Monday Spread Option 07-14-2014

1. LeBron James left the Miami Heat and decided to go home to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Can the Cavs win a championship next year with the way the roster is currently constructed?

 

Ty-
I would like to gloat first and say that I thought that after the season I definitely thought that there could be a possibility of LeBron going back. I didn't say it was definitely going to happen by any stretch but most people were steadfast on LeBron staying and thought he would consider going back. But that's besides the point. I think that people are somewhat jumping the gun on the Cavs being surefire title contenders.



I think they will be a top 5 seed in the east but a lot has to happen. Kyrie Irving has to stay healthy and Wiggins as well as Bennett need to grow as players. I do believe that they will grow because LeBron has the ability to elevate other players games. He also takes the pressure off of the other guys. Instead of Wiggins having to live up to an insane amount of hype he will help the team if he plays the elite defense he is capable of and improves his 3 point shooting. Tristan Thompson is a good big man and Anthony Bennett just has to be a serviceable big man backup but he does have the potential to be a big man that can run the floor and shoot 3 pointers. 

If Bennett becomes a good stretch 4 than he is perfect for a system around LeBron James as it allow James to operate with space. Kyrie Irving in a way is a better Dwayne Wade because he can penetrate like D-Wade could but he is a far better 3 point shooter than Wade so it means that he can space the floor as well. The biggest challenge will be for a young team and new head coach to establish championship level defense and learn a winning offense in crunch time. So I think they could in theory but I would say it is extremely doubtful as of right now.  

Spencer-
I think with LeBron James on your team you can at least put them in the discussion as a championship contender, but personally I don't think they can win it as soon as next year. A lot of the Cavaliers' success hinges on the development of their young talent. We already know what Kyrie Irving can do, but can Tristan Thompson get even better? Can Anthony Bennett, whose been said to be making progress this summer, be more effective than he was in his rookie year? Can Andrew Wiggins develop into the talent he has the potential to be? Those are the questions that decide the Cavaliers future. I don't think that is all going to happen in one season but I do think they will make progress. LeBron makes everyone better so you know he will be able to mentor a guy like Wiggins and help him compete at a high level. That's why I at least give them a shot at it this year though because if things can fall into place I don't see why they couldn't. Nonetheless they will have some tough teams in the East to compete with in the Bulls, the Pacers, the Heat will still be good. And in the West, well we know how good many of those teams are. My prediction is they make a deep playoff run and don't win it this year, but long term will have a shot at multiple championships when this young team grows. 

2. Germany defeated the Argentina in the World Cup 1-0 yesterday. What are your thoughts on the game? Do you think soccer will see an increased popularity because of this years World Cup?
Spencer-
The World Cup Final was a solid conclusion to a thrilling month of soccer. I was hoping for some more scoring in the game especially with Lionel Messi on the field but obviously you never know what you're going to get with soccer. Messi did miss some easy chances though, which was surprising. Great match overall though and it took a dramatic extra time goal to decide the champion. Can't argue with that. 

In regard to soccer's growth and popularity in the United States, the World Cup always helps advance it, but not enough that people are going to start watching the MLS more. The international competitions like the World Cup and Olympics will always draw viewers, which is a great thing for the sport. I do know a decent amount of people who watch the European league in the mean time, but it's not enough to make it a primary sport here in the U.S. 


Ty-
I think the team that I thought was going win this game, the team that looked the best throughout the tournament basically did what I thought they were going to do. Germany outplayed the Argentinans for most of the game although you have to give Argentina credit for how well their defense held up. But in the end I think the better team ended up winning the World Cup. That isn't usually the case in sports and Messi had a chance to be the deciding factor at many different points of the match but he just didn't have enough.

In terms of soccer's popularity, I think that the world cup being every 4 years can make the world cup great but it also hurts the game suffer. People in America just have too many sports that they enjoy. As soon as the NFL starts people will probably forget about the world cup. Soccer would have a much better chance if the USA had made it to the finals or won. Either way soccer is already the most loved sport in the world so I don't think futbol fans really care about what us Americans do.  

3. Make your predictions about the MLB All-Star festivities. Who will in the Home Run Derby? All-Star Game? All-Star Game MVP?

Ty-

The MLB All-Star weekend isn't my favorite all star event but everybody loves home runs so I do like the home run derby. I have no idea who is going to win but I'm going to go with Adam Jones. I just really like his swing and again sometimes the derby winner is random so I don't think Stanton will win.

I think the NL is going to win the game again just because I feel like the national league is slightly better than the AL.The pitching in the NL is a little better to me so they will probably win another low scoring game 3-1.

Spencer-
I'm torn on who's going to win the Home Run derby because I think Giancarlo Stanton is going to win, but I want to see Yeonis Cespedes defend his title and could definitely see him doing so. Gun to my head I guess I'd roll with Stanton since no one has repeated as a derby champion since 98-99. Stanton is obviously a tremendous hitter and is favored by a lot of expert for a reason.

For the All-Star game I think the National League takes it to earn home field advantage in the World Series. For one the N.L. batting order is scary from top to bottom, starting with Andrew McCutchen and Yasiel Puig and ending with Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez. American League batting order is great too, you got Jose Bautista in there who can hit for power and Miguel Cabrera is obviously dangerous but the youth and depth of the N.L. order poses more of a threat to me. Not only that but the A.L. will have to start the game hitting against Adam Wainwright who has been a force especially over the last month, and then they will most likely get Clayton Kershaw next. That's lights out pitching to start the game for the N.L.

Obviously the All-Star game is full of subs and pitching changes from start to finish so it is hard to predict, but I believe the National League takes it this year. For the MVP it's obvious. No doubt that fans will go for the sentimental choice again this year, much like last year with Mariano Rivera. Derek Jeter takes home the award. He could go 0-3 in the game with an error and I'd still put money down that he gets it, strictly because of what he has meant to the game. 

4. After LeBron and Carmelo's decisions the free agency flood gates opened. What were the best and worse free agency moves over the weekend?

Spencer-
We'll start with the bad and Ty and I agree on this one easily...the Houston Rockets had the worst free agency this weekend. They banked so hard on signing Chris Bosh that it cost them in the end. They lost Omer Asik for nothing, gave up Jeremy Lin for even less. Then Bosh resigned with the Miami Heat and everyone thought Houston's next move was matching the Chandler Parson's deal with the Mavs buuuut they decided against that. Only positive for them was getting Trevor Ariza, which helped stop the bleeding a little bit but still. Talk about striking out. 

Outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers signing LeBron, which is obviously the most impactful move, I think the Bulls were the biggest winners. They only really made the one signing in Pau Gasol but boy was that a big one. Having both Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah in the front court is going to be a dominating pair to say the least. Add Derek Rose back into the mix and the Bulls are a favorite to win a title. Another best that flew under the radar a little bit with all the big name signing was Anthony Marrow going to Oklahoma City for 3 years and $10 million. That's a big signing for the Thunder cause Morrow is deadly from three point range. For his CAREER he shoots 43%. That will give them a threat deep to spread the floor a bit. They are already a favorite to win the Finals but this move certainly helps the cause. 

Ty-

The worst free agency belonged to the Rockets who missed out on all their big targets and lost their teams depth to do it. The lost Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik for basically nothing. The Lost Chandler Parsons to the Mavs. Parsons loss stings a little more because they could have kept him on his rookie contract until next summer but decided to make him a free agent this year to open up some cap room.

Some other terrible moves belong to the Lakers missing out on their targets and overpaying Jordan Hill about 9 million a year. The Pistons also overpayed Jodie Meeks and Caron Butler. Those guys are going to help but not for those prices.

The Best move is the Cavs signing LeBron obviously but I also like what the teams that were contending did. The Clippes added front court depth by adding Spencer Hawes. The Thunder added a needed 3 point shooter in Anthony Morrow for cheap. The Spurs resigned everybody from their title team so they should be great again. The Bulls added a needed low post scorer with Pau Gasol and put themselves along the top of eastern conference contenders. I also love the Wizards signing Paul Pierce after losing Trevor Ariza.


What we Learned:

Ty- Who is the favorite to win the East?

The departure of LeBron James to the Cavs has rendered the eastern conference wide open.

Now the Heat won't continue to be the perrenial power on top. But they will still be good. The Pacers may still have to figure out what is going on with Lance Stephensen and their point guard situation. But they should still be a forcein the east.

You also have the up and coming Washington Wizards who will be back with more playoff experience. And the up and coming Raptors who retained their beat player and should get better. 

The Bulls are probably the favorite to win the east right now but it really is contingent on whether Derek Rose comes back completely healthy. Pau Gasol is an upgrade over Carlos Boozer but he might not be able to play in crunch time if he can't play defense up to Tom Tibadeau's standards.

If I had to rank the eastern conference playoff teams right now with free agency still underway I woild probably rank it like

1.Pacers

2.Bulls

3.Wizards

4.Cavs

5.Heat

6.Raptors

7.Nets

8.Hornets

That would include the Knicks and Pistons lurking. I somewhat expect the East to be better this year overall but there might not be a team that can beat the top 4 teams in the west in the Finals. 

Alot can happen in the coming days, maybe Kevin Love gets traded to the Cavs but either way the Eastern conference will be wide open and more exciting next season.

Spencer- There's no place like home.

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet, and yes I know this might be corny but with everything that happened with LeBron and his decision to go back to Cleveland it taught us all as sports fans a valuable lesson. 

No matter where your life takes you sometimes, you'll always have a connection with the place that molded you into the person you are today...your home. Even if you're dream is to get out of there one day and move onto a different place you can't change where you were raised. That's a fact. So amongst the celebrations of James' return to where it all began for him, let's not forget that home truly is where your heart is. Even the best athlete in the world couldn't run away from his ties to where he grew up. Now he's where he belongs and he'll work to make Northeast Ohio a better place, while bringing home something they haven't seen in a long, long time...a Championship.