With the NBA season starting in nine days, I'm going to give my predictions for each of the awards given away this year.
Starting with the Most Improved Player Award, I think that Giannis Antetokounmpo, small forward for the Milwaukee Bucks will win it after the season is over. Antetokounmpo is an extremely skilled player who is very large for his position and I think this will help him dominate his opponents. He also gained a lot of weight since the end of last season which will help him get to the rim better and hopefully finish at the hoop even more effectively.
I think the Defensive Player of the year will be the center for the Utah Jazz, Rudy Gobert. Gobert is skilled big man on offense, but defensively is where he does most of his work. Defensive Player of the Year is often given to a player who is a very good shot blocker or proficient at getting steals. Gobert is a fierce shot blocker and rim protector which is why I think he'll win this award this year.
My prediction for Coach of the Year is Los Angeles Clippers head coach, Doc Rivers. I expect the Clippers to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference and make it at least to the Western Conference Finals. Rivers has a lot of coaching experience and has built a great team around him in Los Angeles and I expect the Clippers to go far this year and for Rivers to be Coach of the Year.
Rookie of the Year is probably the toughest decision to make because of all the great talent that came into the league through the draft. I narrowed down my top two choices to Jahlil Okafor from the Philadelphia 76ers and Emmanuel Mudiay from the Denver Nuggets. Okafor is a beastly big man out of Duke who will get a lot of touches this year because he doesn't play for a great team and the 76ers also have injured big men. Okafor is a very efficient player and has some phenomenal post moves which will work to his advantage in the NBA. Mudiay is my other choice for Rookie of the Year. Mudaiy is an extremely fast and athletic point guard who plays for a bad team which means he should be a huge part of the offense this year. He has some professional basketball experience too, as he played in China last year.
Last but not least, I believe that the Most Valuable Player for the 2015-16 season will be LeBron James. James is 30 years old and has already won four MVP's in his career and I think he'll add a fifth to his collection. He is surrounded by a lot of great players which will help him get a lot of assists and of course he can do a lot of scoring as well. The Cavaliers are also plagued with injuries to start the season which means they will rely on LeBron more which should lead to some amazing stats this season.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
NFL Week 5
The NFL was very excting in week five and had lots of great story lines. First of all, the Colts won their third straight game this year after starting 0-2. This was yet another big win as they are now above .500 on the season and they did it all without Andrew Luck. This win also gives them confidence as they play their bitter enemy, the New England Patriots in week six. Some other headlines for week five was on Monday Night Football as the Steelers scored a last second touchdown to beat the Chargers, 24-20. Le'Veon Bell took the ball from the wildcat formation and jammed in a one yard touchdown as time expired. It was a gutsy call from Mike Tomlin for not kicking the field goal to tie the game and just go into overtime, but after all I don't think that they wanted to risk missing a fourth quarter field goal like they did in week 4. Another big headline this past weekend was about Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers threw his first interception at Lambeau Field for the first time since December 14, 2012. This is an amazing steak for a quarterback to have as he went nearly three years without throwing an interception at his home stadium. The Seahawks fell to 2-3 on the year as they lost to the Bengals in overtime. Bengals kicker Mike Nugent kicked a field goal to win the game for the Bengals. The Falcons also continued their undefeated season as they beat the Redskins 25-19 in overtime. Redskin's quarterback, Kirk Cousins threw a interception that was returned for a touchdown and gave the Redskins their third loss of the year.
NBA Western Conference Predictions
Now that I've done my predictions for the playoff teams in the Eastern Conference, it's time for me to do them for the Western conference.
My prediction for the eighth seed in the west is the Sacramento Kings. The Kings were a decent team last season but lacked a will to win and finished as the 13th seed. This year, DeMarcus Cousins will step up and grow into an MVP candidate and adding Rajon Rondo to feed him this year will help the Kings make that extra push to be a playoff team. The New Orleans Pelicans are my prediction for the seventh seed for the 2015-16 NBA season. They have one of the best players in Anthony Davis and with his growth on the court and all of the help that they have at other positions, the Pelicans could even become title contenders this year. I think that the Grizzlies will become the sixth seed this year. They have all the pieces needed to go far in the playoffs. They have two phenomenal big men, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, one of the best guards in the league, Mike Conley and many other shooters and defenders to their arsenal as well. Even though the Golden State Warriors won the title last year, I have them at just the fifth seed. I think they got extremely lucky last year and their whole team is based off of shooting so I don't think that they'll be back to the championship this year.
My top four teams in the Western Conference in order are the Spurs, Rockets, Clippers, and Thunder. The Spurs added Lamarcus Aldridge and David West in the offseason and that will definitely help them go at another title run. With Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili still going strong after many years in the league and Kawhi Leonard becoming the new star in San Antonio look for the Spurs to go strong at yet another title. Despite being plagued by injuries last year, the Houston Rockets still finished second in the west. This year, if they can keep Dwight Howard healthy and James Harden plays at the MVP level he's been playing at, the Rockets will go far. They also picked up point guard Ty Lawson from the Nuggets which could be that final step to creating a championship team. My second ranked team in the west is the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers kept thier main core of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan and added new pieces such as veteran forward Paul Pierce, shooting guard, Lance Stephenson, and power forward Josh Smith. The emergence of Austin Rivers and the shooting of J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford will also help the Clippers get the the NBA Finals. Finally, my top team in the Western Conference is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder played great last year and finished as the ninth seed in the west all without having their best player and one of the best players in the league, Kevin Durant. With Durant back into the lineup, Russell Westbrook playing the best basketball he's ever played and Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter and many other key role players, I think that the NBA Finals in 2016 will be the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.
My prediction for the eighth seed in the west is the Sacramento Kings. The Kings were a decent team last season but lacked a will to win and finished as the 13th seed. This year, DeMarcus Cousins will step up and grow into an MVP candidate and adding Rajon Rondo to feed him this year will help the Kings make that extra push to be a playoff team. The New Orleans Pelicans are my prediction for the seventh seed for the 2015-16 NBA season. They have one of the best players in Anthony Davis and with his growth on the court and all of the help that they have at other positions, the Pelicans could even become title contenders this year. I think that the Grizzlies will become the sixth seed this year. They have all the pieces needed to go far in the playoffs. They have two phenomenal big men, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, one of the best guards in the league, Mike Conley and many other shooters and defenders to their arsenal as well. Even though the Golden State Warriors won the title last year, I have them at just the fifth seed. I think they got extremely lucky last year and their whole team is based off of shooting so I don't think that they'll be back to the championship this year.
My top four teams in the Western Conference in order are the Spurs, Rockets, Clippers, and Thunder. The Spurs added Lamarcus Aldridge and David West in the offseason and that will definitely help them go at another title run. With Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili still going strong after many years in the league and Kawhi Leonard becoming the new star in San Antonio look for the Spurs to go strong at yet another title. Despite being plagued by injuries last year, the Houston Rockets still finished second in the west. This year, if they can keep Dwight Howard healthy and James Harden plays at the MVP level he's been playing at, the Rockets will go far. They also picked up point guard Ty Lawson from the Nuggets which could be that final step to creating a championship team. My second ranked team in the west is the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers kept thier main core of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan and added new pieces such as veteran forward Paul Pierce, shooting guard, Lance Stephenson, and power forward Josh Smith. The emergence of Austin Rivers and the shooting of J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford will also help the Clippers get the the NBA Finals. Finally, my top team in the Western Conference is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder played great last year and finished as the ninth seed in the west all without having their best player and one of the best players in the league, Kevin Durant. With Durant back into the lineup, Russell Westbrook playing the best basketball he's ever played and Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter and many other key role players, I think that the NBA Finals in 2016 will be the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
NBA Eastern Conference Predictions
With the NBA season coming up within the next two weeks I am going to give my predictions on who will make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Starting from the eighth seed moving down I think that the Charlotte Hornets will be the eighth seed after the 2016 season due to their star power from guard, Kemba Walker and center, Al Jefferson. With their leadership and the help from Jeremy Lin, Nicholas Batum, and Cody Zeller, the Hornets should make the playoffs in the east. My seventh seed is the Washington Wizards. John Wall is definitely going to step up this year after losing Paul Pierce in free agency and having Bradley Beal injured for a good part of the season. Despite losing players and injuries, the Wizards still have John Wall and other key role players that should bring them to the playoffs. I think the sixth seed in the east will be the Indiana Pacers. Although they lost David West and Roy Hibbert in free agency, they are getting back star forward, Paul George and also got shooting guard, Monta Ellis to help their cause. Drafting Myles Turner out of Texas will also give them a strong case to contend. My prediction for the fifth seed is the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors didn't really lose anybody in the offseason and added small forward, DeMarre Carroll to help them contend in the Eastern Conference.
My top four teams in the east are the Bucks, Hawks, Bulls, and Cavaliers. The Bucks are an extremely young team and they are talented in every area of the game. With the addition of Greg Monroe, the Bucks should certainly contend this year. The Atlanta Hawks had a breakout year last season and finished first in the east. The only reason I have them worse for this season is because they lost DeMarre Carroll and I don't know if they can keep up the great team play from last season.
The Bulls finished third last season and I only see them getting better. With a hopefully healthy Derrick Rose, an all-star Pau Gasol, and a star in the making, Jimmy Butler, the Bulls could be a title contender this season. Last but not least, I think the Cleveland Cavaliers will finish first in the Eastern Conference. The were the runner ups in the NBA Finals last year and can only get better and I expect them to not only win the east, but also the NBA finals.
Starting from the eighth seed moving down I think that the Charlotte Hornets will be the eighth seed after the 2016 season due to their star power from guard, Kemba Walker and center, Al Jefferson. With their leadership and the help from Jeremy Lin, Nicholas Batum, and Cody Zeller, the Hornets should make the playoffs in the east. My seventh seed is the Washington Wizards. John Wall is definitely going to step up this year after losing Paul Pierce in free agency and having Bradley Beal injured for a good part of the season. Despite losing players and injuries, the Wizards still have John Wall and other key role players that should bring them to the playoffs. I think the sixth seed in the east will be the Indiana Pacers. Although they lost David West and Roy Hibbert in free agency, they are getting back star forward, Paul George and also got shooting guard, Monta Ellis to help their cause. Drafting Myles Turner out of Texas will also give them a strong case to contend. My prediction for the fifth seed is the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors didn't really lose anybody in the offseason and added small forward, DeMarre Carroll to help them contend in the Eastern Conference.
My top four teams in the east are the Bucks, Hawks, Bulls, and Cavaliers. The Bucks are an extremely young team and they are talented in every area of the game. With the addition of Greg Monroe, the Bucks should certainly contend this year. The Atlanta Hawks had a breakout year last season and finished first in the east. The only reason I have them worse for this season is because they lost DeMarre Carroll and I don't know if they can keep up the great team play from last season.
The Bulls finished third last season and I only see them getting better. With a hopefully healthy Derrick Rose, an all-star Pau Gasol, and a star in the making, Jimmy Butler, the Bulls could be a title contender this season. Last but not least, I think the Cleveland Cavaliers will finish first in the Eastern Conference. The were the runner ups in the NBA Finals last year and can only get better and I expect them to not only win the east, but also the NBA finals.
Seahawks vs. Lions
During the Lions vs. Seahawks game last Monday night, there was a very controversial call at the end of the game which directly impacted the outcome of the game. The score was 13-10 and the Lions were losing late in the fourth quarter and they were in the middle of a game-winning drive. Quarterback, Matthew Stafford threw a strike across the field to wide receiver, Calvin Johnson who caught the ball and was running for the endzone to win the game when Seahawks safety, Kam Chancellor came up from behind and punched the ball out of his hands right before it crossed the goal line. The ball was bouncing around in the endzone when Seahawks linebacker, K.J. Wright hit the ball out of the back of the endzone for a touchback.
This call sparked a lot of controversy among football fans as the NFL rules say that a player can not knock or punch the ball put of the endzone. There was a referee in perfect position in the back of the endzone but he did not make the call of illegal touching or really even come close to calling it. Had the call been made, the Detroit Lions would've had the ball at the Seahawk's one yard line and would have put them in perfect position to win the game. However, since the call was not made, the Seahawks got the ball back and just ran out the clock for the win.
This call sparked a lot of controversy among football fans as the NFL rules say that a player can not knock or punch the ball put of the endzone. There was a referee in perfect position in the back of the endzone but he did not make the call of illegal touching or really even come close to calling it. Had the call been made, the Detroit Lions would've had the ball at the Seahawk's one yard line and would have put them in perfect position to win the game. However, since the call was not made, the Seahawks got the ball back and just ran out the clock for the win.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
NFL Week 4
Week 4 of the NFL was another fantastic week of the football. As previously stated, my favorite team is the Indianapolis Colts and in week four they were able to get their second win of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The big part about this win was that they were able to get it without the best player on our team and our quarterback, Andrew Luck. Backup quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck was our starter for the game and he played very well for being almost 41 years old. A fun fact about Hasselbeck is that he is the oldest player in the NFL who isn't a kicker! Another interesting story line from this past week was Odell Beckham Jr., one of the best young players in the league, was caught punching Bills' defensive players after the plays were over. Beckham said that he would appeal his $9,000 fine because he told the media that he too gets punched all the time in games.
There are only six teams left in the NFL who have not lost a game yet this season. Those six teams are the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Denver Broncos. Of those teams, I think that the Packers, Falcons, and Panthers will keep their streaks alive for the longest amount of time. The Packers and the Falcons are the two best teams in the league right now due to their stellar defensive play and their ability to pass and run the ball at a very high level. The Panthers will also keep their streak alive longest due to the fact that they have a bye week in week five. The Broncos are struggling this year despite not losing any games, they have just played sloppily all year and will lose in week five to the Oakland Raiders. The Bengals are also undefeated, but I think they'll lose to the defending NFC champion, Seattle Seahawks. Lastly, I believe that the New England Patriots will lose in week five to the Indianapolis Colts. I tried to not be biased here, but I just don't see the Colts losing to the Patriots at home this year.
There are only six teams left in the NFL who have not lost a game yet this season. Those six teams are the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Denver Broncos. Of those teams, I think that the Packers, Falcons, and Panthers will keep their streaks alive for the longest amount of time. The Packers and the Falcons are the two best teams in the league right now due to their stellar defensive play and their ability to pass and run the ball at a very high level. The Panthers will also keep their streak alive longest due to the fact that they have a bye week in week five. The Broncos are struggling this year despite not losing any games, they have just played sloppily all year and will lose in week five to the Oakland Raiders. The Bengals are also undefeated, but I think they'll lose to the defending NFC champion, Seattle Seahawks. Lastly, I believe that the New England Patriots will lose in week five to the Indianapolis Colts. I tried to not be biased here, but I just don't see the Colts losing to the Patriots at home this year.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
NFL Week 3
Week 3 of the NFL was yet again very exciting! My favorite team, the Indianapolis Colts got their first win of the season against the Tennessee Titans. The Colts got off to a great start and piled up a 14-0 lead to start off the game. All of a sudden in the middle of the game, the Colts decided that they didn't want to win and then the Titans scored 27 unanswered points to take the 27-14 lead. Then the fourth quarter came around and Andrew Luck finally decided to be himself and lead a fourth quarter comeback. In the fourth quarter alone, Luck completed 11-13 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns. This is a great thing for him as he alone has had more turnovers this season than 30 NFL teams. This win is a huge confidence booster for the Colts and now we have even more momentum going into Jacksonville to get what should be an easy win for them to get them to 2-2.
As for the other teams in the NFL, the Eagles got their first win of the season. It was a must win for them as they were 0-2 and their big off season addition, Demarco Murray, has been struggling very badly and is arguably the worst running back so far this season. The Cincinnati Bengals also got a big win over the now 0-3 Baltimore Ravens. This win extends the Bengals to 3-0 and are one of the last undefeated teams in the league. They had an impressive team performance, but in particular wide receiver, A.J. Green, had one of the best games of his career. The wideout hauled in ten catches for a whopping 227 yards and two touchdowns. This is big for them going deeper into the season because they haven't won a playoff game in 26 years so they are hoping they can get one this year.
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