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tkmedia · 3 years ago

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2021 Fantasy Best Ball Mock Draft: Strategy tips, advice for half-point PPR leagues

Best ball leagues have emerged over the past few years as one of the more popular trends in fantasy football. Why? Well, it's simple. There's nothing fantasy football owners love more than drafting. That's when endless opportunities exist and fantasy owners have countless sleepers and value picks circled on their cheat sheets. All you have to do is draft and wait for the points to roll in. Everything is out of your control after the draft. Your optimal lineup is automatically set on a weekly basis. There's no start 'em, sit 'em choices, waiver wire pickups, or trades. As fun as those can be, they're also time-consuming and agonizing. While best ball adds a little extra stress during the draft, it still beats the headaches that come with lineup decisions. DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2021 Cheat SheetYou can study different strategies ahead of best ball drafts, but the only way to be truly ready is to test out a mock draft or two. Recently, I participated in an 18-round best ball draft with 11 other fantasy owners at Underdog Fantasy. The half-point PPR league had 18 roster spots with no defenses or kickers (common for best ball), and I ended up with the No. 9 overall pick. Because I was picking late in the first round, my strategy was to double up on running backs early on. Waiting until the third round to draft my RB2 could get risky, and I might have a chance to draft a borderline RB1 with both of my first two picks. After that, the plan was to grab receivers often and build up a wealth of depth there since this league starts two RBs, three WRs, and a flex.MORE 2021 FANTASY HELP: Mock Draft Simulator | Position battles | Bye weeks | Best team namesWhile I followed our top 200 PPR rankings at times, I also had to make some adjustments. Best ball is a season-long format with no transactions or start/sit decisions, so it made sense to add some younger, upside-based sleepers to the fold. They come with some risk, but if they pop off, then they could really buoy my team.Also, a key difference with best ball is your flex is often a receiver. In season-long leagues, you often want stability in that position going into the week; in best ball, the highest-scoring player is going to wind up there automatically, and that's often a WR who caught a 40-yard TD pass, not a handcuff RB who received 10 touches and failed to get into the end zone. That's why I went WR heavy after the first couple rounds.FANTASY DRAFT STRATEGY: Snake Draft | Auction | Best Ball | Dynasty/Keeper | IDP

2021 Fantasy Best Ball Mock Draft: 12-Team half-point PPR league

* This draft was for a half-point PPR best ball league that starts 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 FLEX and has 10 bench spotsAustin Ekeler, RB, Chargers (Round 1, Pick 9). There were backs that ranked higher than Ekeler among our top 200 PPR rankings, but he carries a lot of value in half-point PPR formats. He had 92 catches, 993 yards and eight receiving touchdowns in 2019, the last time he played a full,16-game season. Ekeler still produced 933 scrimmage yards in 10 games last year, and he should only be better given the improved blocking in which the Chargers have invested. He's a nice high-floor option at this early stage.Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington (2.16). We actually have Gibson ranked higher than Ekeler in both our standard and PPR rankings, but I wanted to see if I could get him at the 16th spot. Mission accomplished. Like Ekeler, Gibson is a great pass-catcher, as he played receiver in college. He had 36 catches in 14 games (10 starts) last year but should eat into J.D. McKissic's target total in 2021. McKissic was targeted 110 times last year. Gibson also did well between the tackles, averaging a strong 4.7 yards per carry and totaling a whopping 11 TDs. He did that with little experience at the running back position. With a full offseason at his new spot, he should be even better than he was as a rookie.2021 PPR FANTASY RANKINGS: Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker | Top 200Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams (3.33). With two strong running backs in tow, the third and fourth rounds were all about adding a couple of high-quality receivers. Getting Kupp with the 33rd pick was a good start. Kupp has averaged 129 targets over the past two seasons and has been on pace for 1,102 receiving yards and seven TDs per 16 games during that span. The impressive thing? Kupp did that all with Jared Goff. Matthew Stafford should be an upgrade over Goff, so Kupp's ceiling is even higher that usual. While some prefer his teammate, Robert Woods, we actually have Kupp rated slightly higher in our WR PPR rankings.Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 49ers (4.40). Receivers were flying off the board at this point — as they're wont to do in best ball leagues — so we had to reach a bit here. We also faced a tough decision: Odell Beckham Jr. or Aiyuk. Ultimately, we went with Aiyuk because he was on pace for 128 targets last year while generating seven total touchdowns (five through the air and two on the ground). He's a safe, multi-faceted weapon with upside. Beckham certainly is appealing, too, but Aiyuk's floor/ceiling combo is just a bit higher.2021 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS: Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker | Top 200Javonte Williams, RB, Broncos (5.57). If you can land three high-quality running backs in best ball, you're usually in great shape at the position. That's why I grabbed Williams here. The price was right for our 54th-ranked player, and he adds some extra upside to our RB room. Plus, he'll protect against any potential injury to Ekeler or Gibson, who both missed time last season. Williams averaged 7.9 yards per touch in his final year at UNC and scored 22 times. He won't repeat that production at the NFL level, but he can still be a rock-solid RB2. Melvin Gordon will take some touches away from him, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Williams emerge as the workhorse by the end of his rookie season.Josh Allen, QB, Bills (6.64). I wasn't planning on drafting a quarterback this early, but Allen was too good to pass on. He's our No. 3 ranked QB for 2021, yet he was available early in the sixth round. Allen has an elite rushing floor, as he ran for 421 yards and eight scores last year. He had 45 touchdowns in total and threw for more than 4,500 yards. Allen has improved markedly in each of the past two seasons. If he makes another leap, he could be the best quarterback in fantasy football. Even if he doesn't, he'll still be a sure-fire top-five option. He is a steal and will allow us to wait on another quarterback until much later in the draft.2021 FANTASY AUCTION VALUES (Standard & PPR): Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker | OverallDJ Chark, WR, Jaguars (7.81). Chark kickstarted a run of five consecutive receivers for my team, as I was desperate to add depth and talent at the position. Chark is dealing with a broken finger right now, but he should return before the start of the season. He has averaged 13.6 yards per reception each of the past two year despite playing with a plethora of different quarterbacks. If Trevor Lawrence can close that revolving door, Chark could have his best season yet. At the very least, he's a good deep threat and a nice WR3. You could also make a case for his teammate, Laviska Shenault, here, but Chark is the more proven option.Darnell Mooney, WR, Bears (8.88). OK, this was definitely a reach, but sometimes, you have to take risks in best ball leagues. Drafting Mooney in Round 8 qualifies as one that could pay off. Mooney caught 61 passes for 631 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie. Those numbers are modest, but his potential is sky-high. He was targeted 98 times despite starting just nine of 16 games. Frequently, he was able to shake open downfield but Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky couldn't get him the ball. Take this play, for example.So, is Mooney a risk? Definitely, but his upside is through the roof. Once Justin Fields gets on the field, Mooney could be a great deep threat. And with Allen Robinson there to take attention away from him, opposing defenses won't be able to focus on him.2021 FANTASY SLEEPERS: Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Each teamDeVante Parker, WR, Dolphins (9.105). If Mooney is a boom-or-bust pick, Parker is a vanilla pick. He averaged a solid 7.4 fantasy points per game (FPPG) last season in 14 games. He's a steady performer, and at this point, he is what he is. A good starter that will be a worthwhile flex play in most matchups. He may even be a WR3 if Tua Tagovailoa continues to perform as well as he has during the preseason. Parker has only played a 16-game season once in his six-year NFL career, but he has never played fewer than 11 games either. He's a nice, safe foil for Mooney and will be fine as our main flex option if Mooney busts.Gabriel Davis, WR, Bills (10.112). As a rookie, Davis averaged 17.1 yards per catch and scored a touchdown on seven of his 35 catches. He had 599 receiving yards while playing 73.3 percent of the Buffalo snaps. Davis figures to have an even bigger role in 2021 with John Brown gone. The Bills brought in Emmanuel Sanders to repalce Brown, but he will likely serve as the fourth receiver and a versatile backup. Davis could be a big-time TD threat and like Mooney, will benefit from playing across from another dynamic receiver, Stefon Diggs. He's a great 10th-round value, and stacking him with Allen will raise our team's ceiling. Boom-or-bust backups like Davis are a must in best ball leagues.2021 FANTASY TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY: Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/STJakobi Meyers, WR, Patriots (11.129). Meyers is one of the best sleepers to target in best ball PPR formats. He caught 59 of 81 targets in 14 games last season and figures to be the No. 1 receiver on the Patriots in 2021. If Cam Newton can stay healthy or if Mac Jones can perform at a high level as a rookie, Meyers should have a chance to be a reception machine. He averaged 5.8 targets per game last season but should see even more with other receivers like Nelson Agholor there to draw attention away from the defense.Jonnu Smith, TE, Patriots (12.136). Waiting on a tight end can be risky, but I managed to get a good one in Round 12. Having Smith and Meyers may not look ideal, but Meyers is my WR7, so I don't have to worry to much about them cannibalizing each other's production. Smith had nine total touchdowns last season despite dealing with a knee injury. He's a versatile player who can be used in-line, as a receiver, and out of the backfield, so Josh McDaniels will scheme up ways to get him the ball. If you're waiting on a tight end, you'd be hard-pressed to do better than Smith.2021 FANTASY CONSISTENCY RATINGS: Read the full article

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junker-town · 4 years ago

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Our experts preview the top 25 men’s college basketball teams

This is everything you need to know about the top 25 teams in men’s college basketball.

The 2020-21 men’s basketball season gets underway on Wednesday, November 25, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on nationwide. The COVID-19 shutdowns began in March of this year as all postseason basketball — and then the rest of NCAA sports — were canceled en masse.

Well, we’re back, baby!

Kind of. There are already myriad teams that have paused their seasons due to outbreaks within their programs — including No. 2 Baylor, No. 12 Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Florida — causing some reshuffling of multi-team events or canceling season openers.

But we will have some men’s college basketball action starting, so we’re here to prepare you for the season. We reached out to the experts across our NCAA team communities to get the low-down on the 25 teams that are ranked in the 2020-21 preseason AP Poll.

Let’s get to it!

25. Michigan

Projected lineup: G Mike Smith, G Eli Brooks, F Franz Wagner, F Isaiah Livers, C Austin Davis

This should be a deeper team with an influx of young talent in the form of Juwan Howard’s first recruiting class (No. 1 in Big Ten, No. 15 nationally) and Chaundee Brown and Mike Smith entering the fold as immediately-eligible transfers. Smith and Eli Brooks will handle primary ballhandling duties, while fifth-year senior Austin Davis is expected to have an expanded role as freshman Hunter Dickinson comes along. What this team does still have is one of the best one-two punches in the Big Ten with Isaiah Livers and a still-ascending Franz Wagner, who was arguably Michigan’s best player at the tail end of last season. — Anthony Broome, Maize n Brew

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

24. Rutgers

Projected lineup: G Geo Baker, G Jacob Young, G Montez Mathis, F Ron Harper Jr., F Myles Johnson

Great expectations have arrived for the Scarlet Knights. After winning 20 regular season games for the first time in 37 years and producing a winning record in Big Ten play for the first time since joining the league, they have the potential to be even better this season. They are ranked in the preseason for the first time in 42 years. Six of the top eight contributors from last season return and they’ve added a top 40 recruiting class that includes 4-star big man Cliff Omoruyi, as well as 3-star wings Mawot Mag and Oskar Palmquist.

After finishing 6th nationally in defensive efficiency last season, their increased size and versatility give hope they may be even better on that end of the floor. The ceiling for this season will likely be determined by how much they improve offensively, particularly from the free throw line and three-point range. However, Baker is one of the best closing playmakers in the country and Harper Jr. is poised to become a star, giving the program the potential to have its best season since the Final Four run 44 years ago. — Aaron Breitman, On the Banks

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

23. Ohio State

Projected lineup: G CJ Walker, G Duane Washington Jr., F E.J. Liddell, F Kyle Young, F Justice Sueing

Having trouble keeping up with who currently plays basketball for Ohio State? Us too. The Buckeyes saw three players leave via transfer during the offseason and three others graduate, leaving a whopping five scholarships open for the taking. Chris Holtmann pulled in combo guard Jimmy Sotos from Bucknell and former Ivy League Player of the Year Seth Towns from Harvard, in addition to the freshman class of Zed Key, Eugene Brown, and Meechie Johnson. While there are still a few holdovers from last year’s team, it may take a little time for fans to get familiar with the new faces.

The main question for Ohio State this season will be the health of key contributors such as Towns, Kyle Young, and Justice Sueing. The Buckeyes have four players who are recovering from various surgeries (yikes), so how they hold up over the course of a full season will largely dictate OSU’s success in the Big Ten conference this season.

— Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land

Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

22. UCLA

Projected lineup: G Tyger Campbell, G Johnny Juzang, G Chris Smith, F Jaime Jaquez, F Jalen Hill

Everyone’s back for UCLA, PLUS they receive the services of Johnny Juzang who received clearance to play immediately this season from the NCAA. The backcourt should be nearly impossible to defend against as such with Campbell who can penetrate on any defense in the country, Juzang who is probably the best pure shooter on the team and Smith, who spurned the NBA for another run at it with UCLA. Smith is a true guard who just so happens to stand 6’9 and averaged 13 points while making nearly 50% of his shots. Jaime Jaquez is a star-in-the-making and Jalen Hill may very well be the Pac-12’s best offensive rebounder. Add in the fact that Mick Cronin’s crew was the hottest team in basketball when the season was canceled last year, the fact that there’s 14 starts from last year sitting on the bench with David Singleton and also a top 75 recruit in Jaylen Clark waiting in the wings, and this team is afraid of no one, but everyone should be afraid of it.

— Cam Mellor, Bruins Nation

Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images

21. Florida State

Projected lineup: G Scottie Barnes, G MJ Walker, G RayQuan Evans, F Malik Osborne, F Balsa Koprivika

Sure, the defending ACC champions are the only team in the country forced to replace multiple lottery picks. And yes, they must also replace Trent Forrest, who left FSU having played in more wins (104) than any other player in school history.

But the ‘Noles still return seven guys who played at least 20 percent of the total possible minutes during last year’s 26-5 campaign, including 3 starters. Oh and FSU just happened to add a 5 star point guard (Scottie Barnes) and one of the top JUCO recruits in the country (Sardaar Calhoun). Leonard Hamilton’s squad is long, deep, athletic, and play with a chip on their shoulder—overlook them at your own risk.

— Matt Minnick, Tomahawk Nation

Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

20. Oregon

Projected lineup: G Will Richardson, G Chris Duarte, G Eric Williams Jr., F Eugene Omoruyi, C N’Faly Dante

Payton Pritchard may have graduated, but don’t expect the Ducks to drop off a lot from the squad that went 24-7 last season. Guards Will Richardson and Chris Duarte will be crucial for Dana Altman’s squad, and the Ducks bring four-star recruit Jalen Terry into the mix. KenPom expects the Oregon defense to improve (they finished the season No. 76 last season) but the offense to slip just a tad.

The Ducks are an extremely experienced team with nine players listed as upperclassmen on the roster. That said, Pritchard played 35.5 minutes per game (88.8% of available minutes) and Oregon will need someone to step up as the leader in the backcourt.

— Caroline Darney, SB Nation

Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

19. Texas

Projected lineup: G Matt Coleman, G Courtney Ramey, G Andrew Jones, F Greg Brown III, F Jericho Sims

After inheriting an experienced team from Rick Barnes in 2015-16, Shaka Smart has spent the ensuing seasons building an experienced roster. Now Texas has a senior point guard, returned every player from last year’s team, and added Brown, a high-flying top-10 prospect. Not only is this team Smart’s most experienced in years, it’s also his deepest and most talented group, which could finally mean a return to the pressing, fast-paced Havoc style that Smart used to make a Final Four appearance at VCU.

— Wescott Eberts, Burnt Orange Nation

Photo by Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

18. Arizona State

Projected lineup: G Remy Martin, G Alonzo Verge Jr., G Joshua Christopher, F Marcus Bagley, F Jalen Graham

This team is by far Bobby Hurley’s most talented since his arrival in Tempe. Associated Press preseason All-American Remy Martin decided to return for his senior season. He is joined by Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year Alonzo Verge as well as the highly touted freshmen Joshua Christopher and Marcus Bagley. Martin, Verge and Christopher certainly have the talent to make Arizona State “Guard U” again.

There’s a ton of depth on this team as well. Jalen Graham came on strong late last season. Taeshon Cherry and Jaelen House are both guys that contribute from the three-point line and on defense. Kimani Lawrence, Ohio State transfer Luther Muhammad, Portland State transfer Holland Woods all bring in a veteran presence too. Then there’s Pavlo Dziuba, a european freshman who as a pure athlete might be the most dynamic. There’s been a lot of buzz about the Sun Devils, and for good reason.

— Brady Vernon, House of Sparky

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

17. Houston

Projected lineup: G DeJon Jarreau, G Marcus Sasser, G Caleb Mills, G Quentin Grimes, F Justin Gorham

Houston returns all of the major players from a Cougars squad that went 23-8 last season. Redshirt sophomore Caleb Mills is a player to watch this season after leading his team with 13.2 points per game last year en route to being named to the AAC All-Freshman team. Fellow double-digit scorer Quentin Grimes (12.1 points per game) returns for Kelvin Sampson’s squad, and the Cougars add four-star recruit Tramon Mark to the mix.

Expect a high-flying offense that can make up for any deficiencies on the defensive end of the court.

— Caroline Darney, SB Nation

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

16. North Carolina

Projected lineup: G Caleb Love, G RJ Davis, G Leaky Black, F Garrison Brooks, F Day’Ron Sharpe

After an extremely disappointing 2019-2020 campaign, Roy Williams has reloaded his roster with a number of talented freshmen in hopes of returning things back to normal. The engine of this team is preseason ACC Player of the Year Garrison Brooks, and he will be surrounded with a lot more talent than last year in Caleb Love, RJ Davis, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Walker Kessler. The big question will be whether or not this team will be able to gel together well enough to return to the NCAA tournament, but the odds of that happening look pretty good. Roy Williams certainly hasn’t let them forget what happened last season, and that may be more than enough motivation for this team to make a deep tournament run.

— Brandon Anderson, Tar Heel Blog

Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images

15. West Virginia

Projected lineup: G Deuce McBride, G Taz Sherman, F Emmitt Matthews, F Derek Culver, C Oscar Tshiebwe

The Mountaineers enter the 2020 season with an exceptional combination of talent, size, depth, and experience, losing just one meaningful contributor from last year’s 21-10 squad and adding a trio of freshmen who are all expected to contribute right away. They feature arguably the best front court tandem in America in Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe, a rising star in guard Deuce McBride, and an abundance of length and depth on the wing.

The metrics like West Virginia, as well - the Mountaineers are currently No. 8 in KenPom, with the No. 12 adjusted offense and No. 7 adjusted defense. Considering everything they bring back they should again be among the nation’s best at rebounding (1st nationally in OREB in 2019, 5th in rebounding margin) and defending (15th in PPG allowed), and if the 3-point shooting improves as expected, this will be a battle-hardened unit that has everything needed to make a deep tournament run come March.

— Jordan Pinto, The Smoking Musket

Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images

14. Texas Tech

Projected lineup: G Mac McClung, G Kyler Edwards, G Nimari Burnett, F Terrence Shannon Jr., F Marcus Santos-Silva

This is by far the deepest and most talented roster Chris Beard has coached in his five years at Texas Tech. The lineup mixes established veterans with highly touted freshmen and capable role players, not to mention one of the most dynamic backcourts in the country. It’ll take some time for the team to come together as a unit, and enduring the gauntlet that is the Big 12 Conference regular season schedule will test the Red Raiders on a weekly basis. But, with a top-5 coach in the country on the bench, this team has every tool it needs to make another deep postseason run.

— Zach Mason, Viva the Matadors

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

13. Michigan State

Projected lineup: G Rocket Watts, G Joshua Langford, G/F Aaron Henry, F Joey Hauser, F Marcus Bingham Jr.

Michigan State loses the Big Ten’s all-time leader in assists in Cassius Winston and versatile big man/defensive lockdown specialist Xavier Tillman, which hurts, but still returns a lot of talent. Joshua Langford makes his return after missing the past year-and-a-half due to a foot injury, and Joey Hauser finally gets his chance to play, after having to sit out a season following his transfer from Marquette. Aaron Henry will step into a leadership role with fellow captains Langford and Foster Loyer. MSU has a deep bench, with players like Malik Hall and Gabe Brown able to provide scoring and a spark in a hurry. The Spartans also bring in two true freshmen who could earn immediate playing time in guard AJ Hoggard and center Mady Sissoko.

The question marks come at point guard — will Rocket Watts — much more of a self shot creator than a facilitator — be able to transition to the point guard spot, or will he stick to the two-guard? And at center, the starting spot is up for grabs. Marcus Bingham Jr. likely has the first shot at it, with Sissoko challenging him, and Thomas Kithier and Julius Marble factoring into the rotation somewhere. While there isn’t quite as much hype for Tom Izzo’s squad this year, this Michigan State team is deep, talented, and will challenge for its fourth consecutive Big Ten title.

— Ryan O’Bleness, The Only Colors

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

12. Tennessee

Projected lineup: G Santiago Vescovi, G Keon Johnson, G Josiah-Jordan James, F Yves Pons, F John Fulkerson

Rick Barnes is ready for another run at an SEC title, now armed with a roster full of experience and elite prospects. Following breakout seasons, Fulkerson and Pons return to the post as seniors. Guards Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James enter year two after taking their lumps as freshmen last season. The real excitement here comes with the addition of five-star guards Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer. Oh, the Volunteers also have veteran point guard Victor Bailey Jr. eligible for depth and will add senior grad-transfer E.J. Anosike to the post for some added toughness. This team is deep and brings legitimate NBA talent to the table, the only question is how quickly those freshmen guards come along.

— Terry Lambert, Rocky Top Talk

Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images

11. Creighton

Projected lineup: G Marcus Zegarowski, G Mitchell Ballock, G Antwann Jones, F Damien Jefferson, F Christian Bishop

If there’s a team that’s going to challenge the Villanova Wildcats for Big East supremacy this season, it’s the Creighton Blue Jays. They return most of their major players from a team that finished 24-7 last season, led by point guard Marcus Zegarowski. The Blue Jays shot nearly 40% as a team from three last year and are projected as the No. 6 offense per KenPom.

Defensively there may be some questions to answer, but we should get a good glimpse at who Creighton is when they play Kansas on December 8.

— Caroline Darney, SB Nation

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

10. Kentucky

Projected lineup: G Devin Askew, G Brandon Boston, G Terrence Clarke, F Keion Brooks Jr., C Olivier Sarr

This Kentucky team has a little bit of everything, but one area they’ll stand out more than maybe anyone in college hoops is their ridiculous size and length. They have nine scholarship players at 6-foot-6+ and nine with a 6-foot-11+ wingspan. And they have the athleticism to go with it, so this has the potential to be one of John Calipari’s best rebounding and shot-blocking teams ever.

There will be the usual growing pains with only two scholarship players returning and nine newcomers, but they have all the tools to become a Final Four-caliber team come March. The key to becoming a team capable of winning it all is how good prized freshmen Terrence Clarke and Brandon Boston are come tourney time. That’s the usual big ‘if’ with Cal-coached teams. He always has elite freshmen in Lexington, though they don’t always hit their stride before being drafted into the NBA.

Clarke and Boston both have the potential to be All-Americans and top-10 NBA Draft picks in 2021. If they reach their potential this season, good luck stopping two 6-7 guards capable of scoring at all three levels with an all-conference big man in Olivier Sarr roaming the paint.

— Jason Marcum, A Sea of Blue

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

9. Duke

Projected lineup: G Jordan Goldwire, G Jeremy Roach, G Wendell Moore Jr., F Jalen Johnson, F Mathew Hurt

The 2020-21 edition of the Duke Blue Devils is a good mix of experience and new blood. They return players like Jordan Goldwire (Sr.), Joey Baker (Jr.), Matthew Hurt (So.), and Wendell Moore Jr. (So.) and add the No. 3 incoming class. Coach Krzyzewski brings four five-star recruits into the program in Jalen Johnson, Jeremy Roach, DJ Steward, and Mark Williams and two four-star players in Jaemyn Brakefield and Henry Coleman.

Expect the Blue Devils to have a top-10 defense on KenPom and compete for both the ACC and National Championships.

— Caroline Darney, SB Nation

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

8. Illinois

Projected lineup: G Trent Frazier, G Ayo Dosunmu, G Adam Miller, G Da’Monte Williams, C Kofi Cockburn

Simply put, Ayo and Kofi are back. That’s why the Illini are ranked the highest they’ve been in over a decade. Dosunmu averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a sophomore last year, and he’s already been named a preseason All-American for 2020-21. He’s the best closer in college basketball, and he’ll be the catalyst to Illinois’ success this year. Cockburn returns for his sophomore campaign after testing the NBA Draft waters as well this offseason. The Illini’s man in the middle was the difference maker down low that Brad Underwood’s program needed. All the 7-footer did last year was smash program records and average 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game en route to being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Surround those two with veteran role players (Frazier, Williams, Giorgi Bezhanishvili), a couple talented freshmen (Miller, Andre Curbelo) and some promising transfers (Austin Hutcherson, Jacob Grandison), and you have all the makings for what should be an exciting tournament run.

— Tristen Kissack, The Champaign Room

Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

7. Wisconsin

Projected lineup: G D’Mitrik Trice, G Brad Davison, F Aleem Ford, F Nate Reuvers, F Micah Potter

If you enjoyed last season’s Wisconsin Badgers basketball team I’ve got some good news for you! They, except for Brevin Pritzl, are all back and ready to make another run at a Big Ten title. The all-senior starting lineup is not something you see very often in modern college basketball, but the Badgers have one and even feature a senior as the first guard off the bench. This should be a fierce defensive team that has size down low and grit on the perimeter. The offense will be efficient and anyone in the starting five could be the leading scorer on any given night. In an ultra-competitive Big Ten, the Badgers should be in contention all season.

— Drew Hamm, Bucky’s 5th Quarter

Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images

6. Kansas

Projected lineup: G Marcus Garrett, G Bryce Thompson, G Ochai Agbaji, F Christian Braun, C David McCormack

The Jayhawks, along with Dayton and Florida State, are one of the squads you have to feel absolutely gutted for over losing the postseason this past spring. Kansas finished 28-3 on the season and hadn’t lost a game since January 11 before the rug was pulled out from underneath everyone. Big time names like Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike are gone, but Bill Self returns Ochai Agbaji and Marcus Garrett and adds five-star freshman Bryce Thompson.

This season, there shouldn’t be a huge drop off. They are preseason No. 5 on KenPom and will get two big tests early in the season with No. 1 Gonzaga on Thanksgiving and No. 10 Kentucky on December 1.

— Caroline Darney, SB Nation

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

5. Iowa

Projected lineup: G Connor McCaffery, G Jordan Bohannon, G CJ Fredrick, G Joe Wieskamp, C Luka Garza

The Iowa Hawkeyes will boast one of the best offenses in the country with a four-, sometimes five-, out lineup built around reigning consensus All-American Luka Garza. Bohannon returns after recovering from surgery in his hip to a group which has seven players (Joe Toussaint and Jack Nunge) with starting experience. The questions are two-fold for Iowa: 1) can the Hawks make strides on the defensive end with a deeper group in 2020-21 and 2) will it matter if everyone struggles to keep pace with this high-octane bunch?

— Harrison Starr, Black Heart Gold Pants

Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images

4. Virginia

Projected lineup: G Kihei Clark, G Casey Morsell, G Tomas Woldetensae, F Sam Hauser, F Jay Huff

The Virginia Cavaliers are still the reigning champions after no team was crowned in 2020. Bad news for everyone else: the Hoos are going to be good again. After a masterful coaching job that took a team with the No. 234 offense to a 23-7 record and second place finish in the ACC, Tony Bennett is getting some reinforcements on offense. Marquette transfer Sam Hauser is finally eligible and is an immediate scoring threat from anywhere on the court. Once you add in the steady hand of point guard Kihei Clark, the three-point shooting of Tomas Woldetensae, and the versatility of big man Jay Huff, you have something cooking.

Virginia will also have some new faces with Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Reece Beekman, and Carson McCorkle joining the fray. The 2020 incoming class — ranked No. 18 nationally per 247 — is Bennett’s best since the class that featured Kyle Guy, De’Andre Hunter, and Ty Jerome. Because I’m legally obligated to talk about the defense in a Virginia basketball post, just know that they should be very good once again. KenPom has them at No. 1 to start the season, but we’ll see if they’re a little rusty after the wacky offseason.

— Caroline Darney, Streaking the Lawn

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

3. Villanova

Projected lineup: G Collin Gillespie, G Justin Moore, G Bryan Antoine, F Jermaine Samuels, C Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

The big reason for the excitement? Villanova enters the season as a legitimate national title contender, eyeing its 3rd in five seasons. This team looks more like the 2016 champs (tough and deep across the board) than the 2018 champs (truly elite at the top-end). After only losing Saddiq Bey (admittedly a big loss) to the NBA, the ‘Cats are loaded with plenty of knowns - Collin Gillespie, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore - who are All-Big East talents and will push for national honors. On top of that, throw in the exciting unknowns; Former 5-star guard Bryan Antoine is healthy and the redshirts are off guard Caleb Daniels and forward Eric Dixon. Daniels and Dixon have drawn rave reviews from the coaching staff, making this ‘Nova squad as deep as it is talented.

Even in a COVID-shortened season, the ‘Cats will test their title aspirations early and often with a schedule built for the fans. They could face fellow contender Baylor in the second game of the season and get another Top-25 test at Texas 10 days later. And that’s before the annual gauntlet of the Big East. After peaking right as last season was canceled, this team will have their eyes on the ultimate prize this Spring.

— Chris Lane, VU Hoops

Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

2. Baylor

Projected lineup: G Davion Mitchell, G Jared Butler, G MaCio Teague, F Mark Vital, F Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua

Get ready for the 2020-2021 Bears: Baylor opens the campaign ranked No. 1 on KenPom and the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Bears return four starters from last season’s likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Jared Butler is the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, and Adam Flagler should slide in well to form the nation’s best backcourt. With Mitchell and Vital back—two finalists for the national defensive player of the year award—the Bears figure to be a monster to score against. You can make an argument for Gonzaga or Villanova, but the Bears should be the national title favorites.

— Kendall Kaut, Our Daily Bears

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

1. Gonzaga

Projected lineup: G Jalen Suggs, G Joel Ayayi, F Corey Kispert, F Anton Watson, C Drew Timme

By now you are probably aware that the AP preseason No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs are the most overrated preseason No. 1 in school history. If you can put aside your existing biases against the Zags, it is important to note that this is essentially the same team that finished the season last year ranked No. 2. Sure, losing Filip Petrusev hurts, but it doesn’t hurt at all when you can slot in future star Drew Timme and welcome the highest-rated recruiting class in school history, headlined by five-star PG Jalen Suggs. Oh yeah, Corey Kispert is also a preseason All-American. The Zags are loaded at every single position. If there was ever a year to bet on Mark Few finally getting that first national championship, this is it.

— Peter Woodburn, The Slipper Still Fits

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solarpunk-gnome · 7 years ago

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Mass production of plastics, which began just six decades ago, has accelerated so rapidly that it has created 8.3 billion metric tons—most of it in disposable products that end up as trash. If that seems like an incomprehensible quantity, it is. Even the scientists who set out to conduct the world’s first tally of how much plastic has been produced, discarded, burned or put in landfills, were horrified by the sheer size of the numbers.

“We all knew there was a rapid and extreme increase in plastic production from 1950 until now, but actually quantifying the cumulative number for all plastic ever made was quite shocking,” says Jenna Jambeck, a University of Georgia environmental engineer who specializes in studying plastic waste in the oceans.

“This kind of increase would ‘break’ any system that was not prepared for it, and this is why we have seen leakage from global waste systems into the oceans,” she says.

Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade, so most of it still exists in some form. Only 12 percent has been incinerated.

The study was launched two years ago as scientists tried to get a handle on the gargantuan amount of plastic that ends up in the seas and the harm it is causing to birds, marine animals, and fish. The prediction that by mid-century, the oceans will contain more plastic waste than fish, ton for ton, has become one of the most-quoted statistics and a rallying cry to do something about it.

The new study, published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, is the first global analysis of all plastics ever made—and their fate. Of the 8.3 billion metric tons that has been produced, 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste. Of that, only nine percent has been recycled. The vast majority—79 percent—is accumulating in landfills or sloughing off in the natural environment as litter. Meaning: at some point, much of it ends up in the oceans, the final sink.

If present trends continue, by 2050, there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills. That amount is 35,000 times as heavy as the Empire State Building. (Learn about one possible future solution.)

Roland Geyer, the study’s lead author, says the team of scientists are trying to create a foundation for better managing plastic products. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” he says. “It’s not just that we make a lot, it’s that we also make more, year after year.”

Half the resins and fibers used in plastics were produced in the last 13 years, the study found. China alone accounts for 28 percent of global resin and 68 percent of polyester polyamide and acrylic fibers.

Geyer, an engineer by training, specializes in industrial ecology as a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has studied various metals and how they’re used and managed. The rapid acceleration of plastic manufacturing, which so far has doubled roughly every 15 years, has outpaced nearly every other man-made material. And, it is unlike virtually every other material. Half of all steel produced, for example, is used in construction, with a decades-long lifespan. Half of all plastic manufactured becomes trash in less than a year, the study found.

Much of the growth in plastic production has been the increased use of plastic packaging, which accounts for more than 40 percent of non-fiber plastic.

TALLYING PLASTIC WASTE AROUND THE GLOBE

The same team, led by Jambeck, produced the first study that assessed the amount of plastic trash that flows into the oceans annually. That research, published in 2015, estimated that 8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year. That is the equivalent to five grocery bags of plastic trash for every foot of coastline around the globe.

“We weren’t aware of the implications for plastic ending up in our environment until it was already there,” Jambeck says. “Now we have a situation where we have to come from behind to catch up.”

Gaining control of plastic waste is now such a large task that it calls for a comprehensive, global approach, Jambeck says, that involves rethinking plastic chemistry, product design, recycling strategies, and consumer use. The United States ranks behind Europe (30 percent) and China (25 percent) in recycling, the study found. Recycling in the U.S. has remained at nine percent since 2012.

“We as a society need to consider whether it’s worth trading off some convenience for a clean, healthy environment,” Geyer says. “For some products that are very problematic in the environment, maybe we think about using different materials. Or phasing them out.”

#plastic #waste #waste management #materials #science #environment #pollution

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ravensong67-blog · 5 years ago

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NBA Power Rankings: Week 18

The Sixers jump into the top-five, bumping the Nuggets down to No. 6, while the Warriors retain the top spot in this week’s updated NBA Power Rankings.

1. Golden State Warriors Record: 40-15 The Warriors are so talented, you get the sense they could spot their opponents 20 points at the start of each game and still win most nights. On Friday, they were down 17 to the Suns before cruising to an easy victory. On Sunday, Golden State continued its trend of falling behind big early on, only to come out victorious, as the Dubs trailed the Heat by 19 in the first quarter but eventually won 120-118. It was the Warriors 11th double-digit comeback of the season. Golden State has won 15 of their last 16 contests and has scored at least 100 points in 26 straight games.

2. Milwaukee Bucks Record: 41-14 Milwaukee decided to sit Giannis Antetokounmpo on Saturday and it served as a solid reminder why the Greek Freak is considered by many to be the league's most valuable player this season. After a dominant stretch in which they won 12 of 13 games, the Bucks finally came back down to earth on Saturday when they got blown out by Orlando at home. Dating back to Christmas Day, Milwaukee is 19-2 when Giannis plays, and they’ve won 17 of those 19 games by double-digits. They are 0-2 without him, losing those two games by a combined total of 27 points.

3. Toronto Raptors Record: 41-16 The Raptors surprisingly added a former All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year in Marc Gasol at the deadline. Now it’s on coach Nick Nurse to figure out how to best utilize his new addition. Big Spain came off the bench in his first game with Toronto on Saturday, but will he be content as a reserve long-term? If not, would Nurse risk disrupting the chemistry Serge Ibaka or Pascal Siakam have developed with the other Raptor starters? It will be one of the more interesting subplots to keep an eye on over the second half of the season and into the playoffs.

Editor's Note: Looking for an edge when it comes to fantasy hoops? Our new NBA DFS Toolkit has a Lineup Optimizer, Customizable Projections, Next Man Up tool and more for FanDuel, DraftKings and Yahoo! And for season-long, the NBA Season Pass provides weekly projections, rankings, Pickups of the Day and more.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder Record: 36-19 Russell Westbrook recorded his ninth consecutive triple-double in Saturday’s impressive comeback victory over the Rockets in Houston. Russ scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds an dished out 11 dimes. The nine straight trip-dubs ties Wilt Chamberlain for the longest streak in league history. During this nine-game stretch, Russ is averaging a mind-boggling 14.1 assists and 13.1 rebounds. Just an important, the Thunder are 11-1 in their last 12 contests.

5. Philadelphia 76ers Record: 36-20 As of Thursday morning, the Philadelphia was the only team in the league with four players averaging at least 17 points per game. Then they added Tobias Harris to the mix, who was averaging 20.9 points a night for the Clippers. The Sixers have only played two games since acquiring Harris at the trade deadline, but after beating the Nuggets on Friday and demolishing the Lakers on Sunday, Philly undoubtedly has the look of a team that can make a serious postseason run.

6. Denver Nuggets Record: 37-18 The Nuggets have lost three straight games and are still dealing with injuries to important players. Gary Harris (right adductor strain) has missed each of Denver last five contests and will likely be held out until after the All-Star break. Coach Mike Malone said that resting Harris through the break is "probably the most prudent decision." Paul Millsap (ankle), who has missed three straight games, was "very limited" at Sunday's practice. However, over the weekend, Isaiah Thomas (hip) was able to participate in a 5-of-5 practice for the first time all season.

7. Portland Trail Blazers Record: 33-22 On Sunday, the Blazers began a stretch in which they ten of 11 games away from home. Their first stop was in Dallas, and it appeared they were well on their way to securing a road victory, as they were up by 15 points with less than ten minutes remaining. However, Luka Doncic spearheaded a remarkable comeback by the Mavs, leading to a 102-101 win for Dallas.

8. Boston Celtics Record: 35-21 After an uninspiring 10-10 start, the Celtics were 25-9 in their subsequent 34 games. However, last week was an awful one for the C’s. First, they blew an 18-point lead at home to the Lakers on Thursday. Then, on Saturday night, they somehow went from up 28 on the Clippers to losing by 11. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Kyrie Irving exited the game with a knee injury. Fortunately, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sunday that Irving’s right knee sprain isn’t serious and he’s day-to-day going forward.

9. Utah Jazz Record: 32-24 Rudy Gobert has been a beast for Utah over the last month. Dating back to January 12th (13 games), Gobert is averaging 17.1 points, 13.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.8 blocks, while shooting a scorching 66.9 percent from the field. The Jazz are 12-3 over their last 15 contests.

10. Houston Rockets Record: 32-23 Incredibly, James Harden has scored at least 30 points in each of the Rockets' last 29 games. He is now just two games shy of matching Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest streak in NBA history. During this remarkable 29-game run, Harden is averaging a whopping 41.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists 5.7 triples and 2.2 steals.

11. Indiana Pacers Record: 37-19 Someone forgot to tell the gritty Pacers that they were supposed to lay down and die after they lost superstar Victor Oladipo for the season. Indiana won all four games they played last week and have won five in a row overall. The Pacers are currently sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference, ahead of both the Sixers and Celtics. In addition, they signed sharpshooter Wesley Matthews over the weekend, after the Knicks waived him.

12. San Antonio Spurs Record: 32-26 The Spurs began the dreaded “Rodeo Road Trip” last week, and it has not gone well. San Antonio lost all four games they’ve played thus far, and still have four more consecutive road games (Memphis, Toronto, New York, Brooklyn). The Spurs don’t play again at home until Wednesday, February 27th, when they host the Pistons.

13. Sacramento Kings Record: 30-26 The Kings won for the fifth time in six outings on Sunday when the beat up on the Suns. Marvin Bagley scored a game-high 32 points, and in the process became the youngest player in franchise history to score more than 30 points. However, Sacramento now faces a problematic portion of their schedule. Their next four games are all on the road, with trips to Denver, Golden State, Oklahoma City and Minnesota, before heading home to take on the Bucks.

14. LA Clippers Record: 31-26 Garrett Temple, Ivica Zubac, JaMychal Green and Landry Shamet all made their Clipper debuts in Saturday’s thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Celtics in Boston. The C’s were up 68-40 in the second in the second quarter and led 74-53 at halftime, before L.A. came storming back. The Clips got a big lift from Shamet, who finished with 17 points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal and four 3-pointers in 27 minutes.

15. Los Angeles Lakers Record: 28-28 Even with their miraculous comeback victory over the Celtics in Boston last Thursday, the Lakers have still dropped three of their last four games, and all three losses were embarrassing defeats. They lost to the Warriors by 14, the Pacers by 42 (the most lopsided loss of LeBron James’ career) and the Sixers by 23 points.

16. Brooklyn Nets Record: 29-28 The Nets have lost four of their last five games, including a very disappointing defeat to the Bulls in Brooklyn on Friday night. However, they did welcome back Caris LeVert to the lineup in that contest. LeVert scored 11 points with two rebounds, four assists, one turnover and matching a career-high five steals in 15 minutes. Brooklyn will also get Spencer Dinwiddie back after the All-Star break, as they hope to make a push into the playoffs.

17. Charlotte Hornets Record: 27-28 Unsurprisingly, Kemba Walker has been carrying the Hornets, as he’s averaging 31.8 points, 5.2 boards, 7.2 dimes, 1.4 steals and 5.2 treys over the last month. However, Kamba and the Cats have also gotten a significant boost from Jeremy Lamb of late. Over Charlotte’s past four games, Lamb is averaging 18.5 points, 6.0 boards, 2.5 dimes, 1.8 steals, and 1.5 treys, while shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 92.3 percent from the charity stripe.

18. Detroit Pistons Record: 25-29 At this time last week, the Pistons were in the doldrums. However, Detroit has won three in a row to climb back into the postseason race. The Pistons also certainly benefit from playing out East. Despite being four games under .500, Detroit is currently sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Kings (30-26) are four games over .500 and are in ninth place in the Western Conference, on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

19. Dallas Mavericks Record: 26-29 Rookie sensation Luka Doncic was at it again on Sunday night. With Dallas trailing Portland by 15 points in the final frame, Doncic put the Mavs on his back, scoring 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, to carry his team to a 102-101 victory. Maverick fans probably shouldn’t have been shocked, as Luka has been hitting big shots all season. According to NBA.com/stats, Doncic is one of only two players in the league to score more than 80 total points and shot at least 50 percent from the floor in the clutch this season.

20. Miami Heat Record: 25-29 The Heat gave the Warriors all they could handle, before losing a 120-118 nailbiter on Sunday night. Unfortunately, moral victories are not what Miami needs right now. The struggling Heat have lost five of their last six games, and still have three games left on their current road trip (at Denver, at Dallas and at Philadelphia).

21. Washington Wizards Record: 24-32 The Newest Wizards, Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis, we're looking to settle some outstanding debts on Saturday night. Washington was playing in Chicago, which meant it was the first time both players squared off with the team that traded them just a few days earlier. Not only did the Wiz get the win, but Parker also scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, with six assists, five rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal in 35 minutes and Portis tallied ten points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.

22. Orlando Magic Record: 25-32 Many pundits believed the Magic would trade away either Terrence Ross and/or starting center, and pending unrestricted free agent, Nikola Vucevic by Thursday’s deadline. Instead, Orlando decided they’d build towards the future by trading for Markelle Fultz, and also make a run at the playoffs this year. Winners in four of their last five games, the Magic have crept back within six games of .500 and are just 2.5 games behind Miami and Detroit for the eight seed in the East.

23. Minnesota Timberwolves Record: 25-30 Losers of six of their last seven games, the Wolves are heading in the wrong direction. However, to be fair, they’ve been extremely shorthanded at point guard of late, with Jeff Teague (foot), Derrick Rose (ankle), Jerryd Bayless (sore right big toe) and Tyus Jones (ankle) all missing time. Fortunately, Teague was a full participant in Sunday's practice and is expected to play Monday night. D Rose also practiced on Sunday. He and Bayless are listed as questionable for Monday. Jones is likely to return after the All-Star break.

24. New Orleans Pelicans Record: 25-32 After the Pelicans decided to hold onto Anthony Davis past the trade deadline, there was much speculation as to whether New Orleans would choose to sit AD the remainder of the season to protect his health. After commissioner Adam Silver and the league office reportedly threated to fine the Pels $100,000 for each game, Davis was benched, AD was in the starting lineup on Friday night. Most folks assumed he would not suit up for the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday, but Davis did play and even logged 34 minutes. The Pels have another back-to-back in their first two games after the All-Star break, so it will be interesting to see if he plays both legs of the B2B once again.

25. Memphis Grizzlies Record: 23-34 The Grizzlies drafted Pau Gasol in June of 2001. He was the first ever draft pick by the organization after they moved from Vancouver to Memphis. They traded him in February of 2008, but received his brother Marc in the deal from the Lakers. Marc was a cornerstone of the team until the Grizz traded him at the deadline on Thursday. That means that Saturday’s contest vs. New Orleans was the first time Memphis had played a game without a Gasol on their roster in 18 years (1,427 straight games).

26. Atlanta Hawks Record: 18-38 The Hawks began a seven-game homestand last week, but have lost each of their first three contests. They take on the Lakers on Tuesday and Knicks on Thursday, before wrapping up their homestand against the Pistons and Suns after the All-Star break.

27. Chicago Bulls Record: 13-43 The Bulls were able to knock off the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday, but are just 3-17 in their last 20 games. However, Chicago did make a major move before the deadline, trading Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker and a second-round pick to the Wizards in exchange for Otto Porter Jr. Otto has a hefty salary but is a solid all-around player that Chicago felt would serve as a significant upgrade to its rebuilding roster.

28. Phoenix Suns Record: 11-47 Devin Booker (right hamstring tightness) returned from a two-game absence on Sunday and tallied 27 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three 3-pointers in 35 minutes. However, the Suns still lost their 14th straight game. Phoenix is now one game shy of matching its franchise record of 15 consecutive defeats, set last season.

29. Cleveland Cavaliers Record: 11-45 Larry Nance Jr. continues to find ways to stuff the stat sheet. Nance has recorded double-doubles in each of Cleveland’s last five games and is averaging 12.2 points (on 50 percent shooting), 12.8 rebounds, 3.0 dimes, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, 1.0 treys and just 0.8 turnovers during this current five-game stretch.

30. New York Knicks Record: 10-45 Through his three games with New York, Dennis Smith Jr. is posting a 30% Usage Rate and is averaging 19.3 points and 6.5 assists. He is the first player in Knicks franchise history to tally more than 75 points and 25 assists in his first four games with the team. On the negative side of the ledger, DSJ is struggling from the charity stripe. Smith is 18-for-31 (58.1 percent) from the free throw line since his trade to the Big Apple. Oh, by the way, the Knicks have lost 16 games in a row.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-power-rankings-week-18-174500174--spt.html?src=rss

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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woundtwine39-blog · 5 years ago

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NBA Power Rankings: Week 18

The Sixers jump into the top-five, bumping the Nuggets down to No. 6, while the Warriors retain the top spot in this week’s updated NBA Power Rankings.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-power-rankings-week-18-174500174--spt.html?src=rss

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heatherrdavis1 · 5 years ago

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Why Bitcoin is a BUY right NOW!

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Where is Bitcoin going? How is this going to play out in the next couple of days? Today’s lesson. We’re going to dive into some of the more important news happening in this week of April as we’re heading into the heart of the Coronavirus epidemic with various indicators showing that we could potentially be turning to the upside, based off my analysis, based off the fundamentals, based off of some of the macro perspectives in here. So welcome again, ladies and gentlemen, if you have not joined my Petron group. Make sure you go ahead and do that. We have a trial period this month where I’m going to be going in talking a bit more about the group and more importantly, some of the things that I’ll be referring to. That may be time-sensitive. This is going to be one of the most profitable months, I believe, in 2020 as we’re establishing some bottoms in many of the altcoins. If you haven’t, follow me on Twitter at Seabee Fund Strat where I go ahead and talk a little bit more about in detail some of the things that have been happening with the market. And so before we do that, let’s go ahead and the ounces, pose some questions, press like and subscribe and let’s get started. All right. So Bitcoin has done extremely well these last couple of weeks. In fact, starting since March 13th, Bitcoin has rallied a whopping 50 percent since then. So many people who are saying that bitcoin is not the place to be. They’re saying that Bitcoin is not the hedge against this market. They should really look into it because it’s been outperforming the stock market. Gold and any other asset class you can think of. And more importantly, Bitcoin establishes a low about three thousand nine hundred, not two, while back in March, about 4000. And now it’s almost doubled again. Let me repeat that one more time. Doubled since then. Base off this news. So I think that Bitcoin is definitely heading a lot higher. And I think that Bitcoin has once again regained its mojo. All right. So let’s get started with this. First thing I want to show you guys is if we take a look at bitcoin when it was established that low around three thousand nine hundred got really excited here, it went ahead and got a little lower. It dipped around five thousand. And then now we’re sitting at seven thousand and change. Maybe you actually take a look at that low that was established here. We’ve already risen about 40 percent from those lows. So, again, here is the thing I want people to understand. Bitcoin is here to stay. Bitcoin is going to be the ultimate hedge against inflation. That’s a 40 percent return if you were accumulating around this level. OK, so that’s a very nice percentage. It’s something that I’ve been definitely saying telling people to average down as you’re heading into this slide. Do not try to time the bottom. If you do that, you’re going to end up a missing the majority of those gains. However, if you did miss that bottom, which you’re actually now seeing is a slow grind to the top. And this is where I get very bullish. I think that the market’s going to head higher. I think with the having just around the corner, this has already established a very nice short term bottom that I think it’s going to push Bitcoin to eight thousand from these levels and possibly to nine thousand. So again, mark my words on this question, gentlemen, this is one of the more bullish indicators that I think is happening with Bitcoin. And the people who are still naysayers about it are not understanding that Bitcoin is very resilient to the very things are happening right now with the financial markets. Now, to put this in perspective, let’s assume that Bitcoin is in a bear market and it continues to go lower even before that. Bitcoin is probably going to end up and take a trip up here tonight. Thousand, that’s about a 20 percent return from these levels, which means that even if it does not, I repeat, even if it does not end up going higher, it could end up being at that nine thousand. So be eyeing that eight thousand. Very careful. We’re almost there. We’re not really just too far off. We’re about 10 percent away. If we do get a rally tomorrow, most likely will a blow that out probably hit that 9000 marks. And at that point, we may end up going lower if the market does not cooperate. Now understand that we are still in a downtrend. So I’m going to draw this out just to kind of show you guys a little bit about where that intersection looks like. So I always look for profit potentials and I always look for areas of resistance. So to be on the safe side, I would say that from this point forward, we have about an 18 percent trading range where Bitcoin could potentially top out. Now, again, I can’t predict the future, but I can’t tell you the probabilities. We are in a short term intermediate uptrend area that is good enough for me to trade. And obviously the best trade would have been here around March 19th, March 20th when we had. Low on bitcoin, we had that heavy volume selling off on this big candle. Many people were scared, did not want to buy it. And at that point, people prior lost a lot of money. But now we’re seeing this nice retracement all the way back up. So that’s what kind of what I’m aiming for here. Now, looking at the longer-term timeframes. Can Bitcoin go to ten thousand? Absolutely. If we take a look at this prior trend and then I’ll go ahead and highlight this one right here. You could see that this one lasted all the way from the consolidation period here in December, all the way up to 10000. And that leaves in, gentlemen. It was a return of about forty-seven percent. So if you actually go back to this and you ask yourself, you know, let’s be more on the conservative side, let’s say we were hitting here around. I’m I go, I’m not going. I’m going to ignore this bottom. We’re great here just because that was more like a flash sale, whereas average to 5000. That’s the bottom. OK. And if we go up to forty-eight percent, it’s already gone up. If it’s already gone up about forty-three. But the thing is, the sell-off was a lot faster. So potentially, you know, we could hit that 9000 targets, which I’m very, very carefully here. OK. Now, another thing to take a look at. You know, looking at the longer timeframes. And so, again, just to make sure we’re aware, we are in a longer-term downtrend line that was established back in July. So make no mistake. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a bull market. We are still in a bear that has occurred since July, June of two, 19, June and July 19. We need to break this in order to establish a new uptrend line. So what I’m looking for here is a counter-trend. The counter-trend, what that’s going to look like is a potential run. Obviously, I want a straight line hitting this main trend line and then from there going down. If the trend continues, if the trend does not continue, then at that point we’re probably going to end up breaking at that point. Now, obviously, I’m more onto the bullish side, but what I will do want to see is some sort of massive volume pump that’s going to allow Bitcoin to break this intermediate long term chart that has been established since that July, June 19 parabolic move. Now, with that said, what does that say about the altcoins? The altcoins are gonna follow Bitcoin, obviously, and I’ll be tracking with my memories, talking to them about specific projects that I think have the higher potential. Bitcoin goes up 20 percent. Some of these products are going to go up way more than that. If we break this downtrend line, then basically the sky’s the limit. We’re probably gonna end up revisiting that fourteen thirteen thousand dollar price target that was established back around July of nineteen, which was a very nice month. Now, another thing I also want to mention is and gentleman is traditionally summer has been summer and winter are usually the really more powerful months that people tend to get into crypto. What I do expect is this one-year downtrend to at least try to make that break. If it doesn’t, it’s probably going to a continued lower and we’ll get another chance to re-enter. And so I wouldn’t worry too much about missing out on this on this rally in the event that things don’t go our way. Now, obviously, with anything, anything is possible, so I’m not saying that Bitcoin is going to shoot up here. I am not saying that Bitcoin potentially is going to go higher in the longer term. However, in the shorter term, we’ve definitely established is very, very nice of trend line that we’re just waiting for this to really pick up some steam now. We have a lot of sell pressure that was put in place starting here at the 9000 on March 7th when everything just completely went vertical. And the market needs to digestives just because of the fact that whenever we have this waterfall sell-offs, you generally have this very nice grind as you get and see we have a higher low. This higher low was established here on April and we actually definitely have the bottom right here. So we just need to hold this and move forward in such a way that the market can regain its confidence back and make that trip up to that 9000 marks. Now, again, I’ll be accumulating on the dips here, going all the way up here. And again, it’s a very, very nice trend. Now, keep in mind that people are going to be selling on the way up. So there is definitely a lot of a selling pressure that’s can be put, especially that people got caught on this area. So what I’m going to be watching is what’s going to be the pattern here at around 9000, because that was when we got the people who ended up not being able to get out and got trapped here and now, which you want to break even. Obviously, we need to establish this upward trend line, which is going to be this 10000 area for it to be to mean anything. All right, guys, we’ll get very bullish for Bitcoin. In summary, what do I like about Bitcoin? I think we’ve got a very nice trend here that we’re going we’re definitely done with the selling in the short term. We’re going to be establishing something along these lines right here where you get the trend, you get the sell-off, the trend, the sell-off and the trend. You got one wave to wave, three-wave, four-wave. Now, just like how we see it on these lines right here, we have one one impulse move. One down post-move, which is obviously the higher one. We have one up and we have gone down and then we have the final higher one. So what I’m looking for is the third wave, what they call it in the Elliott Wave analysis one. We got the one there. We got the two coming out from that section, which was established here around six thousand and we have your higher one. Usually, this is this one goes for a little longer. But, you know, it just depends sometimes it doesn’t have to exactly follow those rules. We get the pullback and then we get the final push, which is our final one. So you’re going to have a little bit of work here to kind of work off of. Ideally, you should have basically bought around these areas and started to really hit hard on these trend lines. I really like this pattern. Really good. All right. So if you want to know more about how I want to be trading this, where this is going to lead up, what are the signals I would be looking for? Check me on patrons-only 10 bucks a month. Just something to support the channel. Really appreciate it for all of you guys. Well, you’re going to get to see a little bit more detail, a little bit more about my exact real-time situations and what I’m thinking. All right, CBA. Have a great day.

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scottmapess · 5 years ago

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Why Bitcoin is a BUY right NOW!

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jeffrmayhugh · 5 years ago

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Why Bitcoin is a BUY right NOW!

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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TITLELESS: 16 overachieving NBA teams who fell short of a title

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant never won a title on the Thunder.

Some great non-champion NBA teams weren’t supposed to be great teams until they showed off in the playoffs. Here are 16 near-miss playoff runs defined by outperforming their talent, seed, or both.

Some great non-champion NBA teams weren’t supposed to be great teams until they showed off in the playoffs. Here are 16 near-miss playoff runs defined by outperforming their talent, seed, or both. Meet the Overachiever Division.

We begin with the ultimate NBA Finals Cinderella and end with a more recent contender that broke up in the summer, though not by choice.

16. 1975-76 Phoenix Suns

ERA: John MacLeod’s Suns

RECORD: 42-40

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +0.6

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in Finals to Boston Celtics (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Paul Westphal

COACH: John MacLeod

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Alvan Adams, Gar Heart, Dick Van Arsdale, Curtis Perry, Ricky Sobers, Keith Erickson, John Shumate

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1982-83

The most unlikely Finals participant in NBA history was this close to pulling off an improbable championship. After winning Game 7 on the home floor of the defending champion Warriors in the conference Finals, Phoenix split the first four games with a Celtics team that didn’t take them seriously.

That brings us to Game 5, often referred to as the greatest game in NBA history. Boston won in triple overtime and took the Finals in Game 6, but some truly wild shit happened in that game. Boston took a 20-point first-quarter lead, but the Suns chipped away. Led by Paul Westphal, who was traded by the Celtics for Charlie Scott in one of those now-for-future moves that benefitted both teams, the Suns came back from nine down in the final three minutes to force overtime.

With the score tied at 101 and three seconds left in the first overtime, Boston veteran Paul Silas grabbed a rebound and visibly signaled to call timeout despite Boston having none left. It should have resulted in a technical foul and a free throw. But referee Richie Powers ignored Silas’ request, allowing the game to go to double overtime.

Powers later admitted he “did not want Boston to lose like that,” according to Bob Ryan’s book Scribe: My Life in Sports. (Probably not coincidentally, then-Celtics coach Tommy Heinsohn called Powers “my favorite referee” in a 2016 Boston Globe interview). Years later, even Silas admitted he called timeout and Powers “didn’t see me or didn’t want to see me.”

The Suns then scored four straight points at the end of double overtime to take a one-point lead with four seconds left. Boston inbounded to ageless legend John Havlicek, who was playing through a torn plantar fascia. He banked what appeared to be the game-winner off the glass and in. As Celtics fans stormed the court and the players rushed to the locker room, Powers, perhaps in an attempt to atone for his previous mistake, ruled there was still one second left in the game. (An angry Celtics fan apparently tackled and pinned Powers to the floor during the ensuing melee. Imagine if that happened today.)

But wait, there’s more! Westphal knew of a loophole in the league’s technical foul rules and exploited it for Phoenix’s benefit. He called timeout, knowing Phoenix had none left and would receive a technical foul. (Funny how Powers saw this one, but not Silas’ unintentional gaffe).

Boston hit the free throw to lead by two, but Phoenix retained the ball and actually got to inbound it at half court. The Suns threw it to Gar Heard, who turned and nailed a 20-foot jumper to force triple overtime.

Relive all of that here. It’s WILD.

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The Suns finally fell short in the third overtime when little-used Boston reserve Glenn McDonald ran circles around their dead legs. They stayed in the mix for the next half decade, but never came that close again.

15. 2013-14 Portland Trail Blazers

ERA: Dame Time

RECORD: 54-28

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +3.9

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in second round to San Antonio Spurs (4-1)

KEY STAR(S): Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge

COACH: Terry Stotts

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez, Mo Williams, Dorell Wright, C.J. McCollum

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2014-15, 2018-19

Like the early-2010s Pacers, these Blazers hit their peak in the middle of the following season. Portland’s well-balanced starting lineup was in the thick of the West title race by the middle of the 2014-15 year, but lost all momentum when Wesley Matthews, the team’s heartbeat, tore his Achilles.

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The Blazers fell apart thereafter and chose to break up the team the following summer after LaMarcus Aldridge signed with the Spurs.

14. 2001-02 Boston Celtics

ERA: Pierce and ‘Toine

RECORD: 49-33

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +2.3

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in East Finals to New Jersey Nets (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker

COACH: Jim O’Brien

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Kenny Anderson, Tony Battie, Eric Williams, Tony Delk, Rodney Rodgers, Erick Strickland, Vitaly Potapenko, Walter McCarty

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

What a strange team. After taking over for Rick Pitino late in the previous season, coach Jim O’Brien fashioned a wacky style of play that encouraged players to shoot tons of threes even if they weren’t especially good at them. Antoine Walker took a whopping 645 attempts while making just 34 percent. Nowadays, that’s less weird. Back then, it was wild. But it all somehow worked because Paul Pierce was incredible and Walker’s versatility eased the burden on the rest of the team.

Nobody took these Celtics seriously, which nearly worked to their advantage after they staged a memorable 26-point comeback to take a 2-1 series lead over the Nets in the East Finals.

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But the Nets won the next three games, including two in Boston, to earn the right to be the Lakers’ sacrificial lamb. Boston faltered the next few seasons and nearly traded Pierce, but got bailed out when Timberwolves general manager and Celtics legend Kevin McHale relented on trading Kevin Garnett to Boston.

(Celtics Blog did a wonderful tribute to the 2001-02 team that’s well worth your time).

13. 2012-13 Memphis Grizzlies

ERA: Grit ‘N Grind

RECORD: 56-26

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +4.1

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in West Finals to San Antonio Spurs (4-0)

KEY STAR(S): Zach Randolph

COACH: Lionel Hollins

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, Jerryd Bayless, Quincy Pondexter, Wayne Ellington, Ed Davis, Darrell Arthur

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2010-11, 2014-15

I won’t argue if you’d rather include Dave Joerger’s 2014-15 Grit ‘N Grind team that took a 2-1 lead on the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in the second round. That team briefly appeared to solve its longtime shooting problem before the Warriors unveiled their Andrew Bogut-on-Tony-Allen defense. (Grizzly Bear Blues, SB Nation’s Grizzlies community, would also take the 2014-15 club)

But I chose the 2012-13 team that reached the conference finals despite (or because of?) trading Rudy Gay in midseason in a money-saving move that angered coach Lionel Hollins. Marc Gasol was at the peak of his defensive powers, Zach Randolph was still a force, and Quincy Pondexter looked like the 3-and-D wing that could have completed the Grizzlies’ core.

12. 2012-13 Golden State Warriors

ERA: Pre-Kerr Steph

RECORD: 47-35

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +0.9

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in second round to San Antonio Spurs (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Stephen Curry

COACH: Mark Jackson

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: David Lee, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Jarrett Jack, Carl Landry, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 13-14

No Overachievers Division is complete without a Stephen Curry Cinderella team. The 2012-13 team was decent, but didn’t take off until Curry went en fuego in the playoffs. (David Lee’s injury, which forced Mark Jackson to go small, also helped.)

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The cagey Spurs ended the Warriors’ run, but Curry lit them up twice on the road in the first two games before re-injuring his ankle in Game 3. That limited him the rest of the series and made the Warriors’ Game 1 collapse that ended with horrible, botched coverage on a game-winning Manu Ginobili three loom larger.

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The decision to pick the 12-13 team instead of the 51-win outfit the next year was an easy one considering the dysfunction surrounding Jackson’s final season in charge.

11. 1989-90 Phoenix Suns

ERA: Pre-Barkley Suns

RECORD: 54-28

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7.1

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in West Finals to Portland Trail Blazers (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Kevin Johnson

COACH: Cotton Fitzsimmons

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Tom Chambers, Jeff Hornacek, Dan Majerle, Mark West, Eddie Johnson, Kurt Rambis, Andrew Lang

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 1988-89, 1990-91, 1991-92

The pre-Charles Barkley Suns were a wonderful story and might have been even better than their more well-known counterparts. After an embarrassing drug scandal rocked the team in 1987, new owner Jerry Colangelo held a fire sale. The most controversial move was trading Larry Nance, the team’s best player and a model citizen who wasn’t involved in the scandal, for a package that included little-used big man Mark West, a future first-round pick that turned into a Central Michigan guard named Dan Majerle, and a backup point guard named Kevin Johnson who was stuck behind young all-star Mark Price.

The turnaround was swift. Johnson turned out to be a superstar, teaming with the undrafted Jeff Hornacek to form the “KJ and Horny” backcourt. (Great name.) Along with marquee free agent signing Tom Chambers, the Suns stormed into the West’s elite. They ended the Lakers’ dynasty with a stunning 4-1 win in the West semifinals, with Johnson blowing by Byron Scott repeatedly and Hornacek making Magic Johnson pay for his defensive roaming. After winning the decisive fifth game in LA, Kevin Johnson declared his desire to make the Suns the “team of the 90s.”

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But that didn’t happen. Phoenix blew it in a six-game conference finals loss to Portland, coughing up fourth-quarter leads in the first two games in Portland and blowing a six-point advantage in the final few minutes of a Game 6 defeat. Johnson missed the second half of that decisive loss with one of the many nagging injuries that defined the rest of his career.

By the time Barkley arrived in 1992, Johnson was a more muted version of himself and Chambers was nearing his last legs. Barkley and Johnson never fit seamlessly, and the Suns never quite got the most out of their on-paper talent. What might’ve happened if Barkley arrived in 1989 instead of 1992? We’ll never know.

10. 2007-08 New Orleans Hornets

ERA: Young CP3

RECORD: 56-26

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5.3

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in West semifinals to San Antonio Spurs (4-3)

KEY STAR(S): Chris Paul

COACH: Byron Scott

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: David West, Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojakovic, Morris Peterson, Bobby Jackson, Bonzi Well, Jannero Pargo, Rasual Butler

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

Another long-forgotten cult classic I loved during my college days. Chris Paul was robbed of the MVP because the collective media decided to give Kobe Bryant a lifetime achievement award. Yeah, I said it. Those Paul/Tyson Chandler lobs were things of beauty. I’m still mad at Jannero Pargo for shooting the Hornets out of that Game 7 against the Spurs. They would have put up a better fight against the Lakers in the next round.

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That was the only real moment of glory for Paul in New Orleans.

9. 2002-03 New Jersey Nets

ERA: Kidd’s Nets

RECORD: 49-33

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5.3

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in Finals to San Antonio Spurs (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Jason Kidd

COACH: Byron Scott

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Kerry Kittles, Dikembe Mutombo, Jason Collins, Lucious Harris, Rodney Rodgers, Aaron Williams

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2001-02, 2003-04

The 2001-02 Nets had the novelty factor and won more games, but the 2002-03 version was much stronger. The big offseason trade of Keith Van Horn for Dikembe Mutombo was a bit of a flop, but it did allow second-year forward Richard Jefferson to step into Van Horn’s spot and emerge as an all-star talent. New Jersey had the mighty Spurs on the ropes in the Finals, but they blew Game 5 at home and succumbed to Tim Duncan’s near-quadruple-double in Game 6.

It all fell apart from there.

8. 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks

ERA: Bud’s Hawks

RECORD: 60-22

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5.4

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in East Finals to Cleveland Cavaliers (4-0)

KEY STAR(S): None

COACH: Mike Budenholzer

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague, DeMarre Carroll, Dennis Schroder, Thabo Sefolosha, Kent Bazemore, Pero Antic, Mike Scott

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

I loved this team. They had five quality players whose talents blended perfectly, all working together to create one of the prettiest offenses of the modern era. Their regular-season win over the eventual champion Warriors in Atlanta is still one of the highest-skill basketball games I’ve ever seen.

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But deep down, we all knew they didn’t have enough to win a title or maintain their flash of success. They were wobbling before LeBron James and the Cavaliers unceremoniously finished them off in the conference finals.

Still would’ve been nice if Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll were fully healthy and the NYPD didn’t break Thabo Sefolosha’s leg.

7. 1963-64 Cincinnati Royals

ERA: Prime Oscar Robertson

RECORD: 55-25

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in East Finals to Boston Celtics (4-1)

KEY STAR(S): Oscar Robertson

COACH: Jack McMahon

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Jerry Lucas, Wayne Embry, Jack Twyman, Tom Hawkins, Bucky Bockhorn, Adrian Smith, Bob Boozer

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 1962-63, 1964-65

This was Oscar Robertson’s best team during his heyday, though it wasn’t the team that got closest to the Finals or the one that featured Robertson’s famous triple-double season. It was the year Oscar won league MVP, earning the crown in a landslide over Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

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But Oscar had nothing left by the time the East Finals with Boston began, and he was locked up by the combination of K.C. Jones on ball and Russell on the backside.

6. 2012-13 Indiana Pacers

ERA: Paul George and Frank Vogel

RECORD: 49-32

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +4

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in East Finals to Miami Heat (4-3)

KEY STAR(S): Paul George

COACH: Frank Vogel

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Roy Hibbert, David West, Lance Stephenson, George Hill, Gerald Green, Ian Mahinmi, Tyler Hansbrough, Sam Young, D.J. Augustin

OTHERS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2013-14

These Pacers were an NBA powerhouse for a calendar year that took place over two NBA seasons. During the second half of 2012-13, Paul George emerged from the injured Danny Granger’s shadow to push the Heatles to the brink. (I’ll defend the decision to bench Roy Hibbert at the end of Game 1 until the end of time). Then, the Pacers built one of the game’s stingiest defenses and went 33-7 during the first half of the 2013-14 season. Let’s not speak of what happened thereafter.

So pay no attention to the Pacers’ mediocre 2012-13 full season record. They’re ranked this high because of their play from January 2013 to January 2014.

5. 2000-01 Philadelphia 76ers

ERA: Iverson

RECORD: 56-26

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5.7

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in Finals to Los Angeles Lakers (4-1. Stepover game)

KEY STAR(S): Allen Iverson

COACH: Larry Brown

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Dikembe Mutombo, Eric Snow, George Lynch, Tyrone Hill, Aaron McKie, Matt Geiger, Kevin Ollie, Raja Bell

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: None

These 76ers are iconic because of one small man and one memorable stepover after a made shot. They were — or rather, Allen Iverson was — David going up against a Goliath in the apex Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant Lakers. Every NBC promo highlighted that theme.

But the story of the 2000-01 76ers is more complex, as SB Nation’s Rewinder series beautifully illustrates.

To wit:

Iverson was nearly traded to the Pistons before the season in a massive four-team deal. The trade, which was agreed upon by all parties, would’ve sent Eddie Jones, Glen Rice, an ancient Dale Ellis, and Jerome Williams to Philly. Yuck. Iverson was told the trade was happening. But it fell apart because backup center Matt Geiger refused to waive his 15 percent trade kicker, which he needed to do to make the salaries make up.

Dikembe Mutombo wasn’t the midseason acquisition that pushed the 76ers over the top, as you might expect given his name recognition. It’s more accurate to say he was an emergency replacement acquired by necessity. Philly was 36-13 at the NBA All-Star Game break thanks to Iverson and shot-blocking dynamo Theo Ratliff, who rode a career season to an all-star nod. But Ratliff broke his wrist in the final game before the break, jeopardizing Philly’s run. Rather than wait things out, the 76ers made him the centerpiece of a trade with the Hawks for the disgruntled Mutombo, with Toni Kukoc also heading to Atlanta. After that 36-13 start, Philly went just 20-13 down the stretch and had to endure two Game 7s before reaching the Finals.

Ask a Bucks fan about the officiating in that 2001 conference finals. Just do it.

The 76ers’ victory was still an amazing feat considering their injury situation. Starting small forward George Lynch broke his foot in the second round and didn’t play again. Point guard Eric Snow fractured his foot in the next round and played through it. Sixth Man of the Year Aaron McKie broke his foot in Game 1 of the Finals and played through it, too. Also, Mutombo was playing through a broken finger. I’m surprised those dudes could even walk.

4. 2008-09 Orlando Magic

ERA: Dwight and Stan

RECORD: 59-23

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +6.6

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in Finals to Los Angeles Lakers (4-1)

KEY STAR(S): Dwight Howard

COACH: Stan Van Gundy

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Rafer Alston, Courney Lee, Keith Bogans, Mickael Pietrus, J.J. Redick, Marcin Gortat, Anthony Johnson

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2009-10

The story of the NBA’s three-point revolution isn’t complete without mentioning the Stan Van Gundy-Dwight Howard Magic. Desperate for answers after starting power forward Tony Battie got injured in the 2007 preseason, Van Gundy made the bold decision to slide marquee free agent acquisition Rashard Lewis up to power forward to make room for the enigmatic Hedo Turkoglu. With Lewis spacing the floor for Howard, Turkoglu, and Jameer Nelson, Orlando spent the next three seasons shattering three-point records while maintaining one of the league’s best defenses.

The 2009-10 version, with Vince Carter instead of Turkoglu, was stronger in the regular season and favored in the East Finals after LeBron James’ Cavaliers lost to the Celtics. But I prefer the 2008-09 version because it advanced further in the playoffs, scored the most impressive series victory of the era over a better LeBron team, and had two giant “what if” moments — Nelson’s midseason injury and Courtney Lee’s blown layup that would’ve won Game 2 of the Finals against the Lakers — that could have made them champions.

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3. 1997-98 Los Angeles Lakers

ERA: Shaq, Pre-Phil

RECORD: 61-21

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7.7

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in West Finals to Utah Jazz (4-0)

KEY STAR(S): Shaquille O’Neal

COACH: Del Harris

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, Rick Fox, Kobe Bryant, Robert Horry, Elden Campbell, Derek Fisher

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 96-97

I wasn’t sure where to put the pre-Phil Jackson Lakers in this tournament. Maybe it’s a stretch to call them “overachievers” considering they were one of the preseason favorites, won 61 games with a ton of talent, and got schooled by the veteran Jazz in four straight games in the conference Finals. By that logic, they belong in the flameout region. (Speaking of flameouts, hoo boy the Nick Van Exel-Del Harris relationship was ugly by this point.)

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Here’s my case for them belonging as overachievers:

They went 61-21 despite Shaquille O’Neal missing 22 games early in the year. In fact, they were destroying everyone before that untimely injury and never got a chance to return to that level.

Van Exel’s ongoing feud with Harris, combined with a midseason injury, forced the Lakers to rely on a little-known second-year guard out of Arkansas Little-Rock named Derek Fisher to run the point.

Kobe Bryant wasn’t Kobe Bryant yet. He made the All-Star team due to his popularity, but was still a moderately efficient sixth man that played behind Eddie Jones.

The Lakers were not favored in their second-round series with a resurgent Sonics team that had swapped the disgruntled Shawn Kemp for the in-shape (at the time) Vin Baker. Yet after Seattle won the first game at home, the Lakers crushed them in the next four, winning each by double-digits. It was a stunning display at the time.

In hindsight, that 97-98 Jazz team was a couple plays away from winning the title. Was it really a huge shame to lose to them?

The worst of the pre-Jackson Lakers drama occurred the following season after the lockout. Van Exel got traded, Jones was moved for Glen Rice, Harris lost his job, and the bizarre Dennis Rodman experience threw everything off. That’s the season they really underachieved. I’m not sure the 97-98 edition qualifies.

Thus, they’re here.

2. 1981-82 Philadelphia 76ers

ERA: Dr. J, pre-Moses

RECORD: 58-24

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +5.7

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in NBA Finals to Los Angeles Lakers (4-2)

KEY STAR(S): Julius Erving

COACH: Billy Cunningham

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Caldwell Jones, Lionel Hollins, Bobby Jones, Darryl Dawkins, Steve Mix, Mike Bantom

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 1976-77, 1977-78, 1979-80, 1980-81

Julius Erving did win one title with the 76ers, but that was only after getting MVP Moses Malone as a running mate in the summer of 1982. Based on the rules of this game, all of Dr. J’s Philly clubs prior to then are eligible for this tournament.

The 1976-77 club had the most star power and the 1980-81 version had the best regular season, but we’re going with the 1981-82 edition because they were the ones to slay the Boston Garden dragon. Andrew Toney really was a forgotten legend.

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That was the game the legendary “BEAT LA” chant was born. Alas, the 76ers did not heed the call of their strange bedfellows in Boston. They got blown out at home in Game 1 and fell to the Lakers in six games.

1. 2015-16 Oklahoma City Thunder

ERA: Post-James Harden trade

RECORD: 55-27

POINT DIFFERENTIAL: +7.3

PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost in West Finals to No. 1 Golden State Warriors (4-3)

KEY STAR(S): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook

COACH: Billy Donovan

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, Andre Roberson, Dion Waiters, Enes Kanter, Randy Foye, Kyle Singler

OTHER SEASONS CONSIDERED FROM THIS ERA: 2012-13, 2013-14

This was the worst regular-season team of the post-James Harden, pre-My Next Chapter Thunder, but the most terrifying at full power. After sleepwalking through the regular season under new coach Billy Donovan, the Thunder beat a 67-win Spurs team in the second round and made the 73-win Warriors look like a junior varsity team during the first four games of the next round. They then lost Game 5, got blitzed by an unconscious Klay Thompson in a thrilling Game 6, and lost in Game 7 after Stephen Curry rediscovered his form.

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That series was the start of a budding Western Conference rivalry featuring two of the greatest of this era and tons of other … ah, nevermind.

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cryptosharks1 · 5 years ago

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Why Bitcoin is a BUY right NOW!

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cathrynstreich · 5 years ago

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Second-Home Fever? 6 Things to Know Before You Buy a Summer Pad

(TNS)—Second homes give people the chance to live another lifestyle, in another part of the country, or even outside the U.S. For some, it’s appealing enough to get another mortgage or invest a substantial amount of savings to buy one.

If you’re pining for a home away from home, you’re not alone. There were 7.4 million second homes in 2016, or about 5.6 percent of the total housing stock, according to a report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The most popular place for a second home is Florida (1.1 million). California, New York, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Pennsylvania were also popular states for second homes.

But before you join the club, make sure you’re prepared for the long-term responsibilities a second home comes with. From taxes to renting it out, here we break down some important real-life considerations for dream-life vacation homes.

Consider the Full Financial Impact As a (second-home) homeowner, all the financial responsibility falls on your shoulders—twice. If you have a sewer pipe problem in your main residence and then, a short time later, your HVAC system needs repair in your second home, you’ll have two whopping, back-to-back bills.

Additionally, you’ll have double the bills for home insurance, taxes and various other expenses like utility bills, lawn maintenance and homeowners association, or HOA fees (when applicable).

“It’s very important that buyers write out a detailed budget, taking into account contingent expenses—for example, will flood insurance be required and what is that cost? Are the appliances going to need to be replaced soon?” says Charles Nilsen, national director of Private Client Lending at Boston Private.

Although homebuyers might be able to afford these costs, keep your big-picture goals in sight, says Daniel R. Hill, president of investment advisory firm D.R. Hill Wealth Strategies, LLC, in Richmond, Va.

Hill encourages his clients to consider these big money issues before jumping into another home:

Are you saving at least 15 percent of your current income for retirement?

Do you have six months (preferably nine months) in an emergency cash fund readily available?

Are you out of credit card debt?

Is your current home paid off?

And, if applicable, have you established a college fund for your children?

If all of these boxes can be checked, then buyers are likely in a safe position to consider a vacation home, Hill says.

What Happens If You Need a Second Mortgage You’re still paying off the mortgage on your primary residence when you have fallen in love with a great summer home, and now you’ll need another mortgage. Here are a few things borrowers should know.

Like any loan, banks will consider whether your income is sufficient to pay your costs, says Judith Corprew, executive vice president and financial literacy program director at Patriot Bank, N.A. Be prepared to have your credit report reviewed, as well as income, employment history and assets.

Consolidating outstanding credit card or other high-interest debt into a lower payment, using a HELOC or other low-interest products can help your financial picture look better to lenders, says John Sweeney, head of Wealth and Asset Management at Figure Technologies.

Your Ability to Travel to Other Destinations Might Be Squeezed The old saying “familiarity breeds contempt” can be applied to vacation homes, for some folks. After 10 summers in Clearwater Beach, the appeal of warm Gulf waters might give way to the annoyance (and cost) of hurricane season. Likewise, a 10-hour scenic drive to a mountain cabin can quickly transform into a burdensome schlep after a few years.

The point is: Do you want to get stuck in one place for the long term?

“Buyers should consider whether the second home will compromise their ability to travel to other places. If the individual or family enjoys traveling to the same location each year, purchasing a home there may make sense, but it may be challenging to juggle the expenses of a second home with trips to other locales,” says Nilsen.

Vacation homes are still homes, so make sure other desirable amenities are accessible. Things like grocery stores and restaurants, as well as golfing or gyms, are part of our everyday life and might also figure into the happiness equation. A second home that also provides conveniences you rely on will help your home retain its appeal as time goes on.

Renting Out Your Second Home Collecting rent money can be a smart way to subsidize your vacation property; however, there are laws that you should be aware of before you buy. Keep in mind, laws vary by state, city and even neighborhood, so what’s good for one community might not be allowed in another.

For example, in New York City, Airbnb is illegal unless the permanent resident is living in the apartment or the apartment is being rented out for more than 30 days.

For condominiums, buyers should find out if the condo bylaws allow for renters or Airbnb-like rentals. The same goes for HOA rules.

“Some communities require a minimum of 90-day rentals with prior association approval of the renter. If that’s the case, buyers will want to assess whether finding qualified renters will require a REALTOR® and calculate the commissions that will need to be deducted,” says Nilsen.

Cleaning services, insurance and general maintenance are costs landlords should include in their budget, as well. Since you can’t guarantee rental income, make sure you can afford these costs (including a monthly mortgage payment) on your own.

You might also have to forgo your desired time to be in your second home in order to get rental income, which could diminish the appeal of a second home.

“Sadly, the most demand from renters is likely during the time you want to be there. When we look at numbers with clients, we often end up suggesting they rent a home for a week or a month instead of entering the world of landlording. It’s often cheaper and comes with fewer hassles,” says Timothy Parker, partner at Regency Wealth Management.

Taxes on Vacation Homes According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a vacation home is either classified as a personal residence or a rental property. It’s a personal residence if you limit renting it out to 14 days or fewer per year; more than 14 days and it’s considered rental property. In most cases, you’ll have to report rental income regardless of the classification.

If your vacation home is classified as a rental property, you won’t be able to claim the mortgage interest tax deduction; however, you can claim losses on your rental if the amount you spend exceeds your rental income. You can report these losses on Schedule E of your Form 1040.

Be sure to talk to an experienced tax professional about your potential liabilities and deductions. And keep in mind you can only deduct interest paid on mortgages of $750,000 or less total of all your homes.

Second Homes Can Be a Dicey Investment Anyone who remembers the housing crisis knows that home values are not guaranteed. After the housing market peaked in 2006, values plummeted by 33 percent nationally, wiping out equity and forcing homeowners into foreclosure.

Many experts agree that residential real estate is not necessarily the best way to invest money, so for folks who want to build wealth, buying another home might not be fertile ground.

“Many people mistakenly believe that real estate is a good and safe investment,” says Robert R. Johnson, professor of Finance, Heider College of Business, Creighton University. “They fall prey to stories of real estate values rising dramatically over long periods of time. What they don’t realize is that from 1890 to 1990 the inflation-adjusted appreciation in U.S. housing was just about zero. That amazes people, but it shouldn’t be so amazing because the cost of construction and labor has been going down.”

The post Second-Home Fever? 6 Things to Know Before You Buy a Summer Pad appeared first on RISMedia.

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buddyrabrahams · 6 years ago

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Ben Simmons has message for booing 76ers fans after playoff loss

The Philadelphia 76ers got embarrassed at home in Game 1 of their first round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, losing 111-102 in a game where they pretty much trailed by double digits the entire way. The home crowd was on them early, booing at various points throughout the game, including when Ben Simmons missed two free throws in the third quarter.

Simmons was not a huge factor. He finished the game with only nine points, but most of those came on open, assisted dunks after the game outcome was largely decided in the fourth quarter. He had three assists to go with three turnovers, and that marks his career low in the postseason. Simmons has been an all-around stat sheet stuffer who does a little bit of everything as a tall point guard, except, well, shoot from outside. But in the postseason, good teams can take things away and expose weaknesses. It happened again.

After the game, Simmons was not feeling the home crowd. Here’s what he had to say:

“If you’re a #Sixers fan and you’re gonna boo, stay on that side” @BenSimmons25 with a message to the Boo Birds after the @sixers we’re embarrassed in Game 1 of the #NBAPlayoffs @6abc pic.twitter.com/hD3vF3Llq5

— Jamie Apody (@JamieApody) April 13, 2019

Jimmy Butler, described by head coach Brett Brown during the broadcast as “the adult in the room,” was the only member of the 76ers who really showed up, as his 36 points easily led the team (only Joel Embiid and Boban Marjanovic were also in double digit scoring).

Philadelphia already came into the playoffs with some uncertainty thanks to Embiid’s injury status. He ended up playing in Game 1, going 24 minutes, but he was clearly not at 100 percent and had to take some frequent breaks, even once caught checking messages on a phone.

Simmons, meanwhile, is going to be a lightning rod after these fan comments after a game where he finished with a team-worst -21 in plus/minus (along with J.J. Redick). That continues a troubling trend from last postseason. In last year’s Celtics series, Simmons was -63 in a five-game series where the Celtics only outscored the 76ers by 15 total points.

Philadelphia finished the game by shooting only three of 25 from three-point range. If you are going to draw up how the Nets are going to win this series, it will be by Philadelphia struggling from distance and failing to play team defense with determination, and the fans turning against them. The Brooklyn Nets are in many ways the anti-76ers. They don’t have a bunch of home grown top picks thanks to undertaking a process, and they did not add an All-NBA player in Jimmy Butler. They have a bunch of guys who other teams gave up on, and yet everyone contributed and the their bench in Game 1 scored a whopping 59 points.

Suddenly, Game 2 looms very large already as a referendum on this group of players in Philadelphia, and on whether Simmons has the personality to excel in the postseason. With Embiid limited, Simmons really needs to show up so Jimmy Butler does not have to do it all.

from Larry Brown Sports http://bit.ly/2v8Xf5j

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heatherrdavis1 · 5 years ago

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4 BULLISH REASONS TO BUY BITCOIN

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Hey, everybody, met here with altcoin Buzz, Happy Hump Day. Hope your midweek is going very well indeed. Today we’re looking at the case for four bullish Bitcoin signals in 2020. We’ll also round out and in a responsible way, at least in our opinion, are going to try to give you the devil’s advocate argument and give you four reasons why there may be a bearish scenario to look forward to. However, we’ll start with the four positive ones that we’ll start here. First of all, I’m quite a market cap dot.com. On this April 1st, we have a meteoric success in the form of toilet paper token. It has surpassed bitcoin up one thousand one hundred twenty-three point nine seven percent in these last 24 hours. In fact, it’s so hot that it is out of stock. Happy April, fools, everybody. Don’t forget, if you like this kind of content bitcoin blockchain, cryptocurrency. Make sure to hit the subscribe button. Hit the like button below. And stay tuned to the end of this video to learn more information on our crypto tag ZUS starter kit, which we give away every Saturday. OK. So the price of Bitcoin has been following a descending resistance line since the 15th of March when it reached its local high of six thousand nine hundred fifty-seven dollars and at the time of publishing the price was rejected from the resistance line and has begun to decrease. In addition, there is a strong resistance area at six thousand five hundred dollars, which the prices unsuccessfully attempted to break out from in these past two days. Now let’s look at some fundamental factors, both bullish and bearish for Bitcoin. Bullish signal number one, Bitcoin is very likely to follow gold if not at a one to one level, at least in part. So Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole is still a relatively small asset class that is only currently getting slightly correlated to traditional markets and is in the process of being established. After all, the current market environment is a big test for bitcoin, and besides the Friday the 13th major drop, it has actually held up quite well being only an 11-year-old asset. And as for gold, which went up around 3.75 percent in Q1 of 2020, which is a much more established and safe-haven asset than Bitcoin and also has a smaller total user base. Bitcoin is a bit behind gold a bit in terms of performance. But one can argue that as we move along in the next few months and years, Bitcoin starts to take larger shares away from gold, though unlike gold, which can be found on the other planets in vast quantities and on asteroids and all the far corners and reaches of space. Bitcoin is absolutely scarce and has a strict limit of 21 million coins, which is enforced by a network of decentralized miners across the globe and it’s mathematically guaranteed. So that fact alone, the scarcity model from Plan B predicts it will make bitcoin more valuable than gold over the coming decades. And just a reminder, gold’s market cap is far, far higher somewhere in the 7 to 8 trillion range. As we can see on coin market cap, dot.com bitcoin right now only has a total market cap of 114 billion. So approximately and this is just a ballpark figure, some 35 times less than where gold is. If gold were to be the world reserve digital currency, it could swell conceivably 20, 30, 40, 50 times or more. A bullish signal for Bitcoin. Number two, infinite money printing by the Federal Reserve and Donald Trump here on Bloomberg.com. Against this backdrop of incessant money printing, Bitcoin is a disinflationary or deflationary currency whose total supply again is strictly limited to 21 million. Bitcoin has never seemed more attractive in light of what is happening now. And Mike Novogratz described it as the strongest bull case for the benchmark cryptocurrency. Even though Crypto failed to perform as a safe haven during the Corona virus-driven selloff, the Wall Street bull Mike recently opined that 20:20 could end up being another big year for Bitcoin, as we can see here. In his tweet, this from thirty-first of March. Money Grows on Trees 20:20 by Bitcoin after the Federal Reserve said it had, quote, unlimited money. Trump claimed that the state could manipulate infinitely, describing it as, quote, our money and our currency. This, in turn, sent shivers down the spine of Bitcoin supporters as the lack of such meddling in the money supply is a key benefit over Fiat, which makes the cryptocurrency a form of hard money. The third major bull signal of twenty twenty-four bitcoin is its upcoming having event. This event was shaping up to become really the main narrative and the main attraction of 2020. Given that it makes the asset more scarce after it’s first having the bitcoin price skyrocket 100 times in this year, and the second having also brought its investors 33 times returns, that may not be the case this time around. I’m not quite holding my breath, to be perfectly honest and candid, because I think contextually there’s just a lot more happening at this time and there are too many other variables that are going to be weighing in. But potentially the having could have a positive impact on bitcoin. Will it be 100 times or 33 times the current value afterwards? Probably not, but it should have a positive net effect. Overall, our fourth and final bullish signal for bitcoin in 2020 is the use cases for gambling, which are still increasing really on an everyday basis. Cryptocurrencies may still have people, many people asking questions about credibility and safety, but really for millions around the globe, they’re becoming a normal way of making payments in many different areas of life. And one such area is certainly AI gaming or online gambling. And players in Europe have become extremely savvy with using Bitcoin to make their sports bets and play casino games online. Really, the biggest factor for this is anonymity and ease of use. However, one negative side, at least for now and for some users, is the volatility of bitcoin because unlike fiat currencies whose value will barely move for months or years on end, the value of bitcoin has a tendency to jump up and down quite significantly. Of course, we have covered a lot of the leaders in this. Based such as at chillis, I want to clarify, chillis are not a gambling token, but it is affiliated with different football clubs, for example, the sports world. This is something that we’re gonna see more and more of in the months and years ahead. Mark my words. OK, let’s be fair at this point in round out this list with the mirror image for bearish signals beginning with number one, decreasing usage and also global payment, including visa usage, which is down right now. So the usage of bitcoin has plunged to actually to a two year low in the last couple of days with only 250000 transactions occurring per day in these last few days, as revealed by the founder and CEO of Quantum Economics, Matty Greenspan. The short term prediction for the leading cryptocurrency is actually thus quite bearish. The bitcoin price has also created a bearish, hammered candlestick for the month of March, but has managed to stay above an important monthly support level. In the short term, the price is expected to decrease towards the support line of the possible symmetrical triangle. And even as I mentioned, Visa is predicting only single-digit percentage revenue growth in contrast to Q1 last year 2019, where double-digit percentage growth was expected and for Q2 after a sharp drop in activity during March. They’re not all that optimistic based on everything that is happening in the world. Visa, I think at least is one of those recession-proof industries. They’re never gonna suffer to the extent that some others are. But you can see when they’re expressing some concern over their profits and revenues, you know, something is up. Number two, bearish signal for bitcoin. The hash rate is actually dropping and mining is becoming unprofitable at least a little bit. So the Bitcoin network hash rate took a steep dive on the twenty-sixth of March, dropping a whopping fifteen point nine five percent, which is a 45 percent drop from its peak highs of 2020. The hash rate dipped from one hundred thirty-six point two quintillion hashes per second on the 1st of March to just seventy-five point seven XA hashes on March 26, according to data from blockchain dot com. The fifteen point five percent drop had directly impacted the decrease in mining difficulty from a measurement of sixteen point five trillion to thirteen point nine trillion on the twenty-sixth of March, meaning that a large number of miners had disconnected from the chain entirely. Such a turn of events was expected after the past month’s turbulent events which saw Bitcoin roller coasting to three thousand six hundred, showing a 60 percent decline. And yeah, as a result, many miners allegedly found it unprofitable to keep mining and running their equipment, which, of course, consumes a lot of electricity. Our third bearish signal for 2020 is the technical analysis. So although the first quarter of 2020 was not the best ever quarter for Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency still managed to beat two of the three major U.S. stock indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the Dow and the S&P 500 index. Bitcoin beat both of those by a rather wide margin. But since then, this highly contagious viral disease that is now the focus of every headline has launched a devastating attack on how we live. And, of course, as a result, the world economy as well. Bitcoin rose in the early parts of the year because investors and enthusiasts were focused on the upcoming having season. But it declined. When the markets crashed and many investors exited the cryptocurrency to fill margin calls as stocks also declined again, this was a rush toward liquidity. In addition, as most investors got hammered, it lowered the demand for the currency and our fourth and final bearish signal for Bitcoin in 2020. The global economic turmoil, unfortunately, is not over. Just when the global financial markets were in a state of turmoil, Bitcoin failed to prove itself as a, quote, safe haven for investors. Again, after rising 40 percent during early 2020, Bitcoin entered Q1 with 10 percent negative returns year to date. Just as we are entering the second quarter of 2020, the crypto markets seem to be stabilizing after a major correction. Bitcoin, which has been a star performer in the early half of the Q1, faced massive sell-off in the second half, and as of the thirty first, of March, Bitcoin ended the first quarter with 10 percent negative returns year to date at press time. Bitcoin is trading at a price of about six thousand three hundred fifty dollars with a market cap of about $115 billion. Thus, Bitcoin alone contributes to nearly 65 percent of the overall cryptocurrency market cap. Hence the 65 percent dominance metric that we discuss and we reference every day while members of the old boy’s army. Are you on the side of the bulls or are you on the side of the bears? Let us know your thoughts about our reasoning and our suggestions and we have listed here in the comments below. There are arguments certainly to be made both ways, but that about wraps it up for today. To be sure. You’re following us on all the regular social media channels and keep checking back into altcoin by Scott. I owe for all the latest. Go ahead. Like subscribe, share and hit the bell to receive notifications of. If you’ve enjoyed today’s video. Best of luck if you choose to invest on this hump day. Best of luck. If you choose to enter or give away our competition, we give away a crypto tag ZUS starter kit every Saturday. To be eligible for that prize, you gotta make sure you’re subscribed to altcoin Buzz on YouTube. You get to like our videos and you got to comment on our videos. Have a wonderful midweek, everybody. Happy Humpday. And as always, we hope to see you again soon in our next video. Take care.

Via https://www.cryptosharks.net/4-bullish-reasons-to-buy-bitcoin/

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scottmapess · 5 years ago

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4 BULLISH REASONS TO BUY BITCOIN

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/4-bullish-reasons-to-buy-bitcoin/ source https://cryptosharks1.blogspot.com/2020/04/4-bullish-reasons-to-buy-bitcoin.html

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jeffrmayhugh · 5 years ago

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4 BULLISH REASONS TO BUY BITCOIN

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/4-bullish-reasons-to-buy-bitcoin/ source https://cryptosharks1.tumblr.com/post/614240109389283328

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