Thoughts on Shedeur Sanders First NFL Start

Shedeur Sanders is getting his chance to start this Sunday. I'm excited to see how he performs. Let’s discuss.

A bunch of people are out here dumping on him right now for his performance last week, but that needs to be put into context. The Browns are a bad, bad offensive football team. They have a great defense led by Myles Garrett. He's having an unreal season, but no one knows it because the rest of the team is not very good. They seem to stay in games for a quarter or even a half, but after that, the talent on the other team wins out. Garrett can only do so much, and he is, but the rest of the team is letting him down. This offense though, they're horrendous. They cannot put drives together. They have no semblance of a run game. Sanders will be the third QB to start a game for them this season. Joe Flacco tried his best, but he is old, cannot move all that much and played behind a very bad o line. Dillon Gabriel never put it together. He's a rookie so it makes sense, but he didn't do a thing that stood out and oftentimes he was picking himself up from being hit constantly. Now Sanders gets his chance.

Look, there were times last season, when he was still in college, where he was being projected as a top 10 pick. I even saw some people say he could be the first overall pick. I never saw that in him at Colorado, but I definitely saw the talent to be a late first round pick. The line he played behind at Colorado was not very good. But Sanders made up for that by getting rid of the ball quickly. Or, he would get out of the pocket and throw a beautiful deep ball to Travis Hunter or Joe Horn Jr. He made some of the best throws I've seen on the run last season. I usually don't watch many other teams closely except for Michigan. But, Colorado kind of became a must watch for me last season to see Travis Hunter play. While Hunter was an incredible watch, I also saw a ton of Shedeur Sanders. And while he would frustrate me at times, the kid would make plays that left me in awe. Those deep throws on the run were awesome. For those throws alone I thought he could flourish on a team like Baltimore, playing behind Lamar Jackson, or, if forced into action early, the Jets would have allowed him to make mistakes on the field, and they could have benefitted from him when he played well. This is no disrespect to Justin Fields or Tyrod Taylor, but Sanders is younger and has way more potential than both of them combined. And the Jets are already a tire fire, so why not take a chance on him. I feel like he would be in the same boat as Jaxson Dart or Cam Ward right now if the Jets had taken him earlier in the draft.

As the draft approached I saw all the stuff saying that he may have a fall on draft day. I saw a bunch of people the night before saying that he may slip all the way to the end of round one. I saw a bunch of people saying a team like the Raiders were going to try and snag him late if they could. That never happened. Round one came and went and Sanders was still on the board. When I saw this I thought, well, he had a very bad bowl game against BYU, and apparently he interviewed poorly. I figured these were the only reasons why he was not drafted on night one, but surely he was going to go on day two. There was no way he was going to slip that far. Well, he was not taken until the fifth round. guys like Dillon Gabriel and Tyler Shough were drafted before him. When it got past the fourth round, all the teams passing him up felt personal. I guess they were "trying to teach him a lesson". When the Browns finally drafted him I felt like they got a steal. Sanders was a first round talent that fell into their lap in the fifth round. If it were me, I would have had him fighting for the starting spot from day one. That didn't happen, people threw mud on his name, he has been nothing but professional since he showed up there and now he gets his chance. I don't expect him to light the world on fire this Sunday, but I also don't expect him to flounder. He has the skills to be good. He already played behind a terrible O line in college, so the Browns line will be nothing new for him. He will make mistakes, as all rookies do, but I bet he will also make some throws that are great. I'd love to see him simply prove that the teams that kept passing on him were wrong. If he were to throw for 180 and a few tds, that would be a massive success.

The one thing I know for sure is that I will be keeping my eye on how he does, which means I will be checking in on a Cleveland Browns game during the 2025 NFL season. And that has absolutely nothing to do with the Brows at all. And, if nothing else, i'll get to watch Myles Garrett play football, and that's always a treat. 

Ty

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

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Thoughts on Virginia Tech Hiring James Franklin

It was announced yesterday that Virginia Tech football is hiring James Franklin as their next head coach. Franklin was not out of a job for that long. I figured he was going to find a job sooner than later, but this was much faster than I expected. I went a little hard on Virginia Tech when they let their coach go midseason. I may be wrong on the actual dates here, but I believe Brent Pry and James Franklin were let go from their old head coaching jobs only a few days apart. Franklin is a better coach, and I wasn't all that shocked that he found a job this quickly.

I have thought about this hiring for the past day, and I have to say, I feel like Virginia Tech kind of hit a home run here. I'm not a James Franklin fan at all. I feel like he is an okay enough coach, but when it comes to big moments and games, he always finds a way to fumble it away. The last three seasons at Penn State he had all of his biggest games at home and didn't win a single one. They had a chance to make the final four of the college football playoff last year, and he let his QB throw late in the game. He was constantly saying out of pocket stuff and not backing it up. There were times while he was the head coach at Penn State where the job seemed too big for him. And it seems like the pressure finally got to him. He didn't even come close to the playoff while Saquon Barkley was on his team. He could recruit the big names, get them there, but when it was time to deliver, he never really came through. But, the job at Virginia Tech is not nearly as pressurized as Penn State.

While at Virginia Tech, Franklin will be given time to rebuild the program. If he gets to a small bowl game in year two, that will be a success. He can build up from there. Virginia Tech also happens to be in the ACC, which may be the weakest of the Power 4 conferences. Franklin is going to be able to fly under the radar for a few seasons. Sure, he has a recognizable name and stature in college football, but after a while people will forget he coached at Penn State if he can turn Virginia Tech into a top 25 team, which I think he can do, if given time. Franklin can recruit. He got big names in his time at Penn State. And he squeezed the very best out of the talent he had while he was the head coach at Vanderbilt. Franklin will help up the NIL at VT, he will get better players to commit because of name recognition, and he should be able to get four star guys simply due to the wealth of playing time that will be available after a bunch of current players transfer out. Franklin is going to be able to rebuild this whole program in his eyes. He should be given carte blanche to do what he needs, within the rules of course, the moment he steps on the campus.

The most beneficial thing for Franklin, and why I think this may actually work, is the lack of pressure at this job. This is not the Virginia Tech of old. Mike Vick is not walking through those doors. The special teams isn't the elite unit it used to be. The defense has been struggling for quite a few years now. And Franklin is going to be able to put his stamp on this team. While they may never reach the levels they did with Vick at QB, this team should be back in the top 25 within two years. James Franklin knows more about football than I could ever dream of. He is in the position he's in because he has won at his first two stops. He was in the playoff last season. He made Vanderbilt a perennial bowl team. He can recruit with the best of them. And now he will get to do all of that in relative silence.

I have spent a good amount of time trying to figure out who Penn State was going to hire, when I should have been looking out for Virginia Tech. They did a great job in this search, they got one of the best names on the open market and they should be back to being competitive in a short amount of time. While i'm not a big fan of Franklin's, this was a great move by him and the university. A true homerun hire for Virginia Tech. 

Ty

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

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Is This the End of Bradley Beal?

About an hour ago it was announced that Bradley Beal is out for the season due to hip stuff. I don't know if it's a fracture or a break or surgery. All I know is that his hip is giving him enough pain that he is done. And that brings me to what I want to touch on today, is Bradley Beal done as a pro basketball player?

I have always liked Beal from the first moment I knew he was a Saint Louis kid. I'm always going to root for a kid from here, as long as they don't do anything foul in their personal lives. For all intents and purposes, Beal seems to be a solid dude. I followed him his one season at Florida and saw the lottery pick potential. It was no surprise that he was going to go top ten, and the Wizards did just that when they drafted him. I liked the pairing with John Wall there. I felt their respective games complimented each other very nicely. And they found a little success with those two as their guys. The Wizards were a perennial playoff team, Wall and Beal were both constantly in all star talks and they were fun to watch. I know that when this whole website started, during one of my earliest NBA preseason preview and prediction blogs, I had the Wizards, with Wall and Beal, making it to the Finals. That obviously never happened, but the Wizards still made a push and won a playoff series here and there. Then John Wall got hurt and was kind of the forgotten guy in Washington. The team decided to let Beal be the star. And they found minimal success. They were still a playoff threat. When they got a still solid Russell Westbrook to team up with Beal, it was a little reminiscent of Wall playing with him. Bradley Beal was still putting up a ton of points and running the offense. He got a massive deal with Washington, one in which he got a no trade clause, and then it started to tumble off a bit. The Wizards were bad. Beal would miss big chunks of the season. He didn't have the juice that many had come to expect from him. He started to have his name pop up in all kinds of trade talks. A lot of people deemed his contract one of the worst in professional sports history. He handcuffed the Wizards. It seemed like he was content to stay there, cash in his checks and not win too many games. But I have to imagine at some point the lack of winning games had to wear on him. He was on teams that were mostly competitive.  And I have to think that the front office went to him and said they were going to rebuild during this time. When he finally relented, he accepted a trade to Phoenix to pair him up with KD. It didn't hurt that he was going to get to play with Devin Booker as well. The three of those guys teaming up had me thinking that the Suns were going to be one of the most lethal offenses in the NBA. That never happened. Devin Booker is not a point guard. Bradley Beal is not a point guard. KD is not a point guard. They had no player that could truly run the offense. Beal insisted on starting, and with three too many guys that needed the ball, he felt like the odd man out there. Then the injuries started to pile up. KD got hurt warming up for a game. Then Beal would miss massive amounts of time during the year. The only one who stayed on the court was Booker, but man that had to be frustrating for him after being in the Finals a few years before all this went down. The Suns were so bad last season that it seemed inevitable that this group was going to fracture, and that Beal was the main reason why. KD went over to the Rockets in a big time trade and Beal was cut and able to roam free agency as he wanted to. He only ever wanted to go to the Clippers, so when he finally signed there it was not a surprise to anyone. I liked the fit under one condition, Beal needed to come off the bench. He is so bad defensively now that I would rather have Kris Dunn start, a non shooter, because he is wonderful on the defensive side of the ball. But Beal had to be a starter, and the Clippers relented and let him start. The Clippers are 3-8 at this point in the year, the defense is horrendous, which should be their calling card, and the offense isn't much better. James Harden is still productive, but Kawhi Leonard is hurt, Ivica Zubac has underwhelmed and Bradley Beal wasn't doing much when on the floor and he is now done for the year. In the long run this may benefit the Clippers because now Ty Lue can play rotations and starters that he trusts.

Bradley Beal has taken such a deep dive since signing his humongous deal with the Wizards. He never got back that oomph that made him so much fun to watch when he played with John Wall. He seemed okay to clock in and out and cash his paycheck. It didn't feel like he was legitimately trying to improve his game in any way. He just kind of fading into the back and now I am left wondering if he will be an afterthought when he finally decides to retire. And that bums me out being a fan of his previous work. 

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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Sports are Being Destroyed by Gambling and Being Brought to You by Gambling

On a recent episode of our podcast RD and I talked about gambling and how detrimental the effects are going to be in professional sports. We were both in agreement, although I did feel like legalized gambling was inevitable and we would have to deal with early hiccups. Well, it didn't take that long until this all blew up in athletes faces, and I have to say, RD was pretty much right on the money.

Look, I have no issues with athletes gambling the millions of dollars they have if that is what they want to do with their money. They have earned the right to spend it anyway they want. Where I have a problem is when they bet on the sport they plan and can change the outcome of a certain game. That is messing it all up. Sports is the one thing that is supposed to be unpredictable. It's the best show on tv because of all the drama involved in each and every game. But now, with gambling running rampant, some athletes have taken it upon themselves to change that.

Terry Rozier is one of the hot names in this current NBA gambling saga. Apparently he would tell some of his buddies that he was going to check himself out of a game early, say he was injured and have his friend bet on the under for minutes played. Then he had the audacity to film himself on the internet holding stacks and stacks of cash. That is stupid. When you put stuff on the internet it is going to be there forever and someone knows how to find it. Also, why does Las Vegas need to have prop bets on guys like Terry Rozier? That is wild. If you need to have prop bets, and I think that prop bets are the dumbest thing ever, it should only be done for star players. There's no need for a deep bench player or a fifth starter to have prop bets being placed. This is the reason that Johntay Porter is now banned from the NBA. He fixed games to help his friends win money, thus having a hand in changing the outcome of a game. That's messed up and I fully agree with Johntay Porter getting a lifetime suspension. This is what Pete Rose did as a manager, and Johntay Porter is no Pete Rose. And as everyone would have expected, all the big time websites and tv shows have taken these guys to task. They are running their names through the mud at every chance they get. They talk about the sanctity of the game and say that these guys have ruined it.

All of this is leading to my biggest issue with all of this, every single ad on most of these shows has to do with gambling. I was listening to Zach Lowe's podcast when this news broke and, I kid you not, the first ad read of the episode was centered around gambling. I don't remember what site they were talking about because I was so appalled that the very first ad was about the very same thing Lowe was chastising. Then he comes back from break and immediately starts to rip into these players again for gambling. It's almost as if he doesn't know what ads will be on his show, and he probably doesn't care. Those ads help pay his salary, so why take the time to know which ones are going to be on his show that day. It is insane to me that no one involved at The Ringer vetted the ads on the day Zach Lowe was going to rip sports gambling a new one. And it hasn't stopped these from showing up time and again. I live in Saint Louis and the gambling ads are now telling me how easy it will be to gamble on professional sports in Missouri any day now. I just don't know how these writers can do a podcast where they crush players for gambling, and in the very next breath, they're doing an ad for FanDuel. The same goes for ESPN. When they broke the Terry Rozier thing, they may as well have had a gambling ad on the lower left or right hand side of the screen. Every time I turn on ESPN or the NFL Network or NBC or CBS or ABC to watch college football, 99 percent of the ads are for free gambling sites. My television is basically begging me to gamble. But when pro athletes do it I'm supposed to be disgusted by them.

The commissioners and owners had to know this was going to happen the moment sports betting was made legal. I have to imagine the employees at The Ringer and ESPN had to know this was coming. Hell, Bill Simmons openly talks about gambling and does an annual over/under podcast for the NFL and NBA every year. Yet he feels like he has to bash these pro athletes for doing the exact same thing he and all his buddies are doing. Going on your show to minimize and degrade pro athletes for gambling, then having ads for nothing but gambling makes them hypocrites in my eyes. Either scrap all the ads from gambling sites, or understand that they're part of the problem. A

s long as this is legal, pro athletes are going to find a way to gamble and there's nothing The Ringer or ESPN can do about it as long as they keep running the same ads time and time again. RD was right. Gambling is going to take all the fun away from pro and college sports and that will make me sad because I don't gamble and I love watching live games for the endless drama. We live in a weird timeline. 

Ty

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

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Is There a Place for Zion Williamson?

In NBA news not involving the Grizzlies, the New Orleans Pelicans appear to be a bad basketball team. I think they only have one win to this point of the season. I know it's still early, but being 1-6 or 1-7 in the Western Conference does not bode well for this team. Let’s discuss.

The Jordan Poole trade has been terrible to this point. They barely play Derik Queen, who they traded a ton for to pick in the lottery. Kevon Looney is coming off injury, Dejounte Murray is not all the way back and they even started Deandre Jordan this season. Jeremiah Fears looks solid, but other than that, this team is a disaster. I feel for their coach because he has not been given a fair shake. And now, as it always seems to be the case, every major publication says it's time to trade Zion Williamson.

I feel like Zion has never really wanted to be in New Orleans. The fit has been odd. Even when he was healthy and playing with some kind of regularity, he never seemed content. Now he is often injured, his offseason body comes and goes and he seems even more discontent. So I guess I get why people say they should trade him. But I do not truly know who would want him at the price the Pelicans will be asking, and why would the Pelicans willingly trade him when he is the only reason people come to games in New Orleans.

When I think about where he may want to go, it seems like he wants to be in a big, big market. Let's take the three major markets, New York, LA and Chicago.

Chicago has a good thing going right now, it probably won't last, and they just shredded a ton of salary the past two seasons. They got off DeRozan and Lavine's contracts. I think they're near the end of Nikola Vucecvic's deal. They gave Josh Giddey less than he wanted. Coby White doesn't have an extension yet. The Bulls front office is finally making some solid decisions. So why would they trade real assets for Zion? He doesn't play as much as they would need him on the floor, and he is an expensive dude to keep under contract. I also don't see a fit next to Giddey, Matas Buzelis and Coby White. Patrick Williams seems to have figured some stuff out too, and he is just Zion light. I don't think the Bulls should do anything at the moment. They should ride it out, especially in the East, and see what they have.

As for the two LA teams, it doesn't make any sense. The Clippers have an old roster and no desirable picks coming up. They have the guys they want, Ty Lue gets to run his system and Zion would just stop any production they have moving forward. Zion is almost too good a talent, and I feel like he would muck up the whole system with the Clippers. The Clippers may be the only team that could take on his salary, but that's besides the point. The Lakers simply cannot afford Zion. They have no real picks of value. They would have to trade players they really like to get Zion. Luka Doncic may like to throw him lobs, but he completely halts any type of defense. LeBron James needs time to ramp up when he comes back, and Zion would clog the lane. And Zion would not be able to have the ball in his hands much, and that would slow him down.

Brooklyn doesn't need to add him when they have a million young players. I guess they could trade some of those young guys, but why would they to get Zion? They don't know what they have yet in all their picks, they don't have plans to truly win, they want to build from within and they don't want to take on massive salaries.

Amongst the big market teams, the Knicks make the most sense. They have the players to do it, Zion would probably love playing there and they could integrate him with ease. But the Knicks are already in a good place. I don't think they should rock the boat. They have a team that made the East Finals last season and have bigger aspirations going into this season. While Zion is a wunderkind, if this trade didn't work for them, it would set them back too much for the current stars on the team.

So the big market teams make zero sense for Zion and the Pelicans. But if a trade were to happen there's only two real teams in my opinion, the Grizzlies and Hornets. These are not big markets, but the Pelicans could get a big name from Memphis, say Ja Morant, and the Hornets could give them real picks that have real upside of being lottery picks. Now, as for Memphis, why trade Ja for Zion? That makes no sense to me. They need to get more important role players if they're going to trade Morant. As for the Hornets, if they can keep LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, why not go after Zion? Teaming him up with Miller and Ball would be kind of fun. There wouldn't be much defense, but the offense would be a blast to watch if Zion can stay on the floor.

All in all I just don't see any real reason for the Pelicans to bail at this time. They should keep him around, see if he and Poole or Fears can do something promising and aim for a high pick in the upcoming draft.  

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.

It's Time for the Grizzlies to Move on From Ja Morant

You all know that I'm a big Memphis Grizzlies fan. The moment Kevin Durant left OKC, I followed the Thunder after Oklahoma City stole the SuperSonics from Seattle, I shifted my allegiance. I eventually ended up picking Memphis as my new NBA team pretty much due to proximity and the way they play. It was an easy shift for me.

Shortly after I became a fan of the Grizzlies they started to get good. They got a high pick, Ja Morant, more on him in a second, and I couldn't have been happier that they were relevant almost instantly after I chose them as my new team. They never reached the highest highs, they never even got to the conference finals, but they were fun to watch, and that was pretty much all due to the arrival of Ja Morant. He looked to be becoming a superstar. I felt he was going to be a perennial all star and all NBA type of guy. I felt like he was going to be one of the new faces, taking over for LeBron James. It all seemed good.

Then Morant decided he had to wave a gun on the internet. We all know what happened after that. Morant portrayed himself as a "tough guy". He is not. He grew up totally fine. I believe he lived in the suburbs. He went to college in small town Kentucky. Nothing about his past screams tough guy or someone who struggled. The whole gun thing really put a wrench in his game. He got suspended. Then he got hurt. The Grizzlies struggled without him. They just didn't have the juice. He came back last season and the team was better. But it wasn't due to Morant's game or his ability as a point guard. Jaren Jackson Jr became Defensive Player of the Year. Desmond Bane, man do I miss him right now, became a true number one scoring option. I liked the Zach Edey pick. I feel like he can replace some of the things I miss now that Steven Adams is gone. And some other, less notable players started to show out enough. Then the Grizzlies really limped to the finish line, got throttled by the Thunder in round one and they were done. During the late season swoon they let their head coach go, seemingly to appease Morant, apparently he didn't like the offense being run, and they brought in a new guy.

Going into this season I had no true expectations. I hoped they would be solid, maybe fight for the 6 seed in the West. They have not looked like that team so far, and now with Morant's attitude during a recent game against the Lakers, I'm ready for them to move on.

I love Ja Morant. He was one of my favorite young players in the league. I ranked him ahead of Zion Williamson in the draft when they were the undisputed one and two players. I was so stoked that the Grizzlies drafted him and that he made them almost instantly better. But the time has come to move off of him. He has become too much of a headache now. The attitude he displayed in that game was horrendous. He looked disinterested. He was not involved in team huddles in the second half. He made snarky comments to the media after the Lakers game, ostensibly blaming the coaches for his attitude. They suspended him for one game, he made some social media posts trying to ease any tension and frustration. All of that is far too little, far too late. I am fully ready for the team to revolve around JJJ. He shows up every night, he is ready to play, he tries as hard as he can when he is on the floor and I'm okay with the Grizzlies making him the new face of the franchise.

I have read that the trade market for Morant is very, very small. I don't care at this point. Go get whatever you can get Grizzlies. Find a group of guys as opposed to a superstar. Get three young dudes and some draft picks. Find something, anything that will help this team. But when they go out searching for a trade, if they even do, find guys that are actually interested in playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.

I know that Morant loves Memphis, and Memphis loves him, and I still adore him as a player, but the time has come. They have to move on. This has been going on for three plus seasons now. It doesn't seem like he has learned any lessons. If I have a player, I coach eighth graders by the way, that shows the attitude Morant showed, I'd bench them. Morant has to understand that he is a role model to young players and that his actions speak loudly to them. But, as a Grizzlies fan and a Ja Morant fan, I'm ready for both parties to separate and go their own ways. 

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.

Thoughts on LSU Letting Brian Kelly Go

RD and I just did a recent podcast in which we talked about coaches being let go during the season and the gambling epidemic in pro and college sports that is already making major headlines. During that episode I didn't fully agree with RD's take on in season coaching changes. In some cases I fully believe that a university should let a coach finish the season before getting rid of them. Doing it during the season halts every single thing that a college program can do to help itself. It slows recruiting, the product on the field gets worse and in the transfer portal era, it makes it so easy for a superstar player to seek greener pastures.

Now, you may notice I keep referring to universities, and that is fully on purpose. Professional sports is a totally different world with more than double the amount of money going into college programs. If an owner and their board want to relieve a head coach during the season in the pros, that is their prerogative. That's their money and they can do with it as they please. College coaches and pro coaches are a totally different breed.

Where I differed with RD when it involves college coaches being let go, I think if the product on and the off the field has gotten so bad, possibly even regressed, then an immediate change is needed. When Michigan fired Brady Hoke in the middle of his fourth season it felt justified and necessary. They had regressed every season under him, recruiting was mediocre and they had become a bad football program. He also allowed a concussed player to continue playing in a game. That was the final straw for me. I fully agree with UAB letting Trent Dilfer go a few weeks ago. He was not doing his job. There were videos and pictures of him taking pictures when UAB visited Tennessee earlier this year. You could tell he had zero faith in his team that afternoon and he just wanted some pictures to keep on his phone of the time his team got their teeth kicked in. Whenever there is some kind of scandal at a college involving a head coach, they have got to go too. There's no reason to keep someone around who is going to bring sanctions and violations in the very near future. We also have James Franklin from this season. I was not too stunned when Penn State let him go a few weeks back. He had done some quality things in his 11 years there, but he could never get over the hump. He had pretty much every advantage a head coach in the Big 10 could want in his time there but he never won anything major. He couldn't get it done and I'm sure some people at the university were ready for a change now. They didn't want to wait until the end of the season.

All of this brings me to the news of LSU relieving Brian Kelly of his duties yesterday. Again, on first blush I was a little shocked, but after reading some things and hearing some people talk, LSU has not done the things they have expected since luring Kelly away from Notre Dame. The three head coaches ahead of Kelly at LSU all won a SEC title and a national title. Sure, Nick Saban left for the pros, Les Miles turned out to be a creep and Ed Orgeron may have been giving payments before it was legal, but they all won. Saban built a powerful defense, Miles continued that and added a powerful run game and Orgeron knew how to use the portal before it was popular. And they all walked away from that school with a ring. Kelly never really did much in his three plus seasons. He had a 34-14 record in his time there, but he was never in the playoff, never won a SEC title, was never really in contention to be honest and he continually made an ass of himself to the media and fans. I'll never forget his speech he gave the LSU basketball crowd where he did a fake southern accent. He's from Maine and, prior to coaching LSU, he only coached in the midwest. That accent thing was nuts. Then he started to dance in recruiting videos. He's far too old for that. Then he wasn't able to secure his top commitment in last year's recruiting class, Bryce Underwood. And when Underwood signed with Michigan, Kelly complained about the lack of NIL. at LSU. That is wild.

And then we have the on field product this season. The offense has been inept. It reminds me of how Michigan's offense looked last year, but Garrett Nussmeier is a much better QB than Davis Warren, no disrespect to Warren. They have athletes on that side of the ball, but they haven't been able to put it together. And when they have played similar talent rich programs this season, they have been getting whooped. It all came to a head this past Saturday when Texas A&M beat them up pretty bad in Baton Rouge. The final score of that game was rough for LSU. They gave up over 40 points at home. I get that A&M is really, really good this season, but still, LSU got demolished. And they looked really bad while getting blown out.

All of this is to say that I understand why LSU made this decision this weekend. That school is supposed to be a blueblood. They should be in the playoff hunt every year, especially now with it being expanded. And that has not happened under his watch. I am curious to see who they target, but it will be a desirable job because it has pretty much always been a premier football program. i'm interested in their hiring process going forward. 

Ty

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

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Ty's 2025-2026 Men's College Basketball Preview

My last preseason basketball thing I am going to do is a men's NCAA preview. I'm going to kind of breeze through it because, to be quite honest with you, I don't know where and who plays for almost anyone right now. With the portal and the early draft entries and some guys straight up skipping college basketball all together, it is hard to remember who plays where and who is going to be the champs. I had no idea that Florida was as good as they were last season, and they won it all. The one team I do know quite a bit about is Michigan, but that is just because I am a big fan. So keep all of this in mind as you read this preview. I'm going to go with the AP top 25, say a few things about some teams I'm interested in and then pick the Final Four, title game teams, champs and Player of the Year.

Purdue is preseason number one and they look the part. They have a pretty darn good roster, they have a preseason All American, they have a great coach and they are the favorites in what might be the toughest conference in the country. There will be ups and downs for Purdue, but the ups will be more prevalent and important.

Houston comes in at two, and Kelvin Sampson has built a pretty solid powerhouse there. He is going to have a gritty team that plays lockdown defense and they will win a ton of games. They just need to take the next step to win a title.

Florida is the defending champs, they have a preseason All American and they only have to replace one key player from last season. They should be near the top of the rankings all season long.

UConn is back in the top 5, and after a "down" season last year they will be looking to right some wrongs. They also have the best college basketball coach in the country. Danny Hurley is going to turn it around or die trying.

Rick Pitino has returned St Johns to their glory days, and I have to admit that when St Johns is at the top of men's college basketball, that makes me happy. I'm an old school fan, and seeing them in the top 10 warms my heart.

Duke is Duke. They have a ton to replace, but they don't rebuild, they reload. They have one of the best recruiting classes in the country and they will continue to win a ton of games.

Michigan is next, and I love when my favorite team is so highly sought of in the offseason. They have a great transfer class coming in, they have a preseason All American and they have some depth. I'm stoked to see them play and I think they are going to have a very good season.

BYU has the top player in the country coming in, and during his first exhibition game he looked every bit the part. Basketball is a sport where one guy can turn around the fortune of a team, and that is what is going to happen with BYU this season.

Kentucky is going to be good once again. They got a solid coach last year who did pretty good learning on the job at a blueblood. And he can recruit with the best of them.

Rounding out the top 10 is Texas Tech and they are going to play some of the best defense in the country and they have Jacob Toppin, who I believe is the front runner for POTY.

Some notable teams outside the top 10 feature Arizona, who now has Bryce James, Illinois, who is always competitive and has as intense a coach as any in the country, Kansas, who is kind of in a no man's land for them, but they will still be a tournament team and Gonzaga, who is lowly ranked, but that seems to be when they have some of their best seasons. North Carolina is right at 25, and I'm very interested to see how Hubert Davis coaches a new bunch of players. Alabama and Iowa State are as consistent as they come in college basketball. Michigan State will play as hard as any team in the country, and they get favorable calls. Creighton is the new Gonzaga. Sure, they play in a power conference, but they're the new darlings and everyone's "Cinderella". And UCLA and Arkansas have very good recruiting coaches, who may not be the best with X's and O's.

Outside of the top 25 I'm certain there will be teams that surprise all of us out there. There will also be teams that disappoint. How will Florida fans feel if they don't make a deep playoff run? What if Michigan's new players never really mesh? What if the Boozer twins aren't as dominant as Duke hopes? How does Maryland respond now that their coach and Derik Queen are gone? On the other side, Villanova should be solid after a "down" season. Clemson always seems to upset some high ranked teams and may find themselves in the top 25. Shaka Smart and Marquette remind me of old school Nolan Richardson Arkansas teams. Mizzou has some massive talent coming in. And some mid major like Montana or Memphis will inevitably make some noise. That's how men's college basketball seems to go.

As for the tournament, I fully believe that Purdue, Houston, BYU and St John's will be the top 4 seeds. As for my Final Four, give me Purdue, Michigan, Duke and BYU. As for the title game, I'll go with Duke and Purdue, and Purdue to win the whole thing. I guess I just want my sister in law to be happy with her alma mater. As for Player of the Year, give me Jacob Toppin. He is the perfect representation of what this award has become, and Toppin just happens to be an awesome basketball player. 

That’s all folks. Let’s get ready for some college action on the court.

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.

Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Postseason and Awards

To wrap up my preseason 2025-26 NBA countdown, today I'm coming to you with my postseason and awards predictions. I'll start with the East, the JV if you will, then do the West. After I pick my champion I'll do my awards picks. I won't do every award, just the ones I consider the major ones. Enough preamble, let's get to it.

I'm going to pick 1-6 in each conference, then do the play-in teams and then give you the last two teams to make the playoffs. In the East, from 1-6, I'm going with the Cavs, Knicks, Magic, Hawks, Pistons and Bucks. For the play-in games give me the Celtics as the 7 playing the Pacers as the 10. In the 8-9 matchup I'll go with the 76ers as the 8 and the Bulls as the 9. The Celtics will dispose of the Pacers to claim the 7 seed and the 76ers will beat the Bulls in the 8-9 game. This would see the Pacers playing the 76ers for the 8 seed, and I'm going to go with the Pacers. The 76ers are too darn inconsistent.

That means in round one I have the Cavs facing the Pacers, the Knicks playing the Celtics, the Magic facing the Bucks and the Hawks playing the Pistons. While I'd like to see the Pacers prove a ton of people wrong, myself included, the Cavs are a very, very good basketball team, and they have some scores of their own to settle. I have a feeling that the Cavs are going to be looking to make a ton of noise this postseason. In the 2-7 matchup, I bet the Knicks are going to be furious that they will have to face the Celtics. And who knows if Jayson Tatum will be back by then. If he is, this series is going to be a lot closer than many thought. I don't think that will happen, and I would be willing to bet that the Knicks will win in five. The Magic should be a dominant team this season, and if they can figure out how to play a respectable offense, they could bump themselves into the 2 or 1 seed. Unfortunately for them they will have to play the Bucks and Giannis. Giannis is so good and can single handedly win a few games on his own. But, he needs more help, and without it this season, the Magic will win a hard fought seven game series in this first round. And then we have the best first round series in the East, the Hawks and Pistons. This is going to be a total style clash. The Hawks thrive offensively and the Pistons want to grind the game down and make it really, really muddy. I'm going to go with the Pistons in seven games. Cade Cunningham has arrived and the Pistons are going to make it a real slog for the Hawks, and when they get taken out of rhythm, they have a hard time playing out of it.

Round 2 will have the Cavs playing the Pistons and the Knicks playing the Magic. The Cavs are going to be able to run and run against the Pistons. They also have the guys to play the muddy game with the Pistons. This will be a five or six game series win for the Cavs. And the Knicks are going to shoot so many threes and the Magic will not be able to keep up with them. The Magic play great defense, but so do the Knicks and their offense is so, so much better.

That means the East Finals will be the Cavs and Knicks. This is where the Cavs run will end too early for their fans. The Knicks are a better team and they will be much more rested than they have been in the past. The Knicks will represent the East in the NBA Finals.

Onto the West playoffs now. From 1-6 I'm going with the Thunder, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Rockets, Clippers and Warriors, The 7-10 play-in game will be the Lakers as the 7 seed and the Mavericks as the 10 seed. The 8-9 game will be the Spurs as the 8 and the Grizzlies as the 9 seed. The Lakers will easily dispose of the Mavericks and take on the 7 seed. And the Spurs will claim the 8 seed with no problem at all.

So that means the first round of the West playoffs will give us the Thunder and Spurs, the Nuggets and Lakers, the Timberwolves and Warriors and the Rockets and Clippers. These are some damn good matchups. The Thunder will beat the Spurs, probably in five games, but it is going to be tough. The Spurs are coming, it is just going to take some time. And the Thunder are building a potential dynasty. The Thunder are so good and so young. The Nuggets-Lakers series is going to be every white analytics guy's dream. They'll also get to watch Luka and Jokic. Some nerds are going to be having the time of their lives. And the Nuggets will dispose of the Lakers thoroughly. It's going to be a sweep, and it won't look that close. The Timberwolves are going to beat the Warriors. If Steph Curry was healthy last season that series may have been closer, but I still think the Timberwolves would have won. They won't have to worry about that this year, because they're the better and younger team. And the Rockets are going to beat the Clippers, but it is going to be tough. The Clippers are just a bit too old, and while KD is a Rocket, they have youth at every other position of importance and they are coming. The first round of the West playoffs is going to be the changing of the guard. I know the Thunder won it all last year, but that was just the first sign. The older teams are going to be beaten by younger, more athletic teams.

The second round will give us a Thunder-Rockets matchup and a Nuggets-Timberwolves series. The Thunder are a better version of the Rockets. They play better defense. Their offense is more dynamic and electric. They are what the Rockets hope to be. The Thunder will win in five games. And the Nuggets-Timberwolves series should be as epic as they have been in the past. I cannot wait to watch this series and root super hard for the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards is my new favorite player and I want nothing but success for him. But the Timberwolves won't be reaching the West Finals for a third straight season. The Nuggets only got better in the offseason and they have some demons to exorcise. Even though they won it all a few seasons back, they haven't come close to that same success, and the fans are craving it again.

So that means I have the Thunder and Nuggets in the West Finals. My playoffs have been chalk, which is boring, but here we are. This series should be great. The Nuggets played the Thunder as close as anyone in the playoffs last year. They had them on the brink. There were a few games where it looked like they were going to win. And then the Thunder pulled it out by playing great defense and doing enough on offense. And their offense should be even better this season. Give me the Thunder returning to the Finals after an epic seven game series.

I have the Thunder and Knicks facing off in the Finals. And I'm going to go with the Thunder to repeat. It hasn't happened in a long while, but they have something special brewing in OKC and this is going to be the moment they show everyone that they are this generation's version of the 90s Bulls, early 2000's Heat, mid 2000's Warriors, you all get it. The Thunder dynasty is coming sooner rather than later. And I believe it starts this season. The Thunder will be back to back champs and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win a second straight Finals MVP.

As for my awards picks, I'll start with MVP. I'm going with Anthony Edwards to break through and win the MVP. He will be the first American to win in the 2020's. I just feel like Edwards has been building to something and I think that happens this season. For Coach of the Year I'm going with Jahmal Mosley of the Orlando Magic. The Magic are going to have a great year and Mosley will be rewarded. Sixth Man of the Year will be Josh Hart. Hart is coming off the bench, plays in New York and will bring energy and effort for a team that I have in the Finals. Defensive Player of the Year will be Victor Webanyama. He is already the best defensive player in basketball and this will be the first of many, many DPOY's for him. And Rookie of the Year is going to be Cooper Flagg, barring any kind of long term injury. Flagg is as good as it gets in this draft class and he will be playing meaningful games this year.

That does it. You now have all of my 2025-26 preseason NBA rankings and predictions. Take them with a grain of salt and enjoy the year. 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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Nuggets, Cavaliers, Thunder

Welcome to the final day of my 2025-26 NBA preseason countdown. These are my three favorites for the championship this season. These teams have what it takes to make it to the title series and I wouldn't be all that shocked if any one of them wins it all.

At 3 I have the Denver Nuggets. For all the flack I give Nikola Jokic, and I still find his defense to be quite appalling at times, he is an offensive wizard. I don't believe he has deserved every MVP award he has won, but we are living in an analytical world with sports statistics, and he is a dream when it comes to analytics. Jokic is the hub for a very productive offense, and the Nuggets go as he goes, which is usually in a winning direction. Jamal Murray is still a very important player for this team. He may not be putting up gaudy stats, but you can tell the team feels his absence when he is not on the floor. You could see them struggle during the playoffs when Murray wasn't out there. He is still a very good knock down shooter. Aaron Gordon may be even more important than Murray. He has a great two man game with Jokic, and when he isn't fully healthy, this defense suffers mightily. He is, by a wide margin, their most reliable and best defender. He may not leap like he used to, but he has developed a solid outside shot which will help to prolong his career. I was wrong about Christian Braun. When he came into the league I thought he was too skinny and would get picked on defensively. He has since bulked up, and it feels like he has been studying defense with Aaron Gordon, and he has seemed to have learned a whole lot. The Nuggets also made some additions, with only one big subtraction, and this will only help the team. They traded away Michael Porter Jr for Cam Johnson. This was a win win. MPJ can go do whatever he wants in Brooklyn, and Johnson feels like a much better fit next to Jokic and Murray. He has always been a very good shooter, and his defense and passing have gotten so much better. Bruce Brown is back and that will benefit him and the team. Heplayed his best basketball last time he was with the Nuggets. And Tim Hardaway Jr adds instant offense off the bench. He won't be asked to do anything but score, and that is perfect for him. The Nuggets pushed the Thunder almost as hard as the Pacers did and they shored up their roster this offseason. They look legit again and they should win a ton of games and make a deep, deep playoff push.

At number 2 I have the Cleveland Cavaliers. This has got to be the season they finally put it all together, right? They have everything a title contending team dreams of. Donovan Mitchell is a scoring machine and he can get his from anywhere. I saw a game last year where he couldn't miss from three and the next night he was driving straight to the rim with no fear. He's awesome. Even Mobley is a defensive beast. He was DPOY last season in fact. He is as good as it gets in the East on that end of the floor. He may need to develop an outside shot to further solidify his offense, but what he brings to the table on defense is more than enough for this team. Jarrett Allen is a nice luxury to have next to Mobley in the post. He is big and long and loves to rebound. And he should be over his playoff fears at this point. Darius Garland is a very good and capable point guard if he can stay on the court. He has all the tools you want in a floor general, he has just got to stay healthy during their playoff run. Max Strus is a nice Swiss army knife option for them. He isn't the best at any one skill, but he is decent at a lot of different things. De'Andre Hunter was a nice pickup. He is an okay enough shooter and a very good defender who can guard multiple positions. I like Larry Nance Jr as a bench player. Thomas Bryant can still contribute spot minutes. And getting Lonzo Ball was a nice touch. Anything he gives this team is a cherry on top for them. The Cavs need to prove themselves in the playoffs, and this is as good a roster as they have had since LeBron James was on their team.

And coming in at number 1, in what should be a surprise to no one, is the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. This is almost a perfect basketball team. They have been a solid unit for two years now, they play the best defense in the league, they have the reigning MVP, their offense is a machine, they have a great coach and they are still so young. A repeat is not out of the question. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was climbing ever so steadily the past couple years and then he busted out and won MVP last year. He is a great creator, a great passer, plays defense and gets to the line. SGA is one of the future faces of the league and I adore watching him play basketball. He is awesome. LU Dort has stuck it out, bent his game to fit the needs of the team and has found his version of basketball nirvana. He is the best three and D player in the NBA. Chet Holmgren showed his importance in the playoffs when he blocked everything that came his way. He was the ultimate rim protector in the Finals, and when he is making shots, he is tough to figure out. Jalen Williams announced his arrival as an all NBA player last year and I fully expect him to just get better and better playing on this team. Alex Caruso fit right into place when they traded for him last year. Isaiah Hartenstein is a great backup big. Cason Wallace got decent playing time in the playoffs as a rookie on this team. Isaiah Joe proved he is a capable and reliable three point shoot. Aaron Wiggins played clutch in spot minutes. And they are about as deep as any team can hope to be in the NBA. The Thunder are on the precipice of doing something great in the modern NBA. They literally have it all and are only going to get better, I don't think they will break the regular season wins record, but I'd love to see them try. They are fun to watch and us fans better get used to seeing them play deep, deep into the playoffs year after year for a while.

That's it. That is my 2025-26 NBA preseason countdown. Come back on Monday for my playoff and awards predictions. 

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.

Ty's NBA Season Preview: Rockets, Timberwolves, Knicks

Day nine of my preseason 2025-26 NBA countdown starts with my number 6 team, the Houston Rockets.

They did it. They got what they needed this offseason. They needed a deadly, knock down shooter, and they got one of the best the game has ever seen in Kevin Durant. KD instantly made this team a contender the moment he was traded there. I know they had to part ways with Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to get him, but the price was a small one to get a player like KD. He makes them an easy pick for the playoffs and a possible long run in the playoffs. Fred VanVleet going down with a season ending injury hurts. They need his veteran leadership, but with him out all year, they will need to find a quality point guard. Amen Thompson is awesome. He is the defensive leader, he is long and he can defend all five positions. When he finds a shot, he will become elite. Alperen Sengun is a great hub for the offense. He isn't all that great defensively, but his ability to run the offense from the post is a big plus for this offense. Steven Adams is the enforcer that they have and every team wants. He is out there to intimidate the opponents, and he may be the best in the league. Reed Sheppard didn't have that great of a rookie season, but maybe with some more run, and wide open shots, he could be a good knock down shooter. If Tari Eason can stay on the court he could provide some great bench depth. He is also a very talented player. Jabari Smith Jr may already be the player he is going to be in the league, and that is just fine. He is a very solid fourth or fifth option on a decent team. Getting Clint Capela, Josh Okogie and Dorain Finney-Smith were all really good additions and they will help this team a ton. Okogie is one of the better rebounding guards in the NBA. DFS is one of the premiere three and D players in the NBA. And Clint Capela had his best years while playing in Houston with James Harden. Maybe going back there, sans Harden, will help him find his old groove as a rim runner. The Rockets are going all in and trying to make a run. I'm here for it. I'd like to see them continue to be relevant in the league. I always enjoyed watching them when Hakeem Olajuwon was there, and now with one of my favorite players, KD playing there, I am more inclined to watch them again.

At number 5 I have the Minnesota Timberwolves. Some people are down on them, but I am not. There's a reason this team has been to the Western Conference Finals two years in a row. They are good, and it all starts at the top with Anthony Edwards. He is just getting started on his ascent, and I'm more than ready for it. Edwards is probably my favorite player in the league. He has surpassed Ja Morant for me. He has improved one area of his game every offseason, and apparently he is working on his post game during this offseason. I can't wait. I'm hoping he makes a run for MVP this year. Rudy Gobert seems to be playing like his former self when he was in Utah. He is still as good a defender as always and he is a solid rebounder. He has also improved his offense in the post. Mike Conley is a good veteran point guard, but he is old. His time may be up. If they trade him or move on, Rob Dillingham has deserved the right to take some of those minutes. He had flashes last season, he just needs consistent playing time. Naz Reid is the best bench big man in the league. He has always had a great offensive game, and his defense continues to get better. He is so good at feasting on second units. Donte Divincenzio can shoot, and only shoot, but he is very good at that one skill. Joe Inlges can still frustrate opponents with his trash talk. Jaden McDaniels is so good on defense, and he has improved his shooting every year. And Julius Randle is a great scorer from the post, and he can take his game out to 10 to 12 feet and hit shots from there. The Timberwolves have more than inserted themselves into being a perennial playoff contender who make deep runs. They just need to take that next leap, and with Edwards continuing his ascent, the Timberwolves can do the same.

The final team for the day, coming in at number 4, I have the New York Knicks. I'm still a little confused by them letting go of Tom Thibodeau, but they hired Mike Brown, and he will diversify the offense and play more players. It may end up being a good thing in the long run. Jalen Brunson has more than proven his worth, and he has done everything to help this team get better. Brunson has won me over since signing with the Knicks and I'm stoked to see how he plays with a new coach who is an offensive genius. Karl Anthony-Towns is a great shooter and his post game is solid as well. He is not a very good defender, but he has help on that end. Speaking of said help, Mitchell Robinson is a great rim protector. He is also a wonderful rebounder and he gives his all when he is on the floor. He just needs to stay relatively healthy. OG Anunoby is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He flies all over the court on defense, and when he is called upon to shoot, he has shown that he is willing and able. Mikal Bridges fits right in with this team. He isn't asked to be the offensive hub and he can focus on his defense and outside shooting. He gets to play like he did while he was on the Suns, and that is the best version of Bridges. Josh Hart will probably come off the bench, and I think he will feast on second units. Miles McBride is a good bench scorer. And I like that they brought on Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. Clarkson can shoot and he is more than willing to shoot. Yabusele is an undersized big, but he doesn't let that slow him down. He will attack anyone on defense. The Knicks are really good. I believe that Brown will help this team stay healthy and that the offense will be better. The Knicks may be the East's representative in the NBA Finals this season.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the final three teams. 

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.

Ty's NBA Season Preview: Lakers, Magic, Clippers

Day 8 of my preseason NBA countdown begins inside the top 10. These are my for sure playoff teams heading into the season.

At number 9 I have the Los Angeles Lakers. Look, I'm already over all the offseason Luka Doncic talk. Oh great, he's in shape. Oh, he is talking like he cares now. Oh, he had a great Eurobasket. I'm done with all of it. I expect him to gripe constantly at the officials. I expect him to play no defense. And I expect him to get frustrated and complain about his teammates. This whole in shape thing is so reminiscent of Zion Williamson being in shape. I'm done. Show it on the court, not in the media. LeBron James is hurt to start the season. Apparently he has sciatica. That is a true bummer and a real sign of age. That being said, the guy is still wildly productive and incredibly important to this team's success. Austin Reaves is only good because he is getting wide open looks and no one really believes he is all that great. If he was on any other team in the NBA, he'd be an afterthought. Deandre Ayton is also getting the offseason bump by simply enjoying the Lakers. People seem to think that this will be the time he rediscovers his talents. While I like Ayton, his time in Portland probably stunted his growth as an NBA player. Jaxson Hayes is not great, but he too is getting the Lakers bump. Dalton Knecht and Bronny James were wasted draft picks. Gabe Vincent doesn't seem to have it anymore, I'm curious about Marcus Smart. I loved it when the Grizzlies acquired him in a trade, but he never did much of anything. Rui Hachimura has found a nice place for him that best suits his talents. Jarred Vanderbilt has some skills, but he doesn't get to do much of them here in LA. And I still have zero trust in JJ Reddick as a head coach. He is as phony as all the Lakers offseason talk. I'm done with it. But, as long as LeBron James is still here and still putting up his regular numbers, the Lakers will win enough to get bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

At number 8 I have the Orlando Magic. I expect the Magic to benefit most from all the injuries in the East. They have made some strides the past couple seasons, and now I think they take it up another level. I also expect the offense to be greatly improved. Paolo Banchero is awesome. He has lived up to the hype and then some. He is a three level scorer. He has been trying harder on defense. And he will continue his ascent. Franz Wagner is already a lockdown defender, he just needs to refine his offensive game. He cannot be a total zero on that end in the playoffs. They need him and Banchero to play great at the same time. Getting Desmond Bane in a trade will help their outside shooting. He is a great shooter and he has bought into playing defense since he was drafted by the Grizzlies. Johnathan Isaac cannot stay on the floor for an extended period of time, and his offense is horrendous. But that dude is a pure menace on defense. He is as good a rim protector as anyone in the league, and he can switch onto guards with relative ease. If Jalen Suggs can stay healthy he provides great perimeter defense. Tristan de Silva can be a bench scorer if he improves his shot. Tyus Jones and Anthony Black are great point guard options off the bench. Wendell Carter Jr has fit in quite nicely with this team. And Mo Wagner may be the biggest pest in the NBA, which is exactly what the Magic want from him. This team has been figuring it out via the draft, and now they have made a great trade to get a much needed shooter. It would not shock me at all if the Magic are a top 3 seed in the East and make a deeper than expected run in the playoffs. The Magic might be back.

The final team for the day, at number 7 I have the Los Angeles Clippers. Take away the Aspiration stuff and all that wild off the court stuff, and the Clippers remind me of a better version of the Warriors. They're old, but they are experienced, and if their core guys can stay healthy, which is a big time if, the Clippers could be really, really good this season. Kawhi Leonard is one of the best two way players the NBA has ever seen. He can guard anyone in the NBA and he can score from almost anywhere. They need him to not get hurt, which is a big ask. But if he can stay on the floor for 50 plus games, he will be in the MVP conversation this season. Ivica Zubac had a great season last year and he is one of the better big man rollers in the league. He was already a solid defender, and now that he has a low post game, he has become a key to this team's success. James Harden is a regular season demon. He can hit threes, he is an exceptional passer and he seems happy to be in LA. Kris Dunn is awesome at defense. Nic Batum is a great vet to have on the roster, Derrick Jones Jr has gradually gotten better at corner threes. I also love the offseason additions for the Clippers. John Collins is underrated. People kind of gave up on him, but he turned it around a bit in Utah, and now he will get to play with real NBA players. Bradley Beal wanted to go to the Clippers and he got his wish. He won't have to do as much as he was asked to do in Washington or Phoenix, and that should help greatly. And bringing Chris Paul back was chef's kiss. He will get to run the second unit and be annoying as he always is and will win extra games just due to his overall knowledge of the NBA. The Clippers seem to have made the right moves that will benefit them the most. If they can avoid the injury bug as much as they usually do, they can be a real force in the West.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams. 

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.

Ty's NBA Season Preview: Hawks, Spurs, Warriors

Welcome to day seven of my preseason 2025-26 NBA countdown. We are at the teams that I consider to be playoff locks. These teams should all avoid the play-in and find themselves firmly entrenched as one of the top 6 seeds in their conference.

At 12 I have the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks may, finally, have it figured out. They have tried a ton of things in the past couple years to minimal success. Trae Young is also nearing the end of his contract, and you know he is going to try his best to ball out so he can get a new max contract. Speaking of Young, while a very good offensive guy, he still has some big flaws. He hunts assists, and if you don't give him one on what he deems to be a good pass, he may freeze that player out in future games. He is also a zero defender. He gets hunted by opponents on that end. I do like that he is on some weird offseason tour where he is calling out others who have called him out. It feels like he's out for blood. How that anger translates on the floor will say a whole lot about his next deal. I think Zaccharie Risacher has some good skills. He was a lottery pick for a reason. You have to have real talent to be a number one overall pick, even in a supposed down draft. He will only get better. Jalen Johnson is a budding star. He should get all star consideration this season, and if he continues at his current rate, all NBA may not be far behind. Dyson Daniels has the tools to be an elite level defender. And if he can find a quality shot, he adds great depth to this team. They acquired two big names in Kristaps Porzingnis and Nickeil Alexander Walker. Porzingis will bring excellent spacing and NAW is an all world defender and is becoming a better shooter. He is a high level 3 and D player. Onyeka Okongwu will play big minutes off the bench and he is becoming more and more vital to this team. And they took a local kid in Georgia standout Asa Newell in the draft, who many experts have high hopes for. The Hawks seem to have the right roster around Trae Young and Quinn Snyder. Snyder is going to be able to fully implement his whole coaching plan and Trae Young should look even better with a much improved supporting cast. The Hawks should be good, and in the East, who knows, they could make a deep playoff run.

At number 11 I have the San Antonio Spurs. I'm all in on this team and Victor Webanayama. Wemby is a future MVP. He can literally do everything you could ever dream of an NBA player doing. He is 7'5 and he can handle and shoot. He looks to have gotten stronger this offseason. He should be healthier. He may be the best defensive player in the NBA already. His ascent has started and who knows how high he can go from here, and I'm here for it. De'Aaron Fox may be hurt to start the season, but he will be back soon enough and when he is on the floor he and Wemby are going to run, run, run. I love that, and those two will form a formidable pick and roll combo. Keldon Johnson has gotten better as a three point shooter, and he brings some much needed floor spacing for this team. Jeremy Sochan is a wild card, but having a wild card like him is what most teams crave. He is a menace on defense, can pass the ball and has an endless motor. Stephon Castle is coming off a rookie of the year win and he is one of my favorite young players to watch. He has such a nice fluid game. He reminds me of a guard version of Kawhi Leonard. I think Dylan Harper is their point guard of the future. He will get a lot of coaching from Fox, but soon enough he will be running the point and I cannot wait to see how he performs. Luke Kornet was a decent enough signing and will bring plenty of hustle off the bench. Carter Bryant, their other rookie, looks like he is going to need to see the floor sooner rather than later. He has a ton of skills and a great upside. Devin Vassell is somewhat underrated and he is going to find plenty of open looks next to Wemby, Fox and Harper. And Harrison Barnes is still here and still contributing like a true vet with championship equity. I love this team and I'm expecting them to blow past preseason expectations, if they're healthy. Wemby is the future of the NBA and I am all here for his takeover.

The final team for the day, at number 10 I have the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are the veteran laden team of the NBA. They have all the names we used to know and love, and these dudes can still play some good basketball. Steph Curry is the greatest shooter ever and he is still wildly productive. He is as consistent as they come and he is the best at what he does. He just needs to stay healthy. Jimmy Butler seems happy enough, and when he is happy and engaged, he is one of the better ones to do it. He is a great two way player, he can get to the line and he knows how to get under his opponents' skin. Draymond Green is still here and he is still causing havoc. He is a shell of the player he once was, but he still has that hold over certain players and that is a skill that cannot be taught. They signed De'Anthony Melton and Al Horford recently. Horford will be a steady presence and help replace Kevon Looney's production. Melton, if he can stay on the floor, is a very good second unit scorer. Brandon Podemzski has been very up and down, and I don't know if Steve Kerr fully trusts him just yet. Speaking of no trust from Kerr, Johnathan Kuminga is back on a small deal. I would be shocked if he sticks with the Warriors all season, but when he does play and wants to play, he is a darn good wing player. Gary Payton III can still play a little defense, but he is teetering on being washed up. Buddy Hield provides more shooting and bench scoring. Seth Curry is finally playing with his brother. And Moses Moody can do some things very well, but other things, not so great. The Warriors still have Steph Curry, and as long as he is on the floor, this team is liable to win every night. Having Jimmy Butler fully entrenched, and getting Al Horford only helps. And Buddy Hield can still fill it up from time to time. The Warriors are old, but they have experience and the best shooter in the world. That will lead to enough wins to be, at the very least, the 6th seed in the West.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

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.

Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Grizzlies, Bucks, Pistons

Welcome back to my preseason 2025-25 NBA countdown. We are officially in my playoff team portion. I fully believe that each and every team from here on out will be firmly in the playoffs, barring something rough.

At 15 I have the team I root for, the Memphis Grizzlies. I have to be honest, the way the preseason has gone, and the Ja Morant injury have me worried. But I do think they will figure it out when it matters, and Morant shouldn't miss much time anyway. Speaking of Morant, this guy has all the tools to be a star. He is fast, he can jump out of the gym and his teammates seem to like him. But he cannot stay healthy lately, and I'm over all the gun stuff. That has to stop, he needs to find a jumper and I would like to see him, as a fan, recommit himself to basketball. Jaren Jackson Jr is great. I really have no issues with him, other than his fouling. He is a very good defender. He can shoot it from outside. My lone issue is the fouls. He is way too important to this team and they need him on the floor. He could be a better rebounder for my taste, but that seems like something he is working on this offseason. Santi Aldama is very tall and can shoot, but he feels a little too soft for his size. I wish he had a little Steven Adamas in him. Brandon Clarke is hurt again, and I'm beginning to think we have already seen his best days. I like that they got a vet like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the door. They needed something besides picks when they traded Desmond Bane, and KCP brings leadership and championship pedigree. I really want Zach Edey to be good. He is so big, seems nasty and played solid over during his rookie season. But, he is already hurt too, and I fear that he may be one of these big dudes who can't stay on the floor. Ty Jerome had moments last season, but I'm not counting on a repeat. I wish GG Jackson got more minutes. He is a microwave off the bench. Scotty Pippen Jr proved he belonged in the NBa last season. And I'm intrigued by year two of Jaylin Wells and the rookie they picked, Cedric Coward. Both guys bring what the Grizzlies need if they can perform to the best of their abilities. With Desmond Bane gone, this team now only has a two headed monster in JJJ and Ja morant. When it is working it is a sight to behold. But if they can't stay on the floor together for myriad reasons, the play-in feels like their destiny yet again.

At number 14 I have the Milwaukee Bucks. This team continues to change their roster, but they still have Giannis Antetokounmpo. And I don't care what all the nerds at The Ringer or ESPN say, Giannis is the best player in the world. He does it all and the Bucks revolve around him. He is an elite defender and offensive playmaker. He has never found his shot, but he doesn't have to. He is a modern, more nimble Shaq. He is a joy to watch play and I hope he sticks it out with the Bucks for his entire career. The Bucks signed Myles Turner this offseason.  I know he struggled in the Finals, but before then, Turner was great. He has always been a decent rim protector, and his shooting has improved every season since he has been in the league. He is going to keep the lane open for Giannis. Kyle Kuzma is washed up. There is no other way to say it. He struggled mightily last year, and it doesn't feel like it will get any better anytime soon. Cole Anthony will bring swagger, but not much more. Bobby Portis Jr has found his home and his niche. I enjoy watching him get under the opponent's skin. It gets kind of bleak after those guys. Kevin Porter Jr returned to the NBA last year, but he is still a ball stopper. Taurean Prince may be washed. Andre Jackson Jr became a starter for them, and he was very inconsistent. Gary Trent Jr is still here, but that doesn't carry much weight anymore. And the whole Doc Rivers of it all is very frustrating. The Bucks will be in the playoffs because they play in the East, but also because Giannis is so good that he will single handedly win multiple games for this team. I don't know if they will make the top six in the East, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did. Giannis is that awesome.

The final team for the day, at number 13 I have the Detroit Pistons. I love that the Pistons are relevant again and that they did it through the draft and teaching young guys the game. Cade Cunningham is awesome. I always had faith in him and it is so great to see him live up to the hype. He has rounded out his game very well and he has totally taken on the role as team leader. He should be an MVP caliber guy this season. Jalen Duren is so strong and he is continuing to figure out the best way to use his talents. He is still very young and he is only going to get better. Jaden Ivey has found a nice role that fits him with the Pistons. He is an energy guy that goes between a starter and a sixth man. If he fully bought into being a sixth man, he could feast on second units. Tobias Harris is a perfect vet for this team. Amen Thompson is a hellacious defender and he gives his all whenever he is on the floor. Ron Holland had some moments as a rookie last year. They signed Caris Levert and Duncan Robinson to add some outside shooting and bench scoring. And I like that they still have Isaiah Stewart as their enforcer. That dude is mean and nasty and every team needs a guy like that, especially come playoff time. The Pistons are here and ready to make some noise. I can't wait to see how they come out this year after their mini breakout last season. The NBA is better when the Pistons matter.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next three teams. 

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.

Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Heat, Celtics, Mavericks

Welcome to day five of my preseason 2025-26 NBA countdown. We are officially in play-in/playoff territory with these teams. We made it through the dregs and we are at the good stuff finally.

At number 18 I have the Miami Heat. The Heat are an odd team to me. They have a great defense, but the offense leaves a ton to the imagination. Tyler Hero is hurt to start the season. I don't know that this is that much of a blow to them honestly. Sure, he is a decent offensive player, but he is a ball stopper and he does not play defense. He is attacked on defense too. I am very curious to see how they play without him. Bam Adebayo is still here and he is still very good. He is one of the better defenders in the league, and for being undersized, he more than holds his own. He has gotten a little better on offense every season, but he needs to stop settling for floaters and attack the rim. He is very good when he attacks the rim. Davion Mitchell finally showed that he belongs in the league. His defense has always been very good, and now it looks like he may have found a shot. If that continues, he could find himself becoming more and more important to the Heat. Andrew Wiggins has found a niche in his game, and he is a solid fit with the Heat. He is not the scorer he had the ability to be when he was the first overall pick, but his defense and rim running has always been solid. They acquired Norm Powell for next to nothing, and I think the absence of Herro will only further show that Powell is more important than him. He is a good player. I don't know what to expect from Nikola Jovic. He has flashes but he has never really put it all together. He has never really played steady minutes either. Terry Rozier is washed. Precious Achiuwa is a beast in the middle, but he cannot stay on the floor. Jaime Jacquez Jr took a big step back last season. And who knows how much or what they'll get out of rookie Kasparas Jakucionis. What I do know about the Heat is that they will play elite level defense and that they have the best coach in the NBA in Erik Spoelstra. He will find a way to get this team, at the very least, to the play-in.

At number 17 I have the Boston Celtics. The turnover in their roster and the injury to Jayson Tatum is going to make for a long season for Celtics fans. Tatum tearing his ACL was a brutal, brutal blow to this team. He is, by far, their best player and the guy that drives this team. People will get the full outline of his importance to this team this season. Let us not forget that Kristaps Porzinigs and Jrue Holiday were both traded too. The Celitcs will be using this season to see how some new guys and older vets play without three very important players. Jaylen Brown has all the skills in the world. He plays very well on both ends of the floor. He is great at getting to the rim and he brings his all every time he is on the floor. But he is oft injured and that can affect his play. Derrick White has more than proven his worth. I believe that he will be the most important player with Tatum out. People will see how valuable he is to this team. Payton Pritchard has proven himself to be a nice bench scorer in the league. I don't really know what they're going to do with Anfernee Simons. Simons is a proven scorer, but he has never been on a team that has been a truly winning team. He may need to add to his game this season. Xavier Tillman and Sam Hauser are no more than bench guys. And I have no idea why Chris Boucher is here. I don't know where he finds minutes, and if he does, what does he bring to this team? The Celtics have an insane head coach, Joe Mazzula, who will find a way to squeeze everything he can out of this roster. And that should be enough to get the Celtics, at the very least, to the play-in.

The final team for the day, at number 16 I have the Dallas Mavericks. This is a strange, strange team. But this team has talent. Anthony Davis has bulked up and I think he is going to dominate in the post this season. He is a top tier defender, and if he stops taking so many useless jumpers, he could be back into consideration for All NBA. I like that Davis will get to play in the front court with Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lively. Lively will most likely start, and if he returns to the play he had in his rookie year, he could be great. He is super bouncy and plays solid defense. Gafford is a great backup 4 or 5. He can shoot a little, play some defense and rebound the ball. Kyrie Irving may miss the season, and that would be a bummer. If he does come back, he and Davis could make for a nice pick and roll duo. Cooper Flagg was the first overall pick and he seems like he is as pro ready as they come. He does need to improve his jump shooting, but he can do pretty much everything else he is asked of. He also looked good in two games in Summer League, and his first preseason game was even better. Dante Exum has found a place that allows him to do what he does best, play defense. Max Christis is a nice scoring option off the bench. D'Angelo Russell should be a less than okay place card until Irving gets back. And Russell will bring scoring, if he does nothing else. And I love the reclamation project of Dennis Smith Jr here. And PJ Washington was such a great trade, and he should get so many more touches and shots now. The Mavericks are funky, and they don't have a ton of spacing options, but they will play very good defense. And, if, and this is a big, big if, they stay healthy, they could make a deeper playoff run than others expect.

That's it for today and this week. Come back on Monday for the next three teams. 

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.

Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Bulls, 76ers, Pacers

Welcome to day four of my preseason 2025-26 NBA countdown. We will be entering the top 20, which means these are some of the teams I have going to, at the very least, the play-in tournament.

At number 21 I have the team that I consider to be the play-in champions, the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls are an interesting team to me. They played a very long game before giving Josh Giddey way too much money in my opinion. Giddey is a fine enough player, but he is not a guy who wins you championships. And the Bulls are counting on him to be their number 1 option. Coby White is another fine enough player, but he is best used as a bench guy. He can come in the game, score in bunches and give the second unit life. I believe he will be a starter here, and that is not the best way to use his talents. Patrick Williams had all of the tools in the world to be successful, but he cannot stay on the floor and when he is on the court, he seems to struggle more than he dominates. Isaac Okoro was traded there this offseason and I don't really know what role he is going to play. He is an okay defender, but not elite. He is a poor outside shooter, but can sometimes get to the hoop. He's an odd fit. Matas Buzelis has the skills, and I think given more time on the floor, he could make big strides. Nikola Vucevic is washed. He is too old, too slow and doesn't bring much of anything. I like Ayo Dosunmo off the bench. He is a solid bench guy in the NBA. Tre Jones is not as good as his brother. Zach Collins has never done much in the league. And I'm kind of intrigued by Noa Essengue. I wonder how much run he will actually get this season though. The Bulls are going to hover right around the middle as usual. Billy Donovan is too good of a coach to tank, but the roster is filled with average players. They will be in the play-in, but they won't go much further than that.

At number 20 I have the Philadelphia 76ers. I struggled most with where to put this team. They have all kinds of talent, they have a good coach and they have had great regular seasons as of late. But the roster is always hurt, there always seems to be some kind of off-court issues and who knows what they're going to actually get from their top guys. I love Joel Embiid. He is one of my favorite players in the league. He is so talented on both ends of the floor. But he is always hurt. He is also too fond of being an online troll. I just want him to stay on the court like he did a few years back when he won the MVP. But that doesn't seem likely. Paul George is one of the better modern wings the NBA has ever seen. He is such a good scorer and he used to be a top tier defender. But he is currently more consumed with his podcast. And he is always, always hurt or injured. Tyrese Maxey is great. I love watching him play basketball. He is such a good scorer, and he has shown that he is ready for a bigger role. I have no notes on him. I'm very intrigued by VJ Edgecombe. He is such a high flyer, he has shown no fear in the Summer League or preseason and I'm excited to see his growth this season. Jared McCain would have been rookie of the year last season, but he got hurt early on. He looked poised for a big comeback this year, but he is already hurt again. Who knows when he will come back. Quentin Grimes is on a one year prove it deal, and I could see him getting big bucks elsewhere next season if he plays like he did at the end of last year. I believe in Johni Broome. I think he may be a steal. Kyle Lowry is too old. Kelly Oubre plays his butt off, but he looks a step slower than last year. And the bench is rounded out by Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond. I like those guys, but damn they are old. The 76ers could make me eat this ranking. I kind of hope they do. But, with what they have done in the recent past, I feel like a 35 win season is more likely.

The final team for the day, at number 19 I have the Indiana Pacers. Yes, I fully understand that they were one win away from being the champs last season, but then Tyrese Haliburton blew his ACL. He is the hub for everything this offense wants to do. He is also a big game killer. He hits big shots all the time and he has zero fear. They also let Myles Turner walk. They will miss his shooting and his rim defense. I think they may miss him more than they think. They do still have Pascal Siakim, and Siakim is awesome. He reminds me a very little bit of Kawhi Leonard. He goes about his business quietly, he hits shots and he plays relentless defense. I'm a fan of his. Andrew Nembhard took a big step forward last season, and with my playing time who knows what he is capable of. He may show the NBA a thing or two this season. Benedict Mathurin is a great scorer at the rim. He does need to find a jump shot and a way to harness his energy for good. Aaron Nesmith has more than proven his worth since being traded from Boston. He is a good player. Obi Toppin is a high flyer, but he needs to be a better rebounder and defender. Jay Huff and James Wiseman are the new backup bigs. I mean, that screams very meh to me. TJ McConnel had a good game or two in the finals, but he is empty calories and reminds me of Matthew Dellavedova. And it looks like Isaiah Jackson is going to take over for Myles Turner. He isn't the scorer or defender, and he is coming off an ACL injury. At least he got paid. The Pacers could surprise some, but not having Halliburton is going to be a massive blow. He is their guy. He drives the car. He is the guru. And not having him on the floor is going to be the difference between a top 3 seed, and fighting for the play-in.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next three teams. 

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.

Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Suns, Kings, Trailblazers

Welcome to day three of my preseason NBA countdown. We are getting closer and closer to the play-in teams. It is only going to get better from here.

At number 24 I have the Phoenix Suns. The Suns traded away Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. That experiment clearly did not work and the Suns are trying to move on. They still don't have many picks of note, but they do still have Devin Booker. Booker is a legit star in the NBA. He is as good a scorer as there is in the league, and his defense is not terrible. He is a midrange beast, he can shoot the three and he is getting better at getting to the hoop. The problem is, he doesn't have a whole lot of help now that KD is gone. But, he did get a massive extension in the offseason, and if he has his way, he will be a Sun for life. Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks are here after the KD trade. Green has become an okay NBA player, but the progress has been slow and not very steady. He, for all of his athleticism, is still not a great driver to the hoop. Brooks is a good defensive player, but he is also a problem, and he seems to start stuff that he cannot finish. I also question if he will be on the Suns the whole season. He seems prime for a trade. Mark Williams was eventually traded to the Suns, after the botched Lakers trade. He has the tools to be a solid player, but he is always injured and the nixed trade should have been a major red flag for the Suns front office. Grayson Allen is not great. Their lottery pick, Khaman Maluch, is a project. He is going to need time. Collin Gillespie is no good and not very playable. And Ryan Dunn and Royce O'Neal have never been of much substance in the NBA as of late. The Suns got themselves in a bad situation when they traded pretty much everything to acquire KD and Bradley Beal. They will be digging themselves out of that hole for a while now. But, at least they have Devin Booker. That still won't be enough to win 30 games this season.

At number 23 I have the Sacramento Kings. Man, the Kings had some good things brewing two short years ago and then they decided to be the Kings and make bad decisions. They let Mike Brown go, which made no sense, and then they traded De'Aaron Fox. I guess their front office doesn't like having good players and coaches. They still have Domantas Sabonis. He is a good offensive hub and has been a solid pro. He doesn't really play defense and he is only getting slower the older he gets. Zach Lavine is who he is at this point. He is an empty calories scorer and he seems to make every team a little worse when he arrives. He is a good player, but he is not, nor will he ever be a great player. DeMar DeRozan is going to get so much more respect when he retires. Right now people seem to write him off as "old school" and not a player you can win a title with in the league. I have always liked DeRozan and alway will. He is a fun player to watch for me. Keegan Murray has some skills and looks like an okay player, but he hasn't shown any big improvement since his rookie season. Malik Monk is a microwave scorer, but the fact that the Warriors didn't want him in a trade showed me that he may not be as wanted as I once thought he was as a player. The Kings bench has guys like Devin Carter, an old rookie last season, Dario Saric, who is old and washed, Doug McDermott, who can't score like he used to, and Keon Ellis, who was supposed to be a defense guy, but he isn't great on that end of the floor. The Suns, at one point, had Sabonis, Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Now they have DeRozan, Lavine and Sabonis. I'd much rather have the first trio I mentioned. The Kings have always had a special place in my heart, I loved when Chris Webber played for them. But they are back to being somewhat of a dumpster fire. They'd be lucky to win 30 plus games this year.

The final team for the day, at number 22 I have the Portland Trailblazers. The Trailblazers are going to be good, maybe even a play-in level team this season, but they're not a playoff team just yet. Scoot Henderson, who I really like, is hurt to start the season. I expected big things from him this year, and while that still can happen, he will not be ready for the start of the season, and that bums me out. I still believe in him, but this injury stinks. The Trailblazers also got Damian Lillard back, but he will not be playing at all this year coming off a torn ACL. Jrue Holiday is here again, and he seems to be staying. I feel like he could be the veteran leader this young squad needs. While not at the same level he was two or three years ago, Holiday is still one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and he can still score from time to time. Denji Avidija has been a revelation to me since being traded here. He is a really good player and he gets better every season. Donovan Clingan is going to start and I think he could be a good anchor for the defense in the post and he will bring some solid rebounding. Shaedeon Sharpe is a high flyer in the league and his shooting has gotten a bit better. He could explode this season. Toumani Camara was a steal in the draft and he should get some good minutes this year. And they have some nice depth off the bench in Robert Williams III and Matisse Thybulle. And I adore their rookie Yang Hansen. I hope he gets some run this season. The Trailblazers are coming and coming soon. Maybe they make a run at the play-in this season, maybe not. But they have a nice roster with a good mix of rookies and vets. This team could be a playoff team as soon as next season, and that is saying something since they are in the West.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams. 

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.

Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Wizards, Pelicans, Raptors

Welcome to day two of my 2025-26 preseason NBA countdown. We are still in the bottom, but things will start looking up soon.

At number 27 I have the Washington Wizards. I can't figure this team out. They had a bunch of youth last season, but now they have added a good amount of veterans. CJ McCollum is on this team now. I don't really know what he brings and what they want out of him, but he's here now. I believe he can still score in bunches, but he was never very good at defense and he is older now. They also traded for Khris Middleton during last season. He is oft injured, but when he plays he is a lethal mid range shooter. He doesn't move like he used to, much like McCollum, and he was never a great defender either. Corey Kispert is still here. He has never really brought much of anything to the NBA. He isn't a scorer and he isn't a defender. They traded for Malaki Branham last season. I always thought he could be a solid pro, but he hasn't figured it out just yet. Maybe with extra playing time he will figure things out. Cam Whittmore can score, but doesn't do much else. Bub Carrington looks to be a bench player during his NBA career. I believe Bilal Coulibaly can turn into a solid player, but he has to shoot the ball better. AJ Johnson was traded with Middleton last season. He is skinny as a rail, but he plays pretty fearlessly. And Alex Sarr was the number two overall pick two seasons ago. He showed some flashes of his high potential, but he is still inconsistent. The Wizards have an odd roster. I have zero clue who they will start and their bench isn;t deep or great. It feels like they're trying to build something, but they are doing it the way I do on 2k, and that never works out all that well for me. This is a 25 win team at best, and their defense is going to be really bad this year.

At number 26 I have the New Orleans Pelicans. Man, they had a weird offseason. But guess what, Zion Williamson is in shape this offseason. I feel like I've heard this all before and he always seems to get injured. The Zion is in shape offseason storyline is becoming wildly similar to the Ben Simmons can shoot threes now offseason story. I will believe that Zion is healthy and ready to play 60 plus games when I see it. I will say, when he is on the floor, he is a matchup nightmare and he can dribble and distribute the ball really well. He just isn't on the floor enough to make it seem viable. The Pelicans now have Jordan Poole. Look, I will always root for him because he went to Michigan and hit an amazing shot in the tournament. But he is a ball hog, a zero on defense and seems to have issues with his teammates. I'm kind of shocked he only lasted in Washington for one season. Dejounte Murray is coming off a major injury, so I'm curious to see how he plays this season when he comes back. It also feels like his mojo left him when he was traded away from the Spurs. It just hasn't been great for him since that trade. Trey Murphy III has all the skills to be an all star and I think that day will come sooner rather than later. I feel like Kevon Looney will bring veteran leadership and a hard working attitude to this team. I like Derik Queen, and I think he will be a solid player in the NBA when he fully buys into getting better. They may have traded too much to draft him though. Herb Jones is a very good, big upside defender. Joe Alvarado is the best pest defender in the league. And Jeremiah Fears is totally unknown to me as an incoming rookie. The Pelicans have a weird roster and players that get hurt way too often. I'm curious to see how Jordan Poole plays here. And I don't buy the Zion in shape hype anymore than I did before. The Pelicans are probably a low 30 win team this year and they will have more questions than answers by the end of the season.

Finally, at number 25 I have the Toronto Raptors. I don't know how they're going to score in bunches and I don't know what they are going to do with all the long limbed players they currently have on their roster. Scottie Barnes is legit. He has all the tools the Raptors wanted when they took him fourth overall in the draft and he seems to be getting better every season. I don't really know what to make of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Quickley is good when he plays, but he barely plays. He cannot seem to stay on the floor. Barrett is in his hometown and playing for his hometown team. But he is inconsistent, he is not a very good defender and his scoring is all over the map. Gradey Dick is a nonfactor. I don't buy any of his offseason hype and he seems to be a deep bench NBA player. Ocahi Agbaji has not been able to have his college success translate to the NBA. He is on his third different team at this point. Brandon Ingram just seems to get a little worse every season. It's a bummer because he is one of the few Duke players that I want to see achieve at this level. I hope he finds some of the success he had in New Orleans during his time in Toronto. Jakob Poeltl is too old school for the modern NBA. And their two rookies, Collin Murray Boyles and Ja'Kobe Walter do have some skills, they just need a little time to develop. Toronto is usually good about that, but I wouldn't expect them to see the floor too much this season. Toronto can make a play-in push, but that means they may only have to win 35 games in the East to make it there. I like Scottie Barnes and the rookies, but the rest of the roster is odd.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next three teams. 

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.

Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Nets, Jazz, Hornets

Starting today I will be doing my 2025-26 preseason NBA countdown. I'm going to go through all 30 teams, ranking them from 30 to 1. This is all my opinion. I'm going to do three teams a day and tell you all why I have them where I have them. After that I will do postseason and awards predictions. Enough preamble, let's get to it.

Coming in at number 30 I have the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are clearly trying whatever they can to tank. They want to get high picks and take as many shots as they can at drafting their next superstar. They traded away Cam Johnson for Michael Porter Jr. I think this says way more about Porter Jr than Cam Thomas. He is going to get every single shot he wants, but he is going to be less focused on defense than he ever was before, and he was never really a defensive guy. He has been going on a social media odyssey as of late, and this has made me believe he is truly nuts. I feel like the Nets were willing to take him on in a deal because they truly believe he cannot be the number one option on a good team. Cam Thomas is back on a one year prove it deal to the 29 other teams, but much like Porter Jr, he could care less about the defensive side of the floor. He and Porter Jr will score a good amount of points, but they will give up more on defense. Nic Claxton has some tools, especially to be a pick and roll threat, but he will not get nearly enough touches here. I bet he is a prime trade candidate. Drew Timme was only decent in college. Ziaire Williams, a former lottery pick, barely sees the floor. Terrance Mann has become a well traveled vet that never seems to stick anywhere. Kobe Bufkin should get a chance to prove he belongs. And they drafted 5 rookies that have similar abilities. Egor Demin is a shooter and a shooter alone. Good luck getting the ball on this team. Danny Wolf is a modern big who can handle the ball, but his shot comes and goes and he is a turnover machine. And I know next to nothing about Nolan Traore, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf. Who knows how much time they will see on an NBA court this year. But, let's not get it twisted, the Nets aren't trying to win many games this year. I get vibes of "The Process" 76ers with this roster construction. They'll be lucky to win 20 games this year.

At number 29 I have the Utah Jazz. They have done a good job offloading some vets to get picks, and they even got the third overall pick in the most recent draft. Ace Bailey has about a billion questions about his game and his willingness to get better, but the dude can get buckets. He won't play much defense, but he will get up shots left and right. I'm kind of fascinated to see how he plays in his rookie year. Lauri Markanen, who I have been tough on in the past, deserves better than this. He has carved out a solid career and has gotten better every season he has been in the league. He finds new things to add to his game every season, and I like seeing that improvement. I just hope he doesn't have to toli away in the obscurity of the Utah Jazz. I would like to see him on a team with title contention dreams. Kevin Love is still on this roster, and that blows my mind. He should be with Minnesota or Cleveland playing out the twilight of his career as a deep bench guy. Seeing him in a Jazz jersey is going to be weird. Kyle Filipowski doesn't seem to have anything that stands out to me. Jusuf Nurkic has fallen off a cliff. Keyonte George can maybe do some things with more playing time. Isaiah Collier's game feels way better for college than the NBA. Cody Williams might already be a bust, which bums me out. I don't get why the Jazz went out and traded for Georges Niang and Kyle Anderson. Those two would be much better off as vets on a playoff team. Mo Bamba keeps moving teams. And Oscar Tshiebwe has not figured out the NBA game yet. The Jazz have a good coach and some young players they need to see make some leaps. But to keep Markanen and guys like Niang and Anderson is pointless. This team wants another shot at the number 1 pick, and these guys want a shot at a ring. The Jazz are going to be a lottery team once again, and I will be waiting to see how long it takes for them to move on from some bigger, better names they have on their roster.

The final team for the day, at number 28 I have the Charlotte Hornets. Look, LaMelo Ball is a delight to watch play offensive basketball, and he is the best of the Ball brothers, but he simply cannot stay on the floor. He always seems to be injured. He misses big portions of every season lately. He might just be the player he is always going to be at this point, and that is a flashy, low calorie stats guy. Collin Sexton looked better at times in Utah, and I'd like to see him continue to get better. I've always liked his game, and I think playing in a small market like Charlotte will do him a world of good. I despised their two first round picks. I have zero faith in Kon Knueppel doing anything of importance in the NBA. He is like an off brand, wannabe Tyler Hansborough, and we all know how the NBA turned out for Hansborough. Liam McNeely is better skilled, but he is skinny as a rail, and he got pushed around in the Big East last season. I cannot fathom him being able to stop Giannis or Wemby or any big of note. Brandon Miller has skills. He looks to be the best player on the roster. I'm at the point where I think they should start building around him. He is the guy that is going to make the Hornets relevant. Miles Bridges is an abuser and I don't like him. Spencer Dinwiddie is washed. Moussa Diabate will play harder than anyone on the floor when he is out there. Pat Connaughton and Mason Plumlee should retire. Grant Williams turned one good season into a massive contract, but he is an afterthought now. Tidjane Salaun is raw, but humongous and l bet he has some hidden skills we don't know about just yet. The Hornets don't seem to have any compass. I don't know what they're trying to achieve. And that is going to end up giving this team low 20 wins this season. The Hornets are kind of a mess at this time.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams. 

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.

Ty's 2025 MLB Playoff Preview

I know that I'm a day late, it is fully because I forgot, but I'm going to do a MLB playoff prediction blog. I promise you that the outcome of last night's game has no effect on any of the predictions I would have made had I done this on time. And, as always, take this with a grain of salt. I'm the same guy that picked Baltimore to play in the World Series, said the Dodgers would have a historic record and had the Braves going very far. It's pretty clear that my baseball knowledge is lacking over what it used to be. Anyway, let's get to it.

I'll start with the AL. The Guardians and Tigers are currently playing, with the Guardians up 1-0 right now. I know the Guardians had a miracle run to make these playoffs, and that sometimes leads to a successful playoff run. But, I'm going with the Tigers to win this Wild Card round. They have had a better season, they have been more consistent and they have Tarik Skubal. The other Wild Card series features the Yankees and Red Sox. This is a classic rivalry, and yet I only really know of Aaron Judge. For that reason alone I'm going with the Yankees. They have one hell of a lineup, and I believe that they also have Max Fried as their ace pitcher.

That would give me a divisional round of Tigers-Mariners and Yankees-Blue Jays. I'm conflicted on the Tigers-Mariners series. The Mariners have always held a place in my heart. Ken Griffey Jr is the greatest baseball player of all time. I also have family members that are big time Tigers fans. They have lived in and around Michigan and have always rooted for the Tigers. I also grew up liking Cecil Fielder quite a bit. But, taking out my personal biases, I'm going with the Tigers. The Mariners always seem to have seasons like this where they play wonderfully in the regular season and then blow it in the playoffs. Until I see otherwise, I will assume that will happen again. I'll take the Tigers in seven games. As for Yankees-Blue Jays, I'm going with the Blue Jays. They have had a very solid year, they won the toughest division in the AL and Vlad Guerrerro Jr hasn't even really popped off this season yet. I expect that to come in these playoffs.

That leaves me with the Tigers and Blue Jays in the ALCS. And I'm riding that Vlad Jr high in this series as well. I just have a feeling like he has been saving his biggest moments for these playoffs. The Blue Jays will represent the AL in the World Series.

Onto the NL. The Wild Card matchups are the Reds and Dodgers and the Padres and Cubs. The Dodgers looked like themselves last night. My son got home from football practice and turned the game on. At that moment we both saw Shoehei Ohtani hit a homerun. They went on to run away with game one and they should dispose of the Reds quickly. The Padres and Cubs series should be fun, but give me the Cubs. They have a very good lineup and a decent pitching staff. They will get the needed wins to go to the divisional round.

Speaking of the divisional round I have the Dodgers playing the Phillies and the Cubs playing the Brewers. This is where the Dodgers pitching staff will catch up to them. This is the only area they have really struggled in this season, and the Phillies will expose that. They have a lineup that is as close to what the Dodgers have, but their pitching staff is so much better. I would even go so far as to say that the Phillies will only need five games to head to the NLCS. As for the Brewers and Cubs, the Brewers have kind of owned their whole division this season, and I don't see that changing here. They have a better lineup and a much better pitching staff. And they have been the best team in baseball, record wise, for the majority of the season. The Brewers will win in six games.

That leaves me with the Phillies and Brewers in the NLCS. As much as I'd love to see the Brewers advance to the World Series for the sake of my dad's baseball fandom, the Phillies are made for the postseason. This team has been built up to win in the playoffs and win big. They may sweep the Brewers here.

That means I have the Blue Jays playing the Phillies in the World Series. This is reminiscent of my childhood. I'll never forget Mitch Williams, I think, giving up a walk off to Joe Carter and the Blue Jays winning it all. That won't happen this season, but hey, that was a great baseball memory for me. Anyway, give me the Phillies in six games to win it all, and I would bet that Kyle Schwarber will be World Series MVP.

There you have it, albeit a day late, my 2025 MLB playoff preview and prediction. 

Ty

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

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