Year: 2015

Western Conference Finals Preview

Chris McGlynn Basketball, NBA, Playoffs , ,

This one is going to have a lot of offense involved. Through two rounds of playoff basketball, Golden State and Houston are playing the most exciting brand of basketball. There is non-stop scoring in the variety of a three-point bombing squad from the Warriors and the two-man show of Dwight Howard and James Harden for the Rockets. This series is going to be hotly contested and will go for at least six games in the end. I cannot wait for it to get underway and watch some great basketball. Here are the keys to who will win this series.

Stephen_Curry2All season long, we have heard about how deep the Warriors are at pretty much every position. Against the Clippers, the Rockets demonstrated that they have just as much depth. Pablo Prigioni stepped up big time for Houston in Game 7 and really provided the spark that drove the Rockets to the win. Harden and Howard are great but Josh Smith, Clint Capela, Terrance Jones, Trevor Ariza and Jason Terry all have proven to be integral role players on this squad. Ariza and Smith carry a lot of the scoring load if Harden is ever struggling and Capela and Jones have provided enough defense if Howard finds himself in foul trouble. However, the depth that Houston is displaying does not really compare evenly to what Golden State can roll out if they so choose. When Leandro Barbosa, Shaun Livingston, Andre Igoudala, Marreese Speights and David Lee is your line of backups and you still have Festus Ezeli to rotate in, that depth is scary. That line could probably beat the Knicks or the Lakers on occasion or at least give them a good game. The reason that these games will be so good is that both teams have plenty of talent beyond the starting five. Golden State definitely has the edge though.

Playing at home is always a big deal as well, especially for the Warriors. Golden State has lost only three times this season on their home court. Houston will take some solace in the fact that one of those losses came recently as the Dubs dropped Game 2 against Memphis. Houston was impressive at home this year, having lost just 12 games this season in their part of Texas, including the playoffs. That should mean that this seesaw back and forth for a little while with both teams getting a huge boost from their home crowds. Once again though, this seems to heavily favor the Warriors.

Harden_DurantThere is some hope for the Rockets though. The Warriors have shown their kryptonite in Games 2 and 3 against Memphis, the Warriors shot a combined 42.5 percent from the field, well below their season average, and went ice cold from three-point range, hitting on only 23.6 percent of their attempts. The Grizzlies showed the NBA how to beat the Dubs. You need to make them take some contested threes and force them to keep jacking them up. The Warriors were more than content to sit back and take low percentage looks in those games. Houston should have the paint protection between Howard and Smith to force Golden State to look for points outside of the paint. In those games, Steph Curry and company committed 37 turnovers, compared to Memphis’ 27. If Houston can keep hold of the ball and limit the number of chances that Golden State has to run in transition, the Rockets should keep it close.

The regular season was not kind to the Rockets. They lost players throughout and had to find ways to compensate. Now, mostly healthy, Houston should be even better than their regular season selves. And they better hope so too because this Warriors team blew them out during the season series. The Dubs swept the Rockets 4-0 by an average of 15 points per game. I said the same thing about the Nets though when they matched up against Atlanta in the first round and Brooklyn made a series of it. Houston is a much different team this time around and they know that they can turn to other sources of scoring if Harden and Howard go cold, as they did in Game 6 against Los Angeles.

In the end, I think the Warriors will be moving on in six games. I do not see Houston stealing one from them in Oakland. I also think that they will probably split the two games when the series returns to Houston. That worked fine for the Rockets against the Clippers but the Warriors have not dropped three straight games all season. No way the Houston comes back from a three-game hole again. Golden State will make its long awaited return to the finals on the shoulders of the league MVP. Harden will once again find himself the runner up.

Value picks in the NBA draft

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Draft, NBA, NCAAM , , , ,

The NBA Draft is still a few weeks away but the fanfare for the draft got underway today with the pre-draft combine. Some major storylines turned some heads, specifically Pat Connaughton’s 44” vertical jump. The draft always features guys projected to be locks at the next level. There will be others that don’t have the same promise of greatness in the pros but could turn out to be a steal if they reach their full potential. Here are the best potential sleepers or value picks in the this year’s draft.

Robert Upshaw, Junior
Center, University of Washington
Robert Upshaw is massive. He had the biggest hands at the draft combine by far and his 7’5.5” wingspan is intimidating. He stands at 6’10” and weighed in at 258 pounds. Upshaw has the build to be an impact player in the paint for a team that selects him. He played a year of college ball at Fresno State before transferring to the University of Washington. In his 19 games as a Husky, Upshaw averaged 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots. He also shot an impressive 59.3 percent from the floor. Upshaw is obviously much better on the defensive end but he has the physical tools to develop into a good player.

The things that will hold him back are his free throw percentage (43.4) and his off the court issues. Upshaw has been suspended on multiple occasions and was dismissed from both of the programs he was in. Recent reports have indicated that Upshaw spent time in a treatment program and matured a lot but the red flags are still there. Those alone could push Upshaw to the second round. However, with all of the talent he possess, someone will take a chance on him and if has in fact matured, he could develop into a terrifying defensive anchor. His size and shot blocking ability would already make him an instant impact on defense. In the end, Upshaw could be a very good big man.

Ryan Boatright, Senior
Point Guard, University of Connecticut
In recent years, UConn guards have done pretty well at translating to the NBA. Kemba Walker went on a title run and then jumped to the Association. Shabazz Napier led the Huskies to another championship before making his move to the pros. Neither has been transcendent by any means but both are solid players playing starting caliber basketball. That is likely what Ryan Boatright will bring to the table as well. He is going to best serve as a sixth man in the NBA due to his size (5’11”, 175 pounds).

However, he is a quick, sharp shooter. He shot 41 percent from behind the arc last season and averaged 17 points per game. He was an average facilitator at the college level, tallying about four per game to go along with four rebounds. He is an effort player who will make his fair share of plays. He will never really be a starter in the league without some major development but he can be a very useful bench player. Boatright reminds me a lot of Isaiah Thomas with the Boston Celtics. His energy coming off the bench and shooting ability makes him an asset to his team. Boatright will likely go in the second round but with his overall talent, he could turn in a long career as a sixth man when all is said and done.

Vince Hunter, Sophomore
Power Forward, UTEP
Vince Hunter went to a smaller school but today he showed he can compete with the big boys too. In his combine scrimmage, Hunter accounted for 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals. What is the most impressive thing there is that nine of those boards were on the offensive end. Hunter got his team a lot of second chance points. He also shot 50 percent from the floor, which was actually below his college average. Hunter averaged around 15 points and 9 rebounds a night in college. He is a solid player in the paint and excels at cleaning up after his teammates miss.

There are some obvious concerns with Hunter though. He fouled out of the game today, being the only player in either scrimmage to do so. He also is a 61 percent career free throw shooter. Neither of those things are killers but they are certainly knocks on his game. What concerns me a little more is that Hunter had four of his shots blocked in today’s scrimmage. It might only be one game so we cannot read too much into it but that definitely seems like he was pressing a bit and forcing shots. Hunter is young though at only 20 years old and can develop at the next level. He has good size and decent length. I will be paying close attention to how he tests throughout the rest of the combine to see what I can read about his gameplay.

Rakeem Christmas, Senior
Power Forward, Syracuse University
Syracuse dipped a bit this year in terms of overall play but the man who powered that team showed up to play more often than not. Rakeem Christmas played extremely well this season averaging 17.5 points, 9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game on 55.2 percent shooting. He also shot well from the free throw line at 71.2 percent. Christmas showed up into today’s combine scrimmage, dropping 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting to go with 6 boards. He already has a very polished post game and has plays great defense on the block. If Rak could add a viable jump shot to his arsenal, he could be a dangerous player.

Christmas played center in college but not even reaching 6’10” with shoes on, meaning he would likely fit better as a power forward in the NBA. He has already dropped his weight from 250 to 242 making the move even more logical. He is grinder who can go to work and spend the whole night wearing down his opponents. He does not possess outstanding athleticism or great dribbling abilities. He is also a candidate to end up in foul trouble on a night-to-night basis. However, Christmas is a scrappy player who will fight for rebounds and force opponents into tough shots. He won’t dazzle you, but Christmas could become a very accountable big man in the NBA.

It continues to become harder to support the NFL

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL, Social Issues ,

Roger_GoodellI love PTI. Tony Kornhesier and Michael Wilbon may be the best duo in recent sports broadcasting history. I was shocked yesterday to hear Wilbon bring up the idea of Roger Goodell losing his post as commissioner of the NFL. Well that isn’t the shocking part, I’ve been saying Goodell needs to go for a while now. What caught me off guard was the reason why Goodell would be let go. For punishing the Patriots. Not for the botched Ray Rice case or the on-going Adrian Peterson saga, but for Deflategate.

Ironically, out of all of the massive controversies involving the NFL this season, I thought Goodell did his best work in handling the deflated ball scandal. He left himself out of the investigation and then made a ruling that clearly sent a message that this sort of conduct would not be tolerated. He might have been a little harsh, but with all the leniency Goodell provided in regards to Rice and Peterson, he might have felt a little bit pressured. To me, Goodell did his job, and did it well.

Robert_KraftApparently, Patriots owner Robert Kraft does not share the same sentiment. His long-time friend is now openly criticizing Goodell. Kraft felt that the punishments were undue and not formulated in concrete evidence. Wilbon’s point was that through all of the other adversity the league faced this year, Goodell always had the backing of the owners. Now, he might have lost that, because the ruling directly affected one of them. Wilbon pointed out that Kraft could push for Goodell’s tenure to end the next time he is up for election, which is in 2018. Wilbon noted that is unlikely that anything would happen before then, but he would not be surprised if the end for Goodell was in the near future.

All this really shows is how callous, corrupt and greedy the NFL has become. They are willing to back the commissioner through domestic abuse issues and bounty scandals so long as he continues to deliver profits. The NFL made a ridiculous 9.5 billion dollars in revenue in 2013, which breaks down to about 261.5 million dollars per team. The owners get to stay rich as long as the money keeps flowing in. The league compensates Goodell pretty handsomely as well, more than 44 million dollars last year to be exact. Goodell has proven to be a strong business partner for the NFL. As long as he kept generating revenue, the owners would be more than willing to weather whatever storm Goodell brought with it.

Now though, faced with a situation where a team, and to a further extent an owner, took the brunt of the penalty from Goodell’s actions, the owners are ready to run him out. It shows on one level that the owners value the brand of the team and the money made way more than they value the players. The Ravens were in full compliance with suspending Rice and the Vikings openly supported Goodell with his plans for Peterson. The Patriots are furious about losing Tom Brady for four games but seem to be more enraged by the docking of draft picks and heavy fine. At least that’s my perception.

Goodell, in doing his job how he saw fit, might actually find himself looking for a new employer. He has made many a mistake in his handling of so many different cases. He has bordered on corrupt at times, with his mostly unchecked use of power to hand out suspensions and fines. And the owners have supported him through all of it. The league is willing to be corrupt as long as corrupt pays. The NFL is all about making money. I as a fan find this disheartening because I can see it in more places than just this. The steady rise in ticket prices, the removal of blackouts, the increased number of sponsors and the continual blind eye turned to player safety. The bottom line is all in the profit. The league makes its moves based on how much it can stand to gain from them.

It makes it hard to support a league that has so many major flaws. That is run by a system that continually fails its players and fans. That allows for inhumane behavior and repeatedly breeds violations of the law. That is more focused on the bottom line than the product. Greed runs the NFL. This is a league that is out to make as much money as possible, despite inexplicably being listed as a non-profit. There needs to be a change in the NFL and how it is run. It pushes me to the point where I do not know how much longer I can support the league. I simply do not want to get behind an organization that continues to disappoint and deteriorate. On the bright side, I would probably have a lot more time to watch PTI.

The Tale of Two Scandals

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL , ,

Tom_BradyThe sports world is outraged at the moment. It could be directed at a number of different people. It could be Patriots fans enraged at the two locker room assistants for deflating footballs for the AFC Championship game. It could be those same fans again furious at Roger Goodell for suspending quarterback Tom Brady for four games when the evidence does not definitively point to Brady’s involvement. It might be on the other side of that as an NFL fan because while the evidence isn’t damning, it has some logical implications, Brady probably cheated and the league is not punishing him enough. Still others are shocked that Brady received a four-game ban when Ray Rice was only dealt half of that after beating his wife.

This whole Deflategate scandal has blown even more than before, if that is possible. The Patriots are looking at losing two draft picks, one of them being a first rounder, in the next two seasons and missing their future Hall of Fame quarterback for the first quarter of the season. All of that is on top of an NFL-record fine of $1 million. Brady is set to appeal the suspension, which he will likely win, and have it reduced if not altogether wiped out. New England owner, Robert Kraft, is demanding an explanation from the league as to where the precedent for these sanctions lie. The whole fiasco seems very 2012, when the NFL had to deal with a different violation of public policy. The fallout that ensued has been all the same.

Gregg_WilliamsBack in 2009, Gregg Williams joined the New Orleans Saints as their defensive coordinator. Shortly after his arrival, Williams arranged a bounty system that rewarded players for big hits and injuries caused. This was clearly against league rules but did not really give the Saints a competitive advantage over their opponents. It did however, put both player safety and NFL integrity on the line. Coincidentally, New Orleans made a Super Bowl run, just as New England did, and walked away with a Lombardi Trophy. The whole bounty system was uncovered almost two full years later and the implications began to rain down on the Saints organization.

Williams was suspended indefinitely. Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis received long suspensions, one year and eight games respectively. The Saints also forfeited a second round draft pick and paid a $500,000 fine. Several Saints players found themselves punished as well, including Jonathan Vilma, who received a full season suspension. Like Brady, Vilma denied being an active part of the program. The difference was that it was clear he was aware of it. Vilma appealed the suspension and actually went as far as attacking Goodell by filing a defamation of character suit against the commissioner. The NFL was in utter chaos as the scandal continued to unfold. It got even uglier from there as arbitrators and suspension appeals dragged on.

The Saints were obviously frustrated with the league’s decisions to suspend coaches and management as well as stripping them of a draft pick. However, the Saints moved on and dealt with the consequences. Eventually, Peyton returned and New Orleans simply put the scandal behind them. It doesn’t seem like the Patriots are willing to do that. Despite there being a lot of the “who said what” kind of stuff going on, the league upheld its decisions on the loss of draft pick and fine. However, Goodell reduced some of the suspensions and eventually they were all voided. The precedent is there for Brady to have his suspension at the very least reduced if not completely dismissed.

The NFL certainly made a statement with these punishments that it will not tolerate violation of the rules when it compromises the integrity of the game. It was a bit of a recovery move by Goodell, after botching so many other recent scandals. The important thing is that the Patriots might have had a competitive advantage, but its effect on the game was about as important to the win as a cash incentive to hit opposing players harder. The Patriots might have broken the rules and deserve to be punished for it. However, it does not tarnish their title. If it does, then the Saints title is tainted as well. The two scandals had the same impact on the outcome of games and, overall, had similar penalties.

I will not remember this as something New England did to beat Indianapolis. I will remember this as a minor scandal that both the league and the team drastically blew out of proportion with the harsh penalty and the unprofessional reaction of both Brady’s agent and Kraft. The Pats certainly deserve the penalty, but not to be remembered as a tainted champion.

Veterans who should be traded

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL , , , ,

The draft is done with and we have had close to a week to dissect each and every move. That means that there are several players out there that could be looking for a new job very shortly. Teams always prefer younger players for their potential and hopeful longevity. That means they are more than willing to force a couple of the older guys out the door. However, not every veteran who might be replaced should be cut as some still have great value. Here are some of the veterans that should be shopped around the league with their replacements already on board.

Morris Claiborne, Dallas
The Cowboys tabbed Byron Jones as their first round pick in 2015. With Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick already in place, Jones figures to be the nickel corner for the time being. That means that former first round selection, Morris Claiborne finds himself on the bench. Three years after Dallas drafted him the top ten, Claiborne has failed to develop into the bona-fide lock down corner the team expected. He is still young at only 25-years-old, meaning there will surely be a team willing to take a gamble on him. Kansas City is in need of some new blood at corner and Cleveland needs a replacement for Buster Skrine. Both teams could be a fit for the out of favor Claiborne.

Malik Jackson, Denver
With Demarcus Ware, Von Miller and now Shane Ray on Denver’s roster, the Broncos will want to find a way to get them all on the field. That could mean moving one of those pass rushers to a down lineman to get everyone more snaps. Derek Wolfe is locked in on the line meaning Malik Jackson could find himself losing out on passing situations. Jackson only tallied three sacks a season ago so his role as a pass rusher is clearly small. He is a great run stuffer though and can still make a big impact on games. I don’t know if Denver should move him but if I’m Jackson, I might want to be moved.

Muhammad Wilkerson, New York (Jets)
I wrote about this last week. Muhammed Wilkerson’s days as a Jet are numbered. It’s unfortunate because if how talented he is but the team is not ready to pay him what he is asking for and just drafted Leonard Williams to essentially take his place. Williams obviously needs some time to develop before he even comes close to reaching Wilkerson’s level of play but as the latter enters the final year of his contract, the pressure will be on to get some value for him. Kansas City desperately needs a run stuffer to aid their defense. Rob Ryan could also use some help in New Orleans to turn the Saints’ terrible defensive unit around.

Micah Hide, Green Bay
When you draft a safety in the first round two years in a row, that usually means you weren’t overly satisfied with the guys who were there before. Micah Hide has been solid for the Packers in spurts but now sitting behind several younger, fresher faces in Wisconsin, he will likely not be seeing the field. Atlanta is still seeking depth at safety even following the draft. The Falcons allowed the most yards per attempt a season ago. Pittsburgh could be a wise fit as well after losing Troy Polamalu to retirement.

Andre Smith, Cinncinnati
Andrew Whitworth challenged the Bengals to draft his replacement in this year’s draft. Cincinnati ended up drafting two different tackles with their first two picks. However, I think it could be Andre Smith on the other side of the line who’s tenure in Ohio is in danger of ending. Smith tore his triceps muscle last season and is still continuing to rehab. Word is he is recovering well meaning his value would still be there in a trade. The Jets desperately need some help on the right side of their line after allowing 47 sacks last season so they could definitely be in play. The Titans have a rookie slotted to play at right tackle right now and after allowing even more sacks than New York a year ago, acquiring Smith might be a really smart decision.