NBA Award Season To This Point

 The NBA season is just about over at this point and I realize that I have not written a single thing about it this season. It's in this spirit and that it is awards season that I figure why the hell not give my awards up to this point. But before I do so, I have a few thoughts on the season that are not award related. 

*The Hockey discourse in comparison to the NBA is annoying as hell.

During the All Star game, I saw tons of people comparing the NBA to the NHL and most of it was from the NHL reporters. Hockey's all star event got a lot of earned attention and instead of using it to bring more fans in, they chose to spend every waking moment telling us this is why hockey players are better than basketball players. 

If you watch the All Star game for defense go outside nerd. 

Guys, as a basketball fan let me say this, I do not care. For all the talk that the NBA is failing and in trouble if they woke up tomorrow with the ratings of the NHL Adam Silver would be tied to a rocket and blasted into space. I don't need people like PK Subban on tv blathering about the NBA when they haven't watched. 

*The NBA does need to make some changes. 

I feel like the league is in one of those weird periods like the post Jordan years. While we look back with a sense of nostalgia, let's be real it wasn't the greatest brand of basketball out there. Right now seems like we are in that spot. Balance will be restored as it always is and the loudest critics will go back to standing for the flag or singing Lee Greenwood on flights. 

Alright, got that off my chest. And without further ado I give you my award winners...to this point. 

*Rookie of the Year: Stephon Castle, G, San Antonio Spurs

It came down to Castle or Jaylen Wells. As it currently stands I think Castle will hold off Jaylen Wells. With Wembenyama being out for the rest of the season I think there is going to be much more opportunities for Castle. 

*Most Improved: Dyson Daniels, G, Atlanta Hawks

Daniels in his first opportunity to start has been one of the few bright spots for the Hawks this season. He is averaging 9 more points a game, and most importantly he has been a terror on the defensive end averaging over 3 steals a game. 

*Coach of the Year: JB Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons

Bickerstaff was in my eyes unfairly fired from Cleveland. He was immediately picked up by the Pistons. The Pistons last year may have been the worst team that I ever saw. With very little done to improve the team, Bickerstaff has unlocked Cade Cunningham and the rest of the team and now they are well on their way to the playoffs. 

*6th Man of The Year: Payton Prichard, G, Boston Celtics

The defending champs are moving along with a confidence that only comes from winning a title. The starters are as rock solid as they come but it has been the shooting and confidence of Payton Pritchard that has given Joe Mazzula a chance to rest his starters longer and have them ready for the grind that is the NBA Playoffs. 

*MVP: Shai Gilgeous Alexander, G, Oklahoma City Thunder

The best player on in my opinion the best team. He averages 32 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. He even averages 2 steals a game so he is doing it on both ends of the floor. With all the other candidates such as Giannis and Jokic having won the award already the time may be now for the young guard.

Well there we have it, my idea of how the awards should shake out. Now that I have stated this of course all of these picks will go to hell. 

RFK Jr Has Already Made Me Sick

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a dangerous individual. I say this as someone who gets physically ill at the mere sight of this man. Why does the progeny of one of the country's most venerated politicians make me throw up? It's because he is the epitome of someone who is being handed something while he hasn't earned it. This man exists solely on vibes and gets the benefit of the doubt without any proof of any thing. Here's just a few of the reasons he sickens me. 

*He's wholly unqualified.

As I alluded to above, the man has a position currently that he is not qualified for in the slightest. He was by trade, an environmental lawyer, and while I can't speak to how good he was at this he was active in environmental spaces. Since 2005 this dingbat has however railed against childhood vaccines, claimed vaccines give you autism and has written books denying the connection between HIV and AIDS. And this is the man who is the main man on all health matters that reports to the president. Give me a break.

*He Has Directly Led To The Death of Children.

When I said he directly led to the death of children I do not believe this to be a damn exaggeration. This guy went to Samoa to peddle a conspiracy about 2 children dying due to a vaccine. This led to a climate of vaccine hesitancy, there was a measles outbreak and 83 people died, mostly children. The cause of the outbreak was decreased vaccination rates among newborns, from 74% in 2017 to 31–34% in 2018. Nearby islands had rates near 99% and guess what? Those islands didn't get a god damn measles outbreak. Instead of taking some form of responsibility for his misinformation he blamed the deaths on malnutrition. 

*He Has No Backbone.

This one is pretty straight forward. During his doomed run for the Democratic nomination this bastard warbled that he was a “threat to democracy,” a “bully,” and, as recently as July 2024, a “terrible president.” This guy got his ass handed to him and immediately went and kissed the ring and subsequently kissed a certain circus peanut hued ass. Show some god damn pride and stand on your words dip shit.

*He Is A Certified Weirdo.

This guy is in the most polite way I can put it, a fucking weirdo. How do I know this? Well let's see there is the story that he willingly told mind you of the time he say a bear cub get hit by a car. Instead of contacting officials, he put the body in his car and drove back to his home only to realize he didn't have time to go home so he put the body in Central Park and tried to stage it as a hit and run by a bike. His daughter told the story of the time he heard of a beached whale and took it upon himself to drive to the beach with a chainsaw and bring the skull of said whale home, forcing those inside the family minivan to cover themselves with trash bags. This guy is a certified weirdo.

*He IS Racist.

How do I know he is racist? Well when someone tells me who they are I tend to believe them. For years he has targeted black and brown communities with claims that vaccines were made in an effort to harm them. He even floated a conspiracy theory that Covid “ethnically targeted” white and Black people and spared Ashkenazi Jewish and Chinese people. He believes that black people should be on a different vaccination schedule "We should not be giving Black people the same vaccine schedule that's given to Whites, because their immune system is better than ours." This man said this himself in his confirmation hearings not even a month ago.

So yeah, when it comes to the fallen son of the Kennedy clan I guess you could say I am not a fan. He is a man who peddles dangerous misinformation under the guise of making America Healthy. He is a fraud and a charlatan and more people will be hurt than helped with this roided up ding bat at the helm of an already flawed health system. 

The Season of Optimism Is Upon Us

With a very thorough and dominant beatdown of the Kansas City Chiefs by the Philadelphia Eagles the 2024-25 season has come to an end. And while I wasn't correct in well most of my picks I end this season on a high. That's right, a damn high. I guess this is the problem with being a fan of a team, any team is the never-ending spring of optimism is always right there at the end of every season. And for the Bears my cup runneth over. And for the first time in a long time, there is legit excitement going into this season. Why? Oh the reasons are many and since I got the time I'll tell you all about it. 

*The Bears Hired The Best Coordinator On The Market

I've seen people make the argument that we have hired the hot coordinator before and throw out names like Matt Nagy and Marc Trestman. To that I say bullshit. Marc Trestman was coaching in the CFL and seen as a terrible hire at the time while Matt Nagy was just Andy Reid's coordinator and hadn't been seen as a serious candidate but more as an attempt to replicate the success of the Rams who had hired Sean McVay. The Bears hiring Ben Johnson was the first time they not only paid up, they got the consensus top coaching candidate and he chose us. Now will it work? I don't know but this is a change from the Bears normal routine of hiring a safe candidate and assembling a staff around him with strong coaching backgrounds.

*Build The O-Line Through The Draft/Free Agency

The most important thing to do this off season now that the coaching staff has been set is to build in the trenches. The most successful teams always have a dominant line on both sides of the ball. As of now on the offensive side of the ball the Bears have 1 lineman that I would call a cornerstone piece. The problem is there are 5 spots on the offensive line. My hope is to add a lineman through the draft, preferably Will Campbell from LSU, sign Trey Smith, maybe add a Zach Martin or Kevin Zeitler and baby we might be cooking with gas. As for the defensive side of the ball possibly trading for a Trey Hendrickson who had success under Dennis Allen in New Orleans would be a great help to Montez Sweat. 

*Caleb Williams Going Into Year Two

I know he is going to always be compared to the other quarterbacks in his draft class but let's not pretend that Caleb is a bust by any means. I think that maybe, just maybe, both the Bears and the Commanders got their guy. Even with all of the turmoil in Chicago last year we got a young quarterback who in the face of getting scrutinized for everything, stood tall and was tough as shit behind a porous offensive line and inept play caller. Given that he has shown himself to be extremely coachable, getting him with an innovative play caller like Ben Johnson and weapons like DJ Moore, Cole Kmet and Rome Odunze the future is very bright for this young man with just some half way stable coaching.

*Ownership Appears To Be Getting Out The Way

Since the hiring of Ben Johnson it seems like the Bears were moving away from the model of having football decisions made or approved by George McCaskey grandson of the great George Halas. He does not appear to have the same acumen as say his brother who ran the team prior to him. So now that falls to Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles who appear to have the confidence of Ben Johnson that the team will be built in his vision and the owners will not meddle. Poles has made a lot of good moves such as fleecing the Panthers for the #1 pick, DJ Moore and other picks but he has had some blunders such as the Nate Davis signing and rolling with Matt Eberflus for one more season. Rumor has it that decision was not his but now there are no excuses. 

Well there we have it, we are only a few days into the official offseason and I am already giddily looking up mock drafts, free agent lists and schedules for next season. This is the best and worst 

On The Kansas City Chiefs And Greatness

 When it comes to the Kansas City Chiefs I get very annoyed. And why do I get annoyed? It's because of the constant bitching and moaning about them. Like it's absolutely insane to me that we are in the midst of a great team run and people are bitching and moaning and yelling "oh I'm boycotting the Super Bowl" I immediately get in a bad mood. And before people try to say I'm a Chiefs fan, I am a Bears fan who can admit when he sees some hateration in this dancerie. And I am okay with a little hating, I have hated the Packers my whole damn life, doesn't mean they are cheating. They've just been better. It is what it is. On to what grinds my gears!

*The Refs Cheat For The Chiefs.

Look I get it, calls always seem to break their way but when you look at the numbers it just doesn't match up. Since Mahomes became the starter for the Chiefs, they have actually been penalized more than their opponents in the regular season and a total of 21 times less than their opponents in the playoffs for an average of 3 fewer calls than their opponents per playoff run. 

You may not like it, but that  there is a defensive holding.

Since 2018 they have been called for 43 more pass interference penalties. I know what you're gonna say, "they just wait till the game is on the line to make a bad call." Ok, why would they wait? If their is a massive conspiracy then why wait and put more scrutiny on themselves? In a league where quarterbacks are coddled, anyone is going to get hit with a roughing penalty (looking at you Joseph Ossai). Per a report by the Ringer: "Mahomes ranks below Josh Allen, Jared Goff, and Kirk Cousins in career roughing penalties, roughing penalties per game, and roughing penalties per 100 passing attempts. Mahomes is fourth in the sample size in roughing penalties per sack, but he’s wedged between Goff and Jimmy Garoppolo, hardly indicating he’s getting particularly special treatment."

*Poor Josh Allen

Before I start let me say that I am a huge fan of Josh Allen. My problem when it comes to him is not even Josh Allen, it's the people defending him. The person most honest about Josh Allen is usually the man himself. That being said the lengths people will leap to defend his playoff shortcomings is astounding. 

People so badly want Josh to get over the hump has them overlooking that the very same thing that they accuse the Chiefs of is happening for Buffalo. And it still isn't enough. The NFL changed overtime rules because Josh couldn't beat them in the playoffs. The last 2 times in the playoffs, he has had the ball in his hands with the game on the line and he has not been the reason the Bills won. I guess it's easier to blame the Chiefs and create a conspiracy when it could be that Josh Allen is Patrick Ewing to Mahomes Jordan. 

*This is All The Bills Fault Anyway

Now before I get out of here, I will say that none of this happens without the Bills trading the pick to the Chiefs that would become the possible greatest quarterback of all time. That's right, the biggest blunder of that draft wasn't the Bears passing on Mahomes, it was the Bills giving that player to a great play caller like Andy Reid. 

And then to make it worse, just last year they traded the pick that became Xavier Worthy to the Chiefs. Yeah, Xavier Worthy who ran the fastest 40 time in combine history. There's making shrewd moves and then there is giving the roadblock in front of you more ammunition to stop you. If I'm running the Bills if the Chiefs call me I am blocking the number.

Well that's all I have for now perhaps I will give my predictions on who will win the Super Bowl a little later this week.

The Wildest NBA Trade I've Ever Seen.

I was going to wait until the trade deadline was here, but certain moves have forced my hand to dedicate one entire post to this move. And no, I am not referring to the Thomas Bryant to Indiana Pacers trade. No, I refer to the seismic trade that has delighted Lakers fans, infuriated Mavericks fans and frankly confused the rest of us.

On Saturday night the Dallas Mavericks traded their future Hall of Fame guard who is only 25 years old for Anthony Davis of the Lakers. Make no mistake about it, Anthony Davis is no bum, is no consolation prize and is an All-NBA performer. The trade is shocking simply because we have never seen a player of Luka’s pedigree get traded right as he is preparing to enter his prime and has made no requests to be traded.

For the Lakers, this is the biggest duh ever. Rob Pelinka was sitting back looking out the window and he got a call asking him if he wanted to trade for a 5-time first team All-NBA and he had to ask are you serious? Like there are four, maybe five guys who are untradeable and I thought Luka was one of them.

I’m literally sitting here, and I have concluded that this is what happens when people who don’t use their eyes and only use formulas to decide what is good basketball. That’s gotta be it. He sees a guy who isn’t a good defender and may come into the season “out of shape” and not use your damn eyes and see oh this dude is a damn killer.

And again, Anthony Davis isn’t the issue here but he is an oft injured center on the wrong side of 30.

You must include him in any trade but you also gotta get more. You don’t give up Jalen Hood Schifino and 1 first round pick along with Davis to get a guy who at his WORST is the fifth best player in the league. You at least open the offers to more than one team so you can get more in return. If you trade a Luka Doncic you absolutely have to get a franchise altering amount of picks and players back. Hell the Jazz got damn near a decade worth of picks and a solid center in Walker Kessler for Rudy Gobert and no one likes Rudy Gobert!

I do not care if there are “conditioning” concerns, open your damn eyes and take your head out the damn spreadsheets. Short of Luka slapping my wife and or mother the idea to trade him would not even cross my mind. 

What we have now done is I fear, activate a basketball sociopath who trained with Kobe as a teenager. A guy who as he is getting dogged for "not being ready" averaging 28, 8, and 8. If this is him not ready then what the hell are we about to see out of a motivated Slovenian who dragged Dallas to the Finals last year? 

Thanks a lot Dallas. You certainly made the rest of this season much more interesting.