And after all this time without them — Murray tore his left ACL last April, and Porter Jr. underwent his third back surgery in late November — sources say there is a strong sense within Denver’s locker room that they’ll both be back in time for the playoffs. If not sooner.
A source with knowledge of Porter Jr.’s status said the 23-year-old is on track to return in mid- to late March. Murray’s timeline, meanwhile, is harder to handicap. Though his teammates have been given the impression he’s also likely to return in time for the playoffs, the combination of the severity of his injury and the sensitivity with which the Nuggets have handled his recovery means the team will handle the final stages of his process with the utmost care. Especially considering the workload Murray was prone to carrying for all those years before his injury.
Lunes, Pebrero 28, 2022
[Amick] Sources say there is a strong sense within Denver’s locker room that Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr will both be back in time for the playoffs, if not sooner.
[Murphy] The Hue Jackson Foundation collected $158,000 in 2019 (the most recent tax info available). It paid out $115,000 to its sole paid employee and spent another $15,000 on travel. It looks like they gave out roughly $4,000 in grants.
[Windhorst] “People in the league who have a lot of experience say they should trade LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Trade ’em both.”
“People in the league who have a lot of experience say they should trade ’em,” Windhorst said of James and Davis. “Trade ’em both.”
Lmao this is absolutely ridiculous take from Windhorst
[NFL UK] Your teams for the 2022 London games: Packers, Saints and Jaguars
Linggo, Pebrero 27, 2022
[Thompson] #Giants are not expected to pick up QB Daniel Jones fifth-year option by the May deadline ( @espn first)
Only known unused ticket from Michael Jordan's NBA debut sells for record price
It's gone completely under the radar but the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are 11-12 in 2022.
Source: https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIL/2022.html
No surprise that the Bucks are getting a bit more leeway after they were able to break through and win the championship last season but their 2022 performance has been terribly underwhelming. 11 wins and 12 losses is rough for a quarter of the length of a season for a contending team.
As it stands there are 8 teams with a better win-loss record on the entire season than the Bucks and just 0.5 games back are the Celtics, Nuggets and Mavericks.
The funny thing is that I still have confidence that they'll get it together when it matters, similar to the Nets losing 11 straight, we know these teams are talented and can put it together for a big run but right now they aren't producing.
Finally I am a massive fan of Giannis but I feel like people are ignoring this slump and claiming that the only reason he isn't the MVP front runner is voter fatigue. In reality he was 1st in the standings in both his MVP seasons and this years current 9th rank is below par. He's also been put on many DPOY ballots as the front runner for the award despite more impactful defenders like Gobert only playing 4 fewer games and more durable defenders like Jaren Jackson Jr and Mikal Bridges barely missing a game between them.
Sabado, Pebrero 26, 2022
[Alex Schiffer] Steve Nash says Ben Simmons has yet to partake in a high intensity workout, which is a big barometer for his return. He’s doing skill work, physio and individual work. ... “He’s still building his body back up.”
[Shelburne] Daryl Morey says “he tries not to get too high or low,” but good starts matter. Of James Harden’s debut, Morey says, “James is a basketball genius and he's been wanting to play with Joel for a long time."
https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/1497460041552564224?s=21
It was a great debut for Harden and the 76ers even if Minnesota was playing the second leg of a back-to-back. I wonder if some people will interpret the second quote as some kind of previous tampering.
[Field Yates] Another one: the Packers have converted $11.58M of LT David Bakhtiari's 2022 compensation into a signing bonus, creating significant cap space for this season, per source. A busy week for the Packers' cap continues.
[Stevens] The Rams named Von Miller the Postseason Performer of the Year. In 4 games, Von had 4 sacks, 6 QB hits, 6 TFLs, 14 tackles 1 forced fumble & 1 fumble recovery. He was vintage playoff Von.
Biyernes, Pebrero 25, 2022
For the first time in DeMar DeRozan's career his team is better with him on the floor and worse with him off the floor
The wildest enigma of DeMar DeRozan's illustrious career has always been those pesky On/Off numbers. In 2012, this represented the first time that DeMar DeRozan actually made a positive impact on the court vs. off the court. This was also the year the Raptors were a 23 win team in a lockout shortened season.
For literally almost an entire decade DeMar DeRozan was regularly a positive player for his team on the court, but the team always played better with him off the court. A lot of this went to the magic of Kyle Lowry and the Raptor's organization that turned diamonds in the rough into real studs as solid role players.
Finally DeRozan was traded for Kawhi Leonard and yet hilariously even on the Spurs, that first season he was a positive on the court, but the team was significantly better with him off the court.
Then two years of bad Spurs teams and no one was winning.
Well finally it has happened and it's not going away, the stats are SET ladies and gentleman. DeMar DeRozan is a +5.6 on the court and a +10.2 to his team between the On and Off scenario. Praise and rejoice to the 82nd best player in the NBA, the worst signing of the off season, DeMar DeRozan.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/derozde01.html
Ja Morant is good; but is slowly becoming one of the most overrated players in the league.
I just don’t understand how people are justifying that Ja deserves 1st team over other guards like Luka, Booker, CP3 and Trae.
Luka Doncic is averaging 27.5 pts, 9.2 trb and 9.0 ast. He’s shooting splits are 45/34/73 Lukas TS% is 55.4
Ja Morant is averaging 26.7 pts, 5.9 trb, and 6.8 ast. His shooting splits are 49/32/75. Ja’s TS% is 56.9
Luka is averaging more points, assists and rebounds while shooting a better 3% after a good awful start this season. Ja only has a 1.5% better TS% then Luka. I’m struggling to see how people can confidently say Ja is having a better season then Luka, Booker or Trae. Nothing against Ja, but when someone on NBA twitter claimed he was better then Embiid today; I got a tad bit triggered.
[First Things First] Greg Jennings on reports that A-Rod wants to be NFL's highest-paid player: “he has been a very selfish guy. ... I go back to personal experiences. His words to me were, 'don't be that guy.' All of a sudden, it's about the money."
[McManaman] Cardinals Owner Michael Bidwill, on Arizona Sports 98.7-FM just now, said he spoke with QB Kyler Murray last night and said, "Put me in the corner of 'I love him' and I know he's going to get better."
Huwebes, Pebrero 24, 2022
[Matt Verderame] The Chiefs anticipate Eric Bieniemy will return as their offensive coordinator. Contract isn't signed yet, but belief is it will get done.
What NFL player has a name that sounds like he should be an all time great, but isn’t?
Ripped this straight from the NBA subreddit
Most All-NBA First Team selections by franchise
The All-NBA teams are fascinating to me, since they’re the only award that’s been around for all 75 seasons. 110 different players have gotten the First Team nod over the years, enshrining them in NBA history as part of a season’s best possible team.
As we wait for the All-Star break to end tonight, I decided to put together a list of which NBA franchises have had the most All-NBA First Team selections. Hope you enjoy!
Los Angeles Lakers: 63 (Mikan x6, Pollard x2, Baylor x10, West x10, Goodrich x1, Abdul-Jabbar x6, Magic Johnson x9, O’Neal x6, Bryant x11, Davis x1, James x1)
Boston Celtics: 36 (Sadowski x1, Macauley x3, Cousy x10, Sharman x4, Russell x3, Havlicek x4, Bird x9, McHale x1, Garnett x1)
Golden State Warriors: 27 (Fulks x3, Dallmar x1, Arizin x3, Johnston x4, Chamberlain x4, Barry x5, Mullin x1, Sprewell x1, Curry x4, Durant x1)
Philadelphia 76ers: 27 (Schayes x6, Chamberlain x3, Cunningham x3, McGinnis x1, Erving x5, M. Malone x2, Barkley x4, Iverson x3)
San Antonio Spurs: 21 (Gervin x5, D. Robinson x4, Duncan x10, Leonard x2)
Sacramento Kings: 20 (Davies x4, Robertson x9, Lucas x3, Archibald x3, Webber x1)
Utah Jazz: 16 (Maravich x2, T. Robinson x1, K. Malone x11, Stockton x2)
Chicago Bulls: 15 (M. Jordan x10, Pippen x3, Rose x1, Noah x1)
Houston Rockets: 14 (M. Malone x2, Olajuwon x6, Harden x6)
Phoenix Suns: 13 (Hawkins x1, Westphal x3, D. Johnson x1, Barkley x1, Kidd x3, Nash x3, Stoudemire x1)
Oklahoma City Thunder: 13 (Haywood x2, Williams x1, Payton x2, Durant x5, Westbrook x2, George x1)
Atlanta Hawks: 11 (Pettit x10, Wilkins x1)
Miami Heat: 10 (T. Hardaway x1, Mourning x1, O’Neal x2, Wade x2, James x4)
New York Knicks: 9 (Gallatin x1, Frazier x4, Reed x1, King x2, Ewing x1)
Detroit Pistons: 9 (Foust x1, Yardley x1, Shue x1, Bing x2, Thomas x3, Hill x1)
Milwaukee Bucks: 9 (Abdul-Jabbar x4, Marques Johnson x1, Moncrief x1, Antetokounmpo x3)
Cleveland Cavaliers: 9 (Price x1, James x8)
Orlando Magic: 9 (P. Hardaway x2, McGrady x2, Howard x5)
Los Angeles Clippers: 6 (McAdoo x1, Paul x3, D. Jordan x1, Leonard x1)
Dallas Mavericks: 6 (Nowitzki x4, Dončić x2)
Washington Wizards: 5 (Monroe x1, Unseld x1, Hayes x3)
Denver Nuggets: 4 (Thompson x2, Jokić x2)
New Orleans Pelicans: 4 (Paul x1, Davis x3)
Portland Trail Blazers: 3 (Walton x1, Drexler x1, Lillard x1)
Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 (Garnett x3)
Brooklyn Nets: 2 (Kidd x2)
Memphis Grizzlies: 1 (Gasol x1)
Indiana Pacers: 0
Charlotte Hornets: 0
Toronto Raptors: 0
DEFUNCT FRANCHISES:
Chicago Stags: 4 (Zaslofsky x4)
Washington Capitols: 3 (Feerick x2, McKinney x1)
Indianapolis Olympians: 3 (Groza x2, Beard x1)
Detroit Falcons: 1 (Miasek x1)
[Spears] “I am going to text my [Pistons] teammates on the group text a simple, ‘I told you so.’ A couple emojis. Maybe some hush emojis,” @CadeCunningham_ diary in @TheUndefeated
Excerpt from The Undefeated's article on Cade Cunningham:
All this talent, I wanted to stand out for sure. It’s the All-Star Game weekend. Everyone is going to go out there and try to have fun. But everybody deep down still wants to be that guy. I knew that. I wanted to compete. I wanted to win. More importantly, I was happy to come out with a trophy, some hardware.
I think I won MVP because of my all-around game. [Cleveland Cavaliers rookie forward Evan] Mobley was great. Everyone contributed to the win. But to come out with the trophy, that means a lot. It’s my first All-Star Weekend. To win that during my first time on this stage is huge for me.
I am going to text my [Pistons] teammates on the group text a simple, ‘I told you so.’ A couple emojis. Maybe some hush emojis. I don’t know yet. I’m going to hear what they say. All the vets who heard what I was talking about will know what I’m saying. They saw it. I was talking [trash] to Saddiq, Isaiah and the whole team. We were all arguing in front of the whole team. It was all fun and games. We wanted to compete and see what would go on between us. My trophy might go up in my locker and I might put it up in front of Saddiq and everybody. That might be torture to them, so I might put it up in my crib or send it home [to Arlington].
[Yates] Falcons QB Matt Ryan is currently scheduled to have a cap hit of $48,662,500 in 2022. That would be the largest cap hit for any player in NFL history.
Miyerkules, Pebrero 23, 2022
[Charania] New York City has a plan to phase out the vaccine mandate in the coming weeks, Mayor Eric Adams says, at which point Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving would be cleared for home games. Spokesperson adds that current rules remain in place.
Mitch Trubisky redemption Arc
I posted this in the Draft Busts thread yesterday, but decided to give it a shot in the sub proper.
We all know that Mitch plays his best ball against the Lions. I've often wondered if you could put together a 14 team deal that has Mitch going to whatever team plays the Lions that week. I think he could put up legit MVP Numbers.
Looking at Mitch's career numbers: He's played a total of 57 games in the NFL, 7 of which were against the lions. Even though its less than an eighth of his career games, he's scored nearly a quarter of his TDs against them, and almost 20% of his yards.
Looking at the career VS Lions and VS Every other team, he averages 52% more yards (+80 yd) per game, along with 1 additional TD per game, and 15% fewer Ints per game. If you take his career numbers vs. the Lions, and applied it to all 17 games in the season, he'd have:
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4537 Yards, Good For 7th overall this year
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37 TDs, Tied for 4th overall this year
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9 Ints, which is less than 25 other starting QBs this year.
If you did the same math for Current MVP Aaron Rodgers, he'd put up 4289 Yards and 37 TDs. Even though they have the same amount of TDs, Trubs comes out on top with 247 more yards.
Even the GOAT himself Tom Brady would only get 4109 Yards and 27 TDs against the Lions. Trubs out-performs Brady by more than 400yards and 10 TDs.
The contract itself could even include a clause that he's signed by the NFC 1 seed at the end of the season. Trubs could end up with a ring or three, and could literally ride a lion hunt all the way to the HOF.
[Letourneau] Warriors will try to sign Poole to a multiyear extension this summer, which would allow them to avoid having to deal with him in restricted free agency in 2023. Cap experts estimate the deal to be in four-year, $80 million range
The Warriors also will try to sign Poole to a multiyear extension this summer, which would allow them to avoid having to deal with him in restricted free agency in 2023. Keith Smith, a salary-cap expert for Spotrac, estimates that deal to be in the four-year, $80 million range.
If the Warriors keep Curry, Thompson and Green, pick up the team options on Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody, sign Wiggins to a max contract, and re-sign Looney and Poole for their anticipated values, they’ll be saddled with a 2023-24 payroll of almost $208 million for only nine players. Add in the massive luxury-tax ramifications, and the Warriors would pay in the $400 million range, with eight roster spots — including the two two-way contracts — yet to fill.
Martes, Pebrero 22, 2022
[Adam Schefter on Twitter] Aaron Rodgers told the @PatMcAfeeShow that he just came out of a 12-day cleanse and his first thought was "intense gratitude" for everyone in his life.
NBA's 75th Anniversary Worst Players of All-Time Team
With the NBA naming, its 75 best players of all time, it only seems fitting that we as a Reddit community name the 75 worst players of all time. Just to make sure that we are all judging based on the same criteria I've posted an outline below:
- No Rules
[Demovsky] Aaron Rodgers will indeed join the @PatMcAfeeShow at the top of the next hour.
[Jeremy Fowler] Inside Mitchell Trubisky's career reset in Buffalo, and why the Bills believe he should once again be an NFL starter entering free agency. Jordan Poyer: "One-thousand percent." Josh Allen: "The dude is an AthLete."
[OC] The Academy Awards are almost here, so it's time to hand out some NBA Oscars as well
Now that the All-Star game is behind us, it's time to look ahead to the end of the season and some potential honors. But rather than fall back on the familiar awards (Rookie of the Year, MVP, etc), let's take a page from the Academy Awards and hand out some Oscars.
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Considered a minor award at the Oscars, our NBA equivalent will honor the best undersized player in the NBA. Who's giving us the most pound for pound and inch for inch? The 160-pound Trae Young is a perpetual contender, but it feels odd to give him a trophy in a year when Atlanta is on the outside of the playoff picture. Instead, let's go with Fred VanVleet. Undrafted out of Wichita State, VanVleet was always flagged for his limited athleticism and his limited size (6'0" with a 6'1" wingspan). Despite his lack of an ideal frame, VanVleet's excelled thanks to his shooting ability (up to 40% on 10 threes a game) but also his activity and energy across the board. More than a one-dimensional scorer, the shorty has averaged 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and even 0.5 blocks per game.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
We're used to high scoring games these days, but Memphis raised our eyebrows with their 152-79 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 2nd. It was the largest margin of victory in NBA history. More impressive still, the Grizzlies did it without Ja Morant.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The NBA is always trotting out new uniform designs in order to squeeze every last cent for their poor fans and sometimes that results in some clunkers. However, I happen to like Charlotte's "city" jerseys, with the ombre color and the honeycomb pattern at top. There's a certain galactic superhero look to it that fits especially well with a young and exciting core like the Hornets have.
BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING
We have some great/goofy hair across the league, from Jarrett Allen's afro to Kelly Oubre's blond poof. But since this Oscar category now includes makeup, let's hear it for LeBron James and his hairline. It's not easy to excel at age 37, fighting your competition and male pattern baldness along the way. More savvy still, James' expanding beard helps hide his suspiciously expanding jawline.
BEST DOC-UMENTARY
We all love the true life, behind-the-scenes soap opera of the NBA, and this season has provided plenty of it. There's some eerie silence with Zion Williamson in New Orleans and too much noise about Kyrie Irving's philosophy in Brooklyn, but the main storyline that's dominated the headlines and morning shows has been the Ben Simmons saga in Philadelphia. We've rarely seen a superstar miss extended time with DNP - Hurt Feelings before. Add in a fiery resolution that may affect the title picture, and you have an Oscar worthy documentary here.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
We're using this award to honor the best personality in the NBA this year. And to that end, Minnesota wing Anthony Edwards has captured our hearts like Encanto. You can't stop singing We Don't Talk About Bruno, and you can't stop forwarding your friends Edwards' latest press conference quotes either.
BEST SOUND
We could use this category to pick the best soundbite from Anthony Edwards or Charles Barkley, but how about some love for the best NBA podcast? After all, there are about 100,000 to choose from. The trouble is: most basketball podcasts get a little stale -- either the analyst gets too arrogant and set in their opinions, or they slowly become disinterested in the sport and stop watching games. That problem doesn't apply to the No Dunks podcast. The gang has survived several different iterierations (Basketball Jones, The Starters, etc) and always maintained their enthusiasm and chemistry.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
One of the most fun aspects of watching basketball and being an armchair GM is that a basketball roster is more of a delicate potion than other sports. In baseball, you can just add good hitter after good hitter and expect a certain result; in basketball, different stars and role players align better than others and affect each other in more direct ways.
If chemistry is a scientific art, then Chicago exec Arturas Karnisovas got branded as a mad scientist for "overpaying" for DeMar DeRozan this summer. After all, DeRozan was an empty calorie scorer! The Bulls (31-41 last season) weren't anywhere close to contention anyway! What a disaster!
As it turns out, DeRozan has helped spark a major turnaround for the Bulls, who are closing in on their preseason over/under (of 42.5) already. DeRozan is scoring 28 points per game on 60% true shooting. It would be a shocker, if DeRozan hadn't registered 60% and 59% TS the last two years in San Antonio. Karnisovas and company realized the value to that and found a great way to add production to the team, whose offense has jumped from 19th to 3rd.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Previously known as "best foreign film," we have plenty of candidates here to award the best international player in the NBA. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, etc. Among them, we're giving this to Nikola Jokic. On top of his absurd and MVP-worthy stats (26-14-8 on excellent efficiency), Jokic is arguably the most "foreign" among them in terms of his exotic and hard-to-translate game. After all, it's still hard for many to mentally process how a goofy doughboy has the skill to dominate the competition.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
A cinematographer (also known as a "DP" for director of photography) is an undervalued player on a set, setting up and filming shots in a way that most attribute to a director's role. And if we're talking about setting up and framing shots in a certain way, then Daryl Morey takes this award for his role in the aforementioned Ben Simmons drama. All season long, he set the table and sold the narrative that the Sixers didn't need to force or rush a Simmons trade this season despite the fact that their centerpiece Joel Embiid is right in the middle of his prime (at age 27) and has a precarious injury history. People wanted to rush Morey, but he had the artistic vision to wait. And wait. And wait. And then he clicked his shot at the perfect time, right in the magic hour of the deadline. Say whatever you want about James Harden, but he's certainly better than a $30M hole in your cap sheet.
BEST EDITING
The editor is the last line of defense in the movie making process -- and at times, they have to figure out how to polish a turd as best as possible. To that end, the Clippers' Lawrence Frank and Ty Lue have done that. Almost everything went wrong this season -- highlighted by injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. To make matters even worse, the Clippers couldn't "tank" and punt the season away because they don't own their own R1 pick (which goes to OKC.) Somehow, someway, the team needed to polish this turd of a circumstance and make due. And they've done exactly that, staying afloat in a tough Western Conference. Better still, Frank managed to trade for Norman Powell, a solid wing who will serve two purposes: he'll help them stay near .500 this year, but he'll also fit on next year's title-contending team. The fact that this team is ahead of their cross-town rival Lakers shows a lot about the quality of their staff and organization.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The NBA is a copycat league, and that's only increased since analytics took over. Everyone wants to push the pace and jack up threes. Everyone wants wings -- the more wings the better!
Given that, Cleveland GM Koby Altman earned some criticism for his roster construction these last few years. One year after drafting scoring guard Collin Sexton, he drafted another small guard in Darius Garland. Less than one year after trading for (and extending) true center in Jarrett Allen, he drafted another 7 footer in Evan Mobley. And acquired another in Lauri Markkanen. Apparently he didn't get the memo about wings because the Cavs seemed to be going for a roster with anything BUT.
As it happens, that turned out well. Mobley and Allen have formed a wall on defense that ranks 4th in the league, and Garland's skill and star power has outweighed any concerns about his size. Sure, the idea of going for a "best player available" approach isn't wholly original, but original is a low bar in Hollywood.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
NBA teams go through life cycles. You rebuild, improve, and hopefully contend. It's like a child learning to walk and then run. And when your window looks closed, you're supposed to accept your fate and die gracefully in the beautiful flames of a "blow it up" firesale. It's the Viking funeral of sports teams.
The Golden State Warriors were the latest team to shrug off their death and stave off a rebuild despite a brutal string of injury luck. They effectively gave up on the 2019-20 season and loaded up on draft picks in the meantime, a la Steve Kerr's old team the San Antonio Spurs with Tim Duncan. James Wiseman hasn't been Tim Duncan -- or Dwight Howard -- or even Dwight Powell -- but Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody look promising and Wiseman still has time to do the same. More than anything, the Warriors showed that it's OK to take a year off. It's not a rebuild or a white flag -- it's a soft tank for a year. A "punt."
Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors followed in those footsteps. Last season was a nightmare all the way around, leading to a disappointing 27-45 season. However, they took advantage of that one-year punt, grabbed promising rookie Scottie Barnes, and jumped right back up to the playoff picture this season. We may see more and more punts in the future, particularly if it works for Portland and Damian Lillard this year.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
It's sometimes difficult for the Academy Awards to differentiate between a "lead" and "supporting" role. They nominated Lakeith Stanfield for "Best Supporting Actor" in Judas and the Black Messiah despite his character being the lead. Meanwhile, Anthony Hopkins won "Best Actor" in Silence of the Lambs despite appearing for only 16 minutes on screen.
We can quibble with the same distinction here in our NBA Oscars. Are we saying it's the greatest "second best player" on a team? If so, you can argue for the lesser of the power duos between Devin Booker or Chris Paul in Phoenix, or Donovan Mitchell / Rudy Gobert in Utah, or DeMar DeRozan / Zach LaVine in Chicago.
However, the way that we're taking this award is to mean the best player who has more of a supporting role, as in a great overqualified role player. By that standard, you'd look more to players like Steven Adams. He's quietly been crashing the glass and crunching on screens for Memphis. Still, the player who jumps out as the prototypical role player or 3+D template right now is probably Mikal Bridges. He's one of the glue guys for the top seed despite averaging less than 14 PPG. His contract (set to balloon to $20M) shows he's more than a role player, but Steven Adams is also on a big deal himself at $17M.
BEST ACTOR
We can make a joke about flopping here, but let's try and use this major award as analogous to "Best Player."
Oddly, the field mirrors the field for "Best International Feature" -- with Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo jockeying for positioning. Jokic took the prior award, but we're handing this one out to Giannis Antetokounmpo instead. Even after a title, it feels like fans have taken Antetokounmpo's dominance for granted. He's back up to 29-11-6 again on incredible efficiency, and he has the edge on Jokic and most others when it comes to his defense.
More than that, Antetokounmpo represents what we want a superstar and "Best Actor" to be. That is: he plays hard every night on both ends. He plays with a love of the game. He acts with an appreciation for his fans and an off-the-court humility that must be hard to maintain when you're arguably the best player on the planet. He's the type of player we want all our superstars to act like.
BEST DIRECTOR
We'll equate a director with a coach more so than a GM, and that effectively makes this the "Coach of the Year" award. In real life, that tends to go to the coach who had the biggest turnaround or the biggest overachievement, but you'd be hard pressed to find a director on top of his game like Monty Williams has been for the Phoenix Suns. The Suns were a laughingstock before he arrived, but he's sifted through that garbage dump and built a well-oiled machine.
In NBA awards (Coach of the Year or otherwise), we tend to neglect the person who's already arrived and get distracted by the shiny new storyline instead. But if we're talking about coaching, isn't it just as hard to get a team that reached the Finals locked in during the regular season? Not only did the Suns improve and take control of the # 1 seed, they're beating the next best team by 5+ games. It's not easy to instill that type of self-motivation.
BEST PICTURE
Best Picture is the "big award" of the night and given to the best overall film, so we're going to use this to award the best overall team.
In many Oscar years, we see a sweep through all major categories. Can the Phoenix Suns be the Ben Hur of this season? They've already won Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director, and now Best Picture as well?
In fact, if we use on-court production alone, the Phoenix Suns may win this award running away. They have the best record, the best SRS (schedule adjusted power rank), the best net rating. Their offense and defense are both in the top 5 (at # 4 and # 3 respectively.) Their depth is strong -- their chemistry is strong -- their coaching staff is strong. Anyone who thought last year's title run was a fluke has some egg on their face right now, because the Suns have been the best team this season.
But wait... there's a delay at the podium... Warren Beatty is looking around, confused...
Apparently Chris Paul's injury has led to a last minute recount. And if CP3's durability leaves a cloud hanging over the rest of the season, who should take this award from the Suns?
Well, how about the team that beat them last year? Sure, the Milwaukee Bucks have been coasting through the regular season with a 36-23 record and a rank of # 9 in SRS. And sure, their depth is somewhat shaky given some injuries (notably Brook Lopez.) Vegas doesn't respect them much either, ranking them 4th in title odds. Still, they just won the title and are bringing back 95% of the same team again. Why should this year be that much different?
At the end of the day, the Bucks still have one trump card: Giannis fuckin' A. He averaged 35-13 last year against Phoenix, and I'm still not sure if they have the right pieces to stop him. He's a kaiju tearing his way through the States. In turn, Jrue Holiday is one of the most ideal defenders to stop a good backcourt like Phoenix. The East is no cakewalk, but the Bucks have proven that they can shrug off their playoff demons and get the job done. So to me, they have the least amount of questions in the field, and the best chance to win the title (again.)
Lunes, Pebrero 21, 2022
Who’s a guy who straight up vanished out of the league?
Usually players start to decline, have their roles reduced gradually and maybe jump around from team to team before they don’t get many/any offers anymore and eventually call it quits. Who’s a guy who was still playing at a high level and had a big role, but was suddenly just…gone. No official retirement you just never saw him again.
Bill Walton on what he told Nikola Jokic at the ASG: “I just said how proud I am of him and how happy I am for him and what he’s been able to do to create the life, to create the world, and to move our universe to a better place”
Denver Post reporter Mike singer wrote a fantastic article about his interview with Walton regarding the Denver star.
I just said how proud I am of him and how happy I am for him and what he’s been able to do to create the life, to create the world, and to move our universe to a better place,” Walton began. “And the style, the grace, the elegance, the dignity, the class that he brings each and every day, and it’s just a fresh ray of sunshine.”
“I was thrilled to be able to say hello to him because I’m a huge fan, and I’m so grateful for the way he plays because it represents the best of the human spirit in terms of inclusion, in terms of opportunity, team, sacrifice, discipline,” Walton said. “He’s just really, really great. He is brilliant.”
Walton continues...
“The imagination, he is a creative genius, and he sees things that other people don’t see,” Walton said. “His sense of timing and skill and position and balance and all the things that I love in life, he just represents it.”
[Charania] Just in: Goran Dragic is signing with the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
It has now been over 11,000 days since the last Lions’ playoff win.
The Lions’ last playoff win came 11,005 days ago. With the Bengals ending their drought this season, the Lions now have the longest drought, with the Dolphins in 2nd at just 21 years (7,723 days).
In 1991, the Detroit Lions won the NFC Central with a 12-4 record. They had 5 Pro Bowlers and 5 All Pros leading them to their first playoff win since they won the NFL championship in 1957.
On January 5th, 1992, the Detroit Lions faced the Dallas Cowboys at the Pontiac Silverdome. Pat Summerall and John Madden called the game for CBS, and weather was not a factor inside the dome. Troy Aikman entered the game as the backup - losing the starting job to Steve Beuerlein due to injury earlier in the year. The Lions rolled out Erik Kramer, one of 3 Quarterbacks that took snaps under center during the 1991 season. Cowboys had Emmitt Smith as their running back and Michael Irvin as their star receiver. Lions had Barry Sanders, Willie Green, and Herman Moore among their skill position starters.
Lions jumped out to a 17-6 halftime lead and outscored the Cowboys 21-0 in the second half to win 38-6. Kramer completed 29 of 38 passes for 3 TDs and no interceptions, Barry Sanders had 99 total yards and a score, and Herman Moore and Willie Green combined for 202 yards and 3 TDs. Aikman and Beuerlein split time for the Cowboys with each throwing for 0 TDs and an interception.
The Lions would go on to lose to the Redskins the following week and haven’t won a playoff game since despite making it to the playoffs 8 times.
Linggo, Pebrero 20, 2022
(Highlight) Joe Flacco "White Lightning" Rushing highlights
[Amick] List of LeBron James' passive aggressive comments against Rob Pelinka and Lakers front office during the All Star weekend
Let us count the ways (that he shared his discontent)…
He called the Lakers’ lackluster campaign a “hell-storm of a season” — a true statement that is reflected in their 27-31 record and the fact that they’re fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament (that he once chided) at this point. He lauded all sorts of out-of-nowhere praise on Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti, a move that came in response to a question about Josh Giddey. It was curious at best and passive-aggressive toward Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka at worst.
He raved about Cavs general manager Koby Altman, highlighting all the draft picks and trades that have sparked his old team’s renaissance without him. As anyone who paid attention during his Cleveland exit four years ago, this newfound penchant for promoting Altman’s acumen was most assuredly not part of his politics back then.
James tweeted about Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead on Wednesday, celebrating his t-shirt that read “Fuck them picks.” This isn’t Da Vinci Code-level stuff, folks. It’s quite clear that James isn’t thrilled with the way the Lakers’ season has been handled so far.
In case anyone forgets, James made it known heading into the Feb. 10 trade deadline that he believed the Lakers’ roster needed some reshuffling. When the Lakers were routed by Milwaukee at home that night, trailing by as many as 24 points in the first half and losing 131-116, he declared that the Lakers weren’t on the defending champions’ level. Yet again, it was an accurate but direct statement that reflected his sober outlook on the Lakers’ state of affairs.
2022 All-Star Weekend - G League Next Gem Game
2PM Eastern - G League Next Gem Game | NBA TV
Cleveland Charge vs. G League Ignite
[Sileo] The Washington Commanders have offered the Houston Texans Chase Young & 2022 11th pick and 42nd pick plus a 3rd round pick in 2023 for Deshaun Watson
Sabado, Pebrero 19, 2022
Could someone make the Hall of Fame if they won 15 dunk contests in a row?
Let's say some player had like a decent career. One all-star appearance. One ring as a role player. Overall decent. But, he was an incredible dunker. Highlight reel dunks in game, and he participated in 15 dunk contests and won all of them. Could he make the hall of fame?
He would be a one of a kind player. Winning slam dunk contests in his 30s.
Watch as basketball experts including Jerry West, Dominique Wilkins, Sue Bird, Quavo, D.L. Hughley, Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley play general manager, selecting their all-time teams from the pool of 75 greatest NBA players. (5 p.m., TNT)
This reminds me of when they did it with Chuck, McHale, Miller, Webber, Kerr, and Smith. Chuck thought it was an all-star game draft and picked Allen Iverson #1 overall as "the all-star game is a point guard driven game". The whole event was comedy gold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHbdbj4TRfw
What are your favorite parts from the 2011 version? What are you looking forward to tonight?
[Dan LeBatard] I think Matt James forgot that there are women on his team
Biyernes, Pebrero 18, 2022
[Jordan Schultz] Kirk Cousins has zero intention of taking a pay cut, sources says. I’m told an extension could pay Cousins, 33, around $40M per year. #Vikings
[Caplan] “He’s one of the best players to ever play this game,” Doncic said of (LeBron) James. “As a kid, I look up to him, so it’s really a special moment when he picks me. I’m really glad that he picks me. “I think that team is going to win again, hopefully, so I’ll be 3-0 after this.”
But Doncic still made time to watch the draft live on TNT, when James made him the first reserve pick as “Luka Magic” and a three-time Team LeBron All-Star member.
Then he took the American Airlines Center court and tallied 28 points in the first quarter to finish with 51, the second-most in franchise history.
Magical, indeed.
“He’s one of the best players to ever play this game,” Doncic said of James. “As a kid, I look up to him, so it’s really a special moment when he picks me. I’m really glad that he picks me.
“I think that team is going to win again, hopefully, so I’ll be 3-0 after this.”
Doncic highlighted Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and James as players he’s most looking forward to spending time with in Cleveland.
And one other special guest.
In All-Star weekends past, Doncic’s girlfriend, Anamaria Goltes, and mom, Mirjam Poterbin, have accompanied him to the festivities.
But this year, his dad, Sasa, will make the trip for the first Doncic father-son All-Star experience.
“He don’t have the Supercup in Slovenia,” Doncic said of his dad’s coaching schedule, “so he will come this time.”
[Slater] SLATER SCOOP: Miami Dolphins are hiring Pat Surtain as a defensive assistant to work with DBs, according to a source.
Daryl Morey says NBA should go to 58 game regular season, one and done playoff games.
In an appearance with Colin Cowherd on Volume Sports, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey proposed radical changes to the NBA schedule. Morey is in favor of changing both the regular season schedule and how the NBA Playoffs are run, in hopes of boosting ratings for both.
After Cowherd suggested shortening the regular season slightly and returning to best-of-five series in the first round of the playoffs, Morey upped the ante.
“You’re too timid, but you gotta go farther,” Morey said. “I like 58. Every team plays every (other) team two times. The playoffs, I 100 percent agree, shorter is better.”
The playoffs are where Morey took things to another level.
“I would have it one-and-done,” Morey said. “There’s a reason everyone tunes into every game at huge ratings in the NFL. It is literally one-and-done. And the NCAA Tournament, in 63 games, gets more money than we do in our entire regular season."
Morey said the goal should be to surpass the Super Bowl in popularity.
“Any sport should want more games that are close to the Super Bowl," Morey said. "Nothing’s going to beat the Super Bowl for a little while, though I think the NBA can pass the NFL in my lifetime for sure for their biggest game being a big deal.”
[Allbright] Denver will look at the FA market first before the draft at QB if they don’t land Rodgers
[Ourand] Roger Goodell is negotiating a new deal to remain NFL Commissioner, several sources tell @BenFischerSBJ and me.
Huwebes, Pebrero 17, 2022
[Kleiman] Joe Burrow: “I get a zit right on the middle of my lip. Day of the Super Bowl, unbelievable… I’m 25-years old, I’m tired of this!”
[Charania] Denver Nuggets rookie Bones Hyland has been selected as an injury replacement for the NBA Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend.
[Kyed] After losing Josh McDaniels and four offensive assts to LV, there are theories around the NFL on how NE will compensate. Two I heard recently: bigger roles on offense for Bill Belichick or Matt Patricia. Could in turn mean more responsibility for Steve Belichick/Jerod Mayo on D.
[Durant] Thank you for setting a great example and playing the game with supreme skill DeMar DeRozan
Thank you for setting a great example and playing the game with supreme skill @DeMar_DeRozan
A random thank you by Kevin Durant to DeMar for playing the game with supreme skill....
Aaron Donald Says He's Ready to Return if Von Miller and OBJ Do Too | TMZ Sports
[Smiley] Unfortunately I fractured my spine
Miyerkules, Pebrero 16, 2022
Over a 7 day span, James Harden was on the bench for a 35 point loss and a 48 point loss to the Boston Celtics
Lost 126-91 on February 8th when he was still on the Nets roster, and a week later he loses 135-87 on the first night he’s on the bench for his new team. Not a great week for the beard, though his bench fits seem to be improving.
Source: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hardeja01/gamelog/2022
r/NFL Top 100 of the 2021 Season - CALL FOR RANKERS
Greetings r/NFL!
The best Top 100 list out there is starting up again this year and u/mattkud and I are honored to be the new showrunners! A big shoutout to u/MikeTysonChicken, u/Mister_Jay_Peg, u/skepticismissurvival, and u/Staple_Overlaod for starting, improving, and maintaining this list process to make it what it is today. It’s been nine years since our first r/NFL Top 100 list came out and we are super excited to renew this tradition of ranking the top 100 players of the previous season.
In order to thoroughly complete this list, we need to start now. The 2021 NFL Season is over, and now it’s time to get cracking! But before we get to making the list, we need to send out the signal and recruit new blood to help us rank.
The ranking process is a fun project we all take seriously, with fun being the most important word here. Our rankers work hard to put together the best list they can with all the data and film we can get to evaluate the best players in the league of the previous season. We have a ton of fun debating positional importance and how deep each position is and how playing time should affect things and so on and so forth. It’s an incredibly rewarding process that really challenges your assumptions on football knowledge and gets you thinking. You will absolutely disagree with your fellow rankers, and that’s OK.
This is a very challenging project to overtake. This year we saw 2310 players take the field, more than any other year, and trying to boil down the 100 best is no small feat. But also remember: this is supposed to be fun. We aren’t experts - nor do we try to be. We just try to be objective observers as fanatical fans of the game.
If you are interested and want to throw your hat into the ring, it’s pretty simple. Go to this link here, and fill out the short 3 question questionnaire.
Before you fill out the form and say you want in on this, you really need to know what you’re getting into. Please take a couple minutes to read this wall of text ahead to get an idea of the process, and feel free to ask either u/mattkud or myself, u/packmanwiscy, any questions you may have
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Step 1: Recruiting rankers. That’s what we’re doing here. We’re looking for around 100 or so rankers, possibly even more. We have some returning rankers, but ideally we’re looking for 3 rankers per fanbase, which we do not currently have. To be considered, you should be someone who posts either here or in your own subreddit enough for us to at least see your post history and confirm that you are a good fan of that team. The karma count doesn’t matter, as long as your opinions aren’t completely off the deep end in relation to your team. Additionally, if there are things you do either here on reddit or some offsite thing like film reviews/breakdowns or statistical analysis, please share that with us! We’re just looking for good, active participants who are able to communicate their viewpoint and are receptive to others
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Step 2: Once we have a group of rankers, we’ll get to work. First, the rankers of their respective fanbase nominate the players on their team who they consider worthy of being considered for the list this year. This list usually gives us about 250-300 names to consider, and gives us a good way to narrow down the evaluation process for our rankers. The nomination process should take about a week
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Step 3: The Tiers. Once this pool of players is created, we will create discussion threads for rankers to break players down into tiers within their positional groupings prior to creating a final Top 100 lit submission. Users will be directed to break players into tiers for the other rankers to evaluate: Top 25, Top 50, Top 100, Top 100-125. This is done to give everyone an idea of where a ranker feels a player should be ranked. Our positional breakdown is QB, RB, WR, TE, OT, OG, OC, Interior Defensive Lineman (IDL), EDGE rushers, Off-Ball Linebacker (LB), Safety, CB. If most users have a player in their Top 100 tier but someone has them Top 25 and someone else has them unranked, we can discuss that and see their viewpoint. This really helps rankers visualize where players should land on their list prior to filling out the whole thing and makes the final list making process a little more manageable knowing that you’ve already separated players into different tiers. This part of our schedule takes 1-2 months to complete, this is the real meat of the process because we want everyone to have a thorough discussion on each of the position groups
NOTE: You will need to participate in the large majority of these threads in order to fill out your final Top 100 list. There will be breaks to allow everyone to catch up on their tiers if they fall behind, but participation in positional tier listing is absolutely required. Inactive users will be periodically removed; if you don’t tier, you don’t get to submit a list.
- Step 4: After discussions are complete, everyone will be asked to submit on their own a personal Top 125 list. We go to 125 to try and create a more representative average at the bottom of the list. If you have all your ducks in a row this should only take a half hour or so, or you can be like me and double and triple check everything and tinker for 2 days before submission. Either way you will be given enough time to complete your ranking sheet. We do ask you to keep positional importance in the back of your mind when making these lists.
NOTE: Rankers are submitted via individual Google Sheets and auto-compiled into a master list. There is a small crack team of former rankers that review the list and try to catch individual ranks that are 2 standard deviations out of the consensus, whether intentionally or accidentally. You won’t have to change it unless you want, we aren’t going to force groupthink on you or anything. We do note that that one high rank and one low rank will be removed from each player’s tally to calculate the average rank, just so one wild outlier doesn’t drastically affect a player’s rank
NOTE 2: These list will be made public. This can bring some unwanted heat in your direction and has in the past. I firmly believe that if you want to be a part of this public list, your opinion need to be known by the public. These ranks will not be kept anonymous. We ask you to remain civil in the comments section and if you can’t control yourself you will be removed from the process. I cannot control the mob, you cannot control the mob, but you can control your reaction to the mob, and you will be removed if you cannot control your reaction to the mob. You are expected to behave civilly and explain your thought process as politely as possible.
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Step 5: Once all the rankings are in, we will combine them and create the list using the average rank. Unranked players will be designated with a rank of 140 to tabulate the average for all nominated players. Players ranked 101-125 overall will make the Honorable Mentions while the remaining 1-100 will be the ranked players.
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Step 6: in the summer we will post the list with fan writeups to accompany them
Still there? I know this looks like a lot of effort, because it is! It’s also worth your time. Personally I’ve learned a ton about the NFL in the three years I’ve participated. You get to meet other hardcore football enthusiasts and learn about players who you might only know in passing. Again, nobody expects you to be an expert, just be open and honest and have some fun along the way
If you are still interested, please sign up. If you don’t want to participate but know someone who you think would be great? Let them know! We are always looking for valuable contributors.
SIGN UP HERE
[Clark] Zion was supposed to return to practice in December, but he began experiencing soreness in his right foot. That month, he flew to Los Angeles to have an injection to promote healing. It is possible he will need a second surgery on his right foot, sources said, but nothing has been decided.
Williamson has been overweight for virtually all of his pro career, which has complicated the recovery process. He must lose weight in order to decrease the amount of force he puts on his right foot when he runs, cuts and jumps. But it’s difficult for Williamson to lose weight without running, cutting and jumping.
Williamson was supposed to return to practice in December, but he began experiencing soreness in his right foot. That month, he flew to Los Angeles to have an injection to promote healing. It is possible he will need a second surgery on his right foot, sources said, but nothing has been decided.
[Paul Dehner Jr] If you are looking for Zac Taylor to throw his offensive line under the bus or talk about needing to replace people 72 hours after the Super Bowl you haven't listened to a single press conference he has ever held.
Martes, Pebrero 15, 2022
[Aldrige] Ben Simmons says "it was a personal thing with me" that made him unwilling to play in Philly before the trade to Brooklyn – not fan, team or media comments during or after playoffs. Says his issues preceded the playoffs. Says he’s not yet ready to play but is ramping up.
Ben Simmons says "it was a personal thing with me" that made him unwilling to play in Philly before the trade to Brooklyn – not fan, team or media comments during or after playoffs. Says his issues preceded the playoffs. Says he’s not yet ready to play but is ramping up.
https://twitter.com/davidaldridgedc/status/1493625104764395524?s=21
Were the nets sold a bill of goods by Morey????
[Around The NFL] Rams coach Sean McVay "enjoying this moment," not focused on coaching future: "We'll see"
[Cole] Matthew Stafford was pressured on 5 times on 44 dropbacks in the Super Bowl, that 12% pressure rate was the lowest of any SB quarterback since PFF started charting in 2006 (of 32). whispers: *Goff's pressure rate was 44%, the sixth highest and higher than Joe Burrow's*
[RealGM] James Harden Didn't File Paperwork In Time For 22-23 Opt-In With 76ers
[Daire Carragher] The Detroit Lions now hold the 32nd pick in the NFL Draft. Never thought I’d see the day.
Lunes, Pebrero 14, 2022
[Bontemps] The Sixers say James Harden is out through the All-Star break as he continues to rehabilitate his left hamstring, and that he won’t play in the All-Star Game.
[JJ Redick] We Showed Marcus Smart His Flopping Compilation
It’s been over 3 years since Victor Oladipo had his catastrophic quad injury. At the time, the Pacers were the 3rd seed in the East and Oladipo, who was coming off an All NBA selection, had just been voted to his 2nd All Star Game appearance. Since then, Oladipo has only appeared in 52 games
On Jan 23 2019, Oladipo had a terrible quad injury where he tore his quadriceps tendon completely off the top of the kneecap.
At the time, the Pacers were 32-15 and the 3rd seed in the East.
Oladipo was coming off a 2018 season where he averaged 23/5/4, led the NBA in steals, and won Most Improved Player, made All Defense 1st Team, All NBA 3rd Team, and the All Star game.
I think Oladipo gets forgotten a lot since its been years since he was healthy. He was only 26 years old and was coming off a highly accomplished season and looked like one of the best guards in the league. It’s sad to see how his career ended up. He's only played in 52/236 games since then (22%) and when he does he looked like a shell of his former self. He has yet to play this season.
[Morrison] Ja’Marr Chase already was behind Jalen Ramsey on a go route when Ramsey fell on the fourth-and-1 game ender. If Burrow had a sliver more time …
You are your favourite team's GM and you have just heard that Luka is avaliable. What package are you offering?
In a hypothetical scenario in which Mavs decide to rebuild and are starting to ship Luka, I am really curious to know how much other teams fans are willing to give up for him. He is obviously one of the best if not the best asset in the league, but I am sure that some Nuggets and Bucks fans won't be willing to swap him for Jokic or Giannis. Also, if you give up too much for him, you would just reinvent his Dallas situation. What is your opinion?
Jayson tatum over his last 12 games 27.6 PPG 7.9 RPG 5.4 APG 49.2% FG 35% 3P
Looks like he's finally broken out of his mini slump from the start of the season.
27.6 PPG
7.9 RPG
5.4 APG
1.1 SPG
49.2% FG%
35% 3P%
+218
Source: https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=jayson+tatum+ts%25+last+12+games
[Sholler] The 76ers will introduce James Harden and Paul Millsap at a press conference tomorrow at noon in Camden. It will be live streamed across sixers platforms. Daryl Morey, Doc Rivers and Sixers Managing Partner Josh Harris will also participate.
Looking forward to hear Morey's words on the negotiation and whole Simmons' situation. Also want to hear Paul Millsap's goals for the season and Harden's opinion on what happened with the Nets!
https://twitter.com/davesholler/status/1493230831816613889?s=21
Weekend Wrapup
Welcome to today's open thread, where /r/nfl users can discuss anything they wish not related directly to the NFL.
Want to talk about personal life? Cool things about your fandom? Whatever happens to be dominating today's news cycle? Do you have something to talk about that didn't warrant its own thread? This is the place for it!
Remember, that there are other subreddits that may be a good fit for what you want to post - every day all day!
- /r/NFLFandom for showing off your fandom
- /r/NFL_Draft for talking in depth about the draft
- /r/NFLNoobs for noob questions, no judgement
- /r/nflblogs for posting blog posts - including your own
- /r/nflofftopic for talking about anything with NFL fans
- /r/nfffffffluuuuuuuuuuuu for all kinds of humor posts
- /r/nflcirclejerk for when /r/NFL just becomes too much
- ... and more - see the sidebar!
Linggo, Pebrero 13, 2022
[Meirov] There's a belief that Colts QB Carson Wentz will "'probably" be traded or released before March 19th, per Mortenson. That's when $15M in base salary becomes guaranteed. His future in Indianapolis looks "bleak."
Joel Embiid over his last 12 games 35.4 PPG 12.8 RPG 5.1 APG 1.8 BPG 50.9% FG
Joel Embiid over his last 12 games
33.2 Minutes
35.4 PPG
12.8 RPG
5.1 APG
1.8 BPG
50.9% FG
+/- +90
5 40+ point games
50 Points vs Orlando
40 Points vs Clippers
42 Points vs Pelicans
40 Points vs Chicago
40 Points vs Cleveland
Source
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/embiid-last-12-games
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/player/joel-embiid-9188/game-log
[Lauren Rosen] @JoelEmbiid’s last 36 hours (and season) in a nutshell: “Well, having a bad game last night, obviously I just wanted to come out with a different intensity.” The “bad game”: 25 pts, 19 reb, 4 ast, 5 blk Tonight: 40 pts, 14 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl MVP.
Joel Embiid really giving it all this year. Love his attitude, custom-made for Philly. Also, good he is getting some help in James Harden form!!
We will see if Philly climbs the standings and he gets more recognition (maybe MVP?)
https://twitter.com/laurenmrosen/status/1492721885339074562?s=21
Kyrie Irving is eligible to play 0 of the Nets’ next 4 games, only 3 of their next 10, and only 8 of their remaining games all season. The Nets have lost 11 in a row and are entrenched in the play-in spots by a two-and-a-half game margin.
The Nets' next four games are all in New York City (three home games and a "road" trip to Madison Square Garden), making Kyrie unable to take part. Following that, he is only eligible to play in 8 further contests from now until the end of the season:
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Brooklyn AT Milwaukee, February 26th
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Brooklyn AT Boston, March 6th
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Brooklyn AT Charlotte, March 8th
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Brooklyn AT Philadelphia, March 10th
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Brooklyn AT Orlando, March 15th
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Brooklyn AT Memphis, March 23rd
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Brooklyn AT Miami, March 26th
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Brooklyn AT Atlanta, April 2nd
[Schefter] Packers are prepared to go all in for Aaron Rodgers in 2022, spending as close to the cap this year and spreading it into future years as much as possible, per sources. Saints used this approach for Drew Brees and Green Bay willing to deploy that model to further entice Rodgers.
Sabado, Pebrero 12, 2022
Justin Tucker was elected to his 7th All-Pro Team in 10 seasons (5x 1st Team, 2x 2nd Team). He passes Hall of Famers Morten Andersen (6) and Jan Stenerud (6) for the most selection by a placekicker in NFL history
Crazy that he's accomplished this in just 10 seasons.
If Tucker gets to 10-11 All-Pros do you think he'd be a first ballot Hall of Famer?
Random thought. In your heart of hearts how do you think Seth and Andre will feel watching Ben, who quit on them the whole season, suddenly recover and start playing?
I know for pr reasons, everything will be all good. But I'm just thinking that in the back of their heads when they see Ben's miraculous recovery, they have to be thinking about how silly everything was. I don't know if it's something that they'll ever bring up to him, but they have to see how silly this whole thing was.
But I can't help think
[LATimesFarmer] Last time the Super Bowl was in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson was the halftime performer. Did you know that future All-Pro receiver Steve Smith was one of the hundreds of young people dancing on the field?
Justin Tucker was elected to his 7th All-Pro Team in 10 seasons (5x 1st Team, 2x 2nd Team). He passes Hall of Famers Morten Andersen (6) and Jan Stenerud (6) for the most selection by a placekicker in NFL history
Crazy that he's accomplished this in just 10 seasons.
If Tucker gets to 10-11 All-Pros do you think he'd be a first ballot Hall of Famer?
Biyernes, Pebrero 11, 2022
Kyrie response to a fan on Twitter for saying: think if you combined @KDTrey5 and @KyrieIrving maturity you would get the grand total of an upset 8th grader. Kyrie: "Or You get an example of Black Indigenous Excellence at a craft that only a few individuals out billions of people can do."
Fan: I think if you combined @KDTrey5 and @KyrieIrving maturity you would get the grand total of an upset 8th grader.
Kyrie: Or You get an example of Black Indigenous Excellence at a craft that only a few individuals out billions of people can do.
[Jordan Asri] Quote from former Washington legendary RB John Riggins: “I can't understand how anybody who once played under the old franchise name, could possibly want to be a part of anything with Washington Commanders.”
The LeBron/Kyrie/Durant/Harden/Westbrook/Curry drama of the last 10 years is actually crazy
2012: LeBron beat Durant/Westbrook/Harden in a Finals series and then they never played together again as Harden was traded.
2016: Curry beat Westbrook and Durant, then LeBron and Kyrie beat Curry in a Finals which caused Curry and Durant to team up.
2017: Curry and Durant beat LeBron and Kyrie, and Kyrie leaves as a consequence.
2015-2019: Curry beats Harden four times in five years, twice with Durant, who leaves at the end of this.
2019: Westbrook and Harden team up again, meanwhile Durant and Kyrie get together.
2021: Harden joins Durant and Kyrie, Westbrook joins LeBron
2022: Harden leaves Durant and Kyrie, LeBron obviously wants to get rid of Westbrook but can't yet
It's like a group of friends in high school who all date and backstab one another.
In particular Durant is at the center of it all. He's played against AND with every other player here except LeBron.
[Weitzman] Harden had seemed off all season and was growing frustrated with the situation in Brooklyn. He wanted everything catered to him the way it was in Houston, especially the offense. Kevin Durant and head coach Nash disagreed. Both wanted the Nets’ offense to feature ball and player movement.
Full Quote
Around the same time, the Nets started losing games. Harden had seemed off all season — both during games and with his comments after them — and was growing frustrated with the situation in Brooklyn. He wanted everything catered to him the way it was in Houston, especially the offense. Kevin Durant and head coach Steve Nash disagreed. Both wanted the Nets’ offense to feature ball and player movement, and Harden, upon being rebuffed, ducked into his shell at times, according to sources, and even criticized teammates and coaches to NBA insiders sitting courtside at games.
"With James, if you’re not 100 percent on his side, you’re his enemy," a former Rockets staffer said.
Excerpt from this article that details everything that went down leading up to yesterday’s trade.
https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/james-harden-ben-simmons-trade-inside-story-behind-the-deal
[MacMahon] Undrafted Dallas F Dorian Finney-Smith [on his] $55 million extension: “My mama worked at Church’s my first few years in the league. I tried to get her to quit. I’m glad she can just kick up her feet and chill.”
[Townsend] Doncic said he would like to know when the franchise is making significant moves, though he doesn't want to be overly involved. He said GM Nico Harrison tried to call and tell him about the Porzingis trade, "But I was taking a nap."
Huwebes, Pebrero 10, 2022
[Charania] The Toronto Raptors are trading Goran Dragic to the San Antonio Spurs for Thad Young, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
[Safid Deen] #Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel: "I identity as a human being and my dad is black. ... It’s weird that it comes up because I’ve just tried to be a good person. ... I don’t have any real experience with racism … My mom experienced it when she married my dad. My dad experienced it."
[Instagram] Kevin Durant likes IG post about Harden wanting a trade to the Sixers
The deadline is heating up, F5 season is among us!! Are we going to get blue balled before 3PM EST or is Harden going to be a Sixer/Simmons going to be a Net? What pieces do you see realistically being swapped? What will KD say about this if it goes down? Will KD draft Harden in the All-Star draft tonight? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z
Credit to /u/Creampiedyagirl for finding this out
Patrick Beverley: I remember when somebody said all I do is run around and I trick y’all 😂 well my boy is The Real Magician this year.
I remember when somebody said all I do is run around and I trick y’all  well my boy is The Real Magician this year.
[Schefter] Washington Commanders DT Jonathan Allen apologized for tweeting that he’d like to have dinner with Adolf Hitler
Miyerkules, Pebrero 9, 2022
[Wojnarowski] On Simmons-Harden deal: "Right now, there's no negotiation going on between Brooklyn and Philadelphia... the idea that they're going back and forth as surmised by some, I don't believe that to be accurate."
[Oram] Sources have indicated that the Lakers no longer believe they can win at a high level with Westbrook. They would prefer to wait until the offseason, when they could also include a 2029 pick. But the tone after Tuesday’s loss suggested the Lakers are in need of more immediate action.
Sources have indicated that the Lakers no longer believe they can win at a high level with Westbrook alongside James and Davis, but prior to Tuesday the line of thinking was that the Lakers would be unwilling to wave the white flag and admit their summer blockbuster was a failure. Instead, they would prefer to wait until the offseason, when they could also include a 2029 pick in a potential deal for another max-contract player looking for a new home.
But the tone after Tuesday’s loss suggested the Lakers are in need of more immediate action. Could things be so dire that the Lakers would be better off including that ’27 pick in a swap now — say for Houston’s John Wall? — even if it means a lesser return? Desperation got the Lakers into this mess and it might take desperation to get them out.
Either way, whether it is by Thursday’s deadline or in the summer, the Lakers know they need to find their way out of the Russell Westbrook business.
One Lakers staffer who had reservations about the trade when it was made in July recently told The Athletic, “I didn’t think it would be this bad.”
Sources told The Athletic that inside the locker room, players see and feel the same problems as everyone else, perhaps never more clearly than after a non-competitive loss to the champs. They understand as well as anyone that the personnel on this joyless 26-29 team simply isn’t working.
Dennis Schröder, who, according to league sources, was up for returning to the Lakers as Westbrook’s backup before eventually signing with Boston for the mid-level exception with the Celtics. (Then there’s the deal the Lakers gave to Kendrick Nunn, who has not yet played this season due to a bone bruise in his right knee.)
[John Clark]: Sixers and Nets are talking about a Ben Simmons for James Harden trade and it is trending towards a deal happening, according to @WindhorstESPN Nets are asking for Ben Simmons and two or three other players, according to @WindhorstESPN
Martes, Pebrero 8, 2022
[Fischer] Toronto and Indiana have discussed a trade framework regarding Goran Dragic and a first-round pick for Myles Turner. There has also been a framework surrounding Gallinari for Dragic discussed between Toronto and Atlanta.
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1491040309320773634?s=20&t=2NMiQtp8hMx5JwtYW--Xmw
Toronto and Indiana have discussed a trade framework regarding Goran Dragic and a first-round pick, sources told B/R, an outgoing concept the Raptors have used in exploratory talks around the league.
There has been a framework surrounding Danilo Gallinari for Goran Dragic discussed between Toronto and Atlanta, sources said. Further details on that dynamic are unclear.
Oh boy, if we could get anything remotely useful for Dragic, I would be the happiest man alive. I would love Turner on this Raps squad (but doubt that offer is enough), but Gallo looks to be a backup option in case we can't get anything for Dragic.
[Schefter] Giants are finalizing a deal to hire former Ravens’ defensive coordinator Wink Martindale as their new defensive coordinator, per source.
The Trail Blazers turned 2 first round picks, Gary Trent Jr., CJ McCollum, and Larry Nance into Josh Hart, NAW, Keon Johnson, and a protected lottery pick
The Trail Blazers turned 2 first round picks, Gary Trent Jr., CJ McCollum, and Larry Nance into Josh Hart, NAW, Keon Johnson, and a protected lottery pick
Do you think this was a solid return for Portland given the current market or do you think they could have received more for CJ and Norm?
For what it's worth the two first rounders became Isaiah Stewart and Usman Garuba
[Serious] 2022 Trade Deadline Tracker
It's that time of the year. After two decently big trades and some major rumors swirling around, I figured I'd make the trade deadline tracker for this year.
Please tell me if any of the info is wrong, I'll fix it as soon as I can. Message or comment on new/any missed trades and it will be updated as soon as I can.
Trade Deadline: 02/10/2022 at 3 pm ET.
| Date: | Team 1: | Team 1 Receives: | Team 2: | Team 2 Receives: | Team 3: | Team 3 Receives: | Source: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/03/2022 | Los Angeles Lakers | Draft rights to Louis Labeyrie | Cleveland Cavaliers | G Rajon Rondo | New York Knicks | G Denzel Valentine, Draft rights to Wang Zhelin, Draft rights to Brad Newley, cash considerations | Source |
| 01/04/2022 | Utah Jazz | Cash considerations | Oklahoma City Thunder | G Miye Oni, 2028 2nd-round pick | Source | ||
| 01/13/2022 | New York Knicks | F Cam Reddish, F Solomon Hill, 2025 second-round pick (via Brooklyn) | Atlanta Hawks | F Kevin Knox, protected 2022 first-round pick (via Charlotte) | Source | ||
| 01/19/2022 | Denver Nuggets | G Bryn Forbes | San Antonio Spurs | F/C Juancho Hernangomez, 2028 second-round pick (via Denver), cash considerations | Boston Celtics | F/C Bol Bol, G P.J. Dozier | Source |
| 02/04/2022 | Portland Trail Blazers | G Eric Bledsoe, G/F Justise Winslow, F Keon Johnson, 2025 second-round pick (via Detroit) | Los Angeles Clippers | G/F Norman Powell, F/C Robert Covington | Source | ||
| 02/07/2022 | Cleveland Cavaliers | G/F Caris LeVert, 2022 second-round pick (via Miami) | Indiana Pacers | G Ricky Rubio, lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick (via Houston), 2027 second-round pick (via Utah) | Source | ||
| 02/08/2022 | New Orleans Pelicans | G CJ McCollum, F/C Larry Nance Jr., G/F Tony Snell | Portland Trail Blazers | G/F Josh Hart, G Tomas Satoransky, G/F Nickeil Walker-Alexander, F Didi Louzada, 2022 protected first-round pick, two second-round picks | Source |
[Charania] Portland is finalizing acquiring Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky and draft compensation in the CJ McCollum trade, sources said.
Lunes, Pebrero 7, 2022
Video from Lakers-Knicks game of Julius Randle arguing with an assistant coach: Randle pushes the laptop away & gets in the face of the coach:
Video from Lakers-Knicks game of Julius Randle arguing with an assistant coach: Randle pushes the laptop away & gets in the face of the coach:
Link to the video: https://twitter.com/thenbacentral/status/1490718277882073092?s=21
Thoughts? Not a great look especially considering how disastrous that 3rd Q was from the Knicks.
[Rapoport] The Packers are expected to hire former Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia as their new special teams coach, sources say. The unit was an issue in GB last year, and coach Matt LaFleur goes a long way toward fixing it. Bisaccia is universally respected.
[Shelburne] Harden hasn't had an agent in several years. Harden is searching for an agent to partner and navigate the situation – whether that's free agency, a trade to leave the Nets after the season, staying on a new deal, or even a trade prior to Thursday's deadline.
According to Ramona Shelburne and Woj, James Harden hasn't had an agent because, as a max player, he was able to pick out cookie cutter max contracts with the consultation of the NBA Players Association without having to pay an agent's commission. It seems like he's willing to forgo such savings for his next contract, as he declined to extend his contract with the nets and is going to pursue a proper free agency.
From Shelburne's article:
Harden hasn't had an agent in several years, but he does have a business manager, Lorenzo McCloud. When Harden wanted out of Houston before the 2020 season, he commissioned agents Jason Ranne and Chafie Fields at Wasserman to work with the Houston Rockets and rival teams to facilitate a trade. They played a key role in getting Harden to the Nets, and then the working relationship ended in March of 2021, sources said.
Once again, sources told ESPN, Harden and his manager have been searching for an agent to partner and navigate the situation -- whether that's free agency, a trade to leave the Nets after the season, staying on a new deal, or even a trade prior to Thursday's deadline.
When Harden considered signing an extension last summer, he handled it the way he did his past two deals in Houston: Discussing the pros and cons of different contract iterations with the National Basketball Players Association. That's why he didn't want to pay an agent's commission; he was a superstar player who needed no negotiation. He could pick his preferred max contract on a menu the way someone else might choose an HMO plan.
Ultimately, Harden did not sign an extension with the Nets, and at the end of September, he told ESPN's Malika Andrews he was looking forward to becoming a free agent for the first time in his career. Before then, he insisted he was focused on winning a championship with Brooklyn.
It seems clear that Harden's camp is running a psyops campaign intended to signal his willingness to leave to another team like Philadelphia in the off season. When you read between the lines, the source from within Harden's camp is signaling that, if the Net's don't trade Harden, he's going to leave anyway. It also seems that this is a controlled leak to induce a trade with Philadelphia before the trade deadline.
Do you agree with this interpretation? If not, why do you think that Harden is seeking an agent?
[ESPN] One year ago today, Tom Brady won his 7th and final Super Bowl. At age 43, he went through Brees, Rodgers and Mahomes.
If the Celtics beat the Nets tomorrow, the Celtics will officially have a better record than the Nets since the game Kyrie stepped on Lucky, the Celtics logo.
Kyrie stepped on lucky at the end of game 4
The Nets won game 5 (1-0), lost 3-4 to the Bucks (4-4), and then this season they’ve gone 29-24 (33-28).
The Celtics lost game 5 (0-1), and didn’t play again until this regular season, where they’ve gone 30-25 (30-26)
The Nets have a higher winning percentage in that time span, but their next game is against each other. If the Celtics win that game, the Celtics will officially have a better winning percentage than the Nets since the game Kyrie stepped on Lucky.
KD and Kyrie are out for that game. Harden is questionable.
30/56 = 53.6% games won
31-57 (Celtics win) = 54.4% games won
33/61 = 54.1% games won
33/62 (Nets loss) = 53.2% games won
Sources:
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/celtics-record-since-june-1-2021-including-playoffs
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/nets-record-since-june-1-2021-including-playoffs
Super Bowl LVI Hub Thread
Hello /r/nfl!
With Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, we're bringing back our slate of daily discussion threads leading up to the game. We'll also maintain this hub thread, creating a one-stop shop for links pre-, current, and post-game discussion, including the regular weekly features like Wagers and Trash Talk, and the discussion series itself.
Here's a reminder of the discussion schedule:
Super Bowl Related Threads
| Date | Day | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 2/7 | Monday | Offseason Warm Up Thread |
| 2/8 | Tuesday | Super Bowl Meme Battle |
| 2/8 | Tuesday | Wagers Thread |
| 2/9 | Wednesday | Complaints Thread |
| 2/10 | Thursday | Trash Talk Thread |
| 2/11 | Friday | Judgment Free Questions Thread |
| 2/13 | Sunday | Bandwagon Stats |
| 2/13 | Sunday | Puppy Bowl Game Thread |
| 2/13 | Sunday | Commercials Discussion |
| 2/13 | Sunday | Game Thread - First Half |
| 2/13 | Sunday | Halftime Show Discussion |
| 2/13 | Sunday | Game Thread - Second Half |
| 2/13 | Sunday | Post Game Thread |
| 2/13 | Sunday | Post Game Memes Thread |
| 2/14 | Monday | Booth Review |
Super Bowl Discussion Series
| Date | Day | Daily Discussion Thread |
|---|---|---|
| 2/8 | Tuesday | Recipes/Party Tips |
| 2/9 | Wednesday | Player/Team Legacy Discussion |
| 2/10 | Thursday | Super Bowl Memories |
| 2/12 | Saturday | Matchup Discussion |
| 2/12 | Saturday | Super Bowl Predictions |
Linggo, Pebrero 6, 2022
After starting the season “on pace tp be the worst team in NBA history,” the Pels are now tied for the 10th seed and in play-in position!
Dan Snyder wasn't the first unsavory person to own Washington Redskins (now Commanders)
We all know about the unsavory tenure and mismanagement of the Snyder cut years of Washington's team. A life long fan, he has made some life long enemies and like an vile onion, seemingly every layer hides another layer of contemptable behavior.
However, let me introduce to George Preston Marshall. He is the OG owner of the Redskins (started as the Boston Braves, soon changed names and then cities to Washington). He is in the NFL Hall of Fame and helped standardize the NFL's scheduling and then championship structure along with how the money from games was dispersed.
He was also considered to be the driving force of removing black players from the NFL. Even after the success of player such as Fritz Pollard and Duke Slater, the NFL instituted an unofficial ban on signing black players from 1933 to 1946 when the LA Rams signed Kenny Washington and Woody Strode (the Browns in the AAFC signing Marion Motley and Bill Wills shortly after). It is noted that when Washington played against the Redskins, their players piled on him after players, taking shots at him and attempting to rub chalk into his eyes.
So, it is 1946 and no other teams sign a black player until 1948, when the Lions and later the Giants(NFL great Emlen Tunnell, first black HOFer and 2nd all time INTs). One by one, all the other NFL teams integrate.
And then their are the Redskins. Marshall is quotes as saying, "We'll starting signing negroes when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites." Apparently the irony that the Globetrotters existed was because the NBA didn't allow/sign any black players was lost on Marshall.
In 1962, under pressure from JFK that they would revoke the Redskins lease to their stadium (it was funded by public tax dollars), Washington is forced to integrate. They select Ernie Davis from Syracuse (the movie The Express was made after him). Marshall trades Davis after refusing to meet the popular Heisman's winners contract demands. Davis is swapped for Bobby Mitchell (future HOFer) and the Redskins finally integrate.
Between reintegration in the NFL 1946 until his death in 1969, the Redskins had three winning seasons. Marshall left a large sum of money to start a foundation in the interest of children in the DC area. In true Marshall fashion, he stipulated that none of the money should spent "for any purpose which supports or employs the principle of racial integration."
Marshall is still in the HOF, but he has since been removed from the Redskins Ring of Honor.
[Jaguars] “I’m not going to settle for anything less than a championship-caliber team.” – Coach Pederson #DUUUVAL
Bam switches onto LaMelo. Bam switches onto Rozier. Bam switches onto Bridges. Bam blocks Bridges.
https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1490331481188839430?s=20&t=nHreBbllG8UH8T1Y6lFm0Q
This guy is so versatile defensively. Switches onto the ballhandler 3 times which should normally be mismatches. LaMelo thinks better of challenging him outright, Rozier thinks about it before having his move absorbed like Bam was Cell and he was an Android, and Bridges gets turned away at the rim as Bam keeps perfect pace with him.
If Coaching Is Literally A Game Changer, Then Why Are HCs Paid So Little Compared To Players?
Those rare times when it's disclosed that an NFL head coach is making $10mil per season, that amount becomes literally newsworthy. Most head coaches, though, are currently paid between $3-$7mil per season. Brian Flores was making $3mil and if Flores were a player, his salary would've ranked 15th on the Dolphins. (based on cap hit, which reflects total compensation)
None of us expect Brian Flores, etal, to make the same as Patrick Mahomes. Empirical evidence abounds that a quarterback is more valuable than even a premier coach. (2020 Patriots) But, last year, fifteen placekickers made more than $3,000,000.
In early 1970, after their first four years of ineptitude (15-39-2), the Miami Dolphins stole Don Shula (the McVay like wonderkind of his time) away from the Baltimore Colts. The Dolphins lured Shula with a five year contract, GM powers and a 10% stake in the team. A mere three seasons later, the Shula Dolphins became the only post-merger NFL team ever, to go undefeated. (in return for tampering with Shula, the Fins were ordered by Rozelle to give the Colts their #1 pick in the draft.)
Shula was a prickly, hard nosed coach who ruffled the feathers of owners. Sounds a lot like, Jim Harbaugh, who despite a .690 winning percentage in the NFL, couldn't find a job for the same $10million that last year, the Dolphins dangled to free agent WR, Will Fuller. (4 receptions)
So, what's the WAR of a coach? Or, have the importance of elite quarterbacks made head coaches not exactly expendable, but virtually interchangeable?
We expect them to be miracle workers but pay them like interior linemen. Why the disconnect?
LeBron James on his message to Russell Westbrook: "I told him to text me later"
[Faigen] LeBron, on his message to Russ. “I told him to text me later. I told him to keep going, stop second-guessing himself... He’s an instinctive player, with what he’s done in this league, he should never second guess himself... I have the utmost confidence in his ability.”
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1490195483767103488?s=21
Sabado, Pebrero 5, 2022
[Auman] This remains the most Pro Bowl play ever: Mike Evans not only lines up at DB but gets a pick, then both teams jog through like 10 laterals.
Three years ago after a disappointing season, Harden likely had CP3 shipped off. Since then CP3 has been to the finals and has a good shot to go again
CP3 was not playing as well during the end of his tenure with rockets. They lost to the warriors even with Durant out.
There was an incident in the playoffs where harden slapped cp3s hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Mmdqflr8g
And usually cp3 sort of gets on players nerves after a few years. You could just sense that harden wanted cp3 gone. Obviously his solution was to get westbrook who was his friend which didn't workout either.
However since that point cp3 took a undermanned thunder to the playoffs, and has gotten to the finals with the suns.
Harden has had a few 2nd round exits.
[Fillipponi] NFL insider @MattLombardoNFL says on @937theFan that the asking price for the Steelers on Jimmy G is a 2nd round pick. Or a 3rd round pick and a player.
[Schiffer] A source with knowledge of Harden’s thinking said he’s frustrated in general with his Nets tenure.
Harden isn’t expansive with the media when it comes to conflict and was short in his postgame press conference in Sacramento. While Harden has thrown hints that he’s not crazy about Irving’s part-time status, a source with knowledge of Harden’s thinking said he’s frustrated in general with his Nets tenure. He came to Brooklyn expecting to be part of a three-headed monster, yet has played a similar role to what was required of him in Houston; having to be the guy. While Irving’s part-time status is unprecedented, a source aware of the team’s thinking said the 6-foot-2 point guard’s situation hasn’t been as much of a problem as one would expect because he’s played hard when available, albeit in a limited capacity.
10 Years Ago Today: Eli Manning and the Giants Upend the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 46, 21-17 (February 5, 2012)
Wow, time flies. It's been a full decade since the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, 21-17.
The Patriots were seeking revenge for their upset loss to the Giants four years earlier in SB 42, but once again, late-game heroics by Eli Manning and a strong defensive effort by the Giants in stifling Tom Brady and the Patriots led to a win.
On paper, this seemed like a real mismatch between the Patriots offense and the Giants defense. The Patriots came in to the game with the #2 offense, having scored a whopping 513 points, while QB Tom Brady had thrown for over 5,000 yards for the first time in his career. The Giants, on the other hand, had given up 400 points during the season, making them the #25 defense that year.
But, as in SB 42, the Giants were able to stymie the Patriots, holding them to just 17 points.
This was a game of swings. The Giants scored the first 9 points, aided by an intentional grounding penalty by Brady in his own end zone that resulted in a Safety. But from the second quarter through the mid-point of the third quarter, the Patriots scored the next 17 points to take an 8-point lead, highlighted by a TD run by David Woodhead and a TD pass from Brady to Aaron Hernandez (is it possible that just 10 years ago he played in a Super Bowl?).
However, trailing 17-15 late in the game, Manning and the Giants drove 88 yards for the winning TD, scoring with just 57 seconds left. This drive was marked by a beautiful 38 yard completion from Manning to Mario Manningham to get the Giants rolling on that drive.
The Patriots came in to the game as 3-point favorites, but once again Eli Manning out-dueled Tom Brady, winning the MVP award, as the Giants claimed their 8th NFL championship.
Happy 10th Anniversary, Giants.
[OC] Since 2000, 67% of the time at least one of the two Super Bowl teams missed the playoffs the next season. In this post, I explore the so-called Super Bowl Hangover.
Note: I wrote this story a few years ago. All of the takeaways and insights remain the same, but the data/charts are a few years old.
TL;DR at the bottom
I have long believed the theory that there is a Super Bowl hangover, or as some call it, a Super Bowl curse. How else can it be explained that so many Super Bowl-losing teams didn’t make it back to the playoffs the next year? I will list a few examples. The 2016 Carolina Panthers missed the playoffs a year after going 15–1 and losing to the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. The Chicago Bears went 13–3 in 2006, lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl, and missed the playoffs the next year. Even the 16–0 New England Patriots missed the playoffs in 2008, the year after ending up 18–1 including the playoffs, their one loss came at the hands of the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. In this article, I will take you through my analysis and thoughts behind the theory of the Super Bowl Hangover. I might even change my mind by the end.
There are many reasons why a great team can be expected to regress the next season. To name a few...
- The Draft — like most other leagues, the best teams generally pick late, the worst teams generally pick early. This helps to maintain parity in the league.
- Coaching changes — Often the coordinators of Super Bowl teams become candidates for head coaching positions the next year. Losing a great coordinator can have a disruptive effect on any team.
- Longer season — Teams that go to the Super Bowl play 19–20 games. A season that is 19%-25% longer than non-playoff teams. This may be a small factor, but perhaps the additional reps/hits can have an adverse impact on players' performance or health the next season.
- Luck /Anomalies— Every team that makes it to the Super Bowl will count on some luck along the way, such as calls in their favor, record in one-score games, an easy schedule, fumble recovery luck, good health, David Tyree, etc. Great seasons are also great because some key players perform way above their average. These factors tend to even out over time. Bad luck and poor outlier performances are also, in part, why the worst teams generally improve the next season.
In total, 15 out of 50 Super Bowl losing teams have missed the playoffs the next year.
Maybe missing the playoffs 30% of the time doesn’t seem too bad, but these teams are arguably the best in their conference. Expecting a conference champion to simply make the playoffs the next year isn’t setting the bar too high. Data from more recent years supports the curse/hangover theory even more. 50% of all Super Bowl losing teams since the 1998 season (Super Bowl 33) have missed the playoffs the next year.
The chart below shows a timeline of each Super Bowl losing team’s playoff status the next year. The green squares above the line represent teams that went on to make the playoffs the next year. The red squares indicate teams that did not make the playoffs the year after losing the Super Bowl. For example, after getting blown out by San Francisco 55–10 in Super Bowl 24, the Denver Broncos went 5–11 the next year and missed the playoffs — this is represented by the red square.
That long run of green squares from Super Bowl 4 through 21 (1970–87) was well before the salary cap (cap introduced in 1994). The lack of a salary cap likely helped to keep the great teams competitive for long periods of time like the Redskins in the ’80s, and the Dolphins, Steelers, and Raiders in the ’70s.
While I was researching the next seasons’ performance of Super Bowl losing teams, I thought about the psychology of losing and the type of loss in the Super Bowl. How does a team respond the next season after losing on the final play or in the final minute? Does the data show any clear distinction in next season’s performance based on the type of loss a team has experienced in the Super Bowl? In the table below, I categorized the data based on the type of loss from a blowout to a heartbreaking loss. It’s important to note that the analysis is based on a total of 50 Super Bowls. Segmenting these games into four categories is going to create extremely small sample sizes. It might be hard to develop a clear and decisive finding from such small numbers. This exercise gives us a table that is probably more interesting than it is useful, but I thought it would be a fun breakdown to share. What it does tell us, if we choose to make an assumption on a small sample size, is that the type of loss really doesn't matter. Three of the four categories are very close in percent and the only category that is not around 30%, Close Game (1 Score), has a total of only seven games. One additional playoff miss would put the playoff percent in line with all of the other categories.
So, the data shows that Super Bowl losing teams miss the playoffs 30% of the time (50% more recently). That tells us something, but does it tell us enough to say that there is a Super Bowl hangover for the losing team? If there is a factor negatively impacting losing teams that isn’t impacting winning teams, maybe we will see a significant difference when we compare to Super Bowl winning teams. Maybe the losing team misses the playoffs the next year at a much higher rate than winning teams.
It turns out, Super Bowl losing teams and winning teams miss the playoffs the next year at virtually the same rate.
Below is the timeline of each Super Bowl winning teams playoff status the next year. Winning Super Bowl teams have missed the playoffs 32% of the time the next season. I mentioned earlier, that since 1998, the losing team has missed the next playoffs the next season at an elevated rate in recent years (nine years missed in the last 18 years). Well, the winning teams missed the playoffs only one less year (8 out of 18) since 1998. There is no difference in a teams playoff rate the next year when comparing the winning Super Bowl team to the losing Super Bowl team.
I went into this analysis with the goal of proving the theory that losing Super Bowl teams suffer from a hangover and perform poorly the following season as a result of experiencing failure in the biggest game on the biggest stage. But once we compare the losing teams’ data to the winning teams’ data, we don’t see a difference in their rate of success in making the playoffs the next season.
When combining the data for the winning and losing Super Bowl teams, they have a playoff rate of 71% the next year season. Should we expect the best two teams (arguably) from the previous season to miss the playoffs almost 30% of the time the next year when there are a total of 12 teams (38% of the league)* in the playoffs? Adding two more categories for comparison, playoff teams and non-playoff teams, might help us make a more informed opinion on Super Bowl teams’ playoff rate the next season. \currently 12 out of 32 teams make the playoffs, it hasn’t always been 38%, but has ranged from 38% to 43% since 1990. Changes are due to expansion increasing the total number of teams in the league from 28 to 32 over time.*
The 29% playoff miss rate for Super Bowl teams seems high in isolation, but the rest of the playoff teams miss the playoffs the next year 47% of the time.
If your team is in the playoffs, enjoy the moment, because next years odds of returning are essentially a coin flip. For most playoff teams it would be hard to imagine that they won’t make it the next year, but one out of two teams will not. It’s even harder to imagine a scenario where a Super Bowl team doesn’t make the playoffs, but nearly one out of three will not make it the next year. Rounding out the list are the non-playoff teams which will see about a quarter of teams making it the next year and three-quarters continuing to miss out.
Comparing the Super Bowl teams to other playoff teams suggests that the 71% success rate of making the playoffs seems relatively good compared to 53% for the other playoff teams. The obvious flaw in this approach is that generally the two best teams are the Super Bowl teams, and they should have a better playoff rate the next season. So another approach is to compare Super Bowl teams to non-Super Bowl teams with a similar record. This will eliminate some of the weaker playoff teams from the analysis such as an 8–8 or 9–7 division winner (or even the occasional playoff team with a losing record, which has happened twice in the 16-game schedule era*). \excluding 1982 when the NFL implemented a 16-team playoff because of the strike-shortened season*
For this comparison, I am only using data back to 1978 when the NFL changed to a 16-game schedule. There was a strike in 1982 and 1987 and those years produced anomalous results, so I’m excluding those years as well as the year prior to strike years because I’m examining the previous year’s results vs. the next year’s success.
The average Super Bowl winning team won 12.5 regular season games, the losing team was similar with 12.3 wins. I will compare the playoff rate in the following year for the 70 Super Bowl teams to the 80 teams with 12–13 wins that were NOT in the Super Bowl during that same time period.
In the 16-game schedule era, Super Bowl teams made the playoffs two-thirds of the time. Coincidentally, both the winning and losing team have the same rate of 66%. By comparing this to all other 12 and 13-win teams excluding Super Bowl teams, Super Bowl teams are outperforming non-Super Bowl teams. 12 and 13-win teams who did not play in the Super Bowl miss the playoffs about half of the time the next season. This data (see below) suggests that Super Bowl teams missing the playoffs nearly a third of the time is better than what might be expected, given the fact that the other 12–13 win teams miss the playoffs half of the time.
As an interesting side note and a slight diversion from the purpose of this analysis, the Kansas City Chiefs were a notable oddity when I was looking at 12 and 13-win teams and their playoff rate the next year. Three out of the 15 teams that missed playoffs the season after going 13–3 were the Chiefs. In fact, since the switch to a 16-game schedule, 13 wins have been the Chiefs best regular season record and they are 0–3 in making the playoffs the year after winning 13 games. Perhaps this is because they were in a tough division, maybe it was bad injury luck, or likely it’s just a small sample size with randomness tempting us to search for a cause. I have listed a little bit of information about those three Chiefs teams in the notes section at the end of this article.
Making the playoffs isn’t always an indicator of how well a team played.
One of the key factors for a team to make the playoffs is the quality of the other teams, particularly teams in the same division. Although making the playoffs is what matters, we need to go beyond using playoff percent as the only key metric.
Since 1978 there have been 23 teams with ten or eleven wins that did not make the playoffs. 16% of ten-win teams do not make the playoffs and 2% of eleven-win teams do not make the playoffs.
The best teams to miss the playoffs are the 2008 Patriots who went 11–5 (Key players: QB Matt Cassel, RB Sammy Morris, WR Randy Moss, WR Wes Welker, DE Richard Seymour, NT Vince Wilfork) and the 1985 Denver Broncos who also went 11–5 (Key players: QB John Elway, RB Sammy Winder, WR Vance Johnson, WR Steve Watson, LB Karl Mecklenburg, DE Rulon Jones).
Conversely, there have been teams with relatively bad records making the playoffs.
15 teams with either seven or eight wins have made the playoffs since 1978 (Excluding the two strike seasons of 1982 and 1987). An eight-win team has a 9% chance to make the playoffs and a seven-win team has a 1.6% chance to make the playoffs.
The two teams with only seven wins to make the playoffs were the 2010 Seahawks (Key players: QB Matt Hasselbeck, RB Marshawn Lynch, RB Justin Forsett, DE Chris Clemons, S Earl Thomas) and the 2014 Panthers (Key players: QB Cam Newton, RB Jonathan Stewart, TE Greg Olsen, WR Kelvin Benjamin, DE Charles Johnson, LB Luke Kuechly, CB Josh Norman). Most people would agree that the 2008 Patriots with an 11–5 record were a better team than the 7–9 Seahawks in 2010, which is why focusing on playoff percentage should not be the only metric we look at in determining a teams success in the next season.
The next part of this analysis explores the percentage of teams that improve or decline in the regular season based on their record the previous season.
The chart below is a look at the change, categorized by the number of wins they had in the prior season. For example, a three-win team has improved 82% of the time, repeated their three-win season 6% of the time and have had a worse record 15% of the time. Because of movement towards the mean for reasons I stated at the beginning of this article, you would expect the worst teams to improve and the best teams decline. Interestingly, the data shows that 8–8 teams improve and decline at exactly the same rate of 43%, with another 14% remaining at 8–8 the next year.
This analysis was completed in the middle of the 2017 season, so the chart shows that 100% of 1–15 teams improve the next year. This is expected because it’s extremely hard to go 0–16 or to repeat a 1–15 season. Now that the 2017 season is over, the Cleveland Browns have become the first 1–15 team to NOT improve the next season. There have been 10 teams that have had a 1–15 record. Going from 1–15 to 0–16 is a historical first. Remarkably, the average 1–15 team is 7–9 the next season. The Miami Dolphins had a record 10 game improvement from 1–15 to 11–5 in 2007 and 2008. After the 2007 season, the Dolphins changed their head coach, GM, and probably more importantly, they went from a host of quarterbacks in ’07 led by Cleo Lemon with the most starts (7) to Comeback Player of the Year winner Chad Pennington in 2008. Before the 2008 season, the Dolphins had the #1 overall pick as 1–15 teams generally do. They selected T Jake Long who immediately anchored their offensive line. Jake Long made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year and the Dolphins improved from allowing 42 sacks in 2007 to allowing only 26 sacks in 2008.
So how does all of this relate back to the initial theme of this article? Is there a Super Bowl hangover? When using playoff rates as one indicator, I have suggested that Super Bowl teams are probably not missing playoffs at a higher rate than expected. Using the improve/decline analysis above, we can place Super Bowl teams on that same chart and determine if Super Bowl teams are an outlier in terms of the improve/decline metric. As I previously stated, the average Super Bowl winner has a 12.5 win season and the average Super Bowl losing team has a 12.3 win season. I have added these two groups (SB winners and SB losers) to the chart below. Looking at the data this way will demonstrate if these Super Bowl teams are outliers. The average Super Bowl losing teams’ record improves only 12% of the time and declines 76% of the time. If we only had this number without context, we would likely assume that there is a Super Bowl hangover. But with the benefit of having the rest of the data for comparison, it seems that the losing teams’ rate of decline is just about where it should be. Although Super Bowl winning teams only improve their record 18% of the time and decline 68% of the time, they’re probably doing better than they should be the next season given their average record in their Super Bowl year. Even though Super Bowl winning teams average 12.5 wins, their improve/decline percentage is more in line with an 11 or 12-win team.
The final part of the analysis examines the average shift in wins the next season based on a team’s record in the prior season.
The general trend is similar to the improve/decline statistic above but is measured in terms of average win-shift instead of the percentage of teams to improve or decline. First, let’s look at the teams in each category. As you might expect, the bar chart representing the number of teams by wins total is a typical bell curve with the largest group going 8–8 (128 teams, 12.5% of the total), and the fewest number of teams at the far right and left. It’s important to be aware of the small sample sizes at the extreme ends of the bell curve as you look at the data.
When I decided to analyze the data, I anticipated the image below. In my experience, it’s not common that a hypothesis turns out to be accurate after objectively analyzing the data, but I was happy to see that in this case, my guess was right. The very best and very worst teams move toward the mean to the largest degree and the teams in the middle tend to stay in the middle. Again, there are a number of reasons for this, such as the draft, schedule strength, coaching changes, good/bad luck not repeating, etc. The Y-axis represents the number of wins in a season and the bars display the average shift in wins the next season. For example, an average 13–3 team (there have been 39 of them) will have 3.5 less wins the next season. So if you are a fan of the Patriots, Eagles, Vikings or Steelers, don’t be surprised if they end up with 9 or 10 wins in 2018…well, except for the Patriots, they tend to defy logic. And what about this year’s four-win teams? We shouldn’t be shocked, in fact, we should expect a three-win improvement from these teams. Like most four-win teams, they experienced bad luck, and bad (or good) luck is not likely to continue. Just by adding a healthy Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson they are extremely likely to improve their record by multiple wins.
Like I did with the Improve/Decline charts, I have included the Super Bowl teams along the Y-axis in the chart below. They are placed between the 12 and 13 win groups based on their average win total to illustrate if their wins have shifted within an expected range. The losing Super Bowl team, represented by the red bar, has decreased by an average of 2.8 wins the next season. Based on a quick glance at the chart, that shift seems right about where you would expect it to be. I noted earlier that Super Bowl winners have a better than expected improve/decline rate. Looking at the win-shift data, they have also outperformed expectations by declining an average of only 2.0 wins. Visually, the Super Bowl winning teams’ shift seems to be an outlier. You might expect a shift that is closer to a 3.0 win decrease for Super Bowl winners based on their regular season record.
A slightly more scientific approach to validating that Super Bowl teams average win-shift is within an acceptable range is to show the expected record based on a linear regression. I performed a simple linear regression with data from every season since 1978 when the 16-game schedule era began (excluding strike seasons of ’82 and ’87, the seasons prior to strike seasons because we are unable to compare record shifts to the strike-shortened seasons, and 2016, because this analysis began before the 2017 season was over). I plotted the wins in the prior season against the positive or negative win-shift in the subsequent season. Expected wins in the next season based on this regression are in the table below. The expected win-shift for a Super Bowl losing team (in red) which averages 12.3 wins, would be -2.8, which is exactly what they have averaged. The expected win-shift for a Super Bowl winning team (in green) which averages 12.5 wins, would be -2.9. This indicates that Super Bowl winning teams’ average decline of 2.0 wins is better than expected.
Even though the average Super Bowl winning team’s record declines by 2.0 wins the next season, that is almost a full win better than their expected win-shift.
Conclusion
I truly believed the theory that Super Bowl teams have experienced a Super Bowl hangover, so I started to dig through the data to validate my assumption. The first part of my analysis, the time series chart in Section one, did confirm my hypothesis. I was pleased to find out that I was right. Except…maybe I wasn’t. Sure, I could have stopped there to confirm my hypothesis, but this initial level of analysis didn’t provide enough rigor. Super Bowl teams miss the playoffs 30% of the time. That seems bad, but what do other teams do? What about teams that aren’t in the Super Bowl and have a similar regular season record? Once this next step was added to the analysis, my assumption became a little less correct.
Then I noticed those 11–5 teams that missed the playoffs and also the seven and eight-win teams that have made the playoffs. This illuminated the fact that a teams ability to make the playoffs can be heavily influenced by the quality of the other teams in their division. Using playoff percentage as the only indicator will bring a significant amount of noise into the analysis.
Next, I analyzed the percentage of teams records that improve, decline or stay the same the next season based on their wins in the prior season. I added Super Bowl teams to the data for comparison. In the final section, I used a similar process but instead of the percentage of teams to improve or decline, I focused on the actual shift in wins. Both of these steps shifted me away from my initial assumption at the beginning.
The takeaway from this analysis is that we shouldn’t be shocked if a Super Bowl team does not even make the playoffs in the subsequent season. We should expect to see this occur every couple of years. Since the first Super Bowl in 1967, one of the two Super Bowl participants has missed the playoffs the next year 52% of the time — this is up to 72% of the time since 1998. These teams do not miss the playoffs because they are letting the success or the failure in the most important game impact their performance the next season. Taking everything into account, my analysis suggests that Super Bowl teams’ playoff rates and win-loss records in the subsequent season are normal or even better than they should be based on typical regression to the mean. There is no Super Bowl hangover.
TL;DR
Teams that make the Super Bowl often did so because they were a combination of two things:
- Really good
- Lucky.
The good part of that combination is repeatable, but the lucky part does not often repeat, so regression is expected. In fact, when comparing the losing Super Bowl teams to the winning Super Bowl teams the results are similar; and comparing Super Bowl teams to non-Super Bowl teams but with similar regular-season records, Super Bowl teams outperform that group the next season. There is no Super Bowl curse. It's more likely than not that the stars will not align for either the Rams or the Bengals next year and one of them regresses enough to miss the playoffs. An important caveat is the additional playoff team and a 17-game season will have some influence on how things will be going forward.
Note: For all comparisons involving season to season shifts during the 16 game schedule era, the following years were excluded from the data: 1981 and 1982 — because 1982 was a strike-shortened season, and 1981 didn’t have a full subsequent season (1982) the next year for comparison of record changes. 1986 and 1987 for the same reason. 2017, because the 2018 season hasn’t started at the time of this analysis, therefore we have no next season for comparison.