Last night LeBron James made his Lakers debut for the purple and gold on the road in Portland, but the story line was not how Los Angeles lost, rather the pieces surrounding the King.
The Lakers got off to a hot start and LeBron scored his first points on a “Pick-6” dunk in the opening minutes, but the adrenaline eventually wore off and the Blazers pulled away in the 4th to win by 9. The biggest takeaway that I had from Thursday night’s opener was not the fact that LA lost, but how good Rajon Rondo looked.
The former NBA champ totally controlled the game in the first half and found ways to get points both off the dribble and through the air, dishing out a game-high 11 assists. LeBron was his usual self but only managed to play 17 first half minutes, tallying 18 points through the first two frames (finished with 26/12/6). Walton is obviously trying to limit James’ minutes for the second half of the season, but that will ultimately change soon.
JaVale McGee looked decent as well in his debut but second-year pro Josh Hart stole the show off the bench. His 20 points kept the game interesting for the majority of the second half, but Damian Lillard and the Blazers perimeter shooting was the difference.
LA has no shooters. Literally zero. They won’t be able to challenge the West’s juggernauts–Houston and GSW–without them and quite frankly, LeBron and Brandon Ingram cannot be your go-to 3-point targets. This has been the story all summer and it will continue to be the story until they either trade for one, or Lonzo Ball and his new shooting motion catches fire.
All in all, it was a nice debut for the King, however, they came up short and LeBron is now 0-4 in career debuts in the NBA. Expect them to bounce back when the real Hollywood debut takes place this Saturday at the Staples Center against the Rockets who suffered an embarrassing loss to the Pelicans on Tuesday night.
The Lakers aren’t banking on winning the title this year. 2018-19 was all about getting LeBron, developing the youth to either trade for better weapons or simply to just buy time for the 2019 summer when they will take a run at Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis.
Oh, and congrats the the Warriors for their 3-peat. Klay…you can jump ship anytime now!
The New David Price?
The Red Sox are heading back to the World Series for the first time in 5 years, but the real story behind the best team in baseballs dominating series win over the Astros in the ALCS was starting pitcher David Price.
0-9. That’s what Price’s postseason record was heading into the ALCS. Not even one win. In his career in the playoffs he had a 6.03 ERA in 10 starts. He even lost to the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2018 ALDS. But somehow he managed to turn it all around and in his two starts this series against the Astros he was 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA.
Price also changed his Twitter bio information to “Astros Father.” Maybe a little over the top, especially since it was his only career playoff win and the same club absolutely shelled him a year ago, but hey, I’m all about the chirps! Keep ’em coming!
Boston has undoubtedly been the best team all year. They won 108 games (franchise record), will likely have the AL MVP (Betts or JD), and will have an outside shot at the AL CY Young (Sale). They dominated the ALCS against their rival and now executed payback for the loss Houston handed them in 2017. They have the most athletic group of outfielders that I have ever seen in my lifetime and their infielders have absolute cannons for arms. It will be Boston’s Series to lose next week against either the Dodgers or Brewers, but for the fans…please be the Dodgers. Nobody wants to see Milwaukee in the finals…but the ratings would be the highest ever for LA-BOS.
Give the fans what they want please!
Toronto
What a time to be from The 6 in 2018. Canada’s team looks like an absolute wagon in the NHL, the Raptors have a shot at winning the East with a healthy Kawhi and Drake is bound to drop another album soon…right?
Well, anyways the Leafs overs have hit in about every game this year except like two. Their offense is scoring in waves even without William Nylander and John Tavares and Auston Matthews are both going to pot 50 goals this winter.
Matthews’ insane point streak of 2 or more points in the Leafs’ first 7 games ended last night in Pittsburgh, but the kid still leads the league in goals (10) and points (16), and Toronto is in first place in the Eastern Conference.
Tavares grew up in the Greater Toronto Area and has added depth to an already vital group of forwards. Both JT and Matthews are going to put up their fair share of points this year, but for a team that has been questioned for their lack of depth defensively, Morgan Rielly has quietly been breaking records on the blue line.
The 24-year old surpassed Bobby Orr’s 45-year-old record for the most points by an NHL defenseman through the first five games of a season in the modern era. Rielly leads all NHL defenders with 13 points (T2 in NHL) and is second on the Leafs in plus-minus (+5). Toronto leads the league in goals for (33) and ranks 4th in goal differential (+7).
Who said you have to defend if you average over 4 goals per game? It’s simple math…just outscore your opponent and you’ll be just fine!
Leonard looked solid in his Raptors debut, dropping 24 points and grabbing 12 boards en route to a 116-104 win over the Cavs. A healthy Claw means that Toronto significantly got better when they traded DeRozan to the Spurs for Leonard back in July.
Boston is the only team that could take the Warriors the distance next June, but they will have to get past a gritty Raptors team first. I’m not sold on the 76ers quite yet. They, like LA, don’t have any ‘good’ shooters and their best players only attack at the rim. Toronto can actually control a game from the perimeter, but the question is whether or not they can compete in Boston.
It’s still early, but both the Raptors and Leafs are locks to make playoff runs. How far they go…well, that will come down to a variety of factors, health being the biggest. Let’s just sit back and watch history in the making while Tavares and Matthews both go for 50 a piece, and the Claw takes Canada to an NBA Finals…and then leaves for LA right after.
Bell to the Browns
Le’Veon Bell publicly announced (through his agent) that he would be returning to the Steelers sometime during the teams Week 7 Bye. The exact date is unknown, and whether or not he will report is still a question.
The Killer B has tweeted that he wants to remain a Steeler and win in Pittsburgh, but the offensive line and current starter, James Conner, seem to be doing just fine. The Steelers are back in the win column and are just one game back in the AFC North.
Bell is demanding a long, guaranteed contract like Todd Gurley signed this past off-season, but Pittsburgh refuses to give him one due to his given history of being suspended. So, where does this leave us now? Obviously trying to spitball and guess where Bell ends up by Week 10.
Today’s Jacksonville-Cleveland trade might have just answered everybody’s questions. The Browns dished RB Carlos Hyde to the Jaguars in exchange for a 5th round pick, clearing up cap space to sign a big name…possibly Bell.
Why would the unemployed star back want to sign there? They have a rookie 1st overall QB (Baker Mayfield), they have the leagues number one receiving target (Landry) and they lead the league in takeaways. This roster is very underrated and they are missing a game changer in the backfield. Cleveland could and should trade for Bell now if they wish to have a superstar running back for the future.
The Browns already have “their guy” under center, now just give him a transcendent talent to alleviate pressure and build off of a really good defense. Also, Conner is tearing it up in Pittsburgh and is being paid at league minimum essentially. Why risk bringing Bell back and disrupt what is working as of late…
Mark it down…Bell should be and will be a Cleveland Brown.