bugatti

Placed a total of 7 bets over the weekend and hit on 3 of them! Love it. First, I had money on Thorpedo Anna to win the Oaks as I have a connection with the owner and his family. Second, I had Seize the Gray in the Pat Day Mile. That was my wife's bet since she has gray hair. Third, I picked the Derby winner. Had a little money on some long shots, too, but Mystik Dan was my guy into the race.

Jalen Williams for OKC is a future All Star. Dude can light it up and is an elite level defender. Two Words: Naz Reid. Sengun for Houston.

You asking about under the radar guys? Or those that are actually elite but don’t get that level of cred? The NBA is loaded with talent and I can come up with an exhaustive list either way. 🙂

Following the All Star break the league office directed crews to crack down on a lot of the lunging and foul seeking by offensive players. It’s led to more physical play which was heightened during the playoffs.

Only four times in LeBron's career did he have enough talent to win a ring. And in those 4 years, he won a ring. The other 17 years he was saddled with Make a Wish Kids and janitors. This is not conjecture, it is a basketball fact.

If Bronny is on a roster, it'd be in a ceremonial role like Giannis's brother. Though, Thanasis came up through the ranks and has a shred of credibility. The last guy on a bench is still the last guy on a bench. When called upon, that individual is needed to come in and play NBA basketball. Bronny was the 7th guy on a bad college basketball team. Most 14th and 15th guys on an NBA roster would be having their way against college basketball competition.

His ability to perform at a high level this long into his career is remarkable. I will say, this is the first year I have watched LeBron and thought "LeBron is starting to look old and for once is not the best player on his team (AD was)." He is so cerebral and a basketball genius though he can hit his numbers. And he suddenly became an above-average three-point shooter which I did not have on my bingo card that helped his numbers. I do doubt the impact he is having on the game, especially on the defensive end where he often floats and can get cooked.

I believe LeBron is motivated to be recognized as the GOAT and needs another ring to bolster his case. But with the injury risk of him and Davis with an unreliable roster, is he in a position to earn one in LA? (Not to mention other teams have elevated.) Probably not. And all he has on the GOAT front are longevity achievements. I am NOT dismissing those, btw... his career has been remarkable. But repeating "I'm the GOAT" messages, reposting memes, and building one's narrative can convince people of anything.

Who knows what will happen? But, what a strange run it has been with the Lakers and LeBron. Year 1: Missed the playoffs. Year 2: Won the bubble title, no parade, no fans celebrating, etc. Year 3: Play-in game. Eliminated first round by Phoenix. Year 4: Missed the playoffs. Year 5: Play-in game, had some favorable matchups, but then got swept in the conference finals by Denver. Year 6: Play-in game, gentlemen's sweep by Denver. You can't say it has been an unsuccessful run since they were able to win it all in Orlando, but besides that year they have been in the play-in three times and missed the playoffs two others. Again, they won the title so you can't fault the move, but the play to get Davis really gutted the organization's infrastructure and was double-downed on when LeBron pushed to get Westbrook. I believe Palinka has done as masterful of a job as he could. They struck gold with Austin Reaves, but he has his limitations. With Bronny, my theory is the LeBron camp was always angling to push the narrative his son is an NBA caliber player with the hope they force the Lakers' hand in taking him late second round round or as a FA signing. A couple of weeks into his college basketball career, it was evident that he was not a pro prospect.

Can you rephrase this? I remember that '96 team well (I would have been 13) and I can't accept the fact I may have gone through the "older generation" turnstile. 😊

I don't believe anyone thinks Pope is a bum and peers are always gassing up other peers. I and many others aren't drinking the Kool-Aid (yet) given the lack of a proven track record beyond some solid improvements with the two Utah teams he's coached. I'm optimistic, but traditionally coaches that have had his level of success move on to a lower-tier Power 5 school. Not the elite of the elite. I think much of that is the college basketball environment we live in today where coaching college basketball is not as prestigious as it once was.

The refs took it to the Lakers again last night, causing them to lose a first-half double-digit lead. Despite Jokic picking up two fouls five minutes into the game, you could feel by mid-second quarter the inevitable was going to happen. It was cracking me up before the series started people were giving LAL a legitimate shot to win this series. Did people not watch these teams throughout the year? The cohesiveness of that starting five is on a whole different level than anything else in the league. I could see the Lakers stealing game 4 with a hot shooting effort with no pressure on the line. But if they exchange haymakers early on, the Lakers will fold like a cheap tent and it'll be 1-2-3-Cancun and LeBron will arrive at the press conference in a cast and float his retirement.

Obviously, for UK fans we remain optimistic the Mark Pope era is a tremendous one. But I ain't drinking the Kool-Aid yet. We can convince ourselves this was a great hire, but if 60 days ago I were to tell you Calipari's time at UK is coming to a close and Mark Pope is on deck, I would have been laughed out of the building. He may knock it out of the park. He may fall flat on his face. We shall see.

As evident by the entire UK roster and virtually every other roster flipping because kids want to be in a better situation for playing time and/or profit? That is the "college game." A jersey is just something players put on while on this multiple-year and multi-school journey.

Update. It was awesome.