Monday Spread Option 05-19-14

1. How shocked are you that the Pacers beat the Heat so handily?

Ty-
Honestly I am shocked and not shocked at the same time. The Pacers have been up and down since the all-star break. The one thing that they have been consistent about is playing up to good teams. I could have seen the Pacers losing by 20 because they haven't played well but they got their groove back a little during the Wizards series. I picked the Pacers to win yesterday because I thought that they would finally play with energy. They had to because this is the series that they have been waiting for all year. They match-up well with the Heat and have the tools to beat them. So I'm not that surprised but I didn't think it would be as easy as it was. The reason it was so easy was because the Heat don't have the same team they had last year. The Heat bench and role players are not playing nearly as well as they were last year. The only player who played great was LeBron. The Heat need more contribution from other players next game. I do think the Pacers need to win game 2 to really have a chance to win the series.

Spencer-
I'm not shocked at all. For one that is the level of basketball I expected the Pacers to play when the playoffs started. Obviously they lived on the edge for the first two series and only looked their best when they knew it was win or go home. All that aside though I knew if the playoffs weren't enough to motivate the Pacers to play harder, a rematch with the Heat was. The Pacers had the Eastern Conference Finals circled on their calender since game 7 ended last year and they wanted home court advantage this time around and got it so they could have an edge when they met Miami there again. They got just that and they're play yesterday showed that this is what they were built for, dethroning Miami. Indiana spent the last three years building that team and getting them playoff experience and they came so close last year. This series is about two teams that hate each other and I expect the Pacers to play inspired like they did in game one all series.


2. How much do you think the Serge Ibaka injury effects the Spurs vs Thunder series?

Spencer-
I think is definitely hurts the Thunder in a big way. I know he isn't by any means the focal point of the offense and that they needed him more in the first two series than they will in this match-up with the Spurs, but I still think him being out of the lineup will cost the Thunder this series.

His offense is helpful enough at times that they will miss it, but what is more important is the absence of his defensive presence. Ibaka averages 8.8 rebounds a game this year and nearly three blocks a game. I know that other guys like Steven Adams and Nick Collison can step up in that spot and contribute in a big way, but they won't have the same effect as Ibaka. Obviously Perkins will guard Tim Duncan, which makes Tiago Splitter's effectiveness huge for the Spurs. He'll step up his game down low and that could be costly for the Thunder. Playing small ball more, could be the one saving grace with the absence of Ibaka, because they have had success with that line up before, including against the Clippers last series.

Ty-
I think it is a big effect on the Thunder. A lot of people under-rate Ibaka when he is playing and downplay his impact on the game. He is a beast defensively and change a lot of shots in the lane. But I do think that if Ibaka is lost this is the time where it doesn't hurt as much. Ibaka was good offensively but not somebody the Thunder relied on. They can get his offense from somewhere else, probably Reggie Jackson, Caron Butler or even a wildcard like Perry Jones III.

The Spurs don't have the bigs that the Clippers and the Grizzlies had that you needed Ibaka for. Perkins would have guarded Duncan anyway and he isn't the focal point of the offense. Spurs center Thiago Splitter has played well but he isn't as athletic as DeAndre Jordan or physically imposing as Zach Randolph or Marc Gasol. Nick Collison and Steven Adams are capable of guarding him. This also forces Scott Brooks to maybe play small more which benefits the team and also play a lineup of Westbrook, Jackson, Durant, Collison, and Adams. That lineup came back against the Clippers in game 6. They still played great defense with rim protection from Adams and had great spacing offensively. Nick Collison's passing and Adam's ability to finish at the rim really opened the floor for Durant and Westbrook. The injury hurts because Ibaka usually kills the Spurs but the whole team plays well against the Spurs so they can still win.

3. Now that the Bruins and have been knocked out of the playoffs and the conference finals under way, who do you have winning the Stanley Cup?

Ty-
The Blackhawks should be the favorite for now. They have the pedigree of winning and they are the defending champions. I do like all the teams left and could see all of them winning the cup. The Rangers did beat Montreal easily so they can be a force to worry about as long as they have Lundqvist. But I think the Blackhawks have the defense and offense to win it again.

Spencer-
When the playoffs started a few weeks back I felt the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues were the two best teams in the playoffs with Chicago as a close third. I thoroughly believed whoever won the Blues, Blackhawks series was destined to at least make the cup and now with the Bruins out of the picture it is the Blackhawks to lose. They should handle L.A. for the second straight year and I don't see either team in the East being a problem for them either. The defending champs will take it again.


4. Which NFL Rookie will have the biggest impact next season?

Spencer-
Kahlil Mack will have the biggest immediate impact next year. This guy is a play maker and don't tell me "he played in the MAC conference," cause I don't care. No conference can hide raw talent and he has it. The Raiders have been stuck in neutral for a while now and defensively they are taking steps forward now. Mack's quickness will allow him to be a play maker all year on an Oakland defense that will face three playoff teams in San Diego, Denver and Kansas City. He will get a lot of reps on defense and with a veteran like LaMarr Woodley to lead him, he can develop into a solid NFL pass rusher. Also the pressure is off of him to take his time to develop because he isn't a quarterback expected to turn around a franchise in a season and he plays in Oakland. That works in his favor as well. I see Mack making a lot of great defensive plays for the Raiders this year and in years to come.


Ty-
Sammy Watkins should have the biggest impact next year. Although I could have leaned on a quarterback like Manziel or Bridgewater. I think that Watkins is the only sure fire starter and star in the draft. Also with the Stevie Johnson trade Watkins is the #1 wide receiver for the Bills already. Although the Bills have other decent wide receivers like Robert Woods and Mike Williams, Watkins is by far the best wide receiver in the group. It all really depends on if E.J. Manuel can get him the ball. They will probably scheme for him to get the ball on screens which should work because Watkins is so good in the open field. I suspect that Watkins has 1,300 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns for the bills this year.




What we learned?

Ty- Coaching Changes Could Decide the Future of NBA

Basketball is just like every other sport. Sometimes even if you have the talent to succeed you need a good coach to mesh everything together. Last year the Pistons cultivated a lot of talent on their team. But they made two bad moves in a row.

First the Pistons signed Josh Smith to play small forward, which he had proven to be bad at. Then they hired Maurice Cheeks who is a good coach but isn't great in a lot of areas that you need and has

never been a proven winner with a tried and true system. They didn't have the right fit of players or coach. Now they have hired Stan Van Gundy to be the coach and the president of basketball operations. He has a great system that is also analytics friendly that should utilize more three point shooting and Drummond's pick and roll prowess.

I do think they need to get rid of Josh Smith or let Greg Monroe walk in free agency. SVG might get rid of them both and opt for a stretch forward like he had in Orlando. But he could win with 2 of those guys and not three unless one of them comes off the bench.

The other coaching change that happened was the Steve Kerr spurning the Knicks to sign with the Warriors. Although I love Steve Kerr and he was a decent GM with the Suns he has yet to prove if he is a good coach. That is however his least important problem. He has to deal with coaching a team that was absolutely not on board with the firing of the successful Mark Jackson.

The team might not want to buy into Kerrs style because of how much loyalty they have for Jackson. The only way they do is if he makes them better. I do think that the Warriors could have played with a lot more pace than they did with all their shooters and open floor athletes. That could really open their game up by they have to remember to play defense. Also hopefully Steve Kerr is better at drawing up plays and not relying on his stars as much as Jackson did. Either way they hiring could really effect the landscape of the NBA.

Spencer- The early MLB season has been a lie 

This year the MLB season has gotten off to a very unpredictable start as the teams that everyone expected to be dominant and prove it from the beginning of the year have been slow, while teams expected to struggle have come out hot. Only three teams in my mind have really lived up to their predicted start and that is the Detroit Tigers, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. The Tigers for obvious reasons were picked by most to be a top team and so far have been as they hold a 27-12 record and lead their division by seven games already. With the Giants, although I predicted it completely wrong, they have jumped out to a 28-17 start and lead a division that most thought was owned by the Dodgers. Then there is the A's who hold a 28-16 record and lead the AL West Division by three and a half games over the Angels, which again has been predictable.

Now looking at the rest of the league things seem all out of whack compared to what everyone kind of expected to happen. In the AL East, which I and many predicted to be the toughest division the Yankees lead and the two teams I predicted to finish in first and second, the Rays and Red Sox, sit in the bottom of the division and are slumping. It still could end up being the most competitive division because the teams are all within a few games of each other, but it is kind of opposite of what many thought thus far. In the AL West the Angels, as I said, are just three and a half back of the A's, which has some people surprised. I know I predicted the Angels would bounce back this year with the roster they have but some people still felt they weren't going to compete. What is more surprising about that division is that Texas sits in second to last with a 21-23 record. The Rangers can't seem to score though right now so that has been the cause of their early season struggles.

In the NL the biggest surprise to me is the Milwaukee Brewers ridiculous 27-17 start, which has them leading the NL Central by four games over St. Louis. I don't know anyone who really saw that coming. Then in the NL west the Colorado Rockies have seen some early success as they are in second, just three games back of the Giants and two ahead of the Dodgers who are just a game above .500 at 23-22. I for one saw Kershaw's return as a jump start to L.A.'s season but he struggled mightily in his last start. We may still have to wait for a run by the Dodgers but I still think it's coming. For Colorado though they are hitting out of this world right now particularly at home.
Troy Tulowitzki has kind of been the spark for that offense as he started the month an insane 28-for-47 (.560) at home back on May 5. I don't expect the Rockies to keep this up forever though. The most sane division in the NL is the East where the Braves and Nationals are in a tight race for first. Marlins surprisingly though have used solid pitching to hang in there as well only a game and a half back. I expect the Jose Fernandez injury to have a huge impact on that teams ability to keep this up though.


As we enter summer it is going to be interesting to see which teams can turn their slow starts around or which teams fall off a bit. Baseball is a long season so nothing is set in stone yet, but for baseball fans out there it hasn't been the start we saw coming.