NBA Draft: What's your move, Knicks?

After literally the worst season in Knicks history, I still find myself feeling optimistic.  How's that possible?  Am I drunk or delusional?  Well, I'm not a big drinker, so I'm certainly not drunk.  Delusional, however, is a real possibility considering I just took a Benadryl.  All kidding aside, the reason I'm feeling hopeful for a bounce back year is because the NBA Draft is tonight, and the Knicks are selecting at number 4.  With some of New York's draft picks in the last few years, you'd think I'd be more scared than excited (Iman Shumpert, Renaldo Balkman, Andy Rautins, Landry Fields).  But that was a different regime, and I'm really hoping that Phil Jackson and co. can bring someone in with a lot of upside and talent.  I'm going to take a look at some of the guys that might be available at 4, if the Knicks don't make a trade (also a good possibility).  

Let's get a couple of names out of the way immediately.  Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor will almost certainly be chosen 1 and 2, leaving a handful of players that have the potential to be chosen by the Knicks.  

1.) D'Angelo Russell 

Russell is actually still a hair of a long shot because the 76ers are picking at 3.  Last year Philadelphia traded away their point guard, Michael Carter-Williams, leaving a vacancy at the 1 spot.  Believed to be the best point guard in the class, there's probably a 99% chance that they take him.  If for some reason they don't, I think New York would be all over Russell.  While he's lacking on defense (and who isn't in today's NBA), he makes up for it with his ability to score and his great floor vision.  He's got a really good jumper, can penetrate the lane, but can just as easily find an open man.  He apparently isn't quite as athletic as some of the guys in the league now (Russell Westbrook, John Wall, etc.), but I doubt that will hurt his draft stock.

2.) Emmanuel Mudiay

Someone who is super athletic, is Mudiay.  He's a point guard too, but isn't quite the scorer or shooter that Russell is.  He can, however, see the floor just as well and is a much better defender.  I'm hearing that Jackson and Derek Fisher are adamant on keeping the triangle-offense intact, so Mudiay might not be the pick due to his lack of offense. If they weren't, though, I'd have no problem with them taking him and helping him develop his jump shot, because with a little more offense, he could become a great player. 

3.) Kristaps Porzingis

I've been hearing a ton about Porzingis over the last few days, and it's all positive.  When all of the draft coverage first started, player analysis, scouting reports, what have you, people made this kid sound like Andrea Bargnani.  A really tall player that can shoot and spread the floor, but not play a lick of defense.  Well, all of that has changed.  Now I'm hearing how he can shoot and spread the floor, but also protect the rim.  So which is it?  Is he soft or can he bang down low with NBA players?  Considering his lanky frame, it might be a couple of seasons before he packs on some meat, but it sounds like there's more upside than risk, making him a real possibility for New York at 4.

4.)  Justise Winslow

Winslow really made a name for himself in the NCAA tournament last year, and that could be the very reason he projects in the top 10 and maybe the top 5.  He doesn't appear to have any weaknesses, but the only thing I could find is that his jump shot needs improvement.  Considering he's 19, I think that's the best problem to have.  He's got a great motor, he's quick and is a good defender.  He doesn't really have a set position, though.  Could be a small forward or a shooting guard, but with all of those positive traits, who cares, right?  

There are a few other players that have been linked to New York, such as Willie Cauley-Stein, Frank Kaminsky and Trey Lyles.  If the Knicks want one of those 3 guys, they should, and hopefully will, trade down.  If any of them get selected at 4, you can be sure that the boo's will rain down. 

Russell, Mudiay, Porzingis and Winslow are the guys that I think have the best shot of becoming a Knick tonight.  However, it wouldn't be a Knicks article without mentioning the possibility of a trade.  There was a rumor this week that the Phoenix Suns offered Eric Bledsoe and their 13th pick for New York's 1st rounder.  I just read that that trade is already off the table, but something like that would make sense for New York.  Getting a proven player and still netting a 1st rounder is the best case scenario.  Not only could you hit a homerun with the draft pick, but having Carmelo Anthony plus another good player might help attract some free agents this summer. 

If I had to guess, I'll say the Knicks end up trading the pick, whether it be for a player or for more picks.  The beauty of it is nothing is set in stone, so there's a ton of scenarios that can play out.  Should make for a very entertaining night. 

Highs and lows of the baseball season, so far

With a little more than a quarter of the season already gone by, I thought it would be fun to touch on some things that have happened so far this year, both good and bad.

Let's first get into some disappointments.  The first thing I think of when talking disappointments are teams that aren't living up to expectations.  So far this season, those teams are Oakland, Detroit, Baltimore and Boston.  The Red Sox finished with a 71-91 record last year, but were expected to have at least somewhat of a turnaround.  Oakland and Baltimore both finished with winning records and made the playoffs last year.  Neither of them is above .500 thus far.  As for Detroit, yes, they currently have a winning record, but they're only 30-28 and are sitting in 3rd place in their division.  Who are they trailing?  Kansas City, which is no surprise, but the other team isn't so obvious.  You'll read about them in the "surprise" section.   

As far as some players that have disappointed, look no further than 2nd base.  Stephen Drew of the Yankees is batting a whopping .175.  That's horrendous.  Actually, to call that horrendous is an insult to all the horrendous players out there.  Drew's never been a .300 hitter, but he's been abnormally putrid these last couple of seasons, and this one takes the cake.  The other guy not coming close to meeting expectations is Robinson Cano.  Since joining Seattle last season, he's had a complete power outage (which I correctly predicted here).  But this year his batting average has taken a nose-dive as well.  He's currently hitting .242.  That's a 65 point drop-off from his .307 career average.  I've heard that Cano doesn't like it in Seattle.  Who told you to go there, dude?  Jay-Z?  The $300 million dollar contract?  It must be the weather he doesn't like, because last year he had a winning team (despite not making the playoffs), and this year he's hitting in front of a guy (Nelson Cruz) who's hitting .326 with 18 home runs and 39 RBI.  If Cano could get on base once in a while, Seattle would probably be right in the thick of things.  The power numbers I knew would come down, but the batting average is definitely shocking.  

Enough disappointments, I'm getting depressed.  Let's talk about some surprises.  Being a Yankee fan, I have to start off with my boys.  I couldn't be more amazed that they have a winning record, let alone the fact that they're in 1st place in the East.  As a matter of fact, they're only 1 game shy of having the best record in the American League.  Who do they trail?  Well that would be my second surprise, the Houston Astros.  At 34-26, they have the 3rd best record in all of baseball.  Who saw this coming!?  Oh wait, I did!  They've already got a lot of young talent, and now they've called up top-prospect Carlos Correa.  They may not end up winning the division, but I'll be stunned if they're not fighting for it til the very end. A team that is stunning me is the Minnesota Twins.  They're in second place in the AL Central, and if the season ended today, would be a playoff team.  I'm sure some of you didn't even remember Minnesota had a baseball team.  All kidding aside, I have no idea how they're winning and will be floored if they continue to put up W's.  Unless the universe is completely out of whack, look for the Twinkies to fall back to earth.

I'd be remiss if I didn't give a little "surprise" love to the Mets.  They're only 3 games above .500, but so far that's good enough for 1st place in the NL East.  Their pitching staff is the real deal.  Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard and next year they'll get Zach Wheeler back.  Wow.  Thus far, they've allowed the 6th fewest runs in all of baseball (219).  The problem is they've also scored the 6th fewest runs in all of baseball (219).  They've scored 2 or fewer runs in 17 of their 28 losses.  If they could just put a few more runs on the board, their record would look a whole lot different.

As far as surprising players go, there were several guys to choose from.  Dee Gordon (.362 batting average, best in baseball), Mark Teixeira (17 jacks, 45 RBI), Dallas Keuchel and Sonny Gray (1.90 and 1.74 ERA respectively).  But I'm going to pick a guy who's been a household name before he even got to the Bigs: Bryce Harper.  This guy has been hyped up since he was a kid.  Before this year, he had a career average of .272, with 55 home runs and 149 RBI.  Considering those seasons came during ages 19-21, and he battled a couple of injuries, those are some damn good numbers.  But this year it all seems to be coming together in a big way.  He's hitting .330 with 20 bombs and 47 RBI so far this season.  He'll probably have career-best numbers by the All-Star break.  Considering he's only 22 years old, if this is a sign of his future, then we could be watching one of the best players ever.  Hopefully I didn't just jinx him. 

I'm sure some of the things I've talked about will change, but the fun part will be to see which ones.  Will the Yankees and Mets continue to win?  Will some players cool down (Harper), and will some heat up (Cano)? Only time will tell.  In the mean time, enjoy some baseball. 

NBA Playoffs 3rd Round Recap/Finals Predictions

Well that wasn't very exciting.  That was quite possibly the most uncompetitive Conference Finals I've ever seen.  And on top of that, I completely botched one of my predictions.  Let's take a look.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Golden State vs. Houston

My prediction - Golden State 4-0
Actual results  - Golden State 4-1

Almost got it perfect.  A couple of close games, but for the most part Golden State never really seemed to be in any danger.  I don't really know what else to say about this team.  I've underestimated them all year, but I'm really coming around on them.  Dare I say I'm a believer?

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Cleveland vs. Atlanta

My prediction - Atlanta 4-3
Actual results  - Cleveland 4-0

That's sort of embarrassing.  All year everyone said that Atlanta was playing way over its head, but they kept finding ways to win.  They had a very quality starting lineup, and in the Conference Finals, were facing a Cleveland team missing Kevin Love and only had Kyrie Irving for two games.  Yet they got swept.  I guess the regular season was a fluke after all.

NBA FINALS

Golden State vs. Cleveland
Season series tied 1-1 

As I said earlier, I've really come around on Golden State.  They're a much better team than I thought, and they've rolled through the playoffs thus far.  For that to continue, they'd better hope that Klay Thompson is completely over his concussion symptoms.  He's been cleared for tonight's game 1, so we have to assume he is.  Aside from that, they're coming into this series healthy (as healthy as you can be this time of year) and somewhat rested. 

Cleveland is rested, too.  That's the benefit of finishing off your opponent quickly.  They, however, are not healthy.  Love, of course, will not be playing, and while Irving will play, he won't be at 100%.  He can definitely still be effective, just not dominant.  That means the Cavs will once again be relying on JR Smith for offense.  He's capable of putting up good numbers.  Just take game 1 versus Atlanta for example (28 pts with 8 3-pointers).  Don't expect him to shoot like that again, though.  Golden State will make certain that doesn't happen.  So if Irving is limited, and Smith is being held in check, who does that leave?  Iman Shumpert?  Don't think so.  Timofey Mozgov?  Umm, no.  And sorry Cleveland fans, but LeBron can't do this on his own. 

So where does that leave me?  Well, there are just too many unknowns with the Cavaliers for my liking.  I've been picking against Cleveland since round 2, and I won't stop now.  Before I pick, though, I'd like to say that this will be a different series if Kyrie Irving has any sort of explosiveness.  And yes, that's me covering my ass.   

Golden State 4-2

Before I go, I just want to touch on New York fans bitching and moaning that JR Smith and Iman Shumpert are on the verge of winning a championship, and how New York wishes they had them back or should have gotten more for them.  Can we stop!?  These guys were not getting it done in New York.  Yes, Smith was the 6th man of the year not long ago, but he wasn't that guy anymore.  And as for Shumpert, is everyone kidding me?  How many chances did the Knicks give this guy?  He's a role player at best.  He has career averages of 7.7 points per game, 2.1 assists per game and 3.6 rebounds per game.  That's the guy Knicks fans want back?  Get your heads out of your butts.  These guys are on the verge of a championship because of LeBron James, and LeBron James alone.  Despite the occasional good game here or there, don't for one minute think that Smith or Shumpert had any major influence on how far Cleveland has gone, or will go, in the playoffs. 

Phew, I've been holding that in for awhile.  Enjoy the finals!