Jokic Being the MVP is a Joke

Nikola Jokic won his third MVP last night. I knew it was going to happen. The moment Joel Embiid got hurt, it was a foregone conclusion that he was winning the award. No one was going to catch him. Guys could have gone off, the media wanted to give Jokic this award.

When I heard the news, my son told me while we were at karate, I scoffed. I was annoyed. I know I shouldn't let this bother me, but it does. After we returned home, I saw some stories flying around about how this puts Jokic on another level. The only other people who have won at least three MVP's in the NBA are Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Jokic is now going to be mentioned with these other guys, and that seems wrong to me. These other guys are hall of fame caliber players. These other guys are transcendent talents. Jordan is the greatest to ever step on the court. Magic is Magic. He is, quite possibly, the greatest point guard of all time. Moses Malone is the greatest rebounder to ever play the game. He is also the first prep to pro player. Larry Bird was a certified killer. He wanted to rip your heart out. Bill Russell has 11 championship rings and is the best defensive player ever. Kareem is one of the greatest to ever do it. He was also the dominant big man for the Lakers when they started their whole dynasty. And LeBron James is the second greatest to ever do it. He is a point guard in a linebacker's body. He is the icon of the 2000's. He is still producing at an incredibly high rate at 38 years old. He has changed the game forever.

And now we have Jokic. What has he truly done to be on these guys' level? Honestly. I get the whole analytic stuff and the stat counting. That is all well and good. But damn if he is not anywhere near these other guys. He is not even close. And he doesn't even have a personality. When he made a mention that he "doesn't even pay attention to this stuff", that rubbed me the wrong way. He wants to be this aloof guy that doesn't care about what he does as a profession. He cares more about his horses and his bully brothers. If he hates this sport that much, if he doesn't want to continue to do this, why does he do it then? No one is forcing him. I don't find his crummy attitude charming. He annoys the hell out of me. And he is mind numbingly boring to watch play basketball. I don't care what all the white nerdy writers at ESPN and The Ringer have to say about his game, he is dull. I don't think his passing is otherworldly. He is not the rebounder he should be. He is a total zero on defense. And he brings nothing exciting to the game of basketball. Just because nerdy analytic guys like him, that doesn't mean he is the MVP.

Once again there is no possible way he should be mentioned with the other players that won at least three MVP awards. Oh, and he now has more MVP awards than current players like Giannis Antentekoumpo, Joel Embiid, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Jayson Tatum, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, among many others. He also has more MVP's than former players like Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Allen Iverson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Garnett. That is insanity to me. He is not on any of those guys' level either. I'd so much rather have Olajuwon as my center. Give me Shaq all day. David Robinson is a better offensive player than Jokic, and a far, far, far better defender. It doesn't make sense to me.

I feel like when my son, who is 12, is going to look back at this when he is my age and be grossed out that analytics took over the game for a time being. None of the voters seem to care about playing both ends of the floor, about love of the game or about importance to a team. This was a throw away award the moment they added the 65 game limit and Embiid got hurt.

The MVP award is now officially a joke. Jokic being a three time winner is even funnier and kind of sad to me. But hey, at least the analytic nerds can go around and tell people how smart they are now that he has won this award 3 times in 4 years. This makes the NBA MVP award as important as the Grammys. What a joke. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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R.I.P. Darius Morris and Obi Ezeh

Over the weekend two Michigan athletes that I followed pretty closely while they were there unfortunately passed away. Darius Morris was a basketball player and Obi Ezeh was on the football team. I have some thoughts on both men.

Morris was a big deal when he ended up at Michigan. The men's basketball team was going through a transition at the time. They were not very good. They were still reeling from the Fab Five sanctions. And they had hired a new coach the previous year, John Beilein. Beilein was given a good amount of time to turn the team around, which he eventually did, but Morris was kind of the turning point for the program. Morris was a highly sought after point guard prospect. A bunch of division 1 teams were after him. He shockingly picked Michigan and headed from California to Ann Arbor. He, along with Beilein, turned this team around faster than I imagined. In Beilein's system, the point guard gets it all going. They are the important guys. They have to know it all, and have the head coach's trust. Morris came in, immediately got the keys and ran with them. Michigan was a sub .500 team the year before Morris arrived. In his freshman season they won 21 games and returned to the NCAA tournament. They had another solid year behind him in his sophomore year. Much to my surprise, and many others I believe, he left Michigan for the NBA. He was drafted and spent just under a decade in the NBA. While never a real star, Morris carved a place for himself in the NBA. He is notorious for being exceptionally good in the video game NBA 2k13. He was beloved by Lakers fans as well, being a California native. So, to hear that he has passed away at 33, that was heartbreaking. I kept reading the stories thinking maybe it was a hoax. Unfortunately it is true. They have not released a reason for his passing. But, 33 is far too young. He had his whole life ahead of him. I was sure he was going to become a good coach. I didn't want this to be the last thing we ever heard from Darius Morris. My heart breaks for his family and loved ones. I never knew him personally, but I was a fan. He helped turn my favorite basketball back into a threat. Michigan became good again after getting a player of his caliber to commit and play there for two years. Rest in Peace Darius Morris.

The other former Michigan athlete that passed was Obi Ezeh. I was an even bigger fan of his. He was a linebacker at Michigan. As you all know, Michigan football is the end all be all for me as a fan of team sports. And there is no position I watch more than their linebackers. Some greats have come through that university. Guys like Jarrett Irons, David Harris, Devin Bush and Prescott Burgess. They were all Michigan legends. Obi Ezeh was right up there with those guys for me. He played for the team during a transition as well. And while it wasn't always great to watch those teams play, Ezeh brought it every week. This guy worked his butt off. He was a ferocious hitter. He was the type of linebacker that, when he hit you, I could hear it on my tv screen. He was feared by opponents. He looked like a prototypical linebacker. He was quiet, but always did his job. He reminded me so much of David Harris, one of my all time favorite players, and it wasn't just because they wore the same number and played the same position. They both were silent leaders. They both laid the wood on the field. They both did their job at the highest possible level. They both gained a lifelong fan in me as a kid and early 20 year old. They were both players that I looked up to and wanted everyone else on the team to act like. Obi Ezeh was never flashy. He would never go overboard. He never wanted the spotlight. He just wanted to play football and hit dudes. And he did that with the best of them. So, when I saw that he too has passed away, I read about it yesterday, I was crushed again. I couldn't believe two former Michigan athletes that I adored had both died within the same weekend. And, much like Morris, Ezeh was only 35 years old. Again, he had his whole life in front of him. I would have jumped for joy if he was added as a coach this past offseason, if that was something he wanted to do. Obi Ezeh is one of my all time favorite Wolverines. He is going to be missed, and missed hard. This stinks.

These two guys were far too young to have it all end so early. Rest in Peace Obi Ezeh. And Rest in Peace both of you wherever you may be now. Get some rest. You will be missed. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Darvin Ham is Not to Blame

The Lakers have dismissed Darvin Ham as head coach after only two seasons. Let’s discuss.

This news is not surprising, but maybe it should be. In two short seasons with the Lakers, his record as head coach was 90-74. That is pretty damn good if you think about it. He was also handpicked to be the head coach after they fired Frank Vogel. This is who the players and the front office wanted. They had eyes on some other guys, but of the available coaches, Ham was the number one option. The Lakers got their man. And he did pretty good things with this team and their ever changing roster. They had to make their way to the playoffs through the play-in both seasons he was the head guy, but they let their presence be known. They ran all the way to the West Finals last season. As the 7 seed last year they trounced my Grizzlies in six games, and it was never really in doubt. Dillon Brooks popped off too much, Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke got hurt, as did Steven Adams, and it was done. LeBron James destroyed Brooks, so much so that the Grizzlies let him walk, and the Lakers moved on to face the Warriors, whom they pretty easily displaced in round two. Then they ran into the eventual champs, the Nuggets, and got swept. I don't buy the whole "competitive sweep" nonsense either. A sweep is a sweep. There are no moral victories.

Then this season, making their way to the 7 seed again, through the play-in, they had to face the Nuggets. This time they were competitive enough to take one game from them, but this series could still be going on if they knew how to hold on to a lead. Some may blame this solely on Ham, but some of the blame needs to be given to the players as well.

At what point is it going to be put on the players to take some heat? I get that the NBA is player friendly, as all pro sports leagues should be, but players play the game. Coaches install gameplans, they have ideas that they put out there, they speak with their assistants and tell them what to do, but that is where it all stops. The players have to perform the duties of putting it out there, on the floor, which is the head coach's vision. Coaches deserve blame, don't get me wrong, but we live in an era where every inch of the blame is placed on the head coach. And no one questions it at all. Like I said at the top, Darvin Ham being dismissed was a foregone conclusion. After the Lakers exited the playoffs, every story on sports websites was about this very thing happening. We all knew this was coming. But the dude won 90 regular season games as a head coach. He was 9-12 as a head coach in the playoffs, which isn't great, but the Lakers made it to the West Finals a year ago. He had this team playing defense. While the offense was never the most imaginative thing, the Lakers still found ways to win games. He was tasked with putting guys like Austin Reaves, Jaxson Hayes, Max Christie, Rui Hachimura, D'Angelo Russell and Tauren Prince around LeBron and Anthony Davis. Those names don't pop off the screen. Those guys are not the complimentary players teams covet. This isn't like the Nuggets with players like KCP or Michael Porter Jr. This isn't the Timberwolves with guys like Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. This isn't the Celtics with players like Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. Hell, this isn't even the Pelicans with dudes like CJ McCollum and Herb Jones. All of those players are so much better than what the Lakers and Darvin Ham had to pair up with LeBron and AD.

But Darvin Ham is the scapegoat this morning. He is the one everyone is making fun of now. He is the new punching bag as a former head coach. He wanted to be a head coach, but I have to figure these last two seasons were hell for him. Frank Vogel was ready to get out of there. In Cleveland, Mike Brown was ecstatic to be let go and coach somewhere else. And whoever the Lakers bring in next, that coach has to understand that the second it starts to go haywire, their ass is on the line. No player will own to blame. The front office will be quiet as a mouse. It will be the coaching staff, and more importantly, all the head coach's fault if it doesn't work again, which is most likely will not.

The West is a juggernaut, and it will only be tougher next year. The Lakers need to look in the mirror and realize that a new head coach will not solve the myriad of problems they have as a mediocre organization at the moment. Darvin Ham should still be their head coach. But I wouldn't be surprised if he is relieved to be out of there. Maybe he will find his love for basketball again coaching somewhere else. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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LeBron's Greatness is Not Enough for the Lakers

The Nuggets disposed of the Lakers in another thriller last night. The series was never in doubt to be honest. I was rooting for the Lakers, for what seems like the first time ever, but it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Nuggets would win this series. Jamal Murray woke up, Jokic was efficient, Aaron Gordon played high level defense and the Nuggets advanced to the second round.

What I took away most from this game was the excellent play from LeBron James. James is the second greatest basketball player ever, in my opinion. He has done everything you could ever want from a basketball prodigy. He has more than lived up to the hype and then some. But this felt like the end for him. He was amazing in this series. That needs to be said right off the top. He averaged damn near 28 points per game. He added almost 9 assists and 7 rebounds. He played 40 minutes per game. He did everything he could to win these games and keep this team relevant.

LeBron didn't get much help either. After being healthy most of the season, Anthony Davis appeared to injure his shoulder on a minimal contact play. He was never the same after that. He was timid, he wasn't looking to shoot, his defense wasn't the same and he seemed off. Austin Reaves was clearly overhyped going into this season. He was average at best. Rui Hachumura never got his shot going. D'Angelo Russell gave up two games ago. Gabe Vincent never got going. Jaxson Hayes couldn't stay on the floor. The Cam Reddish experiment didn't work. All the things the Lakers did, to appease LeBron James, did not work how they wanted it to. But, throughout all of this LeBron James produced.

In 71 games this season, James averaged 25 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. All of this at 39 years old in his 20th NBA season. He was the leader of the 7th seeded team in the West and was the leading factor to them winning 47 games. But looking back at these stats, this is a Lakers team that needed to get into the playoffs through the play in. This is a Lakers team that truly struggled after winning the inaugural in season tournament. LeBron also looked incredibly tired at the end of their game last night. And who could blame him. He is 39 years old. He has been in the public eye since he was 16. He has been scrutinized, idolized and marginalized by a bunch of people. He has been used and used others to continue his career. And what he has been able to accomplish is truly amazing. No one else will come close to approaching his numbers and his legendary status. He has won every major award. He has won multiple titles. He has been the face of the league since the early 2000's. But it feels like the time is as close as it has ever been to being over.

LeBron cannot continue to carry a mediocre team anymore. The Timberwolves are young and coming. So are the Grizzlies, Spurs, Pelicans, Thunder, Mavericks and Rockets. That is just the good teams in the West. The East has the Celtics, Knicks, Bucks, Cavs, Magic and Pacers. All of these teams, right now, are better than the Lakers. They are younger too. They have so many better contributing players than the Lakers do. And it is too much for the Lakers to ask a soon to be 40 year old LeBron James to continue to carry this team. He shouldn't have to do that to end his career. The Lakers should not strive for another Kobe Bryant ending. But I fear they are trending that way with James. They will probably try to get another big name player this offseason. I've heard Trae Young, Dejounte Murray or Zach Lavine as options. While adding one of these younger guys, does it really move the needle? Is Anthony Davis going to stay this healthy ever again? Who will remain of importance to this team, especially if they trade for one of the young guys I mentioned.

LeBron James has nothing left to prove. He has done it all, stayed out of trouble and won at the highest possible level. He is going to go down as a true legend. He is one of the greatest to ever do it. But last night felt like a blow. It felt like a big push into the inevitable. I'm going to miss watching him play, and I don't know if it will ever look like it used to again. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Anthony Edwards is Elite

Anthony Edwards announced himself as one of the next big NBA superstars last night. He didn't really have to do too much more for me to notice, he is one of my favorite players, but boy oh boy did he let himself be known to the casual NBA fan after this first round series. Let’s discuss.

Edwards was the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. This was the COVID lockdown draft. He was the consensus number 1 guy, but there were questions. Georgia wasn't very good, he seemed to float in and out of games, his jumper wasn't great and his tenacity on defense was yet to be seen. And when he started playing, it was a lot of the same. But, Edwards has always had freakish athleticism. What attracted me to his game was his dunking ability. He reminded me of a guard version of Shawn Kemp. He dunked on people and he dunked hard on people. The dunk he had against the Raptors a few years back was one of the best in game dunks I'd ever seen. But the Timberwolves, while getting a little better, didn't really look like they would be much more than a first round out in the playoffs.

Then the T’Wolves traded for Rudy Gobert. The trade was maligned, and in year one it looked like the critics were right. The Timberwolves were not very good. They came off a season where they pushed the Grizzlies in round 1 to six games, and it was a hard fought series. The next season, the first with Gobert, they struggled to make the play in and were easily disposed of by the Nuggets in five games. But this season has felt different. And Edwards has looked different. You could see him starting to figure things out in that series against the Grizzlies two years ago. Last season he was the sole reason they got one game from the Nuggets. The athleticism and the ability was still there, but other things were clicking. I feel like this is the year where it has almost fully come together for him.

Minnesota finished as the 3 seed in the West, but they had a shot at number 1. They are a dominant defense, with Edwards fully buying in on that end this year. Edwards doesn't always go one on one anymore. He plays more within a flow of an offense built around his skill set. Karl Anthony-Towns, another number 1 overall pick, has started to relent and make note that it is Edwards' team. Gobert understands that he is there for defense. Mike Conley has taken Edwards under his wing and he looks like a proud basketball dad watching him grow into this supernova talent. Kyle Anderson seems to be really enjoying the ride. The Timberwolves have given Anthony Edwards the keys, and he is running with it all. And it is glorious to watch as a fan.

What Edwards did in this series, the way he dominated, it was one of the more impressive things I have seen on a basketball court. He went out there on a mission every year and he decided he wanted this series over in four games. The Suns were betting favorites in this series. The analytic nerds loved them. Kevin Durant wasn't ready to pass the torch. Rudy Gobert wouldn't be able to stay on the floor. Anthony Edwards was going to have to wait another year. People even mentioned that Devon Booker was possibly better. I'm sure Edwards heard all of that, and he decided his time was now. He was tired of waiting. He went out there on that floor and snatched it all away from the Suns, from KD, from Devin Booker, from Frank Vogel and from ESPN and their analytical staff. Edwards took over each and every game. He mentioned, before game 1, how KD was his favorite player and how cool it would be to beat him in this series. He did just that. Anthony Edwards was the best player on the floor by a wide, wide margin. In the first round sweep, Edwards had games of 33, 36 and 40 points. In game two, the one game he struggled in to score, he was lock down on defense. He also had 9 rebounds in three of the four games. He averaged 6 plus assists per game. He never took more than 24 shots to get all of his points. He played good defense in every game. He took over when he was asked to take over by his coaches and team. He did all the right stuff. And it was amazing for me to watch this kid ascend to these new heights.

I don't like to watch Luka Doncic because I find his game very boring and he whines all the time. Nikola Jokic is, for me, also very, very boring. Giannis cannot stay healthy lately and he is not much of a shooter. LeBron James is amazing, but he is very old now. Ja Morant was hurt most of last season, and he has the whole gun thing. So, for me, watching a player like Anthony Edwards make this leap, watching the same from Shai Gilgeous Alexander, it makes me hopeful for the future faces of the NBA. Not all of these up and comers are zeroes on defense or want to turn the game into a free throw shooting contest. Not every star has to gripe to the officials. Not every star has to be friends with the other stars. A player like Anthony Edwards gets me hyped because he is uber talented and he wants to rip your heart out on the court.

I hope this run continues and Timberwolves continue to develop Edwards into an even bigger star because I want to see him play more than any other player in the playoffs right now. While I'm still a Grizzlies fan, I think Anthony Edwards is my new current favorite NBA player. He is the most fun to watch. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Thoughts on the Jontay Porter Saga

Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA yesterday. Let’s discuss.

This is a way bigger deal than most will make it out to be. Jontay Porter isn't a big name. He isn't an all star. He doesn't have big numbers. He was undrafted and played very sparingly. But what he did is the exact same thing that Pete Rose did to get booted from the MLB. He bet on tons of games with tons of parlays and gave insider info to other gamblers. In fact, what Porter did may be worse than what Pete Rose did when you break it down. He placed an 80,000 dollar bet that, if it had cashed, he could have won 1.1 million dollars. He placed 13 separate bets with an associates online betting account. He also placed a prop bet, I guess based on minutes played, for a game in which he only played a few minutes. He checked himself out because he said that he "wasn't feeling well". I mean, how dumb do you have to be?

Seriously, how did it get this bad for Porter? Why did he have to gamble on these games? What was there to gain for him, basically shaving points? I get that he was a two way player. I understand that he was probably making whatever the league minimum is for NBA players. I'm sure he was making as much as the last few players on the bench. But he was still getting paid pretty well for a bench guy in the NBA. The league minimum for an NBA player is 1.1 million dollars. So, by just being a deep bench player, after getting called up to the Raptors in a down year for them, he was still a millionaire. He was still making six figures. His family was making money hand over fist. His brother, Michael Porter Jr, makes a ton of money playing for the Nuggets. So, I have to believe this was not about the money. There is something else at stake here.

I, if I had to guess, would say that Porter liked the thrill, and by playing in some of these games that were being bet on, he could control the outcome. I have to think that by putting 80 grand on a prop bet, he was excited by the thrill of making close to his base salary on one single bet. I would guess that he is a gambling addict, and I wonder how deep this goes for him. He had no reason to do it. He has more than enough money. So, to continually bet over and over again, that is the sign of a true addict. He couldn't get enough of it. And when he could control some of the bets a little bit, he got greedy. He took it too far. He went way over the line. This could have been stopped. He could have told the people he was placing bets with that he was done. His brother could have tried to stop him. But, like a true addict, he just had to bet. I wonder if the 80 grand bet was him thinking, this is the last one and then I'm out. But, I have to venture to think that it wasn't the last one. Not by a long shot. And now Jontay Porter is paying the price for his addiction. He is no longer allowed in the league that he worked so hard to make it to. He can't even play in the G League. He is going to have to settle for a professional league overseas, if any team will even sign him.

This is a bad look for Jontay Porter. He is done. His NBA days are officially over, and all for some stupid bets. There are many reasons not to gamble, and Porter may have found the main reason why not. His NBA career is over and he did it to himself. That is a bummer. 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Blake Griffin was a Good, Not Hall of Fame, NBA Player

Blake Griffin officially retired from the NBA after 14 years yesterday. Let’s discuss.

Blake Griffin was an exciting, emphatic dunker in his prime. He would do some of the most amazing dunks I had seen since Shawn Kemp. I do feel like some of them, the dunk contest where he "jumped" over a car, were a bit overrated. But, nonetheless, he was a very good in-game dunker. He put a bunch of people on posters. As his athleticism waned, he found, kind of, a jumper. He was never a true threat from the outside, but he could hit the free throw line jumper more times than not. He was an okay enough rebounder, did his part sometimes on defense and the dunking, that was pretty great. I fully believe that is what he will be remembered for most, the dunking. He was one of the best to dunk when he would really go for it. But, a question I saw on social media after his announcement really got me thinking.

After the retirement was released, a person asked if Blake Griffin was a hall of fame basketball player. My gut reaction was no. Outside the dunking, what did he really do to be a hall of famer? He never won a ring. He was a six time all star. He never made first team all NBA. He did make second team three times and third team twice. Other than that, his only other accolades are 2011 rookie of the year and 2011 slam dunk contest champ. No MVP award. No all defense. No conference finals appearances.In his 14 years he played in 68 playoff games. He shot less than 50 percent from the field. He was under 38 percent from 3. And for his playoff career, he was an 18 point per game player who also added 7.7 rebounds. For a 6'9 power forward, seven rebounds per game is not as much as I expected.

Again, Griffin, while a fine player, I do not look at these career numbers and think, hall of fame. His dunking was electric. The way the whole team stood up to the monstrous owner Donald Sterling, which I have to believe Griffin was one of the leaders to stand against that monster, was wonderful. Getting traded to Detroit, which was not on his radar after signing a max contract with the Clippers, and guiding that team to the playoffs kept him relevant. But then we have the Nets and Celtics to close out his career. I actually forgot he was on the Celtics until he announced his retirement. Griffin came into the league like a flash. He did some hyper athletic things. He made tons and tons of highlight reels. He made the Clippers fun and must watch tv. But he does not have the resume to be in the hall of fame. He doesn't have the numbers, the rings, the awards.

While fun to watch, Blake Griffin is not a hall of fame basketball player. Enjoy retirement. I'm sure Blake Griffin has a great comic and acting career ahead of him. He should strive for the hall of fame in those categories. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty Predicts the 2024 NBA Playoffs

The NBA playoffs are set. And I'm here to give my predictions. I love this time of the sports year. I love the NBA, and the playoffs are the best of the best. This is when it all gets good. I even enjoy the hell out of the play in. I cannot wait to start watching it tomorrow night. I'll start with the East and go from there. I'll pick the conference winners and some playoff award winners. Let's get to it.

The play in in the East features the Heat and 76ers in the 7-8 match up and Hawks and Bulls in the 9-10. This 9-10 game is rough stuff. These two teams are not great. I'm going to go with the Bulls to get out of the first part of the play in. The Hawks are not a good team. They have struggled all season long. The 7-8 game is going to be awesome. I love this match up. I'm going with the 76ers. Joel Embiid has been as good as ever since coming back and they are getting in a groove heading into the first round. As for the 8 seed, we have the Bulls and Heat. The Heat will win and win with ease. They get the 8 seed.

So, this gives us first round match ups of Celtics-Heat, Knicks-76ers, Bucks-Pacers and Cavs-Magic. I like all of these match ups to be honest with you. The Celtics will not be stoked to see the Heat in round one. They beat them last season, they are not afraid of them and Erik Spoelstra is a great playoff coach. The Celtics should, and will win. They are the better team and they have something to prove this season. But, it will be closer than they want the series to be. I'll go Celtics in six. The Knicks got the 2 seed, which is a big deal for them. Their reward, the 76ers. I like the Knicks and the NBA is way more fun when they are better. But they will not be able to stop Embiid. He has something to prove as well, and I see big things from him this postseason. Give me the 76ers in seven tough fought games. The Bucks have looked off all season. They just cannot seem to get right. They look odd on the floor, they get injured far too often and their defense is mediocre. But the Pacers have struggled to close the season out. They are nowhere near as good as they were a few months ago. I am having a hard time with this pick, but I'm going to go with the Bucks in seven, if Giannis is fully healthy for this series. Finally we have the Cavs and Magic. This is my favorite first round East series. I love everything about this. Both teams are young and fun and play some solid defense. I'm going with the Magic to win in seven games. Their defense is better, they are going to muddy the game up and their fans are going to be ravenous.

This gives me second round match ups of Celtics-Magic and Bucks-76ers. This is the best the NBA could hope for from the East. As awesome as it would be to see the Magic make it to the East Finals, it is not happening. While their defense is very, very good, elite even, the Celtics have so many weapons to counter the Magic defense. I actually think this series will be a little less tough than the first round. Give me the Celtics in five. I cannot wait to watch the 76ers-Bucks series if it comes to that. These are two teams going in two seperate directions, and the 76ers are going to run with it. Embiid is going to crush. Lillard will not be able to match Tyrese Maxey. Tobias Harris is going to score at will. Give me the 76ers in seven.

That give us the Celtics and 76ers in the East Finals. I will be rooting for, and I want the 76ers to win. I want Embiid to announce himself big time. But, the Celtics are simply a better team and they will prove it once again. The Celtics are the East champs and they will be in the Finals. They win that series in six games.

Now to the varsity, the Western conference.

The play in in the West features the Pelicans-Lakers in the 7-8 game and the Kings and Warriors in the 9-10. The Lakers will beat the Pelicans. They may need help from the refs, but they will find a way to get that 7 seed. The Kings are just too banged up to compete with the Warriors right now, so give me the Warriors in the 9-10 game. As for the Pelicans and Warriors to get the 8 seed, give me the Pelicans. The Warriors are old, they have been inconsistent and Zion Williamson is going to go the hell off against them. This may be a moment when we see the Warriors as we know them start to make a change.

So that gives us match ups of Thunder-Pelicans, Nuggets-Lakers, Timberwolves-Suns and Mavericks-Clippers in round one. The Thunder are going to run over the Pelicans. They are deeper, younger, more fun and play with an intensity unmatched by other teams. SGA is going to flourish in this series. Give me the Thunder in five games. The Nuggets may very well sweep the Lakers again. Anthony Davis has been amazing this season and he has stayed healthy. He will be a problem for the Nuggets. So will LeBron James, who is as good as ever at 38 years old. But outside those two guys the Lakers are seriously lacking. The Nuggets are not, and they have been pretty damn good since the all star break. I may not like watching them play, I may find them dull and boring, but they are still a very, very good team. Give me Nuggets in five. I am stoked to watch the T'Wolves-Suns series. It is going to be rad. I cannot wait to watch Anthony Edwards in the playoffs as the focal point of a high seed. He is so good, so fun and an absolute joy to watch play. The T'Wolves also have the best defense in all of basketball. Gobert is stifling. Jaden Daniels is long and mean. Edwards steps up on that end. This team goes hard on defense. The Suns do not. But, they have an explosive offense when they are clicking. KD is one of the greatest to ever play. Devin Booker is a mid range killer and Bradley Beal, if healthy, adds three point shooting and solid passing skills. But, I just don't think their defense will be able to keep up with the T'Wolves. And AE is going to explode on the scene these playoffs. Give me the Timberwolves in six games. The 4-5 series is the third time the Mavs and Clippers have faced off. And I know that all the white dudes that work at, or for, ESPN want Luka Doncic to finally beat this team. They want their advanced stats king to prove how great he can be. Kyrie Irving has been everything the Mavs could have asked for when they traded for him. And the trades they made this season have paid off brilliantly. The Clippers have the names. Kawhi and PG13 are awesome. They come up big almost all of the time. Terrance Mann is a great bench scorer. Tyron Lue is an awesome coach. These two teams have the names and the city power behind them. They have the brewing rivalry. They have met in some epic match ups prior to this one. I want the Clippers to win. I adore Kawhi Leonard. But I think this is the Mavs time to finally get past them. I'll take the Mavs in seven.

So our West second round features the Thunder and Mavs and the T'Wolves and Nuggets. Two young teams on one side, two division opponents on the other side. I like it. I want the Thunder to win. I'd much rather watch them go to the West finals. I want to watch players like SGA, Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort play further in the playoffs. But, I don't think it will happen. Doncic is a good scorer and has the refs on his side. Kyrie Irving has played great in the biggest moments. Daniel Gafford has been on a tear. The Mavs are going to win in seven, make a return trip to the West finals and the media is going to be insufferable. The Nuggets will end up beating the T'Wolves, but it will not be pretty or fun for the Nuggets. Their size messes with the Nuggets. The griminess with which they play puts a wrench in what the Nuggets want to do. But, in the end, the Nuggets are better and have the pedigree. The T'Wolves are coming, just not this season.

Now we have my least favorite West finals match up. This is going to be heaven for the white nerds at ESPN. They'll get to talk all series about how great Doncic and Jokic are. They will constantly talk about advanced stats and how great the passing is in the series. I'm going to loathe every single second of this match up. The Nuggets will win in six and return to defend their championship.

That leaves us with the Nuggets and the Celtics in the Finals. This is the best match up the NBA could get. These are the two best teams in the NBA. They have been all season. I'm going to go with the Celtics to break through and win the title. In beating the Heat and the 76ers in the playoffs will give them the edge they need to win it all. It is the Celtics time and they will bring it home this season. They will win it all in seven games.

As for postseason awards, the only one that really matters is Finals MVP. I'll take Jayson Tatum. This is his time to shine and his time to prove his worth. He will do so and bring home the Larry O'Brien and the Finals MVP trophy. Real quick, I want to do my regular season awards. My MVP is SGA. He has been incredible all season and he has earned this award. Defensive player of the year is Victor Webanyama. This will be his first of many. Wemby will also win rookie of the year. Coach of the year for me is Mark Dagnault. To have the Thunder, this young, as the number 1 seed in the West is amazing. Finally, my sixth man of the year is Naz Reid, who filled in quite well while KAT was out.

That does it for my playoff and award predictions for the 2023-24 NBA season and postseason. It all starts tomorrow. I cannot wait. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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John Calipari's "Best" Coaching Days are Behind Him

In somewhat of a shocking move, John Calipari is leaving Kentucky to take the men's head coaching job at Arkansas. I thought this was a joke article when I first read it on Monday. I thought there was no way Calipari was going to leave Kentucky for a lesser college basketball job.

First off, that is no knock on Arkansas. Arkansas was a power in the early 90's. I can vividly remember Corliss Williamson and the 40 minutes of hell pressure that team played with. They were fun to watch. Nolan Richardson was a great coach. He ran a full on press defense and his teams ran up and down the floor. They were relentless. But that was over 20 years ago. Hell, it was damn near 30 years ago. Arkansas has had a few "deep" tourney runs since then, but nothing ever compared to the 40 minutes of hell team that was dominant.

On the other side, Kentucky has always been solid. There were a few down seasons, but those were outliers. Kentucky was a perennial top 25 team. They were usually a 4 seed or better in the tourney. They made runs deep into the tournament. They won a title with Anthony Davis. Calipari recruited his ass off while at Kentucky. He still may do the same at Arkansas, as far as his recruiting prowess, but wins and long tourney runs will be tough to come by. He will have to return to Kentucky to play them every year. Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida were all tourney teams. Hell, Tennessee was an elite eight team. Alabama was a final four team. The SEC is tough, and Arkansas is not immune to that toughness.

I have also always said that while he is an elite recruiter, maybe the best ever, Calipari is not a very good X's and O's coach. He seems to do less with more than most other coaches. Calipari is always bringing in 5 star players, but he has not been out of the first round in three of his last four tournament appearances as a head coach. Oakland torched him with threes this tourney, and he never made a proper adjustment. While at Memphis and UMASS he could never adapt to beating the best of the best. He had a title in the palm of his hands while at Memphis, but due to his lack of adjustments, Kansas was able to come back and win in overtime. Mario Chalmers was unstoppable due to Calipari deciding to never guard him. He coached Marcus Camby, quite possibly the best college center ever, while at UMASS, and they made the final four once. That appearance had nothing to do with Calipari's coaching. It was all due to Camby's brilliance in college. I think he is going to find it as hard as ever at Arkansas. He doesn't have the resources he had at Kentucky. He doesn't have the cool city he had at Memphis. He has way bigger expectations than what he had at UMASS.

This is all a very confusing, very tough move from Calipari. I look at this like Nick Saban walking away, but Saban retired. Calipari still wants to coach, just at a lower level. I almost think he is bored and wants a more difficult spot to recruit in. But, the SEC is going to recruit just as hard. The Big 10 is expanded, thus making recruiting harder. UCONN is the best of the best and he will have to compete for the best talent with them. The ACC still has Duke and UNC, which are still pretty damn good at recruiting and have younger coaches. This is a head scratching move. I really don't get it. He will bring a bunch of more viewers to Arkansas games, but I do not see him reliving the glory days of Nolan Richardson. In fact, I don't think he will even get close. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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It is UConn and then Everybody Else in College Basketball

The Connecticut men's basketball team won their second straight title last night. They did it with relative ease. It never seemed like it was in doubt for any amount of time during the game last night. I was rooting for Purdue for a few reasons. My sister in law is an alum and a big fan. I wanted the Big 10 to get the title in college football and men's basketball. That would have been pretty cool for the conference. I like Zach Edey. And boy did he deliver last night. But, in all honesty, even before turning on the game I figured UConn was going to win. After the game against Illinois it seemed inevitable.

UConn has been the best team in college basketball for the past two seasons. They have not only won the title, they have blown teams out in the past two titles. And SDSU and Purdue were no slouches. Hell, Purdue was a top five team all season long. But UConn was never worried. They were never in doubt about their ability. They played with a calmness and ease that I crave as a fan. I would love to see Michigan men's basketball play as well and have as much fun as UConn seems to be having on the court. They were the best team all season long, they were the overall number one team going into the tourney and I think their closest game was the championship, which they won by 15 points.

UConn is the current cream of the crop in men's college basketball and they may be there for sometime. But this blog is not about the title game last night and their recent tournament run. No, this blog is about the state of men's college basketball, and how UConn is clearly the greatest men's program of all time. You can throw teams at me like Florida and UCLA and Michigan State and Kansas. None of those teams have the success in men's college hoops that UConn has. None of them have the staying power that UConn has. None of them have the titles that UConn has. None of them have the dominance in both men's and women's basketball that UConn has. UConn is it. They are the GOATS of college basketball. They are what every team should strive to be. They have the best coaching, the best players, the best program. They are the best of the best. No college team is as consistent. No college team has this type of staying power. No college team has this many rings and titles. No college team is doing what UConn is, and that reigned true so much the past two seasons. They do it better than anyone else. And I have watched videos of their practices recently. What makes them so great, they do the fundamental stuff during practice. I saw them doing dribbling drills. They were wrapping the ball around their waists. They were doing the Mikan Drill. They were doing things that we teach our 6th grade teams to do, and it all paid off with another title. That is seven now. I mean, they are going to have to make a bigger trophy case for all those trophies the men's and women's teams keep on winning.

UConn is a staple, and I think they are now, finally, going to get the recognition they deserve. They are better than any other college at basketball. They are the team you want to be. They are the team that happily wears the target on their backs. They have it all, and the rest of us just want to be them. My hat is off to UConn. They have an amazing basketball program. There was never a doubt they were going to win it all this whole season, and they will most likely be the favorites going into next season. Congrats UConn, and I have to assume we will see you here again next season. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Zach Lowe Needs to Watch More than Two NBA Players

I'm a fan of Zach Lowe. I think he is one of, if not the smartest writer of the NBA that is doing that job right now. He does his research, watches a ton of games and is knowledgeable on not just the game, but the players too. His podcast is the only primarily basketball podcast I listen to. I do listen to "The Flagrant Ones" as well, but they do way more jokes than "The Lowe Post" does. Zach Lowe's podcast is for basketball junkies, NBA junkies, such as myself.

I have found myself getting annoyed lately when I listen to him talk. He is still as informative and knowledgeable as ever, but he is constantly pumping up two players that I am not a fan of, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. Now, before the internet weirdos come at me, I can acknowledge their ability, they are very good NBA offensive players and Jokic is a deserving champ and two time MVP. But, to hear Lowe talk about them lately, it is almost as if they never make mistakes and they are the only two NBA players worth mentioning and/or praising.

It has gotten so bad for me that I have found myself timing how long it takes before he mentions one or both players in any new episode. I watch some people on Instagram do the same thing, as a joke. But I want to see how long he can hold himself before he simply must bring them up. Even on episodes where he is not necessarily talking about the Mavericks or Nuggets, Lowe will find a way to shoehorn the two of them into a conversation. The longest it has taken before he has brought up one of the two guys in a recent episode was 23 minutes. This was an episode that was well over 90 minutes long. He only lasted less than a third of the run time before he had to let everyone listening know that he is a fan of these guys.

I get it. You like the way they play the game. You cannot find any criticism to give them. You want nothing but the best for them. You married a Croatian so you must feel some weird obligation to like European NBA players. These are your two favorite teams, and clearly your two favorite players. But, you are a journalist and analyst as well. That is supposed to be a non biased job. From what I was told at a young age when I was thinking journalism might be a good route for me, I wouldn’t have lasted too long because of my love for Michigan football. My folks let it be known that, if I were to pursue a career in journalism, that love could stay, but never be talked about openly amongst readers of whatever publication I may have ended up writing for, and that was a nonstarter for me. But the landscape has changed with major journalism it seems. You can be a fan and openly talk about that fandom. You can be a fanboy, a fanatic, a super fan and most people will just look the other way. Zach Lowe has taken this angle and run miles and miles and miles with it. I was listening to his most recent episode and David Thorpe brought up Shai Gilgeous Alexander as an MVP candidate, the top candidate in his eyes. This was after Lowe went on a rant about "Luka's last season push for MVP". Also, I despise that he calls this dude by his first name only. I can guarantee that Luka Doncic doesn't ever think twice about you Zach. So, after he went on his rant, Thorpe said why he thinks SGA is the frontrunner for MVP, Lowe's silence spoke volumes. Someone wasn't giving one of his guys the full on credit he thought he deserved. So instead of going into a nice debate, because Thorpe threw stats at Lowe, one of his favorite things to bring up when talking about Doncic or Jokic, he just sat there quietly with nothing to say. That stuck with me.

And lately, when speaking of Jokic, he will constantly say how he is the "greatest basketball player in the world" in one breath, then begrudge Giannis Antentekoumpo. I guess Zach Lowe may need to be reminded of some more stats. They both have two MVP's. They both have the same amount of titles, one. And Giannis is much, much, much better defender than Nikola could ever dream of being in his entire career. Oh, and the Greek Freak is a much more fun player to watch play the game for me. And why doesn't Lowe like the Harden/Doncic comparison I wonder. They are pretty much the same player. They are both volume shooters. They both get assists. They both stop the ball. They both need the ball to be effective. I don't get why he can't just accept the fact that they are basically the same player. Oh, and one more thing on Luka Doncic. Lowe is so quick to talk about Doncic's greatness in the playoffs. And again, he is a very, very good playoff basketball player. But at the same time he will go in hard on the two guys picked before him in the draft, Deandre Ayton and Trae Young. Make no mistake, Luka Doncic is a more skilled player than both of those guys, but he has gone just as far as Trae Young has in the playoffs. They have both been as far as the conference finals. As for Ayton, well, he has been to the NBA Finals, and played pretty well. So, I guess that means Ayton's playoff success is technically better, right? 

The way Lowe speaks of these two guys is almost erotic and kind of gross. He will never begrudge them, but he is quick to point out flaws of other superstars. He will give them all the glory for team success, but blame other players for holding teams back. He has become what I feared he might be, and that is a knock off Bill Simmons, who is one of the most loathsome journalists on the planet. I hope he fixes this fascination with these two guys, but it doesn't seem likely. I wonder how they would react if they knew about his love for them. I'd have to guess they don't know and most likely don't care. But I would be creeped the hell out if someone I had little to no interaction with talked about me the way Lowe talks about these two guys. It feels odd. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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DJ Burns is the Star of March Madness

The Final Four in the men's tournament is all set. Let’s discuss.

First off let's be honest, UConn looks damn near unbeatable. Illinois put a scare in them for a half, but then UConn decided to stop playing with their food and proceeded to put Illinois away with a 30-0 run. Illinois didn't score a point in 50 minutes of real time. Alabama and UNC played a pretty solid game, but it seemed like Bama was destined to make their first Final Four ever. They are playing with a little extra oomph. Purdue and Tennessee played a decent game. Dalton Knetch and Zach Edey put on a fun back and forth. It was all about those two and they made it a good game down to the wire. But, in all reality, the Duke-NC State game was my favorite game to watch all weekend, and that is all due to DJ Burns.

This kid is my new favorite college hooper. First off, when Duke gets beat a good amount of the rest of the rooting country wins. I loathe Duke. I always have. I know a bunch of other people feel the same way. My son is a Duke fan, so I felt bad for him. But the college basketball fan in me was absolutely thrilled to see them get beat by a team they should have had no problem with last night. A big thorn in their side was Burns. He was dominant last night. He had 29 points and looked great doing it. He was spinning and throwing in nice floating hook shots. He was backing down less thick defenders and scoring with ease. When Duke tried to go at him on offense, he stood his ground, didn't foul and got enough stops. Make no mistake, Burns is a solid basketball player. His footwork is impeccable. He has an incredibly soft touch around the rim. He knows what works best for him and his team and he showed that to the entire country last night.

What makes Burns my new favorite player, his size. He is thick. He is a big dude. He appears to like his sweets. And this is why I love watching this kid play. I too am a thick athlete. I played football, basketball and baseball growing up. And when I was on a basketball court, from 8th grade until a few years back, I was compared to guys like Charles Barkley and Robert Traylor. As I became a better passer I heard Boris Diaw's name in reference to mine more and more. I heard all the trash talk nicknames too. I was called jelly roll. I heard, and said people were correct in their thinking, about how many cinnamon rolls I could eat. People brought up food a lot to me because I was heavier. I'm sure DJ Burns has heard all of this, and so much more. And he has taken it in stride. He plays the game with passion and love. He is almost always smiling while he is on the floor. He is having a good time. I saw some Duke fans trash talking him during the game yesterday, and he responded by letting them know that their season was over. I love that. He didn't stoop to their level, he just let them know a fact. I love this about him. He doesn't have to degrade other people who may be degrading him for his weight. He loves himself, he is happy with the body he has and he has become a star now. But I think only part of it is due to his weight. He happens to be an incredibly skilled basketball player too. And he has shown that during NC State's improbable run to the Final Four. He has been the best player on the floor for them this whole time. And his demeanor and play have been a total blast to see. I have told my son to watch him too, because his footwork is better than most.

DJ Burns has taken hold of the moment and he is thriving. I want to see it continue all the way to a title. Purdue stands in the way, as does UConn and/or Alabama. But if anyone can do it during this specific tournament, DJ Burns is the best man for the job. I know who I am rooting for the rest of the way. Go Wolfpack and Go DJ Burns. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty Picks the Rest of March Madness

The men's basketball tournament is now down to the Sweet 16. Let’s discuss.

My brackets are toast. I had Kentucky in both brackets I filled out going to the Final Four. That was wrong. The Cinderellas I counted on got crushed in their round 1 games. I was all about New Mexico, Clemson made sure to crush that pick. I was rocking Drake, and Washington State took care of that pick. Vermont was another team I was really rooting for, but Duke beat them with ease. Samford was my other big upset pick, and due to some awful officiating, Kansas was able to win that game. The only upset I got right in round 1 was Yale over Auburn. It felt good to get that pick right.

If you go back and look at the teams that won, it has been fairly chalk. Outside Grand Canyon and James Madison, most of the higher seeds won. All the one seeds are in the Sweet Sixteen. So are all the twos for that matter. Oregon tried to be one of the few double digit seeds to make a push, but 3 seed Creighton made sure to pull out that win. And, when you break down the conferences representing the Sweet Sixteen, it is all major conference teams except for Gonzaga, a perennial power, and San Diego State, who was in the title game last season. We do also have Creighton, but they are a 3 seed. They are no Cinderella. NC State is a double digit seed still alive, but they play in the ACC. They are prepped for these big games. The same could be said for most of the teams left, they are bluebloods. We have UNC, UConn, Duke, Purdue, Arizona , Tennessee and Marquette. These are some of the top names in college basketball. The games, save for a few here and there, have been blowouts. UConn has run roughshod over their first two opponents. MSU gave UNC a scare, but UNC eventually pulled away. Texas gave Tennessee a run, but they had to make a pretty big comeback before eventually falling short. Duke has cruised. Houston struggled with TAMU, but they blew the doors off their round 1 opponent. Purdue has won both of their games by 20 plus points. The best game I saw in the first two rounds was the Florida-Colorado game. Defense was optional here, with a final of 102-100. But it was a blast to watch. The scoring was pretty amazing to see. But, not to be outdone, Purdue and Houston have each put up 100 points in a tournament game so far. So this has been a predictable tournament for the most part.

This leads me to my Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight picks for the upcoming games, which start Thursday night. I have to assume that all the one seeds will win. UConn should cruise. UNC may have to battle Alabama, but they are a better team. Houston has the toughest matchup, with Duke. And Purdue, if they continue at this pace, should crush Gonzaga. Outside those games, I'll take Illinois over Iowa State, Arizona over Clemson, but that will be a tough game, Marquette over NC State and Tennessee over Creighton.

So my Elite Eight consists of UConn facing Illinois, UNC playing Arizona, Houston taking on Marquette and Purdue going up against Tennessee. These should be some solid matchups. There is also 3/4 of my Final Four still playing this weekend. If you all are here for my picks, here goes. I'll take UConn over Illinois in a very, very close game. Then give me Arizona, the team I am riding with this tourney, over UNC. Then I'll go Marquette over Houston. And finally Purdue over Tennessee.

That means I have UConn, Arizona, Marquette and Purdue in the Final Four. That is two 1 seeds and two 2 seeds. Not very fun, but that seems likely. I'll go UConn taking on Purdue in the title game and UConn going back to back. UConn is locked and loaded and playing their best basketball at the right moment. Take all this with a grain of salt, but after the first two rounds, it seems like this tournament is going relatively chalk, and UConn is the best team left. I'm ready for more hoops. Thursday cannot come fast enough. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Thoughts on Michigan's New Basketball Coach

I'm back and I'll give my thoughts on the men's basketball tournament tomorrow. Today I want to talk about the new Michigan men's basketball head coach.

Michigan relieved Juwan Howard almost two weeks back, I think they should have given him one more season, and they hired Dusty May over the weekend. I guess they waited to see how Florida Atlantic, his previous team, performed in the first round of the tourney, and then they were going to get him. FAU got beat in a solid round one game, and May was suddenly very available. He was so available, that earlier on Saturday I read that he was finalizing a deal to become Louisville's next men's basketball head coach. I moved on to other names I liked for the job and sat and waited. But Saturday night something must have changed because it was reported that May had turned down the Louisville job and was going to take the Michigan job. I didn't believe it because of the Louisville stuff, but it was confirmed by multiple sources and sites and the university made it official on all of their social media. It was official. May took the job and signed the contract.

I didn't really know what to think. I still don't really know what to think. I was rooting for Shaka Smart to get the job, but who knows if he was even open to moving jobs and Marquette is still in the tournament. He still has some coaching to do. Brian Dutcher was my second choice, but his team is still playing and who knows if he wanted to return to Ann Arbor. May probably was next on my list, but that was strictly due to what I was reading online about him. I still don't know too much about him. What I do know, FAU has been to the tournament two years in a row, where before they had only been three total times in the history of being a division 1 basketball team. They were also in the Final Four last season. I know that was last year , but still, a mid major in the Final Four is pretty impressive. He also won a ton of games and developed players within the program. That is one thing I think will have to change after taking the Michigan job. The transfer portal in big business now in all of college sports. I love the idea of recruiting and developing, which he has proven he can do with way less resources. But college sports is the wild west right now, and you can get tons of hired guns through the portal. I hope he brings some kids from FAU to Michigan to help with the transition in season one under May. He has proven he can recruit. He takes two and three star guys and gives them a tried and true system and they deliver for him. He wins enough games to get to the tournament. He wins in the conference tournaments. The Big 10 is different and tough and a bloodbath, but May has proven he can hang with the bluebloods in men's college basketball.

May is also young, and I'm stoked on that. College sports is changing and you are seeing a ton of younger dudes take over big time programs. Michigan went young with Sherrone Moore to lead the football team. Alabama went young after Nick Saban retired. Duke went young after Coach K. Dan Hurley may seem old, but he is not as old as he looks. Just look at a bunch of current coaches, they are skewing much, much younger.

I have also read some things about his possible staff, and it looks young too, or if they are older dudes, they are Michigan dudes. Apparently John Beilein was instrumental in getting May to take this job, and now he is being mentioned as someone who will work closely with the basketball team, whatever that may mean.

All in all, if you read what the pundits say, this seems like a good hire. May is on the come up and he kind of had his pick of where he wanted to coach next. He has been highly successful at his previous stop and seems prepared to take this next step. It will take time. This program is a total mess and they only have four current players on scholarship. I will be watching what he does in the offseason and I hope he makes his moves sooner rather than later. I am excited, but it could just be the fact that I'm excited about something new with my favorite men's college basketball team. I'll give May two years, but results need to start coming in year 3. That is my mood going forward with this hiring. Go Blue. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty Predicts March Madness 2024

Selection Sunday has come and gone for the 2024 men's NCAA basketball tournament and I'm here to give you my predictions. I say every year that I am less and less versed in men's college basketball, and that is even more true this season with Michigan men's team being abysmal. I did not watch a bunch of men's college basketball this year, I have been back on my NBA kick. So, take all of this with a grain of salt. I'll give my region winners, which will give me my Final Four teams and I will pick a title game matchup and winner. I'll also go out on a limb and pick the Most Outstanding Player at the end of this blog. I may not watch a ton of men's college basketball anymore, but I still know some stuff. Let's get to it.

I'll start with the East Region. UConn is the number 1 overall seed in the tournament. They are the defending national champs. They got most of those players back this year and have been a top 5 team all season long. They look like the best bet to win it all. But Iowa State and Illinois are threats. SDSU was in the title game against them last season. Northwestern and Florida Atlantic, also a Final Four team last season, are both tough. This region is not a cakewalk by any means. This is going to be a tough one. As far as my upset in this region, I think Yale will beat Auburn in the round of 64, and they could give SDSU a tough game in the round of 32. But, I'm going to stick with UConn to take this region. I really want to pick either Illinois or Iowa State, but UConn is loaded and looks more than ready to defend their title.

Let's head West now. UNC is the number 1 here. UNC is a good team. They have been solid all year long. But, they look like the weakest number 1 seed in my opinion. They don't really jump off the screen as much as the other number 1 seeds. I could see the winner of Michigan State-Mississippi State giving them a tough round of 32 matchup. I really like Arizona here. They are locked and loaded. Getting Caleb Love as a transfer was tremendous for both the team and Love. They play good defense and can light up the scoreboard. Baylor is solid. Alabama and Saint Mary's look decent. And Dayton has an NBA prospect on their roster with Dayron Holmes. This isn't the gauntlet that the East looks to be. But, this region should give us some good games in the first couple rounds. My upset pick here is Mississippi State knocking off UNC in the round of 32. As far as my winner, it is Arizona. They look very good right now.

Heading to the South Region we have Houston as the number 1 seed here. I think Houston is a very good team. They play the best defense in men's college basketball. They have depth and veteran leadership. Kelvin Sampson is a top tier coach. But, they always seem to find a way to choke when they have expectations. I picked them to win it all last year and they stumbled before the Final Four. They still look like the team to beat in this region though. They will have to get through a very good Marquette team. They are as scrappy as it gets. They can match Houston's intensity on the defensive side. Kentucky is getting better every game seemingly and they want to make a long tourney run. Duke is Duke. I loathe that team, but they will find a way to get the refs to help for one win. And Wisconsin will bore teams to sleep, and then attack and win games. My upset here is the winner of Boise State-Colorado in the First Four will easily handle Florida in the round of 64. The winner of that game will beat Florida in a wire to wire victory. As for the overall winner of this region, I'm going with Kentucky. I want to see Houston win. I like how they play team defense and pass the ball so well on offense. But I don't trust them anymore. Kentucky is the winner of the South Region.

Finally we have the Midwest Region. Purdue is the one seed here. They need a big tourney run to get the taste of last year's 16 over 1 blown game. Zach Edey is about as dominant as they get at the center position. They have shooters all over the floor. And they can play defense when they are locked in. I don't trust Matt Painter though. He has had better teams that have not done what they should in the tourney, so who knows what team will show up in this tournament. Tennessee is about as dangerous as they get at the 2. They can really do it all on both ends. They also have some lights out shooters filling that roster. Crieghton is legit and ready to take a big step towards a possible long tourney run. Kansas has been inconsistent this season, but they are still Kansas. And Gonzaga does not have high hopes coming into this tournament. Maybe being a 5 will benefit them this time around. As for my upset pick, I'm going with Samford over KU in the round of 64. KU has not been so great this season, and with their top two scorers coming off injury, I don't trust that team. As for my winner of the Midwest Region, I'm going with Tennessee. They look like the best 2 seed and the best team in this region by a pretty good margin.

So that leaves me with a Final Four of UConn, Arizona, Kentucky and Tennessee. That is a very blue blood Final Four. As for my title game matchup, give me Arizona facing Tennessee and Arizona winning it all. I also have Caleb Love as the MOP. Arizona is ready to win it all after a long time of not being the champs. They have the roster, the momentum and the coaching to take it home this season.

There you have it, my 2024 NCAA Men's tournament preview and predictions. The games cannot come soon enough. This is when I'll watch more college basketball this season than at any other time. The tournament is a thing of beauty. I can't wait. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Let's Talk About Classless Duke Players and Their Fans

A week or so back there was major outrage coming from all kinds of sports media due to the court storming after Wake Forest beat Duke. Everyone was up in arms. Kyle Filipowski had to be helped off the court. His coach had some diatribe about the horrors of court storming. The talking heads, mostly on ESPN, were making this out to be the worst thing since the Michigan sign stealing ordeal. Other coaches were coming out in droves saying how awful court storming is, and that the rules needed to be changed. This was everywhere for over a week.

Leading up to Duke's next game, against lowly Louisville, Duke came out and said they weren't sure Filipowski was going to be able to play. First it was his knee. Then it was a high ankle sprain. Then a regular ankle sprain. Then he was "sore". A surprise to no one, of course he played in that game and Duke won. All was forgotten. No one was bringing up the whole court storming thing anymore. It came and went like a breeze. It was in the past.

Duke had their big rivalry game over the weekend with UNC. ESPN was heavily covering the game. There were videos of Duke players singing with the crowd. The "Cameron Crazies" were everywhere. This time it seemed like Duke was going to win because they had the momentum. UNC won last time, but Duke had overcome this "horrific" court storming and had righted the ship. And the game was in Cameron Indoor. This was going to be what separated them from the rest of the ACC. They were truly going to put the court storming incident behind them.

UNC had other plans.

They went to Duke and beat them for a second time this season. The game was pretty solid too, but UNC kind of had control for most of the game. They are a better team. They were the better team that day and they have been the better team all season. They came out and won and UNC grabbed hold of the ACC.

Unfortunately this game was not without its drama. Kyle Filiposki tripped a UNC player. There was a fast break opportunity, and as UNC was running up the floor, Filipowski stuck his leg out and tripped the player. He was doing his best Grayson Allen impression. He was being the typical white Duke asshole basketball player. He wasn't getting his way, his team was getting beat and he wasn't playing well. That meant he had to take his frustration out on his opponent. Clearly it was not his fault, it was this UNC player who was beating his team, so he was going to trip with the intent to stop a fast break, and maybe injure this player. But, if you were to watch highlights of the game on ESPN, they barely touched on this. ESPN cannot go after their white savior college player. Why would they denigrate this kid, even if he tripped an opposing player? It was a disgusting sight to see. They covered the court storming like it was front page news. It was a crime against humanity. But when he trips a kid they pass it off as no big deal and they want it wiped from their screens as soon as possible. That makes me incredibly angry. And other sports websites were not too high on covering the trip. The other sites seem to blow it off nearly as much as ESPN. We should not forget about this just because of the court storming. They were equally as egregious. I don't care about either to be honest, but when major publications, tv shows and websites are just blowing the trip off, that is wrong. It should get the same coverage. Not to be outdone, the Duke fans decided to throw drinks at the UNC basketball team as they celebrated their win. And for the people telling the UNC players to "win with class", shut the hell up. That was a rivalry game. UNC beat Duke twice. They have played better basketball. And they have every right to celebrate a win over a hated rival. I guarantee that if Duke won and celebrated in UNC's face, it would be a non story. The major websites would be saying that is how rivalries are supposed to be. But for the fans, the famed and disgusting "Cameron Crazies", to throw drinks at people, that is about as classless as it gets. That is foul. That is childish. That is white privilege at its worst. It is the whiniest way to handle a game that doesn't go your way. And these kids, these frat boys and girls can just run away from any punishment and go to mommy and daddy to help them out.

This makes me very upset when people act like this. I hate when Michigan gets all high and mighty, but I have never seen a fan at a live game throw a drink at anyone. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, I just haven't seen it. I have seen video of Duke fans throwing drinks at UNC. I watched Filipowski trip the UNC player. This is all readily available for anyone that wants to see it on the internet.

I have never liked Duke, and this past rivalry game makes me despise them even more. They are not above punishment. They can't just get away with stuff because ESPN likes them. They are not the blueblood they used to be and other fans are starting to notice. Duke is a classless team with a classless coach. They can get any recruit they want, but if this is how they act and their coach continues to act, I will forever root against them. My hatred for Duke only grew over this weekend. Their actions and reactions are childish, from top to bottom. Grow the hell up and stop blaming everyone else. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ben Simmons NBA Career is a Tragedy

It was announced this morning that Ben Simmons is out for the rest of the season. That is a bummer for him and the Nets. Simmons was a big acquisition. He was the prize for the Nets in the James Harden deal.

Simmons has a rookie of the year to his name, he was an all defensive player, a borderline all NBA player and was the face of the unicorn 6'10 point guard. He was the first big man since Magic Johnson to truly run an offense. He was up and coming, a guy to possibly build around, then the pass against the Hawks happened.

For people that may not know about this pass, Simmons had a wide open dunk that would've put the 76ers up in a possible closeout game, but he passed it off to Tobias Harris, who was fouled. Harris shot free throws, but the dye was cast with Simmons at that moment. He became the guy scared to get fouled and didn't want the ball in critical moments. He passed up a wide open dunk. I cannot state how wide open this dunk was. He is 6'10. He had zero defenders in front of him. All he had to do was put the ball in the hoop and he chose to pass. After that it has all been downhill for him.

He came into 76ers camp that season after the pass and he could not have been more disinterested. He publicly asked for a trade. The 76ers did not do it during the offseason, and with the threat of not getting paid, he reported to camp. But he didn't have to practice hard while he was there. He wore sweatpants. He didn't participate in any drills. He had his phone in his pocket during practice. He was disengaged when Doc Rivers would speak to the team. He was there physically, but not mentally. Then the season started and the 76ers did just fine without him. They won enough games. Joel Embiid took on the role of focal point and he thrived. He was becoming the MVP player we all knew he could become. Tyrese Maxey started to show signs of growth. Tobias Harris was putting up steady numbers. The 76ers were fine. They eventually got a deal they deemed worthy, and sent Simmons to the Nets. In return the 76ers got James Harden and Paul Milsap. The 76ers seemed happy to move on and Simmons was going to be able to start over. Brooklyn was excited about being somewhere new.

Yet Simmons did not play much his first season with the Nets. He played 42 games, averaged 26 minutes in those games and scored 7 points a game and had 6 assists and 6 boards. Those numbers are all well and good, but compared to his time with the 76ers, it was chump change. For example, the prior season with Philly he averaged 14 ppg, 7 boards and 7 assists. The year before he was a 16, 7 and 8. He had very good numbers with Philly, but he wanted the change and he got it. While the numbers may have not been in his favor, he seemed happier. He openly talked about his mental health struggles. Now, I do believe him when he says he has mental health stuff, but not all of it is causing his game to suffer. He's brought on a bunch of that himself. He always seems to post offseason videos of him shooting threes and playing pickup games. He has talked a bunch in the past two years about how excited he is to play. He seemed very ready to go when this season started. But then he missed a ton of time to start the season. And when he came back, he was a sideline to sideline player. He stayed away from attacking the rim. He would not set up in the dunker spot. He did not want to shoot. He was terrified to get fouled. And he was putting up pedestrian numbers. He was averaging barely over 6 points this season. He was averaging less than 6 assists, which is rough for a lead ball handler. And he was only playing 23 minutes a game. He also only appeared in 15 games before shutting it down this year. His team says it is due to a back issue, and while that may be true, he has other issues to deal with.

I don't know that I've seen a player of Simmons caliber fall as hard as he has to this moment. He was a top tier recruit. He was a solid one and done college player. He was the number one overall pick in his draft. He achieved very high highs in the NBA. And now he is an afterthought. That bums me out. He had the potential to be a modern day Magic. He could have truly changed the game. But he let one play shape him into the player he has become to this day. That is a shame. Ben Simmons could have done great things if he could've moved past one stupid decision in a meaningful game. He couldn't and now he is a player that up and coming kids will not want to be compared to. He has really fallen off. I hope he finds his way back, a la Markelle Fultz. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Michigan Wolverines Basketball is Not a Good Watch

I am still reveling in the glory of Michigan's football title. I don't think I'll ever not be happy about this past college football season. It was an amazing season, it was incredible to watch and it made me smile so much. But man oh man is the men's basketball team bad. They are really, really bad.

The Wolverines cannot put it together. I don't think they've played a full game since the first or second game of the season. They have been a team that plays tough in the first half, then they totally flop in the second half. They have blown many halftime leads, they have let close games slip away and they look confused more often than not on the floor. They seemingly have no plan on offense, their defense is horrendous and the coaching has been rough all season long.

Where we sit right now they are 8-22. They have officially clinched the bottom of the Big 10. They have been beaten seven straight times. In fact, they are 3-20 in their last 23 games, and have recently been beaten by 30 at Rutgers. Their best starter, transfer Oliver Nkamhoua, has been inconsistent and now is out for the year with an injury. Dug McDaniel, their lead point guard, got oddly suspended for road games halfway through the season. It was bizarre. There was no reasonable reason for the suspension, other than McDaniel's grades. But, why not just fully suspend him? It was odd. Another transfer, Nimari Burnett, has been on the floor with the team,  but he may be the most inconsistent player in the entire Big 10. Tarris Reed barely gets touches. He has been horrendously underutilized. Howard was a big man, so you'd think he would be coaching him up. It has been the opposite for Reed. And Terrance Williams has never gotten over the hump. He has been an offensive liability since he stepped on campus. The bench is not great either. Will Tschetter is too wild and too inconsistent of a shooter to get real playing time. Youssef Khayat has not gotten any better. Tray Jackson has never gotten into much of a flow. And George Washington Jr has gotten less and less playing time. I fear he may transfer. The team is also trying extra hard to keep their committed recruits, which is never a good sign.

The construction of this team is a mess, and the coaching has been bad. The season started with Juwan Howard out due to heart surgery. I had no idea he had anything wrong. But when the team took the floor for game one, Howard was gone. Phil Martelli filled in just fine, but he is not a head coach anymore. He is an assistant. Howard came back, but it feels like he has not had any type of real gameplan. The offense seems slapstick. They shoot too many threes, but don't attack enough. They seem to settle far too much. There is no real ball movement. The offense feels a lot like going one on one. There doesn't seem to be much of a plan. The defense is very bad. They don't rotate. They get confused too much. They are bad in transition. They give up way too many open looks. Teams move the ball with ease. They are not a good rebounding team. They don't box out and they give up on possible rebounds way too quick.

This Michigan men's team is really really bad. That starts from the top. Juwan Howard is having as bad a year as a head coach can have. He doesn't seem to be in control. It started with him getting Caleb Love to commit from the transfer portal. He committed, was ready to come to Ann Arbor and then he wasn't accepted. His grades weren't good enough from what I read. Howard went to Michigan. He should know the standards to get into the university. Then he took on Nkahouma, who is very talented. But, there has to be a reason he left a very, very good Tennessee team. I don't know if it was a lack of playing time, or something else. Seems odd though. Burnett is on his third team now, and he did not start at either Alabama or Texas Tech. Then Howard had Martelli oddly coach a game that he was healthy enough to coach. But, for some reason he asked Martelli to be the head man for one game in the middle of the year. It made no sense. Then the basketball team strength and conditioning coach just resigned. But, the whole story of why just recently came out and it paints a very bad picture of Juwan Howard. He has clear anger issues that he needs to deal with on his own time. He has had multiple issues with anger in the past, and this deal with the S&T coach leaves Howard with a very bad look. Having said all of this, I would not let Howard go just yet. This season has been bad. The team looks bad, Howard looks bad, they cannot win many games and they are going nowhere. But I'd give Howard one more season on a very, very short leash. If there is no sign of improvement within the first five games of next season, let him go then. Coaches have bad years. Sometimes it doesn't pan out the way you want it to.

This is rock bottom for the men's team. I haven't seen this team play this bad since they were sanctioned to hell after the Fab Five left. Things need to be fixed, and fixed soon. But I wouldn't let this staff go just yet. Give them one final shot at turning it around. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Let's Talk About the Duke Court Storming Incident

I want to start out this piece today by saying I think court storming is stupid, unless your team has just won the title. That seems like the only appropriate time for fans to be so excited that they leave their seats and run onto the floor to celebrate with the team. Even then, it seems like a bit much. The fans didn't do anything other than cheer for their favorite team. The players and coaches are the only ones that should be out there right after the game ends.

With all that being said, I now despise Duke men's basketball even more than I thought possible. For people who may nor know, Duke played Wake Forest recently, Wake Forest won, the game was at home and their fans ran onto the court. During this, some of the fans ran into Kyle Filipowski, one of Duke's star players, and he went down in a heap. At the moment, it looked pretty bad. I read that he may have had some kind of structural damage to his knee. At best, for him, it looked like he may have sprained his ankle. Either way, Filipowski looked hurt. But then all the grandstanding from Duke's coach and players started. Duke's coach, John Scheyer, made a face on the floor that looked like someone was physically abusing him. He went into the post game conference and bitched and moaned nonstop. He called for an end to court storming. He wanted to know if the ACC was going to do something about what happened. He said that he was certain Filipowski was badly injured. He cried and cried. And, of course, ESPN latched onto this story and took Scheyer's side. Soon other coaches found a reason to bemoan court storming. This was their in. They just needed someone to whine first before they could all complain.

This actually reminded me a lot of the Michigan sign stealing "scandal". Coaches just needed someone else to bring it up so they could all play the martyr. That is exactly what is happening with Duke and the court storming. Filipowski could have stayed quiet and just tried to heal, but like the white Duke basketball player he is, he came out and said he thought it was "personal". He claimed that it felt like people were purposely running into him during the court rush. He was certain he was badly injured. But as the days have dragged on since it has been revealed there is no structural damage to any part of his body. He may have had a sprain, but it was mild at best. He came out yesterday and said he was "sore". Scheyer has said that he is "doubtful" for their upcoming game against Louisville.

All of this is hilarious to me. This is just a narrative they are pushing that will favor Duke in the eyes of the media. If they play Louisville without Filipowski and they get beat or it is too close for comfort, the powers that be at Duke can say they were missing one of their key guys due to "wild fans" at Wake Forest running on the floor. But, if he miraculously plays, I'm being sarcastic, and plays well, the ESPN's of the world can call him a "warrior". They will compare him to Willis Reed or Paul Pierce. By the way, we all know Pierce pooped his pants. The cat is out of the bag. But Filipowski, Scheyer and Duke are in a win-win. They can do no wrong in this case. A bunch of people are on their side. The narrative has switched from Wake upsetting a highly ranked Duke team to, their fans are crazy and they intentionally hurt a star Duke player. Add to that that Filipowski is white, the main media is creaming in their jeans over this whole thing. Meanwhile, I find this hilarious and catty from Duke. They need a built in excuse for why they are not a contender yet again. This is too perfect coming from this basketball team at this university. I guarantee that the media wouldn't be this crazy about this story if it happened to J'Wan Roberts from Houston. Or Zach Edey from Purdue. Or Caleb Love from Arizona. The media is skewed in the wrong direction, but now they have this story to keep them afloat even longer. I am champing at the bit to see the hubbub when he does suit up and play the game against Louisville. It is going to be so sappy and so stupid.

Get over yourselves Duke. You will not stop courts from being rushed, and you should have won the game. Like they were supposed to do. They could have avoided this whole thing if they were a little better at basketball. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Zach Edey on the Spurs Makes Too Much Sense

As we get closer to March, I get more excited for the NCAA basketball tournament. Even with Michigan's men's basketball team having a bad season, the football team won the title by the way, in case you all forgot, I still want to watch the tourney. Hell, I'll even check in from time to time with the NIT. I like tournament basketball. The stakes are the highest, we get cool upsets and we see who the best of the best is in the end. The fact that the tournament is around the corner means that it is also the NBA mock draft season.

I look at these closer this time of year because I want to know what players to watch as we get into conference tournaments and March Madness. The mock drafts let me know who I may have forgotten about, or what player from a sleeper team I need to see. This was when my love for Ja Morant started. I saw his name fly up draft boards and I started to pay more attention as his Murray State team made a mini run in the tournament. So, I was looking at a mock draft on Bleacher Report a little bit ago and I saw that this writer had Zach Edey mocked to the Spurs as the 33rd overall pick, the first pick of the second round.

I kind of brushed it off and thought, Edey is big, strong and skilled, he may be a mid to late first rounder. But when I was cleaning my house, I thought a little more about this spot, and the team he was mocked to, the Spurs. For those that may not know, Edey is the starting center for Purdue. Purdue is a good team. They've been in the top 5 all year. And Edey is their best player. He also happens to be 7'4 and he weighs 300 pounds. That is one big dude. I watch him a lot, I'm a Michigan fan so I watch the Big 10 specifically, and not only is he big, Edey is skilled. He has great post moves. He is a good defender. He is a good rebounder due to his height. He is a solid passer. He can see over everyone. And he is pretty dominant in one of the better conferences in all of the country. The only knock on him is his outside shooting, which is non-existent. But, he should make for a fine bench/role player in the NBA. Him being 7'4 has got to be enticing. And this is not a Tacko Fall or Manute and Bol Bol thing. Those guys are very tall and kind of skilled. But they were skinny. Edey is skilled and thick. He will be able to deal with all the stuff that goes down in the post in the NBA. This all works in his favor.

Then, if the Spurs do draft him, they are teaming him up with Victor Webanyama, maybe the best young talent in the NBA. Wemby is amazing. He is supremely skilled. He can dribble like a point guard, shoot like a 2 guard, defend all positions, run an offense, have an offense run through him, rebound, be a menace on defense, he can basically do it all. He has been as advertised. I know the Spurs are very bad right now, but Wemby is worth watching. He is doing amazing stuff night in and night out. But, while he is 7'4 and can do pretty much everything, he is 18 and skinny. Edey can come in and take on the bigger guys in the league and let Wemby be a rover on defense. Edey can come in and find that his role is defense and rebounding, and let Wemby continue to blossom. He can be his backup, or the Spurs could start the two of them together in the low post. That would be a nightmare for opponents, trying to score over those two. Then you throw in a guy like Jeremy Sochan who is already a good defender and menace. He is also 6'8. The Spurs could go guard in this draft, but they do have Tre Jones, who has proven to be a good pick and roll player. They could let Zach Collins or Charles Bassey walk and be okay with Edey sliding into one of their spots. And guys like Malaki Branham, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson will be able to hound guards on the perimeter, knowing that they have two 7'4 guys waiting to protect the rim.

I kind of love this idea in this mock draft I read today. Pairing these two is an exercise I'd like to see take place. If Edey pans out even a little bit, the Spurs could be a force within a year or two simply due to their defense. I say do it San Antonio. Take Zach Edey at a reasonable spot if he is available in the upcoming draft. They are trying to build around Wemby, and building means protecting the young star. This will be a great protection on the defensive end. I hope it happens and I hope it works. These two on the floor at the same time would be very cool for me to watch as a fan. Go do it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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