The Daily Bruh Review 12-9-14

Some how I was able to catch 3 different games on this Monday night. But first this night started with me deciding to eat pasta and clam sauce. Let me just say that somebody should have told me how smelly canned clam sause is man. It is stanky as hell. That has nothing to do with anything but I figured that I would warn you. Yeah I know, it is random so let's just go to some observations.

1.  Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets.

Yeah the Cleveland Cavaliers are good and the Brooklyn Nets are bad. That is pretty much the conclusion anyone would get from this game. What I took from it was that the Cavs are starting to look more and more like the team we expected. LeBron being the primary facilitator has kind of loosened up the offense and they are even playing slightly better defense. These dudes are also crazy good rebounding the ball. They out-rebounded the Nets 55 to 33. There was a point where I saw Tristan Thomas get 5 offensive rebounds in what seemed like a 2 minute span.

I still think this team can use a rim protector and the show "The Starters" on NBATV was talking about a scenario where the Cavs trade Dion Waiters to the Grizzlies for Kousta Koufas. Not sure why the Grizzlies would want Waiters but all option seem reasonable.

But of course Waiters has his best game of the season probably. He shot 50% and scored 26 points from the bench. If he just embracing his bench role like Tristan Thompson has then he could really help the team.

The Nets are just really bad which doesn't surprise me but does because Lionel Hollins is a good coach.

By the way Jay Z's reaction to a crazy turnaround jump shot by LeBron was priceless.

2. Toronto Raptors vs. Denver Nuggets.

Kyle Lowry has really been stepping up his game with DeMar DeRozan out but this game really showed how valuable he was to the Raptors success even in a bad shooting night. At the end of the game the Nuggets decided to try to double team Kyle Lowry and it lead to so many great looks for his teammates in crunch time. I really like watching this Raptors team and Lou Williams is going to be an important pick up during this stretch with DeRozan out.

3. Green Bay Packers vs Atlanta Falcons.

The biggest thing I took away from this game was that Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are great Hall of Fame players for many reasons. But both have areas where they lack and they make up for it with their knowledge of the game. It seems as if Aaron Rodgers don't have many areas where he lacks AND he has the knowledge. The arm talent is there and he can also run. It is hard not to see what he is doing this year and not call him the best quarterback in the league.

Oh and I hate the Falcons for being within 5 yards of the touchdown 3 times and giving up on running it with Steven Jackson every time. I lost to the worst team in one of my fantasy football league for the 3rd time this year. This time I lost by 3.5 points. Yeah I'm salty. Wasn't in the playoffs but it was more of a pride thing.




Smaller Observations:

• Read an article that Washington QB Robert Griffin was punting balls to himself for 40 minutes after practice. Maybe he wanted to have fun like he did as a kid? Maybe he is just depressed as hell. Either way this is what the season has come to 2 years in a row.

• LeBron said that he was honored to play in front of Prince William and Duchess Kate. The Nets were probably embarrassed that they had to watch how bad they were. 

• Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varajao has one of the dumbest mustaches I have ever seen. 

• I can't believe Kansas City Chief defensive back Eric Berry has lymphoma. That is just sad. Prayers up.

• I was just about to write that maybe LeBron was going to embrace his hairline and then I saw a Sprite commercial with his hair fully there. So maybe he isn't.

• John Wall's what-would-be-the game winning layup was awesome but this crazy circus shot when he began to take over in overtime is better.


• Also John Wall getting emotional after the game because a little girl that was his good friend lost her battle with cancer was a great display of humanity and was extremely sad. RIP Miyah.

• Eric Bledsoe is a guard... blocking potential game winning shots.

• Also I love the Suns and I love the Thunder but right now the Thunder is gunning for the Suns current spot in the western conference playoffs. I'm going to need the Rockets or somebody else to fall off.

• This sucks there is 11 teams in the western conference that I would want to see play in the playoffs. In the east there are only 4 teams I want to see play in the playoffs. Maybe make it the 16 best records make the playoffs. 

• The Suns loss sucked so much but I loved that game winning three from Blake Griffin. Just crazy that it went in. Blake Griffin gets the Bruh award of the night for shooting a shot that teammate J.J. Redick said he thought was an air ball and it happened to win the game.

• Check out this funny soccer video that Zach showed me. It's pretty damn funny

The Best Backcourt in the NBA?

In the upcoming days I will be starting my NBA season preview hopefully giving a look at all the teams, conferences, best storylines, best league pass teams and bold predictions.

So to hold everybody over I figured that I would dive in to this new debate over who has the best backcourt in the league. I heard the beef between Dion Waiters and John Wall and it really got me to thinking about who was truely the best backcourt in the league.

If you didn't hear the background on the story, here is an article that describes the situation in detail. Essentially Bradley Beal proclaimed that the Wizards had the best backcourt in the NBA and Dion Waiters called it, "Nonsense". Waiters believes that he and Irving hold that title.

Now I love Kyrie Irving but Dion Waiters seems like a random person to make lofty statements like that. I get the confidence but do the numbers really support this?

Now I needed somewhere to start so I decided to look at the rosters of all the teams in the league. The biggest thing that made this somewhat easy was the talent discrepancy at the two different guard positions. Most basketball fans know that point guard is one of the deepest positions in the league so finding a team with a good point guard is really easy. The shooting guard position is the one that is a little more talent challenged in terms of star power. So it narrowed down the choices a little bit.

Also be aware that some situations are in flux. The Thunder don't know who their starting shooting guard will be. I think if Reggie Jackson were to get that nod then he and Russell Westbrook would get at least some consideration in terms of a position on this list.

The top backcourts that I found in no particular order include:

Washington Wizards: Point guard John Wall and Shooting guard Bradley Beal.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Point guard Kyrie Irving and Shooting guard Dion Waiters.

Golden State Warriors: Point guard Steph Curry and Shooting guard Klay Thompson.

Brooklyn Nets: Point guard Deron Williams and Shooting guard Joe Johnson.

Toronto Raptors: Point guard Kyle Lowry and Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan.

Charlotte Hornets: Point guard Kemba Walker and Shooting guard Lance Stephenson.

San Antonio Spurs: Point guard Tony Parker and Shooting Guard Manu Ginobili.

Phoenix Suns: Point guard Goran Dragic and Point guard/Shooting guard Eric Bledsoe.

Those are mainly the only teams with formidable players at both guard spots. Most other teams have great point guards and specialist at shooting guards. This include the Clippers with Chris Paul at point guard and J. J. Redick, a shooting specialist at shooting guard. You also have the teams like the Heat and the Rockets that have an all-star shooting guard and an average or below point guard.

Now I can break out all the stats and we could count how much each back court scored and assisted compared to the others but that might not be a good indication when you try to factor in shooting percentages, defense, and how often they get to the foul line or create opportunities for their teammates.

The best way to look at all of those combined is to look at the win shares and efficiency ratings of each back court. Win shares is the estimated amount of wins that this person (or 2 people in this case) adds to the team. The player efficiency rating is the all encompassing statistic for how well a person plays. The average PER is 15. Kevin Durant posted a 29.8 PER for reference.

My gut and eyes told me that the Warriors were the best back court in basketball but here are the numbers:

Wizards: 11.9 win shares and 33.8 cumulative PER. (Beal only added 14.3).

Cavs: 8.3 win shares and 34.1 cumulative PER (Waiters only added 1.6 win shares and 14 PER).

Warriors: 20.1 win shares and 38.4 cumulative PER (Klay added 6.7 ws and 14.3 PER).


Nets: 10.3 win shares and 33.1 cumulative PER (Both had similar PER and ws).

Raptors: 20.5 win shares and 38.5 cumulative PER (Lowry added almost 12 ws, DeRozan almost 9).

*Hornets: 12.5 win shares and 31.5 cumulative PER (Lance had the higher ws, Walker had higher PER. Also played on separate teams last year so no as valid).

Spurs: 11.6 win shares and 38.9 cumulative PER (The low ws not surprising because the Spurs share the ball but man their PER is amazing).

*Suns: 14.4 (18.5 for full season) win shares and 41.0 cumulative PER (Keeping in mind Bledsoe only played 43 games. So he only had 4 win shares which would give him around 8 win shares in a full season)

Based on the numbers it looks like the Toronto Raptors had the best back court. I actually thought that they were underrated coming into this article. The numbers prove that to be incredibly true because they had more win shares than any other team and posted the 3rd highest PER. The Warriors were not far behind and I put them at second. The numbers rank out the teams:

1. Raptors

2. Warriors

3. Suns

4. Spurs

5. Wizards

6. Nets

                                                                                                        7. Cavs

                                                                                                         8.Hornets (only because they have yet to play with each other.)

So the two teams disputing this title were relatively low on the list. It should be noted that Bradley Beal was also hurt at times last season and increased hi playoff production to 19 points per game and a PER of 17. So he'll most likely get better and that coupled with John Wall's progression should jump the Wizards ahead of the aging Spurs.

The Cavs on the other hand was not surprisingly carried by Irving and I don't see that getting better with LeBron and Kevin Love in Cleveland to take away opportunities from Waiters (which is obviously justified). Their low ranking is also not surprising because of the reports the had issues last years.

The Suns are a team that might have had a chance to take the number one spot if they were healthy the whole year. Their PER was amazing. Also Bledsoe's ability to play defense at a high levels and the Suns system allows for both guards to flourish in the pick and roll.

The Warriors were great offensively and although they were carried a lot by Steph Curry, Klay scored at a great clip and added more defense than Steph Curry ever could. I still think this is the best back court to watch.

Once I started doing this blog I suspected that the Raptors would rank high because of their combined
scoring ability and their fairly underrated defensive abilities. Lowry is a hard nosed strong defender and DeRozan can be really scrappy as well. Imagine also how much higher their stat totals would have been if they traded Rudy Gay before last season. Seeing as their stats improved after Gay was traded to the Kings last December.

Everybody will have their own opinion but the Raptors might have the best back court in the NBA. Get those boys in Toronto more national TV games!!!!

NBA 1st Round Playoffs Preview

This has to be one of the most unpredictable NBA Playoffs in recent history. I have never been so unsure and excited about an NBA playoff before. 

The Western Conference is going to be epic and the Eastern Conference has some story lines as well. So needless to say I;m going to be making these predictions with very little confidence. But here you go.

The Obvious Picks:

East:

(1) Indiana Pacers vs (8) Atlanta Hawks:

The Pacers have been playing terrible. They lost to the Atlanta Hawks by 20 points a couple of games ago and the Hawks play well against them. But the Pacers are by far the better team. There is no way they could lose this series to a team that is way under .500, Right?

I mean I completely understand if you lost all confidence in the Pacers but they have to be able to win this series. I also think winning the series will help them get there confidence back.

Pacers in 5.

(2) Miami Heat vs (7) Charlotte Bobcats:

The Bobcats are way better than everybody thinks. The have a top 10 defense and a quick scoring guard in Kemba Walker. They also have one if the Heats major weaknesses, which is a scoring big man. Al Jefferson is definitely going to give the Heat some trouble. But it doesn't matter the Heat own the Bobcats almost as much as Michael Jordan does.

Heat in 5


West:

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs (8) Dallas Mavericks:

The Spurs have had trouble with some of the better teams in the league. Well as much as you can have and still win 60 plus games. But the Dallas Mavericks isn't one of those teams that the Spurs have trouble with. The Spurs swept them last year and has won 4 of the last 5 meeting in the playoffs. I don't think the Mavericks are an easy team but this is a terrible matchup for them.

Spurs in 5

A Lil' Tougher:

East:

(3) Toronto Raptors vs (6) Brooklyn Nets:


Everybody is just sleeping on how good the Raptors have been since trading Rudy Gay. They went from looking like a team headed for the lottery to the 3rd seed in the East. They have been beating teams. Sure the Nets have looked like a team that can compete since January but that has been more about their record against the Heat. This is going to be a highly contested series that I can see going both ways but......



Nets in 7


(4) Chicago Bulls vs (5) Washington Wizards

The Wizards are a good team but they probably don't have enough offense to win the series against an offense like this. The Bulls has their own problems scoring but they are the better team. The Wizards are a year and a player away from being a legit team.

Bulls in 6

West:

(2) OKC Thunder vs (7) Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies is a team that nobody wanted to face in the playoffs. Unlucky for them they are playing a team that has the people inside to contend with Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. The Thunder lost to the Grizzlies in the playoffs last year but that series had 4 straight close games that could have swung in either direction. Now the Thunder have Russell Westbrook back and played pretty well against the Grizzlies in the regular season. The Thunder finally has there team back to full health and they should be able to win this time around.

Thunder in 6

(4) Houston Rockets vs (5) Portland Trailblazers

This could be a toss up as well. Both these teams play a fast pace style and shoot a ton of 3's . The Blazers have an edge in the post because LeMarcus Aldridge is better offensively than Dwight Howard. This should be a fun series to watch. It should come down to wether one of the teams start to play defense and the Rockets are more likely to do that than the Blazers.

Rockets in 7

I Have No Idea:

(3) LA Clippers vs (6) Golden State Warriors

Yeah I have zero confidence in any pick I could make for this series. These teams play a fast pace and match up well against each other. They also don't like each other which means that the series is going to be heated. With Bogut out for the Warriors, the Clippers might have an edge inside but they need to hope that the splash brother (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) don't get hot for a game in LA because they are tough to beat in the Oracle Arena. I could see this series going Clippers in 7 or Warriors in 6 or vice versa. I'm not going to pretend to be any kind of confident but....

Clippers in 7

Second round teams:

East:

Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls

Miami Heat vs Brooklyn Nets

West:

San Antonio Spurs vs Houston Rockets

OKC Thunder vs LA Clippers

I will continue this preview into the second round.

The NBA Season guide for the Average NBA Fan without League Pass

Kevin Durant driving on Daymond Green

I love basketball, like most of the people reading this blog. But I am also broke, also like a lot of people who will probably read this blog. 

So I unfortunately can not afford the NBA league pass. Trust me I tried to talk myself into buying the $184 dollar sports package when I was randomly flushed with a little cash. I probably would not have regretted it, but I opted not to. 

Now I know your thinking, "Why would you name this blog for the fan without League Pass". Well although I don't have league pass, like I said, I love basketball so I have an insatiable need to gain knowledge and watch as much basketball as I can. I think that I have reasonably fashioned a way around not having league pass. A lot of that has to do with reading a bunch of articles and watching a ton of basketball online when I can.

So maybe the title is ironically titled but the bottom line is that it is around the time when the average or passing NBA fan begins to pay attention to basketball. So I basically read all the articles and watch all the basketball that you can't get to because of my open college schedule. Most of us just hear the same story lines on SportsCenter and see glimpses of highlights. But you don't get the whole story of whats going on in the league. I plan to give you guys the full picture.

So maybe I should name this the Avid NBA fans guide for average fan. I'll probably change it to that at some point but I will give you 6 to 8 things that has happened in the NBA that an average fan might not know or that an avid fan might have missed.

For this first post I will give you 8 things that have happened so far this NBA season up until this point and then I will do one every couple of weeks depending on how much happens over the weeks.
First here are some stats I will probably use throughout this article and what they mean.

TS% or True Shooting Percentage	True Shooting Percentage calculates what a player's shooting percentage would be if we accounted for free throws and 3-pointers. True Shooting Percentage = (Total points x 50) divided by [(FGA + (FTA x 0.44)]
USG: Usage Rate	·       Usage Rate is the number of possessions a player uses per 40 minutes. Usage Rate = {[FGA + (FT Att. x 0.44) + (Ast x 0.33) + TO] x 40 x League Pace} divided by (Minutes x Team Pace)
PER: Player Efficiency Rating	Player Efficiency Rating is Hollinger's overall rating of a player's per-minute statistical production. The league average is 15.00 every season.
PIE	In its simplest terms, PIE shows what % of game events did that player or team achieve. The stats being analyzed are your traditional basketball statistics (PTS, REB, AST, TOV, etc..) A team that achieves more than 50% is likely to be a winning team. A player that achieves more than 10% is likely to be better than the average player. A high PIE % is highly correlated to winning.

And if you don't feel like reading the whole article here is a guide to what I talked about.

1. The Toronto Raptors

2. Demarcus Cousins

3. Anthony Davis

4. Tanking teams

5.The Portland Trailblazers

6. The Thunder/ Harden trade

7. Blake Griffin

8. Teams not progressing

Now here are some facts about the NBA season so far that you might not have known if your a casual fan.

Raptor's guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan

1. The Toronto Raptors have been a big surprise after starting slow.

Yes if you watch ESPN then you know the Knicks and the Nets have played better in the new year but the team that has improved the most has been the Toronto Raptors. Trading Rudy Gay should be classified as some form of performance enhancing act because every team that does so gets better.

The Raptors started of 7-12 before they traded Gay to the Sacramento Kings on December 9th and have been 12-6 since the trade. They have also been a lot better on defense since the trade. They have been able to raise to the 3rd best team in points allowed on the season.

DeMar DeRozan has continued to score but has also developed as a passer. Kyle Lowry has increased his scoring from 13.5 ppg to 18 ppg and 8 assist in January. Terrence Ross has seen his production raise as well, going from 6 ppg to 13 ppg in January.

It is also worth noting that Rudy Gay has also been playing well for the Kings mainly because he couldn't get much worse than taking 18 shots a game and only shooting 38%.

Kings Center Demarcus Cousins.

2. Sacramento Kings center Demarcus Cousins has finally begun to realize his potential.

A lot of people were very high on Demarcus Cousins when he came out in the 2010 draft. Through his first 3 years he was seen as everything from a detriment to his team, a coach killer, and a goofball. Most teams and scouts saw how talented he could be in the NBA but he had not really showed that potential. Instead he opted to shot a bunch of mid range jumpers for no reason and play no defense at all.

In the 2013-14 season Cousins has started to put it together and move on from being a headache for his team and has become a headache for the competition.

Now although he isn't the greatest defender, he has had more of a concerted effort on that side of the ball. He is averaging 1.1 blocks a game and 2.8 steals a game but still giving up 54% shooting to his opponents at the rim.

His impact has come mostly on the offensive end. He is posting a career high of 23.2 points along with 11.8 rebounds a game. His PER is an outstanding 26.31, for reference Kevin Durant's PER is 30.53 and LeBron's PER is 28.97. He is playing in that kind of stratosphere of basketball greatness. Now I'm not saying he is as good as those two guys but he has taken his game to another level.

The only thing that hasn't changed for Cousins is his team's winning ways. The Sacramento Kings are a lousy 14-25 on the season but not at the fault of Cousins who is posting a PIE of 17.5%. This basically means that he has great impact on the games that the Kings do win seeing how winning teams usually have a combined PIE of over 50%. The Kings could have a bright future with Cousins.

New Orleans forward Anthony "The Brow" Davis

3. New Orleans Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis is balling!

Anthony Davis has been suffering from the same affliction that Demarcus Cousins has been dealing with this year. His team has not been good so it has overshadowed how great he has been playing. He is absolutely the best player on offense and defense for his team and they are only losing because they'r best offensive lineup is also the Pelican's worst defensive lineup.

But the Brow, (which he patented) is averaging 20.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. He is also posting a PER of 26.88. His defensive numbers are also off the charts with a great defensive rating, which basically means that his team is only good on defense when he is on the floor.

A lot of people expected this when Davis was selected as the number 1 pick in the 2012 draft. But not many people expected him to be this good this fast. The Pelicans are 16-24 but should be alot better than they have been playing and may need to trade Eric Gordon for a better defender. Maybe a trade for a guy like Aaron Afflalo might help them out.

4. Teams don't know how to tank! Oh wait maybe they do.

In the beginning of the season there where a lot of teams that were supposed to "Tank" the season or be lousy in order to get a draft pick in what was hyped up as maybe the best draft since 2003. Teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, and Orlando Magic were expected to lose on purpose in order to get a guy like Andrew Wiggins from Kansas.

Sixers' guard Michael Carter Williams

But to start off the season those teams were playing adverse to that approach and actually winning games early in the season. Those 4 teams had a combined record of 28-41 from October to November, Not a great record but definitely not a record of teams that would look to be tanking.

Since December though those 4 teams have posted a combined record of 33-62 which shows just how bad they have been over the last month and a half. This comes with the exception of the Suns who have continued to play well although they lost a leading scorer in Eric Bledsoe (18 points a game) this past month. The Suns are 23-17 and are in the 8th spot in the west. But without the Suns record the remaining 3 teams are still 19-53.

So although they didn't start the season as bad as teams like the Utah Jazz and the Milwaukee Bucks, they have begun to catch up. With the NBA having a lottery system it is still possible for those teams, besides the Suns, to get a great pick. It also helps that the top 6-8 picks in this years draft could be impact players.

Damian Lillard (left) and LeMarcus Aldridge (right)

5. The Blazers are playing great but are lacking defense. 

The Blazers have been great this season and have beat a lot of great teams so it's safe to say that they aren't a fluke. They have started the season 31-10 but they may be relying too much on their offensive prowess to win games now.

Right now the Blazers are 1st in scoring at 109.6 points a game but also 27th in the league in points allowed giving up 103.5 points a game. That is pretty bad for a team with a record as good as the Blazers.

Don't get me wrong they have the offensive firepower with Damian Lillard, LeMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Mathews and Nicholas Batum to outscore most opponents. But they have been lackluster on the defensive side and that could spell future trouble. They could suffer from the same fate that became of the Phoenix Suns during their run of being playoff contenders.

Although the Suns were great on offense and in the regular season, their defense was a problem in the postseason because they played teams that could slow them down enough defensively and still score against their poor defense.

The Blazers could suffer the same fate because teams like the Thunder, the Spurs, the Clippers, and sometimes the Warriors are capable of playing enough defense in the playoffs to beat the Blazers.

They have become very fun to watch although they don't get many national games, but they need to improve their defense if they want to really be a threat in the post season.

6. The Thunder did well in the Harden Trade actually.

Last year when Harden was traded to the Rockets for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, and a 1st round draft pick, many said that the Thunder had made one of the worst trades in NBA history. Last season Harden did go on to surprisingly lead the Rockets to the playoffs and the Thunder suffered in the playoffs with Russell Westbrook hurt.

Stevan Adams (left) and Jeremy Lamb (right)

What people overlooked about last season is that the Thunder still won 60 games and barring that injury could have still made it to the finals. Than Kevin Martin bolted for a starting position in Minnesota during free agency and it looked like the Thunder got little to nothing in return for Harden.

This wasn't the case. The Thunder got the 12th pick in the 2013 draft and took the 7 foot New Zealand center from the university of Pittsburgh. Many thought that he was a project and would play much this season. But he has actually averaged 15 minutes a game and is basically splitting time with Kendrick Perkins. Although he is only posting 4 points and 4.4 rebounds a game his numbers are great per 40 minutes a game. He is post 10 points and 12 rebounds per 40 minutes a game. He is looking like the future starter for the Thunder.

Also Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson have solidified the OKC bench. Even though now that Westbrook is out with an injury and Jackson is now in the starting lineup the Thunder is playing well. Lamb is averaging 10 points a game and 18 ppg, 5 rebs and 2 assist per 40 minutes. They two guys from the Harden trade aren't exactly playing on the level of Harden but they have contributed well and could have bright futures.

It also does help that Kevin Durant is in the middle of what could be an MVP year and Serge Ibaka is playing alot better this year as well. Durant leads the league in scoring and player efficiency rating. Serge Ibaka has come on the last 5 games averaging 18ppg and 11 rebounds. Ibaka has also scored 20+ points in the las 3 games for the longest streak in his career. The Thunder are making out alright after the trade.

Blake Griffin passing the ball.

7. Blake Griffin is now a great player and not just a dunker.

A lot of people in the past have had mixed feeling about Blake Griffin. Some people thought that he was soft. Some thought that all he could do was dunk and some thought that he was one of the NBA's most overrated players. Some of those statements may have been true to a certain extent but he has played a lot better this year.

Although his offensive numbers are pretty similar to how he has played the last year, he is scoring a career high of 22.5 points per game matching his rookie year. his greatest impact has come with how hard he has worked to become a better shooter. Take a look at Griffins Shooting chart last year and this year.

2012-2013 season

This picture was Griffins shooting chart last year. The Green spots indicate the spot on the floor where he shot above league average. The yellow spots mark where he shot close to league average and the red spots are below average.

As you can see Griffin had a hard time shooting anywhere on the floor besides the paint. This helped to feed the narrative that Griffin was only good for dunks. But the truth is that he was a very poor shooter last year.

2013-2014 season

The consequences of his bad shooting meant that teams didn't respect his shooting ability and loaded up on Clippers guard Chris Paul. This made the Clippers offense very stagnant at times.

Now this is Griffins Shooting chart for this season. Although Griffin still has struggles from some spaces on the floor he has developed greatly as a shooter.

Now there are multiple places outside the paint where people have to worry about Griffin. He might not be the shooter a Lamarcus Aldridge or a Kevin Love might be, he has become a threat in the midrange to an extent.

Griffin has also increased his passing ability, especially in the post. He has also increased his defense. He is now post a career high defensive rating under Doc Rivers.

Griffin has also increased his play since Chris Paul's absence. Increasing his points, assists, steals and field goal percentage. It's time to give Blake Griffin a little more respect as an NBA player.

8. Too many teams not reaching their potential! 

Cleveland Cavs guard Kyrie Irving

Before the season there were a lot of teams that people though had a chance to be good this year and make a playoff run. Those teams also thought they were going to make a playoff run. But so far in the season teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, and the Minnesota Timberwolves have failed to realize their potential.

The have been other disappointing teams but these teams all made pushes in the offseason to make their teams better and have failed to do so.

The New Orleans Pelicans added Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday in the hopes of being really good on offense but now they are 9 games under .500 because they're dream lineup of  Holiday, Eric Gordon, Evans, Anthony Davis, and Ryan Anderson is also just as terrible on defense as they are good on offense.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had the first pick in the draft and added Earl Clark, Jarrett Jack, Andrew Bynum. They thought that they had a team on the cusp of a playoff berth but instead the Cavs are 15-26. Their first pick Anthony Bennet is looking like the worst number 1 pick ever. Clark and Jack have been under-whelming and Andrew Bynum was traded for Luol Deng because of team issues. While it has become hard to see how Kyrie Irving makes his teammates better.

Ricky Rubio (left) and Kevin Love (Right)

The Detriot Pistons added Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings to a teams full of youthful talent with Andre Drummond  and Greg Monroe. Although Drummond has still been playing great, the chemistry issues that people thought could happen with a team that had Josh Smith playing small forward has occurred. Josh Smith is not a good outside shooter and everybody knows it besides Smith. This is why the Pistons have underachieved.

The Minnesota Timberwolves added more depth in their bench with the signing of Cory Brewer, and more scoring with the addition of Kevin Martin. Although they started the season off great and have played a tough schedule, it is still disappointing that the T-wolves are only 19-21. Kevin Love was in the MVP conversation but that has died down.

 Although they can still make the playoffs if they turn it around in the second half of the season, they are still plagued by the fact that Rick Rubio cannot shoot the basketball. He isn't a threat to score from really anywhere on the court and it has effected the team. He has to increase his scoring ability for the Timberwolves to reach their potential.

Monday Spread Option 01--06-2014

1. After a few crazy games, the NFL wildcard weekend is over. Which losing team disappointed you the most this weekend? Also which of the wildcard game winners do you think has the best chance to win the Superbowl?

Ty-

I would have to say that the Bengals disappointed me the most. Although, I can't say that I'm surprised that the Bengals lost. There was so much history and odds stacked against them. They have not won a playoff game in 23 years. The Chargers beat the the Philadelphia in the Eagles home opener this season. The last 5 teams to beat the Eagles in Philly's home opener has gone on to win the Superbowl. But thats just a fluke stat so the Bengals should have won the game but they choked in the playoffs again. Andy Dalton has so much talent around him, so it is inexcusable for him to have 1 touchdown and 6 picks in 3 playoff games. They should have been able to win at home against an 8 and 8 team easily.

As for the second questions, I'm inclined to pick the Chargers just because of the stat that I gave earlier. The Chargers have also beat the Broncos in Denver this year so we all know that the Chargers are capable of pulling off the upset. Also the last couple of SuperBowl winners have barely made the playoffs and got hot at the right time like Ravens and the Giants. Yes I know that it doesn't make much sense to bash the Bengals for not being able to beat the Chargers, but then pick the Chargers to win the whole thing. Oh well I'm just going with what happens every year.

Spencer- 

 For me I’m going with the Chiefs. Here’s why…I think the Bengals were expected to win, but with their playoff history especially, under Marvin Lewis, and the history of teams barely making it into the post season and going on a postseason run, I saw it coming. With that in mind, when all the games were said and done I had to look at the Chiefs and say what were you doing!? Now I know injuries hurt them. However, Charles was out on the opening drive and they still managed to get a 38-10 lead in the third quarter without him. Their secondary was mutilated too but last time I checked second-string players still go to practices, watch film, study their opponent and should know the Colts are basically a one dimensional offense, with their best weapon being T.Y. Hilton. A second string defense back also know if you have the deep third or half of the field YOU DON’T LET ANYONE BEHIND YOU! I know that from playing high school ball! I just don’t see how they let a 28-point lead slip away so easily and that falls on the offensive play calls too. Even with second or third string running backs in the game they should have been running the ball more in the second half. Obviously the Alex Smith intentional grounding didn't help either in a big spot for KC. Either way the Colts had no business winning that game at that point and the Chiefs had plenty of chances to close it out even with injuries and blew it.

That being said I think the 49ers are an easy pick of the teams that played this weekend to make it to the Super Bowl. They have the recipe of past champs entering the playoffs hot on a six game win streak and obviously with the experience of being in the postseason before they don’t get rattled easily. They looked poised and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made it to NYC come Feb. 2. 

Zach-
To me, it would have to be the Bengals. The Chiefs lost a very disappointing game that should have been locked up by the time they were up by 28 points, but I expected the closer match-up that they did end up having with the Colts. Plus, I think that is a team with nowhere to go but up. I didn't really expect them to go that far in the playoffs. Maybe the divisional round, but that is about it.  But I'm tired of waiting for the Bengals to be good again. This team coming into the season was a team that was supposed to make a solid playoff run. Sunday, they looked like a team that didn't belong there at all.  They were completely outclassed.  Granted, you don't want to take anything away from the streaking Chargers who are playing arguably their best football of the season right now.  But four turnovers is completely unacceptable in the playoffs. And for a team that was supposed to have the cold-weather, home field advanatge, I expected a better performance out of them.  This team supposedly has the pieces to compete. They sured up their defense this year and have found a franchise QB in Andy Dalton (although his performance is sure to come into question soon).  Why can't they win in the playoffs if they have the pieces they need? If they fall apart like this in the post season again, do not be surprised if management starts making some serious changes, starting with Marvin Lewis.

My pick for the second question is the Colts.  The defense when properly motivated has the potential to make some stops when they need to, as evident of the fact that they were able to hold off the Chiefs offense nearly the entire time they waited for the offense to respond. Combine that with Andrew Luck, who is maturing and growing every game, and the threat of T.Y. Hilton, and you have a dangerous team who is coming off a spectacular comeback with a lot of confidence.

2. The Buccaneers hired Lovie Smith and the Texans hired Bill O'Brien last week to coach their football teams. Rank the remaining 5 NFL teams (Detroit, Minnesota, Tennessee, Cleveland, Washington) from best to worst. Give reasons why?

Ty-

1. Detroit- They have the best talent throughout the team. They already have their franchise quarterback, they just need someone to bring more accountability and poise to the organization. They can possibly have a top 5 offense and a top 10 defense under the right head coach. The only drawback is that it's in Detroit.

2. Tennessee- The Titans didn't have as bad a year as you think that they did. Jake Locker was actually playing well before he hurt himself. Chris Johnson played well and Kendall Wright emerged to be a viable threat. They can easily turn their fortune around in the AFC South and contend for a playoff spot with a couple of pieces 

3. Washington- Contrary to what flip floppers are saying, RGIII is the franchise quarterback and has shown that he can be excellent when healthy and given an offseason. The Skins need to get better on defense and on the offensive line. They are hurt by not have a 1st round draft pick  but they also have tons of salary cap space to spend. They should have no problem filling holes in the secondary. The only drawback is having to work for Dan Snyder.

4. Minnesota- They don't have the best defense but they are a quarterback away from being a legitamate playoff team on a regular basis. It just sucks that viable qb's are hard to come by.

5. Cleveland- Cleveland is last on the list because it's front office seems like it doesn't know what it's doing. They just hired a coach for their bad team but then decided to fire him because they were only slightly better in his first year as a coach. Nobody is going to want to work for an organization that is known for losing, especially if they are giving that coach a short leash.



Spencer- 
1. Detroit: Obvious choice at number one here. Despite the fact that you have to live in Detroit the Lions are clearly the most talented of the teams with a coaching vacancy. Lot to build on moving forward just need the right coach to mesh it all together.

2. Washington: I know the Redskins were really terrible this year but one year removed from winning the NFC East you have to believe they have a lot of major pieces. A coach that can come in draft/sign the right guys while bringing a fresh, positive mindset to the team could have success here. I think the coach does need to understand how to use RGIII in the right ways though. That is so important to the success of the offense and the team as a whole. Otherwise a great market that tasted recent success and could certainly turn it around in a year, much like the Chiefs did this year.

3. Tennessee: With the market Tennessee is in I feel they go a little unnoticed at times, making it an appealing job (less pressure to win right away) and has kept people from seeing the Titans were 7-9 this year. That being said they played in a division with Houston and Jacksonville, went 2-2 against those teams, and only beat one team over 500 all year in the Chargers. I think the offense underperformed with Jake Locker’s absence but still some work to do on this team to be in the playoff race on both sides of the ball.

4. Minnesota: Not only is it freezing in a Minnesota but this job doesn’t have too much of an upside right now. The best news for an incoming coach is you have the best running back in the league in Adrian Peterson to run your offense through. Otherwise the team has glaring holes in the secondary (their pass defense was 31^st in the league) and not having a dominant QB to lead the offense. It’s never easy finding a franchise QB for your team and until the Vikings find that they will be one-dimensional.

5. Browns: You don’t have to tell the Browns about franchise QB’s cause they don’t even know what that is. But their QB issues aren’t even the main reason Cleveland is the worst coaching option open in the NFL. For one I am convinced they are cursed. I have never seen one call, one big play, one field goal ever go their way. That is maybe a coincidence but what’s not is the fact that there is no job security in Cleveland and with news coming out that players called the organization a joke after Chud’s firing, it is tough to be confident about your ability to get guys to buy into your system and succeed in an environment like that. Whoever takes the Cleveland job god bless him...I'll pray for you every Sunday next season.

Zach-

1. Detroit:  Matt Stafford is a good quarterback who has the option of Calvin Johnson every single game.  That is a combination that is deadly no matter what defense is up against it. And the defense isn't really that bad either.  It seems like the Lions are missing one piece that would make them a playoff-caliber team. That piece may be a good head coach.

2. Washington: There were a lot of distractions towards the end of the season for this team, a lot of them involving the head coach.  I don't think this team that made the playoffs last year is as bad as their record was.  R.G.III didn't have a fantastic year which was to be expected in his second year. It is a bit superstitious of me, but I believe in the Sophomore Slump. The good news is, he will get better. He has the potential.  This team just needs to regroup and refocus and I think they'll be right back in the post season in no time.

3. Tennessee: The Titans had a decent year this year. 7-9 is a respectable record for a team where the QB position seems to be a big question mark.  Chris Johnson certainly helped that but I think this team needs to find a franchise QB and find one quickly.  Jake Locker and Ryan Fitzpatrick are not the answer. Find a guy who the team can commit to and keep working around him. The wins will come. And in a division where two of the teams are in the bottom table of the league, this is a good time for young players to compete, learn, and win.

4. Minnesota: The Vikings have problems on their roster, no doubt about that. They don't have winners on the team and they don't have anyone who strikes me as someone who can properly turn the team around (besides AP). That aside, they also have a huge distraction on their hands involving the alleged anti-homosexuality scandal they are investigating. A good coach won't be too keen to jump into that situation.  These off the field problems have to be resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible so that they can focus on making the team better.  If they can't do that, I don't see this team improving at all.

5. Cleveland: The players are tired of losing. The fans are tired of losing. The front office is tired of losing.  Who on this team has the talent to step up and start winning? No one right now.  They need to overhaul the entire franchise.  Find a coach who can teach these guys what it means to play in the NFL. And start making draft picks that will have more than a couple good games a season. The AFC North is a hard division to play in. If you can't find guys who can play at a high level on a daily basis, do not expect to move up in the standings.

  

3. The BCS championship game between Florida State and Auburn is tonight.  Who you got? Why?

Ty-

I got the Seminoles of Florida State. Yes, Auburn played better competition but their defense has been very bad all year. Florida State has had a weaker strength of schedule but they have DOMINATED all year against those teams and higher ranked opponents. This isn't like last year where Notre Dame was in close games with teams like Pitt. It will come down to wether the Florida state defense can slow down the Auburn rushing attack enough for the Seminoles ' offense to outscore them. From what i've seen all year, I trust that the Florida State offense will be able to score on Auburn. I'm not so sure that Auburn can score as much with their rushing attack after Florida State had a month to prepare for it.

Spencer-

After going back and forth on this I am sticking with my original pick. Auburn. I think this game is going to be a shootout honestly. Auburn's defense is obviously lackluster, but their rushing offense is number two in the country and with Marshall at QB there is options and an average passing game to worry about as well. I don’t have to talk about Florida States offense they have a Heisman Trophy QB and haven’t trailed n a game since September. That being said I don’t buy into Florida States defense being as dominant as it is made out to be. It is definitely a great defense that deserves to be in the championship and has helped in the cause but I just can’t get over the fact that the games they played were against ACC teams many of which, in my opinion many, were overrated throughout the year. I’m just not that impressed when you beat Syracuse 59-3 or a #25 ranked Maryland team 63-0. That just tells me they were overrated. Sure Auburn had two once in a lifetime finished to wrap up their season, but I just think they are more battle tested and played more quality opponents. I’m excited for this match-up to see how FSU fairs against an SEC team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar SEC Championship game outcome. 42-38 Auburn for the Championship.

Zach-
I'll take Florida State.  They have the best offense in college football that is lead by their explosive, Heisman winning QB Jameis Winston. Auburn is going to have a tough time stopping him and the rest of the FSU attack which can beat you on the ground or through the air.  The Tigers have the best rushing attack in the country but even they can only rely on that for so long. At some point, you'll probably have to go through the air, and Florida State is loaded with a great secondary that has the most interceptions this season.  It'll be tough to get anything going on offense once FSU's defense picks up on the running game.
 

4. With the BCS format coming to an end after tonight's championship game, will we miss it? Or is the new playoff-style format better for college football? 

Ty-
I have never liked the BCS system or the NCAA for that matter. Mainly because the BCS system just seems like a big money grab. The NCAA gets to made massive amounts of money by selling the rights to the bowls to companies and TV channels as stand alone bowl games. I understand though that they can't have a huge tournament like they do for basketball but a tournament just makes a lot more sense. There is more drama in a tournament and any thing can happen. Instead of just waiting a month for 2 teams to play, more teams can have a chance to actually prove they belong in the championship. So yes I favor the new playoff style but I also think they should expand the amount of teams to maybe 6 or 8. It's worked for the NFL so why not try it in college?

Spencer-
When the last seconds tick off the clock tonight I will let out a huge sign of relief in reaction to this joke of a system, the BCS, being over. I have wanted a playoff for years. If you look at the smaller FCS schools and even DII and DIII schools the playoff system has been their way of deciding a champion for years and it works great and just makes more sense. The BCS has never been logical and it puts so much importance on not losing even one game, especially late in the year or it may keep you from a shot at the championship (cough, cough Alabama). Imagine if in the NFL they just said the Seahawks and Broncos were the two teams in the Super Bowl because they finished with the best records this year or were ranked the highest? There would be riots in the streets over that. Also it eliminates teams calling themselves co-champions when they didn't get a shot at the championship team but were ranked #3 or #4, and felt slighted. I will preserve my judgement on the number of teams that should be in the playoff tournament until after we see how it works with four over the net few years. Regardless this move has taken too long to happen and I think it is smart for college football in keeping their relevance come bowl season and it makes it more dramatic and fun.

Zach- 
This playoff system will be the best thing to happen to college football in a long time.  Good riddance, so long, adios. Anyone who says that it takes away from the experience of the Bowl games needs to get over it.  The Bowl games mean absolutely nothing now. You could have five Orange Bowl wins and no one would care because you didn't have one BCS win.  On top of that, this system has been flawed from the start. There will never be a way to tell who is the actual best in college football until you give the top teams a chance to play each other.  This will put aside [most] doubts about National Champions and at the same time, keep the NCAA happy by bringing in lots of money that will be shared with all of six people. This system is dated and only kept alive by people who want to hold on to the past.  There is too much Parity in the NBA

5. It's early in the NBA season but who do you think has been the best team in the league so far? Which team is the biggest surprise?

Ty-

The best team in terms of how they were playing the first half of the season was the Thunder before Russell Westbrook got hurt again. The Thunder bench was ranked among the highest in the league in bench points. Jeremy Lamb, Steven Adams, Reggie Jackson and Perry Jones have all exceeded expectations for the season. Not to mention Kevin Durant has somehow been better than he was last year. Durant is posting career highs in assists and rebounds. This could be the year Durant finally wins the MVP if he continues to elevate his game during Westbrook's absence. He showed he could carry the Thunder to victory last week against the Timberwolves, where he put up 48 points and 21 points in the fourth quarter to will the Thunder to victory.


The biggest surprise this year is the Phoenix Suns! I know that the Blazers are catching some people by surprise but  expected them to be good because they had all the pieces to be good. The only reason the Blazers where bad last year was because of their bench and they fixed that in the offseason. The Suns are a complete surprise. Las Vegas projected the Suns to only have 19 wins all season and they sit at 20-12 only 2 months through the season. The reason they have been so good is because they have successfully played Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic together. It allows them to run pick and roll on both sides of the half court. The Morris brothers have also exceeded expectations and Gerald Green has found a way to be a reliable 3-point shooter. 

Spencer-
Recently I think the Thunder was the best team after they went on a tear in December, but with Westbrook out I can't say they are the best team right now. Obviously by record they are one of the top teams by record and should be a potential favorite to win the west but I have to say I think the Pacer's are the best team in the league so far this season. Obviously the east is lacking in good teams this year but I think the Pacers have made it clear they are in the elite group beating some of the best teams, including the defending champs. After flying under the radar last year playing in Indiana in a small market they have earned the attention now and are a complete team.

I'm torn on whether the biggest surprise team for me is the fact that Toronto is a top our team right now and right at .500 with a 16-16 record or that the Cavs have been as disappointing as they have been so far. I guess Toronto can't be that big of surprise considering how bad the east is so I'll go with Cleveland's struggles. I expected a lot more from Cleveland with Kyrie in his third year and a young team that showed promise at moments last year. 

Zach-
Like my co-authors, I  too would have picked the Thunder if not for the injury of Russel Westbrook. But I think I am going to have to go with the team that everyone loves to hate, the Miami Heat.  They have the second best record in the NBA right now and have a lot of swagger and confidence about them. We saw last year what can happen when the Heat find a groove, and if other teams aren't careful, Miami could pull away from the pack as long as they stay healthy.  Call it a cop-out answer if you want, but I am a man who tends not to pick against LeBron.

My biggest surprise goes to the whole Atlantic Division. The Raptors are currently first with a .500 record of 16-16 and other teams like the Knicks and the Nets are being left behind in the dust. However, it is still early in the season and I personally don't expect the standings to stay the same in the next couple of weeks.