NBA Announces All-Rookie Teams. Check Out Who Made It & How The Votes Broke Down

NBA Announces All-Rookie Teams. Check Out Who Made It & How The Votes Broke Down

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by | May 23, 2018 | Featured, NBA

Earlier on Tuesday, the NBA announced the First & Second All-Rookie teams and for the most part the voting broke down how you would expect based on how the season went.

The players who made the First Team were all essentially a lock to do so. Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell are both in contention for Rookie Of The Year, while Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma and Lauri Markkanen all played outstanding for their respective teams. Tatum is battling in the Eastern Conference Finals while averaging 18 points per game.

ESPN’s Chris Forsberg shared how the voting totals broke down.

The first thing you notice from seeing the votes is Simmons and Mitchell tied with 200 points a piece. Could be an indicator of how the Rookie Of The Year voting will go.

You can argue that De’Aaron Fox could’ve made the Second team at the guard spot but with Dennis Smith Jr and Lonzo Ball both being there, it’s hard to argue either of them should be removed for Fox. Bam Adebayo came within one point of tying Josh Jackson on the Second team.

The biggest glaring omission overall is number one pick, Markelle Fultz. The player the Sixers traded up to get didn’t have the rookie season he or the team expected but providing he is fully healthy next season, he can still prove they made the right move by taking him.

Written By @IamJoeSports

May 23, 2018 No Comments
Phoenix Suns Win #1 Pick In NBA Draft Lottery. Who Will They Choose?

Phoenix Suns Win #1 Pick In NBA Draft Lottery. Who Will They Choose?

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by | May 16, 2018 | Featured, NBA

Tanking has paid off for the Phoenix Suns, as they were awarded the #1 overall selection in the upcoming draft in June. The announcement was made Tuesday night in Chicago at the draft lottery. The Suns had the highest odds of winning the pick and you can bet new head coach, Igor Kokoskov is ecstatic.

The remainder of the lottery went as follows:

2. Kings

3. Hawks

4. Grizzlies

5. Mavericks

6. Magic

7. Bulls

8. Cavs

9. Knicks

10. Sixers

11. Hornets

12. Clippers

13. Clippers

14. Nuggets

What the Suns now do with the pick is obviously the biggest question. Arizona’s Deandre Ayton is looked at as the best player in the draft and if any other team had won the lottery he would probably be a lock to be picked first.

However, Kokoskov already has an existing relationship with European phenom, Luka Doncic, and that could very well prove to be enough for the Suns to go with him instead.  It’s a pretty safe bet the deliberations of what to do with the pick will only include these two players.

The Cavaliers were also an interesting team to watch in this lottery. They acquired the Brooklyn Nets first round pick from the Boston Celtics, courtesy of the Kyrie Irving trade. The Cavs were hoping they could get lucky and wind up having  a top three pick to made that trade seem a little better. So far it remains a big loss for the Cavs, although they have clearly been just fine without Irving.

The draft will be held on June 21st and we will wait till then to see what these lottery teams wind up doing.

Written by @IamJoeSports

May 16, 2018 No Comments
Toronto Raptors Fire Dwane Casey After Setting Franchise Record For Wins

Toronto Raptors Fire Dwane Casey After Setting Franchise Record For Wins

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by | May 11, 2018 | Featured, NBA

The Toronto Raptors have announced they are firing coach Dwane Casey, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The Raptors decided to make the move despite Casey just setting a franchise record with 59 wins and being a candidate for coach of the year. This feels mostly like an overreaction to being swept by Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers more than anything else.

It’s really hard to defend a team firing a coach who is coming off a record setting year. The Raptors won 59 games this season and their record improved in six of the seven seasons that Casey was coach. Granted, the season didn’t end how they wanted but it’s also really hard to blame Casey for the way the team played against the Cavs. It never really looked as if the Cavs were necessarily the better team. It more so looked like a team in the Raptors who were in fear of one player and were mentally defeated long before the series ended.

You have to wonder who the Raptors feel they can hire who will come in and get more from the current team. Do they believe they will find a coach who can win 60+ games and get the franchise to the NBA Finals? Those things happening next season are very doubtful, regardless of who is the next coach is. Reports say both Mike Budenholzer and Jerry Stackhouse will get serious consideration.

For Casey personally, there is no doubt he won’t be unemployed for long. Expect him to get offers rather soon to coach elsewhere next season and deservedly so.

Written by @IamJoeSports

May 11, 2018 No Comments
Joel Embiid Compares Himself & Ben Simmons To Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook

Joel Embiid Compares Himself & Ben Simmons To Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook

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by | May 10, 2018 | Featured, NBA

The Philadelphia 76ers were the trendy pick to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and some folks even had them making it all the way to the NBA Finals. The Sixers had a hell of a season and won more games than anyone had expected but nevertheless, reality came crashing down on them on Wednesday night, as the Boston Celtics eliminated them, ending the series in five games.

The series with the Celtics exposed some things that the Sixers will need to fix and focus on moving forward but there is no doubt the future is extremely bright in the city of brotherly love. It’s a confidence that is not lost on their best players, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. In fact, right after the season ending loss, Embiid was comparing the Sixers potential to that of a young Oklahoma City Thunder that struggled at first with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, before turning into a powerhouse franchise.

“Me and Ben have a lot of room to grow”, Embiid said to reporters after the game. “I was thinking about it, just looking at what KD and Westbrook, what they did their first season together. I think they only won 28 games or something like that. Looking at what we did, we’ve got a bright future.”

Fans in Philly would clearly love if Embiid & Simmons can wind up having careers the likes of Durant & Westbrook, except for the whole not being able to keep them together thing. Regardless, Embiid does have a great point about what young talent can morph into.

He went on to share that Simmons came up to him after the game and let him know they will win multiple championships together.  “At the end of the game (Simmons) came up to me and showed me his hands and was like, ‘There’s gonna be a lot of rings on these.’ I was like, ‘For sure.’”

This season may not have ended how the players and fans in Philly had hoped but this should only be the start of many years of deep postseason runs and championship potential to come.

Written By @IamJoeSports

Via NBC Sports

 

 

 

 

May 10, 2018 No Comments
The Brodie & Playoff P Lead OKC To Historic Game 5 Comeback Victory Over Utah (107-99)

The Brodie & Playoff P Lead OKC To Historic Game 5 Comeback Victory Over Utah (107-99)

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by | Apr 26, 2018 | Featured

The Thunder were down 3-1 coming into Game 5 against the Utah Jazz at home. Everyone knew how huge of a game this would be for Russell Westbrook and the Thunder organization after losing two straight in Utah. The Thunder and the Jazz both started off the game very nervous it seemed as it took about 3 to 4 minutes before any team scored. Donovan Mitchell was leading the charge against the Thunder as he’s played like a 10-year veteran instead of a rookie. Mitchell has been the one player that has been able to set the tone for the Jazz but with Billy Donovan making the proper adjustments and putting Paul George on him that slowed him down a bit. Mitchell was being contained but what OKC didn’t do in the first half was communicate on the defensive end. They allowed Jae Crowder and Joe Ingles to get hot from the 3 point line and were looking lost on the defensive end. Every time the Thunder were playing defense they collapsed to Rudy Gobert like he was Shaq in the early 2000’s. While the Thunder were giving all that attention to Rudy Gobert he was able to find the open player when OKC gave him multiple defenders. The Thunder were getting sucked into the paint leaving players on the Jazz roster open for anything they wanted in the 1st half. Jae Crowder made a huge difference as he finished the game with 27 points for Utah but OKC quickly caught on to what he was doing on the offensive end. The Thunder weren’t able to shut down Utah’s 3 point ball in that first half and that was something that really hurt OKC as they trailed going into the 3rd quarter. Donovan Mitchell finished the game with 23 points and was able to get to his spots but PG-13 wasn’t letting him go off how he did in this series.

Coming out in the second half of the Jazz were going for the haymaker as they scored a quick 5 points putting OKC down by 25 points. At this point, fans in the Chesapeake Energy Arena were getting worried. The one person that wasn’t worried about being down and counted out was Russell Westbrook. The MVP came out of that timeout and knocked down back to back 3 pointers that gave OKC fans hope. After Westbrook hit those three-pointers the Thunder locked in defensively swarming the Jazz like they haven’t done all series. The Thunder were in the passing gaps and were playing like a brand new team. The defense led to offense as Paul George was able to get a 3 point play off a Jazz turnover and you can feel the momentum shifting in the arena. Another huge difference in this game was the fact that OKC got Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert in foul trouble as both weren’t able to be aggressive at all or in the game. Russell Westbrook and Paul George took full advantage of that and punished any defender in front of them. The Utah Jazz was losing that lead and it seemed as though every timeout that Snyder called made things worse because Westbrook/PG-13 were feeding off the crowd energy. Russell Westbrook had a look in his eyes like I’m not to be denied and was willing this team to the victory. This was the breakout game that everyone expected from Russell Westbrook coming into the series against Ricky Rubio. Once Westbrook hit that 3 pointer to tie the game at 78 heading into the 4th quarter the roof came off the arena.

The Jazz wasn’t able to get any type of offense going as the Thunder were playing championship caliber defense in that 4th. Paul George was locking down Mitchell and Westbrook was doing the same with Rubio. Westbrook and Paul George finished with a combined 79 points and took over the game. Both Westbrook and George were able to do anything they wanted from 3 pointers, layups, and mid-range. If they can play with this intensity in Utah and take the crowd out of the game early anything is possible. This team has been fighting all season and series so it will be nothing but spectacular if they bring it back for Game 7. Billy Donovan had Carmelo Anthony on the bench during the 32-7 comeback to get OKC back in the game but Melo is due for a breakout game as well. The Thunder will need a huge effort from the Big 3 in Utah for them to stay alive. Utah has been playing their game it’s just the fact that OKC showed up on the defensive end in that second half and changed this series completely from a momentum standpoint. Both Westbrook and Paul George played the whole second half so they will be ready to continue to fight.

Game 6 will be on Friday at 9:30 CT

Apr 26, 2018 No Comments
Paul George Introduced “Playoff P” To The Utah Jazz In Game 1 Victory (116-108)

Paul George Introduced “Playoff P” To The Utah Jazz In Game 1 Victory (116-108)

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by | Apr 16, 2018 | Featured

The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 locked in and focused on trying to stop the Utah Jazz. The Thunder have a couple of mismatches at multiple positions on paper and proved that they had what it takes to get the job done on both ends. OKC’s success started off slow as the Utah Jazz came out looking like the more experienced team. Donovan Mitchell came out playing like he was a 10-year veteran playing in his 100th playoff game early scoring at will. That Utah energy and offensive efficiency died down quickly once OKC’s Big 3 settled in. Paul George was engaged on both ends of the floor and was able to do anything he wanted tonight against the Jazz. Paul George warned the OKC media about “Playoff P” and we were able to see exactly what he was talking about tonight. PG-13 had the 3 point shot going tonight as he finished 8-11 from behind the arch and was able to create space off his lethal crossover. When George has the crossover going like he did tonight no defender can stay in front of him. Joe Ingles tried to challenge Paul George on the defensive end and we found out early that he couldn’t handle PG-13 at all. The Thunder as a whole played amazing defense and were able to use their steals and blocks to start the transition game. This was one of the Thunders best games on the defensive end and they were able to use their size and experience to their advantage.

Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony complimented Paul George’s breakout game tonight with a combined 44 points. Russell Westbrook was able to dominate Ricky Rubio on both ends of the floor at ease. When Westbrook is coming at you full force all night it drains you and you can tell that’s what happened with Rubio. The Thunder forced someone else besides Donovan Mitchell to beat them tonight and it didn’t happen. Ricky Rubio shot 5-18 from the field on the night and wasn’t able to get any offense going at all. Westbrook has been locking in on defense since the Houston game last week and he’s taking the defensive end personal. Carmelo Anthony has been able to get his offense going but it’s his defense that has been super impressive in this win streak OKC’s on right now. Melo has been rebounding and defending at a high level and when the Big 3’s clicking like this no one should be able to stop them.

Donovan Mitchell was the bright spot for Utah tonight but he was hurt in the process. He went to the locker room to have his pinky toe examed and he was able to come back but was in obvious pain. Mitchell finished the game with 27 points and was trying to put the Jazz on his back like he’s done all season but they came up short. Mitchell is a special rookie and he was able to get some good looks on Corey Brewer but he needs someone else to help out and take some of the load off. Rudy Gobert was having a decent game but was in a lot of foul trouble early.

Paul George let it be known that he’s a different beast in the playoffs and if he continues this throughout the postseason it could be scary for the NBA. PG-13 finished with 36 points on the night and was playing like he was on fire from NBA Jam. In Game 2 the Thunder will need to keep playing through Paul George and continue to try and let someone else besides Donovan Mitchell try to beat them again.

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Apr 16, 2018 No Comments