Sixth Straight Finals For Lebron

The Cavaliers put away the Raptors 113-87 in Game 6 in Toronto Friday night. The game wasn't close at any point past the 9 minute mark in the 1st quarter. The Big 3 in Cleveland scored 83 of those 113, and dominated every aspect of the game. The Cavaliers looked good. Really good. Good enough to beat whichever team comes out of the West good. But, bigger than the Cavaliers going to the Finals looking for their first championship there was another stat that really is mind blowing.

Love that hat.

How crazy is it that Lebron James has made 6 straight NBA Finals? The last time Lebron wasn't in the NBA Finals, Kobe won his last championship back in 2010, and Lebron left town with "The Decision". Since Lebron took his talents to South Beach, he's been destroying the East. In the previous 5 Finals appearances for Lebron, he's 2-3. Both wins were with the Heat, beating Thunder in 2012 and Spurs in 2013. The losses are the Mavs in 2011, Spurs in 2014, and Warriors in 2015.
Lebron has now done something that hasn't been done since the 1960's. Lebron is the only player to do this that didn't play for Boston when the Celtics won 11 championships in 13 years (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69). None of the greats has this accomplishment on their resume. The game has changed so much, but Lebron doesn't care. All Lebron cares about is being an all-time player, and he's making the case for just that.

In the last two years, Lebron has become sort of a pansy cry baby, and that saddens me. I was a huge Lebron fan when everyone turned on him for "The Decision". I agree that may not have been the best way to do a free agency signing, but you can't deny the charity money, and the way he changed any kind of signing for the rest of history (any recruitment signing). Ever since he's returned to Cleveland Lebron has been still ruling the NBA world. Even after writing this I'm changing the way I feel about Lebron.

I'd love to see Kevin Durant and the Thunder play Lebron and the Cavs again. That would be a battle against two teams that love to run and come right at you. Can't wait for the Thunder to beat the Warriors on Saturday.

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I, like most of America, forgot that James Jones of the Cavaliers is also in this 6 straight NBA Finals club. He has nowhere near the stats of Lebron James, but does deserve a mention.

Jackie Bradley Jr.'s Hitting Streak Ends

The bat of Jackie Bradley Jr has been red hot in the month of May. 29 games in a row for the Red Sox outfielder. Bradley's hitting streak started in Houston back on April 24th. The Red Sox won in 12 innings, and that all came to an end May 26th against the Rockies.

What a ride this has been for Bradley. Back on April 24th, Bradley's BA sat at .233. During his streak, he was able to raise his BA up to .341.

I love watching long hitting streaks. I don't think we will see a time where someone breaks the 56 game hitting streak of Joe Dimaggio, but there is always so much excitement. I picked up Bradley on my fantasy team and he's been raking for me.

So, who's next? The player who now has the longest hitting streak is also on the Red Sox. Xander Bogaerts now has a hitting streak of 19 games. After him? Eric Hosmer of the Royals at 18.

Mike D'Antoni in the News Again

Just One More Chance

What year is it? Who knew that Mike D'Antoni was still alive? Not me! D'Antoni has apparently accepted the position of head coach of the Houston Rockets. Yeah, Houston. For those of you who are too young to remember, or too old that you have forgotten, let's remind you of who he is.

D'Antoni began his NBA coaching career in Denver with the Nuggets. He was the head coach during the lockout season of 1998 and was fired shortly after due to poor performance. One year in Denver with a record of 14-36. Not too bad for a first time head coach with a joke of a team. He wouldn't coach again until 2003.

In 2003, he was hired as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns in the middle of the season. He coached 61 games and led the Suns to a 21-40 record. Despite the low win total, he was given the benefit of a doubt due to the multiple injuries his team had encountered and was brought back for the next season.

In 2004, Phoenix acquired then free agent Steve Nash. This is where it gets fun. The Suns would post a record of 62-20 en route to a division title. "Seven Seconds or Less" was born. The Suns ran an offense quite similar to that of Loyola Marymount did in the late 80's-early 90's. It was a ton of fun to watch. 

The first two of four consecutive trips to the playoffs, Phoenix lost in the conference finals. In 2007, they fell in the conference semifinals. 2008, the first round. After that season, D'Antoni would bolt for the New York Knicks. That is where things fell apart.

After posting a 253-136 record in the desert, the Big Apple came calling. The bright lights seem to attract every moth that can see them. D'Antoni's first two seasons were losing seasons. Missing the playoffs both seasons with a combined record of 61-103, it was time for a change. Amar'e Stoudemire reunited with his old coach as a free agent signing, and in February, Carmelo Anthony was acquired via trade. The team would make the playoffs only to swept in the first round. The following season, D'Antoni would resign midway through the season due to his ongoing conflict with Carmelo Anthony. His total record in New York was 121-167.

The following season, D'Antoni was pinned to lead the Los Angeles Lakers. He joined the team 10 games into the season while recovering from knee surgery. Former coach Phil Jackson was reported to be the Lakers first call, but before they did, D'Antoni was hired. (This is why the Lakers suck today.) D'Antoni was reunited with Steve Nash. He also inherited a roster that consisted of Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard. Halfway through the season, D'Antoni benched Gasol for Earl Clark because he thought that Clark was better fit for the style of play he ran. Shortly after, he abandoned any offensive strategy and just told his team to do their own thing. After starting the season 17-24, the Lakers went on to make the playoffs with a record of 40-32. However, they would be swept in the first round. 

In his second season, the Lakers would finish with their second worst (at the time) record. Howard had left and Kobe was riddled with injury. Steve Nash was also frequently missing. After the season, D'Antoni would resign. His record for LA was 67-87.

Flash forward to now. Houston thinks that D'Antoni is the best man for the job. With stars like James Harden and the before mentioned Dwight Howard, how can he control the locker room? In Phoenix, he turned players into household names. In New York and LA, he turned household names against him. He doesn't have a good track record with big name players. For the past few seasons, D'Antoni has been an assistant head coach for The Philadelphia 76ers. What does it tell you that even their ownership didn't want him as their head coach? 

I really hope that he does well. I really enjoyed his run with the Suns nearly a decade ago. However, I do not think that Mike D'Antoni will have much success in Houston considering both the star power on the team and the other teams that he must compete with inside of his conference. 10 years ago: Slam Dunk Hire. Present Time; What the Hell??

-Dug

@chansm1th

Ole Miss Self-imposes

Back in 2013, whispers started circulating about Ole Miss and their recruiting practices. How did a lower tier team draw three of the top fourteen players in the country to come to their school? Everyone wondered, but most people assumed dirty recruiting. Here we are, three years later and all three of the gems from the class are in the NFL living their dream out.

Today, Ole Miss woke up with a hangover from the experience. Except not really. The funny thing about the whole setup is that they have already beat the system. They self-imposed 11 lost scholarships over the next 4 years. A hilarious undersell considering that they had 13 violations and 8 of them were what the NCAA deemed Level 1 aka the worst. The NCAA is a notorious joke when doling out punishments and Ole Miss has essentially laughed in their face and dared them to do something else about it. Will they? I highly doubt it.

The moral of NCAA violations that Ole Miss seems to have learned is that if you punish yourself, no matter how minor you do it, the NCAA will likely tuck it's tail and take it. I'm fully anticipating them to do the same in this, or possibly even give them back the 11 scholarships. Nothing surprises me at this point.



All my love,
@corbeech

Memorial Weekend "Kick"-Off

See what I did there?

It's finally Friday! Hope you're ready for a long weekend filled with sports, cookouts, and friends. I know that I am. Let's get in it and look at what happened and what will take place. 

Warriors Still Alive and Kicking, 120-111

Let's just give it up. Draymond Green is going to kick. Brace yourself and watch out because it's apparent after last night that his "shooting motion" isn't going to change. The Warriors fought off elimination with help from the same old crew and someone you had forgotten about. Steph Curry went for 31 while his running mate Klay Thompson dropped 27. The surprise was former number one pick Andrew Bogut dropping 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. It also didn't hurt that they hit 31 of 34 free throws. Kevin Durant showed up to play, but his 40 points just wasn't enough. Westbrook also had a very nice line: 31 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 steals. Still leading the series, OKC played sharp and good enough to win. Game 6 takes the series back to OKC on Saturday. 

Penguins Outlast Lightning, Advance to Finals

The Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated Tampa Bay last night with a 2-1 victory. They will advance to their 5th Stanley Cup Final to take on San Jose, who is playing in their first. Game 1 is Monday night. 

Looking toward tonight, Cleveland leaves the country again to try and finish off Toronto. Game 6 tip is at 8:30 and the Cavs can advance to a second straight Finals appearance with a win. Don't count out Toronto though. They have beaten Cleveland each time the matchup has been in Toronto. Expect the series to come back south on Sunday for Game 7. 

That's all for today. Be sure to check back for stuff from our other writers (hint, hint)

-Dug

@chansm1th

Art Briles has found justice

Reports are flying that Art Briles has been fired by Baylor. This is a shocking twist for a man who began last season with the utmost job security and followed it up with a 10-3 record and a #13 postseason ranking. Making this even more impressive was the fact that they lost their top 3 quarterbacks to injury at different points and were forced to run wildcat formations over the final couple of games.

Nobody can question Briles as a football mind, but we're in the era where that isn't enough. With media coverage at its peak, you cannot have scandals like the one at Baylor and avoid punishment altogether. Baylor got caught sweeping some allegations under the rug and later had the players in question, Sam Ukwuachu and Tevon Elliott, charged and convicted of sexual assault. It doesn't take a genius to know that you're living a screwed up life when you defend these people and enable them.

Briles always was a fun coach to watch, but I don't get down with covering up this kind of thing. Briles needs to disappear and pray that people forget about him. Good luck finding a new job.

All my love,
@corbeech

NBA Lottery: Reborn

I'm slightly ashamed to say this, but I don't have a favorite NBA team. Up until this point, I have just cheered for LeBron and whichever team he was on by default. When he took his talents to Miami, I did too. Yes, that means I'm back on the Cavs bandwagon even though I hate them for being babies the first time LeBron bailed. As a rational human being, I see the issue with being a Cleveland sports fan and plan to remedy this.

This will not be as simple as just picking a new team and supporting them, no. I'm going above and beyond for you, our reader. I will be conducting a lottery to allow fate to decide who I should support. This lottery will be slightly different than the traditional NBA Draft lottery in that it will not be fully loaded to allow a bottom feeder to win. I want fate to decide if I deserve NBA misery or fun times.

My setup will be to have a drawing out of a hat and the last man standing is my new team that I pledge my loyalty to. I will give the bottom half of each conference 2 entries and the top half 1 entry. I'm going to do some adjusting so that I don't get an amazing team or the worst teams. For this, I will eliminate the 76ers, Nets, Cavaliers, and Warriors, passing their entries on to other teams. I will keep you updated as the lottery progresses in the coming days and we'll see where this takes us. We're in this together, so let's make it a good time.

All my love,
@corbeech

Thursday Morning Wake Up Call

Good morning peoples! Rainy day here, but we aren't going to let it keep us down. We have a pair of matchups to look at tonight, but before we get ahead of ourselves, we had a "thrilling" playoff game last night in the Association. 

Cleveland Crushes Toronto's Will to Live

Good Lord! Cleveland continued their home dominance last night as they walloped Toronto, 116-78. The Cavs' Big Three combined for 71 while Toronto's Twosome went for a mere 27. Toronto looked lost all game. It also didn't help them any that the Cavs shot 57% for the game. The Cavs also won the rebound battle 57 to 38. Kevin Love led all scorers with 25 while LeBron and Kyrie added 23 each. It's a devastating loss for the Raptors. One bright spot is that Game 6 moves back to Toronto. The Raptors will hope to force yet another Game 7 when the two meet again on Friday night. 

Melo Trimble to Return

Late yesterday evening, Melo Trimble announced that he would return to school for his junior year. Maryland lost four players from the team that was a Darkhorse Pick in last year's tournament. Trimble was expected to be a first round pick in this draft, but after a shaky finish to last season, he had slipped into the late second round.

Looking to tonight, we have some playoff action. The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Pittsburgh for the decisive Game 7 with the winner squaring off against those rotten Sharks for Lord Stanley's Cup. The Sharks sealed their invitation last night when they defeated St Louis 5-2 in Game 6. Puck drops at 8:00. 

Golden State limps home to attempt to head back out on the road as they face elimination tonight in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Fresh off back-to-back beat downs, it's do or die. OKC will be going for the throat tonight to eliminate the defending champs and their MVP. Hurt or not, if you can't get up for a game like this, you need to just pack it in. However, I don't think OKC will clinch until the series returns back to their home court. Expect Steph & Company to show up tonight, and let people know how hard it is to beat the Champs on their own home court. Tip is at 9:00. 

That's all that I have this morning. Look for updates throughout the day. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

NBA Draft Withdrawal Day

May 25th

Today is the last day that players can withdraw and return to college. With the new rule implemented by the scumbags at the NCAA, players can now go through the combine and get proper feedback without losing their college eligibility. Most players have taken advantage of this new rule. 117 underclassman to be exact. Today is the day that players have to decide one way or another, and a few already have. Let's take a look at players from SEC Country, and others from around the nation. 

Isaiah Briscoe

Kentucky Freshman

Guard

Returning

All season long, it was assumed Briscoe would be returning for his sophomore year. A point guard in high school, Briscoe played behind Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray. Briscoe struggled shooting the ball all year. His free throw percentage was abysmal, but improved later in the year (46%). Taking advantage of the new rule like many others, Briscoe was able to workout for teams and receive feedback on what he needed to work on. Going back to Kentucky will be huge for the team. He is a solid finisher and the rim and a lock down defender. 

Marcus Lee

Kentucky Junior

Forward

Returning, Transferring

Lee didn't produce the numbers that Kentucky big men have in the past few years, but was another key piece on the team. What he lacked in shooting percentage, he made up for with his rim blocking and rebounding. Lee is Top 20 all-time in blocks at UK. Lee will return to college, but has decided to transfer closer to home. The California native is expected to transfer somewhere out west. 

Malik Newman

Mississippi State Freshman

Guard

Returning

Newman was a highly touted five star guard who joined Ben Howland's team. A top shooting guard, Newman wasn't the savior in his first campaign at Miss State that people thought he would be. While he said he would be withdrawing from the draft, rumors are that Newman might transfer, or even opt to play overseas. 

Other Notable Decisions

Josh Hart

Villanova Junior

Guard

Returning

James Blackmon Jr

Indiana Sophomore

Guard 

Returning

Troy Williams

Indiana Junior

Forward

Staying in the Draft

Dillon Brooks

Oregon Sophomore

Guard

Returning

Tyler Dorsey

Oregon Freshman

Guard

Returning

As the list grows, this post will update. Still waiting to see what Maryland PG Melo Trimble decides. Have a good day!

-Dug

@chansm1th

DONE with Draymond Green

This is the last time I'll utter Draymond's name. I'm #DONE with him (h/t @barstoolbigcat). I was unhappy with him for kicking Steven Adams in the sack, but I wasn't going to be completely finished with him. This is the last straw though. He overstepped his boundaries. KANTER IS AN ANGEL! 

Draymond just made the biggest mistake of his life. Aside from my #done status with him, he has also brought on the wrath of Turkey because they will stand for their favorite son and fight this injustice. I will not utter his name anymore because it is disrespectful to speak poorly of the dead. RIP in peace and sorry you screwed up. Your team will be able to join you in the afterlife soon. 

All my love,

@corbeech

Mini Steven Adams Wake Up

Good morning people! I hope you are enjoying this Hump Day. We're halfway home to a long weekend. Here's what you missed yesterday. 

OKC Annihilates Golden State in Game 4

If you thought that Game 3 was bad, Game 4 was a nightmare for Steph and Co. Led by Russell Westbrook, the Thunder have pushed the Warriors to the brink of elimination. Fun Fact: When a team takes a 3-1 lead in the Conferemce Finals, that team has advance 37 times out of 39. How do you like your odds, Draymond? That -30 looks good on your stat sheet. 

Russell Westbrook was unstoppable last night. Westbrook had another triple double with 36 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Steph Curry was held to 19 points, and wasn't a factor. OKC was the more physical team, as they have been all series. They out rebounded the Warriors to a tune of 68-49. Game 5 is tomorrow night at Golden State. The Thunder have a shot to send the Champs packing, but I think this series will go to six. 

Hit Streak Alert

Jackie Bradley Jr hit safely for his 28th game in a row. Teammate Xander Bogaerts is also on a 17-game streak. Both will look to add on tonight when They take on the Rockies. 

Super Bowls Awarded

Yesterday, the NFL announced that Atlanta, Miami, and LA would host Super Bowls in that order beginning in 2019. Two of those cities will have new stadiums. In my opinion, football is a cold weather sport. When they played it in New York, no one had any idea how the game would fair. The unknown weather and playing conditions are exciting. Send the Super Bowl to Chicago or Green Bay in February before I'm impressed. 

A lot going on today. It's the deadline for returning to college instead of staying in the draft. Also, we have a pivotal Game 5 tonight in Cleveland. Check back throughout the day for updates. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

DeMar DeRozan/Kyle Lowry's Bromance Wake Up

Good Morning! It's a beautiful sunny morning here, and we're going to look at what happened while you were asleep. 

Toronto tied up their series with Cleveland last night as the Raptors took Game 4 105-99. The combo of Lowry and DeRozan, pictured above, continued to carry the weight of their country as the two combined for 67 points last night. Although the Cavs controlled nearly every statistical category, they forgot that the score was the most important one. LeBron James went for 29 points and 9 rebounds while his faithful sidekick Kyrie Irving chipped in 26. With the series being tied, the question now is who win win a road game. I think that for Torontp to win the series, Game 5 tomorrow night in Cleveland is a must win. The winner of that game will take the series, in my opinion. 

Let's take a look at what happened on the diamond last night. Baseball is possibly my favorite sport, but we don't talk near as much about it as we should. Last night, we were treated to a few good pitching performances. Our beloved Reds were on the Left Coast last night to pay a visit to the Dodgers. When you see Clayton Kershaw on the lineup card, you can be safe saying that one run will win the game. Last night saw that. Not Kershaw and Reds' starter Brandon Finnegan turned in complete games. Finnegan's line was 8 innings, 5 hits, and one earned in the losing effort. It was by far the rookie's best start. Kershaw, on the other hand, threw 9 scoreless innings while allowing three base runners and striking out 7. Hard one to lose, but if you like pitching, this was a beautiful sight. 

Elsewhere around baseball, Johnny Cueto threw a complete game shutout. Cueto improved to 7-1 on the season while blanking the Padres. No walks and only two hits allowed, he struck out 6 en route to a 1-0 win. 

Breathe a Sigh of Relief, Scumbag

Looking forward to tonight, we have Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City. As Corbeech noted yesterday, Draymond Green will be able to play for whatever reason. Punishment for his nut kick heard 'round the world wasn't enough to keep this prick off the court. $25,000 and an upgrade to a flagrant two is about as horribly wrong of a decision that could be made. However, Green now has three flagrant points meaning one more and he will automatically be suspended. Who has the betting odds on whether he will get one tonight? Take the no. 

Game 4 is at 9:00 tonight. If Karma is real, OKC will roll the Warriors again, and Draymond Green will get hit by an airplane. 

That's all that I have. Check back later for more news and updates. 

-Dug

@chansm1th

Haha the NBA is a joke!

This made me chuckle. Way to be consistent with the punishments boys. Thank the lord you got the terror that is Dahntay Jones aka the Cavs last man off the bench suspended for his below the belt. It's good to see that the NBA is showing the players who is in charge and not accepting these low blows from anyone. Oh, wait. Apparently that's not the case if you're a star player. 

Glad to know the NBA is taking Draymond seriously. With this massive $25,000 fine I'm sure that he won't do this again. Much like Doug telling Shooter about Happy getting suspended, I am envisioning Adam Silver trying to justify only fining Draymond rather than suspending him because "the ratings are the highest they've ever been." I'm laying the challenge down to OKC, someone had better dropkick Draymond in the sack or else they look weak. We'll be watching, don't let us down. 

All my love,

@corbeech

Steven Adams' Nuts Memorial Wake Up

YIKES!

Hopefully you are having a better morning than Mr Adams is. Last night, blows were dealt. The Thunder handed Golden State another defeat, and Draymond Green dealt a low blow as seen in the picture above. OKC won Game 3 133-105 while absolutely crushing the Warriors. Media "experts" claiming the Thunder might not even win a game are still trying to dislodge their feet from their mouths while OKC is halfway to the NBA Finals. Should the NBA suspend Green, it will just make things more difficult for the defending champs. This is the second time that Green and Adams have been tangled up. Head Coach Steve Kerr and Green both claim that it's normal basketball moves. Adams sees it differently though quoted after the game, "It's happened before, mate. He's pretty accurate, that guy". Adams seems like he would be a fun dude to hang out with. He must be a writer's perfect interview. Sit on some ice pal, Game 4 is tomorrow at 9:00. 

On the Eastern side, Toronto hosts Cleveland tonight looking to tie the series. After a 15-point win on Saturday, the Raptors have already done what no other playoff team could do: beat the Cavs. Now that they have broke through, it wouldn't surprise me if they don't even the series tonight in Toronto. Tip is at 8:30 in the frozen north. 

Coming up this week, we'll go over final NBA Draft decisions as the deadline is only a couple of days away. We'll also look at recruiting and how it is ruining college offseasons. Stay tuned!

-Dug

@chansm1th

Exaggerator's Sunday Morning Wakeup

Exaggerator Ends Hope for Triple Crown

Good Morning people! Hope that your weekend is going better than Nyquist's. Let's take a look at what happened yesterday and what we can look forward to today. 

Exaggerator finally caught him. He beat Nyquist for the fist time in his five races. The defeat ends not only the hopes for a Triple Crown, but it is also Nyquist's first defeat. The track, as you can see in the picture, was very sloppy. The conditions favored Exaggerator, who had won three times on such tracks. Exaggerator is the first Preakness winner to win after finishing runner up in the Kentucky Derby since 1993 (Prairie Bayou). The Belmont Stakes will be on June 11th, if anyone still cares. People tend to forget about horse racing once the Triple Crown is out of the way. 

Toronto Knocks Off Cleveland in Game 3

There was plenty of controversy, but Toronto welcomed Cleveland north of the border to a tune of 99-84. The loss for the Cavs makes the first defeat they have suffered in the post season. Their last loss? The Detroit Pistons on April 13th in the regular season finale. Dwayne Casey was very critical of the officials after the game, and he should have been. Looking at the stats, and highlights, you can't hardly blame him. Sure, the NBA officials are very biased towards certain players, but at this point, I'm beginning to believe that it extends to certain teams. Nonetheless, Toronto has cut the series lead into and look to tie it up tomorrow in Game 4.

Looking to tonight, the Western Conference Finals moves to Oklahoma City. After a surprise Game 1 win, OKC will come home with the series tied looking to take an advantage. Tip is at 8 PM.

Sunday Night Baseball should be a good one tonight. Kyle Hendricks faces off against Madison Bumgarner in the Bay Area as two division leading teams face off. The Cubs own the best record in baseball, while the Giants own the second best in the National League. First pitch is at 8:00. 

That is all that I have today. Check back later. Someone might have something else to say. Until then, later!

-Dug

@chansm1th

The Case for Brandon Ingram

Am I campaigning for this guy to go number one? I suppose you could say that. Dug has made the case for Ben Simmons to go to the Sixers and I sort of want him to. Why do you say that as you make the case for Ingram, you may ask? Simply put, because I'm not a big fan of Ben and think it would be funny for him to go into basketball exile in Philly. However, he's not my subject, so Ben can kick rocks.

Ingram isn't going to blow your mind with his collegiate stats, but they're nothing to scoff at. He averaged an impressive 17.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG. I know what you're thinking and no, these aren't as impressive as Ben's line of 19.2/11.8/4.8, but that doesn't really matter.


My case for Ingram is that he is the guy that is going to make your team more likely to win. Yes, Ben's stats are better, but he isn't a winner. In a weak SEC, he found a way to take a preseason top-20 team that fell to the NIT and didn't even go to it, largely due to Ben. Ingram took a team with high expectations and made them go farther than they should have, considering Marshall Plumlee was their only healthy post player that could perform basic basketball moves. Ingram is a winner and he is only going to get more skilled as he ages.

He's a long 6'9" and can shoot the ball well, defend, and has a strong mentality, unlike that Aussie who is also vying for number one. I'm going to assume Philly has done their due diligence and know what they are getting into with their selection (putting faith in Philly is idiotic. Oh well.) If they want to continue tanking like they have for the previous two seasons, then by all means draft Ben. I see Ben as a Carmello type player. Yea, he gets his numbers, but winning the title is NEVER going to happen with him. So the choice is yours Philly. You can actually try to field a competitive team or you can keep playing the lottery.

All my love,
@corbeech

Looking Past the NBA Lottery

Last night, the NBA Draft Lottery took place will Philadelphia gaining control of the first overall pick. Now, we turn our eyes towards the NBA Draft. Underclassman now have one week to return to school should they not wish to enter the Draft. Be on the lookout for a few of these players to come back, but there shouldn't be any surprises when it comes to that. 

Having the number one pick is good for Philly, but now they have a big decision to make. There are really only two players who are seriously being considered for the pick: LSU's Ben Simmons and Duke's Brandon Ingram. Whichever way the organization goes, they are going to have a solid player. 

Ben Simmons

Freshman

Louisiana State University

6'10"  240 lbs

19 years old

Ben Simmons was undoubtedly the best college player this past season. He is long and very athletic. At 6'10", Simmons is a versitile post player who can square up nicely from mid-range. He also handles the ball like a top-notch point guard. The few times that I saw him on TV, and in person, he would dazzle you with his ball handling ability. Multiple scouts are comparing him, often, to both Magic Johnson and LeBron James. Anytime your name is thrown in with those two, you are very highly thought of. 

The only real issue with Simmons could be his attitude. He decided to skip the NBA Combine, which isn't common for players who will be highly selected. But one thing that stands out was in his lone year at LSU. Simmons apparently did not wish to play in the post season if the Tigers did not make the NCAA Tournament. This was a decision that drew a lot of backlash from the media. While the Tigers did not make the tournament, they were invited to the NIT. They declined. Just imagine if Ben Simmons had any other coach besides Johnny Jones!

Simmons has a lot of potential. He's an oversized point guard who can post you up, or posterized you. The attitude issues are flaws that can be easily fixed. Don't expect teams to overlook him based on that alone. If he isn't picked first, he would be a great fit in LA.

-Dug

@chansm1th