Some thoughts about the NBA Championships

Playoff Predictions:

First Round:

Jazz vs. Grizzlies: Jazz in 4

Clippers vs. Mavs: Mavs in 7

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers: Nuggets in 5

Suns vs. Lakers: Lakers in 6 (don’t close your browser after this one, please)

76ers vs. Wizards: 76ers in 5

Knicks vs. Hawks: Knicks in 6

Bucks vs. Heat: Bucks in 5

Nets vs. Celtics: Nets in 4

Second Round:

Jazz vs. Mavs: Jazz in 6

Nuggets vs. Lakers: Lakers in 7 (easy win for Nuggets with Jamal Murray)

76ers vs. Knicks: Knicks in 7 (the Knicks have shown they can do this)

Bucks vs. Nets: Nets in 5 (Games of Year right here)

Conference Finals:

Jazz vs. Lakers: Jazz in 6

Knicks vs. Nets: Nets in 5 (NOBODY is going to walk out of the stadiums with functional eardrums after these games WITH limited capacity)

Finals:

Jazz vs. Nets: Nets in 7

All of the analyses that I have seen have hinted at Brooklyn losing and then blah, blah, blah, drown the Nets players in boiling hot water for losing, blah, blah, blah. But are we forgetting that the Nets have the 3 best players of the decade in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden? It’s going to very hard for the Nets to lose to any team. It’s like everyone wants the Nets to lose and they’re already heating up that water. Relax, guys, it’s the Nets, the team with 3 players choking their payroll for the next few seasons, and the other players are getting paid peanuts. But, I will jump on the Nets’ slander train for a sentence or two. The Nets are lacking on defense, because the Big 3, Joe Harris, and Blake Griffin aren’t lockdown defenders. Also, unless the Big 3 can jive together and mesh together and not tear each other's eyeballs for rebounds to get a triple-double, they’re in trouble. The Jazz are an all-around amazing team, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert just solidify that. They have a player in Jordan Clarkson who will be a first scoring option on any other team but is a sixth man here, that should tell you what you need to know.

At least that’s how I see it.

Amazins’ Crack after Seven Games

First, I’ll give a rundown of the Mets that are sliding after seven-game winning streak.

Then, I’ll talk about a few surprising MLB teams.

Again, I don’t want to chain you to your seat reading this blog, so I’ll try to keep it short.

Batters: Did the firing of the hitting coach help in any way? Or did it cause a completely unnecessary shake-up? Well, I always thought Chili Davis was good but management thought otherwise. Turns out, management was right. After the bats took a beauty sleep in the first two games after Davis’ firing, we went on a 7-game winning streak. And then we lost two at the hands of the 2020 AL pennant winners.  With JD Davis and Brandon Nimmo on the IL, Jonathan Villar and Kevin Pillar stepped in and have been tearing the cover off the ball, fielding well, and have been straight playing amazing. Is there another –illar we could sign, Kevin Millar could get out of retirement and we could have a 49-year-old, slightly chubby utility guy playing with us. But hey, if –illars have been playing amazing, one of the Intentional Talk analysts could also be studs. With Nimmo being a staple in the lineup once he comes back, there’s no question Pillar will walk back to the dugout to be a bench bat, but with JD Davis getting heckled every time he breathes at the hot corner, having Jonathan Villar at third doesn’t seem too bad. James McCann still can’t hit anything, I bet if you give him an oar and throw him a beach ball he’d swing right through it. Francisco Lindor is hitting a superb .193 and he’s playing like he’s worth $1.93 not $341 million. Jeff McNeil is also struggling but if you see what he does to his helmet when he makes an out, you forgive him and you pity the helmet. Someone who is due for a homer is Dominic Smith, he hasn’t hit a homer in a while and everyone really wants him to, hopefully, he does soon because when a big leader of a clubhouse is struggling that lowers the morale of the team considerably. Pete Alonso has been really good, something that he’s added to his game is hitting for contact, and not just 450-ft. homers, but rather getting singles and doubles as well.

Pitchers: What’s new? Jacob DeGrom is the best pitcher in baseball. The starting rotation (without Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard) is still one of the best in baseball. The bullpen is finally starting to not stinky stink. Aaron Loup is really good and he isn’t even a LOOG (Lefty one out guy), he can retire righties. Trevor May and Edwin Diaz are really solid pitchers and I think (hope) I can trust them. Sean Reid-Foley is amazing, and I love that Robert Gsellman and Reid-Foley are both guys that can eat up innings when the Mets use the opener (which is a bullpen game, a game where there’s no starter, but where the bullpen goes innings 1-9).

AL East: This race just got a lot closer, because at first it was the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays battling for the top spot, but now, the much better Blue Jays have sprung into the race.

AL Central: This race turned around very fast, the White Sox are in first place and the Twins are in last, and the Twins have a really good team.

AL West: The A’s are really all of a sudden really good and the Angels are in last place, the Rangers and Mariners aren’t in last place? WHAT IS HAPPENING??

NL East: The closest race in baseball? Correct? The best division in baseball? Far from right. There are two teams barely above .500 and all teams are struggling mightily.

NL Central: A very competitive race, the Pirates are actually not HORRIBLE, but they’re still the worst in the Central. But overall, no surprises except for the Cubs not being first or second.

NL West: The Giants (one of the laughing stocks of baseball) are in first place and the Dodgers are struggling? The only normal thing in this division is that the Rockies are in last place.  

Some Thoughts about the NFL Draft

Today I’ll share with you my thoughts about the NFL Draft. The most notable picks of the first round specifically.

R1P1: Trevor Lawrence

The unanimous first overall pick, a generational talent, even. I want to see this guy prosper in the NFL and tear up the NFL for years to come. Bold projection: He’ll never be a Patrick Mahomes. NFL potential comparison: Matt Ryan.

R1P2: Heh, will Zach Wilson be a stud? I hope so, will he be the next Sam Darnold? The same exact probability. Bold Projection: Second best QB in the draft *nudge*, not Trevor at 1, by the way. NFL potential comparison: Russell Wilson.

R1P3: I love Trey Lance as an NFL player, he’s fast, he likes getting outside the pocket, and has a great team built around him already. I think he’s gonna be big. Bold Projection: Best QB in the draft. NFL potential comparison: Patrick Mahomes minus arm strength but more speed.

R1P4: Kyle Pitts seems amazing. This guy can burn corners and out muscle linebackers and be the number one target on a team. The Falcons got a stud. He’s gonna be a real killer in the NFL, like the last tight end out of Florida (if you get this, then you receive the title “NFL genius”) Bold Projection: Second best TE in 3 years. NFL potential comparison: Faster Travis Kelce.

R1P5: WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE THE BENGALS THINKING? JOE BURROW HAS A SCAR FOR LIFE AFTER KNEE RECONSTRUCTION SURGERY AND THESE GENIUSES DECIDE TO DRAFT A WIDE RECEIVER. YUP, SEEMS ABOUT RIGHT. But, Ja’Marr Chase is a stud. Bold Projection: NOT the best wide receiver in the draft. NFL Potential Comparison: Faster AJ Green.

R1P7: Penei Sewell will be one of the best linemen in NFL history. The Lions got an amazing talent. They should be happier than the Colts getting Quentin Nelson. Bold Projection: 2^nd best O-lineman in NFL history will sign huuuuuuge deal in 4 years. NFL Potential Comparison: David Bakhtiari x Quentin Nelson.

R1P9: Patrick Surtain II is going to be amazing. Way better than Jaycee Horn. He will lock up the “meh” wide receivers and will occasionally lock down the elite receiver. Bold Projection: Will be better than Jalen Ramsey. NFL Potential Comparison: Faster and skinnier Stephon Gilmore.

R1P11: The Bears absolutely fleeced the Giants. The Giants needed Justin Fields. If they took Fields, they would have an amazing team! Now, the Bears have the foundation of a great team. Bold Projection: If the Bears don’t immediately build around him, he’ll be a bust. NFL Potential Comparison: Cam Newton.

R1P15: Mac Jones is supposed to be an “eh” quarterback coming out of college. But from what I’ve heard, is that he might be the next Tom Brady or be a practice squad guy in 3 months, literally nothing in between. I think he’s going to be “eh”. Bold Prediction: He leads the league in passing touchdowns at least 2 times over his career (Jameis did it). NFL Potential Comparison: Bulkier and worse Drew Brees.

R1P20: Kadarius Toney is an actually good receiver. I’ve also seen good things about him and bad things about him. Toney’s fast, has good route running, and is the PERFECT compliment to Kenny Golladay. Bold Prediction: Will be one of the fastest guys in the NFL at one point in his career. NFL Potential Comparison: Less route-running Davante Adams and slower and taller Tyreek Hill.

R1P21: Another example of two ranges of the spectrum is D-linemen. You are either a linebacker with much more heft or a Monstar from Space Jam, again, no in the middle. I am a huge fan of Kwity Paye who will fit in whatever scheme you throw him in. Bold Prediction: Will be a mediocre defensive player. NFL Potential Comparison: Zadarius Smith.

R1P24: Najee Harris is a great pick. I think with a lot of fine-tuning, they could build around a balanced offense with a running back tandem and a nice passing offense. Bold Prediction: Wins the starting spot on day one and is electric the whole season. NFL Potential Comparison: Worse Alvin Kamara.

R1P26: Greg Newsome II is someone the Jets were eyeing for their rough CB room. Now the Browns have potentially a very scary cornerback room with Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II, I think it’s great. Now just keep building and you may actually have a chance (pregame because as you may remember last year, the Chiefs were slated to win by a hefty margin, but the Browns actually gave them a game) against the Chiefs.

R1P30: Wonderful pick here by the Bills, Greg Rousseau. He’s a great defensive end and I feel he has a lot of potential. I think he could play defensive tackle as well as a defensive end. If he could get more agility, I would avoid him at all costs when I’m the quarterback. Bold Prediction: I think he leads his division (wherever it could be) in sacks at least once. NFL Potential Comparison: Demarcus Lawrence.