundup The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks despite being without Giannis Antetokounmpo and who Antetokounmpo ?

NBA roundup The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks despite being without Giannis Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee Bucks win a thrilling extra game Curry scores 40 points for the third time this season, leading the Warriors past the Bulls; Harden leads the Nets to victory against the Pelicans; Doncic and Jokic both get triple-doubles in wins for the Mavericks and Nuggets, respectively; the Lakers lose again at home to Minnesota without LeBron James. In an entertaining Friday night of NBA action, the Boston Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in an overtime thriller, and a number of players in the MVP debate turned in performances that backed up their claims. The Boston Celtics upset the Milwaukee Bucks 122-113 on Friday night, with Dennis Schröder scoring a season-high 38 points, including eight in overtime, as they took advantage of Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence. more from here : Milwaukee greenbacks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo set for imaging Boston has won four of its last five games after starting the season 2-5. Jayson Tatum had 27 points and 11 rebounds. Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, was forced to sit out with a right ankle injury approximately 90 minutes before the game. For the defending NBA champion Bucks, Jrue Holiday had 17 points and 13 assists, while Bobby Portis scored 22 points. Grayson Allen scored 21 points in regulation, including a pair of 3-pointers in the last 73 seconds to send the game to overtime. Marcus Smart scored 12 of his 19 points in the third quarter, when the Celtics transformed a four-point deficit into a seven-point advantage. Robert Williams III had 12 points and 10 rebounds. However, Boston still needed overtime to win, and the team is now 6-6 on the season, while the reigning champs are now 6-7. who is Giannis Antetokounmpo ? Greek basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo now plays for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks (NBA). Antetokounmpo was dubbed the "Greek Freak" because of his size, speed, and ability to handle the ball. Filathlitikos' youth teams in Athens were where Antetokounmpo began his basketball career. The Bucks selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft after he made his NBA debut in 2011 with the club's senior squad. This season, he was the first player in NBA history to finish a regular season with at least 20 points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks in the top 20 in each of the five main statistical categories. He was voted Most Improved Player in 2017. After leading the Eastern Conference in votes in each of the last five All-Star games, Antetokounmpo was elected All-Star captain in 2019 and 2020. For the first time in NBA history, Antetokounmpo won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in both 2019 and 2020, becoming only the third player to do so before reaching the age of 26. Only Michael Jordan (1988) and Hakeem Olajuwon have won both the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards in the same season as he did in 2020, when he was named both (1994). In 2021, Antetokounmpo was named Finals MVP after guiding the Milwaukee Bucks to their first NBA championship since 1971. In the same year, he was inducted into the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. more from new 24 hour Hawks vs. Greenbacks score, takeaways: Giannis Antetokounmpo Let Sandro Mamukelashvili to play as himself in today’s NBA games 2K22. WILL MILWAUKEE’S success give SMALLER MARKETS A SHOT AT large-name loose marketers? Predicting where the eleven great NBA free sellers will register 2021 the 11 best NBA free agency will sign in 2021 source : skysports.com#instagram #happy #nature #photography #fashion #instadaily #beauty #instalike #fun #friends #me #summer #tbt #cute #beautiful #likeforlike #smile #music #ootd #family #model #follow4follow #lifestyle #design #motivation #beach #sunset #amazing #dog #makeup Read the full article

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bernadettedmoreno · 3 years

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NBA roundup The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks despite being without Giannis Antetokounmpo and who Antetokounmpo ?

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dalerwalker2 · 3 years

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NBA roundup The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks despite being without Giannis Antetokounmpo and who Antetokounmpo ?

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