By: Lucas Kochevar
The Cavs started off the year very average, then Isiah Thomas came back from injury, Kevin Love got hurt, and then they blew the team up. The Cavs were full of drama and they just lost at astronomical rate. They traded away the trouble players, however, and got younger and more athletic. They acquired the likes of George Hill, Rodney Hood, Larry Nance Jr., and Jordan Clarkson. These players will all look to assist LeBron as George Hill put it "He's batman and we all have to be Robins" This is what the starting lineup looks like. PG: George Hill SG: J.R. Smith SF: Cedi Osman PF: LeBron James C: Tristan Thompson 6th Man: Rodney Hood The point guard spot has changed a lot over a year as they had Kyrie -> IT -> Hill. Hill provides steady play and consistency at the point guard spot. Jordan Clarkson backs up Hill and can really help as he is a much more well rounded offensive threat. The SG spot has a number of rotating players starting with volume shooter J.R. Smith. Smith really struggled earlier this year, but has been better as of late. The second rotating player is Rodney Hood. Hood is a sharpshooter that is long and can really bring a lot to the table and could very well be an x-factor in a playoff series. The third SG is Kyle Korver, one of the best three-point shooter of all-time. The forward spots start off with the best player in the world, LeBron James. James flat out dominates every part of the game. He is the greatest player of the generation as he is the only player ever to reach 30K point, 8K assists, and 8K rebounds. Next is Cedi Osman. Osman was inserted into the rotation a couple games ago and he has really been efficient. He has not put up a lot of stats, but he does just enough to make a positive impact. Larry Nance Jr. is a straight athlete and he flies around the court, similar to his dad. The center spot is Tristan Thompson, whose only contribution is rebounding The Cavs are really missing out on Kevin Love. Love is one of the best stretch bigs and he rebounds with the best of him. When he returns he will impact the Cavs a lot and push them to be contenders with the Warriors.
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By: Lucas Kochevar
The San Antonio Spurs are the most consistent sports team right now. They are one of the best dynasty in all of sports. The Spurs are steadily on track for another stellar season as they are third in the West without their superstar, Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs are the being lead by LaMarcus Aldridge as he has had an all star season. The Spurs younger players are also growing into a great unit. This is their starting lineup. PG: Dejounte Murray SG: Patty Mills SF: Kyle Anderson, Kawhi Leonard PF: Davis Bertans C: LaMarcus Aldridge 6th Man: Danny Green The Spurs PG are both very steady and great. Murray has been spectacular defensively and he is finding a place offensively. He replaced Parker, due to age, and he is becoming a legitimate threat at PG. They are running Patty Mills at SG, which is interesting because he is really undersized at SG. San Antonio has been running Danny Green off the bench to provide some great shooting as he is the prime example of a 3 and D player. Manu Ginobili has been 6th man for years too and he still does great at age 40. The SF spot is Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gay. The normal starter is Leonard when healthy, but he has chosen to stay out so that he could rehab. This has been an interesting development as he has been cleared for a couple of weeks. There has been rumblings that Leonard has been distant because he does not trust the Spurs anymore, but it has been refuted by everyone within the organization. The PF/C spot is really interchangeable with the Spurs system. The starting big men are Aldridge and Bertans. Aldridge is a proven stud, who is very effective in the post. Bertans is a solid player that does his job very well, along with Joffrey Lauvergne. The Spurs also have Pau Gasol, but he has been active and inactive since they are most likely saving his talents for the playoffs. By Lucas Kochevar
The Houston Rockets came into last year as an average team and people did not know what to expect. Then they rolled on offense under HC Mike D'antoni and Harden was looking like an MVP candidate. This off season they added some talent and they better than ever and they have a shot at taking down the Warriors. The best player they added was PG Chris Paul. Paul is the ultimate point guard in the fact that he always looks for the pass first and then he'll score if he has to. This is what the lineup looks like today. PG: Chris Paul SG: James Harden SF: Trevor Ariza PF: Ryan Anderson C: Clint Capela 6th Man: Eric Gordon A big question was "How are Chris Paul and James Harden going co-exist?" Well, they have done a great job so far. They tend to feed off of each other and they really bring the offense together. Trevor Ariza has held his own on defense as he takes the big jobs for players such as LeBron and Kevin Durant. Ryan Anderson is a deep-range deadeye as he has provided great spacing for years. Clint Capela is the anchor in the paint as he gets all the rebounds and the blocks. Capela has been crucial to the success of Houston as he is the always the biggest guy on the court. The Sixth Man of the Year is Eric Gordon. Gordon won the Sixth Man of the Year last year and he has been great this year as well. By: Lucas Kochevar
The trade season is upon us! The blockbuster deal went down yesterday around five o'clock between the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers. This is how the deal went down: Clippers Recieve - Avery Bradley - Tobias Harris - Boban Maranovic - Future protected first round pick - Future second round pick Pistons Recieve - Blake Griffin - Willie Reed - Brice Johnson The trade comes as a surprise as Griffin just signed a massive five year contract extension. It was a bad contract, but no one expected this trade as quick as it came. Griffin joins a front court with Andre Drummond. Griffin, who turns 29 in March, will look to bolster the Pistons into the playoffs. The other players along with Griffin are just salary cap fillers and will most likely have little to no role with Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons. The Pistons swing the biggest piece out of this deal, but I believe the Clippers won this trade. First of all, they got two starters that have flexible deals. Tobias Harris, who is just 25, is having the best year of his career. Bradley is on an expiring contract so he goes of the books after this year, unless they keep him. Boban is a good piece for a back up standing at 7'3. The picks also help the Clippers out as they can get more young players as they look like sellers this trade deadline. They hope to do something rare and do a quick rebuild by selling all their good players and acquire decent talent with plenty of draft picks. By: Lucas Kochevar
The Denver Nuggets sit on the edge of the playoffs with a couple of young stars, such as Nikola Jokic and Gary Harris, but the player I am focused on has to be Jamal Murray. Jamal Murray is a point guard in his sophomore campaign with Denver and he is posting new career highs in points, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage. Murray had his best game recently with an outburst of 38 points against Portland and their all star point guard Damian Lillard. Murray has had a very underrated year as he has flown under the radar with other young talents. The Kentucky alum has the skill set similar to Stephen Curry. Curry has been a sensational talent for the last couple of years, but early in his career he was just an average guard with an average 18.6 points in his sophomore season. Murray is posting similar season numbers 16.3 points per game. Murray has the similarities with his shooting as well. He is not as lights out with his shooting like Curry, however, Murray has raised his percentage from 33% to 37% and this percentage can only raise year after year. Jamal Murray has also been invited to the all star weekend once again. Last season he won the MVP in the Rising Stars Challenge and he will look to defend that title again. Murray to me has the needed tools to be in the league for years and become a top tier point guard. Size Murray has the size to be able to get stronger so he can drive in the future as well. Standing at 6’4 puts him as one of the taller point guards in the league. His height gives him the ability to shoot over opponents as well. Three-Point Shooting. This has obviously been made but to reiterate it, Murray is one of the more efficient scorers from three. His 37% ranks above all star caliber players like John Wall, Damian Lillard, and Carmelo Anthony. The ceiling is limitless for him and his jumper as his shot is beautiful. Efficiency Jamal Murray is one of the more efficient players for the Nuggets and he has the keys to the franchise as their starting point guard. This is the area he needs to slightly improve as he is averaging 2.8 assists, but also 2.1 turnovers. He needs more faith in his teammates as Gary Harris is a fantastic running mate with him in the backcourt. Murray has a ways to go to become a superstar but he fits the mold and I believe that he can really be great for any team, anywhere in the future. |
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