Thoughts on the NBA Future for LeBron

Some reports have come out this afternoon that LeBron James may retire or he may consider leaving the Lakers for three other teams, the Warriors, Cavs or Clippers. Let’s discuss.

This is not a shock to me. Ever since the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic, you could see that they were going to start building the team around him. He is younger and he is a star. That is the game the Lakers have always played. They picked Kobe over Shaq. They drafted Magic Johnson to replace Kareem Abdul Jabaar. They brought in Pau Gasol to play with Kobe. They tried getting Gary Payton and Karl Malone a ring. That didn't happen, but Payton eventually got his. They tried bringing in Steve Nash and Dwight Howard. The Lakers are the biggest game hunters in the NBA. So when they shockingly acquired Luka, I'm sure Lebron and his team saw the writing on the wall. I don't think that's fair to the second greatest NBA player of all time, but this is the modern landscape in the NBA.

I should mention that LeBron has also said he wouldn't mind returning to the Lakers. But, if he wants out, I think that retirement may be the best option. Sure, going back to the Cavs would make for a great final season. He could reap all the benefits of a "farewell tour" and be on a team that should be competitive next season, especially in the East. But he would have to take a tremendous pay cut, which shouldn't affect him at all. He has more money than he could ever spend. Also, the Cavs could look really different next season. James Harden said today that he will go into the offseason as a free agent. I read today that the Cavs would explore a trade for Donovan Mitchell if he doesn't sign an extension. Jarrett Allen is always on the trade block. Max Strus has barely played this season. And Evan Mobley hasn't taken the leap everyone expected he would on offense this year. Let's say the Cavs flame out of the playoffs earlier than they hope this year and there's some changes. I'll say they trade Mitchell and Allen for picks. And let's say LeBron takes the pay cut to play there. That would mean they would have a 41, soon to be 42 year old LeBron James. A year older Harden, Evan Mobley, who may just be a defensive force. And a bunch of young, unproven guys minus Max Strus. I know that they play in the East, and Harden and James could be fun. But that would not be a title contending team to me. I'd say, unless he gets real news that this team will mostly be intact next season, the Cavs would not be the best choice.

The Clippers mention doesn't make much sense to me. Paul George and James Harden are gone. Kawhi Leonard may be gone, and is often injured. Ivica Zubac is gone. LeBron will be teamed up with players like Ben Mathurin, John Collins, Derrick Jones Jr, Darius Garland, Kris Dunn and Brad Beal. That is not a contender. Not even close. Especially in the West. And even if Kawhi does comes back, LeBron would have to take a massive pay cut and still play the gauntlet that is the West. This one is the least likely to me. I mean, he wouldn't have to move, which would be nice. But I don't think he is going to move anyway. If he does leave the Lakers, he won't live in whatever city he gets traded to or signs with. But the Clippers makes no sense whatsoever. They are not in the best place, they just got beat by a team that didn't even really want to play the other night and who knows what is going to happen with Kawhi, on and off the court.

The Warriors makes the most sense of a team he would leave for in free agency or a trade. Stephen Curry and LeBron have amazing chemistry. They have shown that they love playing off one another, be it an all star game or in the Olympics. They compliment each other very well. They are both getting older though. I do think LeBron would buy into Steve Kerr's system as well. He would get to play fun basketball at an older age. He and Draymond Green are also buddies. They get along, which is wild to me. But Green is older, and looking like it. Moses Moody won't play next season, he is recovering from an injury, but when he comes back, he is a great cutter to the rim and he would get lots of dunks on passes from LeBron. Kristaps Porzingis, if he can ever stay on the court for an extended period of time, would open the lane for LeBron. And the Warriors have some bench guys, but they are an old, old team. And LeBron would be the oldest player on the team if he signs there. And they play in the West as well. But the chance to play with Steph may be too good for him to pass up. And then we have retirement. I think this makes the most sense.

LeBron has done it all in the NBA. He is an all timer. He has won everything any player could ever dream of. He has multiple rings. He is, as I mentioned before, the second best to ever play the game. And he has kids that he can watch and root for. Speaking as a father who's coaching career just ended, but his kid is still playing, it is so much more fun to watch and be a fan. It's the best. I get to root my face off for my kid. LeBron would get to do this at the highest level. And he is 41 years old. The time has come. Father Time always wins. And while he has looked solid this year, he has missed time with some older people injuries. So, whatever he decides, I think hanging it up is the best solution. He has nothing more to prove. He is an all timer and I would applaud his decision to walk away. Time will tell. 

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.

Is This it for Doc Rivers?

Doc Rivers has walked away as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Or they fired him. Or it was mutual. I have heard all three things being said since the NBA regular season ended. Let’s discuss.

Doc Rivers is an okay coach. He does have a championship ring. He started his head coaching career in 1999 when he took over the head job with the Magic. He was there for four seasons. He even won coach of the year in 2000. He brought the Magic back to relevancy. He had the Magic at or above .500 every season he was the head coach. He took them to the playoffs three times. He was let go after the Magic started the 2003-04 season 1-10. He did try to lure Tim Duncan away from San Antonio, but that didn't work. If it had, that would have been a real sliding doors scenario for the NBA.

He wasn't out of a head coaching job that long. He took over as the head coach of the Celtics in 2004. He had the most success while with the Celtics. The first three years only had one playoff appearance, but in year four they won the whole thing. This was when the Celtics got Paul Pierce some help trading for Kevin Garnett and adding Ray Allen via free agency. This was one of the first "super teams", and this team won it all. KG got a ring. Ray Allen got his first ring. Paul Pierce more than proved his worth. And the Celtics won it all with an excellent defense. They could have won it all the very next season, but injuries slowed them down in the conference semifinals. They made it back to the finals the next year, getting beat by the Lakers. But Doc Rivers had proven that he could win, and take teams to high heights, as long as he had a great roster.

Doc stuck with the Celtics for three more seasons, but in the 2013-14 season he took the head coaching job with the Clippers. The Clippers were supposed to win it all. They had all the players they needed, they just needed a proper head coach. Doc Rivers was supposed to be that guy. He was the missing piece. And while those Clippers teams were fun, they never made it out of the conference semifinals. They would have these wonderful regular seasons, only to see any hope of a long playoff run die in spectacular fashion. Those Clippers teams were full of arrogant assholes too. Blake Griffin was only a ferocious dunker, nothing more. Chris Paul was a pain in the ass, who would find ways to blow games at any given moment. Deandre Jordan couldn't stay out of foul trouble. The players would pour drinks on opposing teams fans. They allowed Josh Richardson to rain threes on them. They let the Thunder, led by KD and Russell Westbrook, beat them early in their run. These Clippers teams couldn't get out of their own way, and a lot of that falls on Doc Rivers. He did have to navigate the whole Donald Sterling thing, and I do think Doc Rivers did a good job with that fiasco. But the rings never came.

Next he took over as the head coach of the 76ers for the 2020-21 season. This seemed like a good fit too, but we have the whole Ben Simmons of it all. Simmons could have been great, but he got in his own head. And when Doc Rivers didn't take his side, he became known as not a players coach. The media ripped him for this and it made his time as the 76ers head coach fraught with criticism. He was blamed for Simmons flaming out. He was told he was taking Joel Embiid's side too much. He tried to bring on his type of players, but it didn't amount to much. Those 76ers teams were loaded with talent, but they never got out of the East semifinals. I do think that this team could have won a title if they had a better head coach.

Rivers was then assigned to take over when the Bucks fired their young coach. Apparently Giannis didn't like that coach and they gave the job to Rivers. I thought this was going to work. It did not and it did not to epic proportions. Doc Rivers never really had a hold on this Bucks team. He never had his full complement of players. Someone was always injured. They didn't get out of the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons. Part of that is due to injuries, other parts are due to Rivers coaching inadequacies. The Bucks were very bad this season, and it looks like Giannis is on his way out. This whole Doc Rivers Milwaukee Bucks marriage never worked. It did the opposite of that. This was bad on all counts. And no matter what Rives says or the front office says, the Bucks are not in a good place right now. This team may actually need a full tear down. I mean, they're paying two people, Damian Lillard and Doc Rivers, that don't even work there anymore. They still have Kyle Kuzma. They gave Myles Turner a humongous contract last offseason. More changes than just a new head coach may need to be made here. And this bums me out because my dad is a Bucks fan and I want him to be pleased with what his favorite team is doing and the direction they're headed in.

This may be the end of Doc Rivers as a viable head coach in the NBA. He may get a spot at one of the soon to be open head coaching spots in the NBA, but not with a big time franchise. Maybe the Pelicans or Wizards will target him. But teams in big cities or with big name players, I'm sure they will pass on Rivers. At least he has a championship ring. 

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 Predicts the 2026 NBA Playoffs

The NBA regular season wrapped up last night and the playoffs are officially set. I am going to give you my playoff preview and prediction. I'll go through the play-in games, pick a winner of those and then have my eight teams set in each conference. Then I'll go through the East and the West, pick the winner of the title and my Finals MVP.

Let's start with the East play-in games.

The 9-10 features the Hornets playing the Heat. Whoever wins this game has one more shot to get the 8th seed in the East. The Hornets have been on fire for months now. They are fun and fast and exciting to watch. The Heat are play-in vets. They have made it to the Finals from the play-in. They know what it takes to win in these games. But, the Hornets are better, younger and hungrier. They will win this game and end the Heat's season. The 7-8 game in the East features the 76ers and Magic. This is a puzzler. Both of these teams should have been better this year. Both teams had higher ambitions. I am going to go with the Magic to win this game and claim the 7th seed, but I have zero confidence. The 76ers may be fully healthy or they may be missing multiple starters. Who knows. That is why I'm going with the Magic. That would leave the Hornets and 76ers playing for the 8th seed, and I'm going with the Hornets. They're too fun to not pick. I want them in the playoffs. And as much as I like VJ Edgecombe, Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, one of them will inevitably be injured for this game. The Hornets will get the 8th seed.

Now for the West play-in games.

The 9-10 features the Warriors playing the Clippers. These teams are both old and not happy to be in the play-in. Who knows if Steph Curry will play or not. This seems about the time of year that Kawhi Leonard seems to get hurt. The Warriors have been pretty bad during the entire second half of the season. The Clippers have been much better, but they have had to work extra hard to get here. But because they have had meaningful games lately, I'm going to go with the Clippers to win here. The 7-8 game has the Suns playing the Blazers. The Blazers are ahead of schedule. So are the Suns. Both of these teams have had much better seasons than anyone expected they would. I'm going to go with the Suns because they have been better all year long. The Blazers are building on something, but the Suns will get the 7th seed. So that would leave the Clippers playing the Blazers. Whoever wins this will have the honor of facing the Thunder in round 1. Congrats. I'm going to go with the Blazers just because I want to see them in the playoffs. I want to watch their guys play much more than the Clippers. That is why I'm going with the Blazers to win the 8th seed.

So, my East playoff teams from 1-8 are as follows, Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, Cavs, Hawks, Raptors, Magic and Hornets. The Pistons-Hornets matchup is going to be fun and exciting. The Pistons are having a great year. They won 60 games and look to be a perenial playoff team moving forward. I already talked about the Hornets and how fun they are to watch. But, the Pistons have a much better defense and Cade Cunnigham is back. I think the series will go six games and the Hornets will scare the Pistons, but the Pistons will eventually tire the Hornets out and win the series. The Celtics are going to obliterate the Magic. The Magic will have a lot of changes this offseason after the Celtics sweep them. They may have a new coach and some new players. The Celtics are the most professional professional basketball team. They play great basketball and make minimal mistakes. And Jayson Tatum is back and looks pretty damn good already. The Celtics seem to be on a mission. The Knicks lucked out in playing the Raptors. Nothing against the Raptors, but the Knicks are a much better team and they are a team that is primed for the playoffs. They have the better backcourt and frontcourt. They may struggle a bit with Scottie Barnes, but Barnes is not the type of player to win a series on his own. The Knicks have Jalen Brunson and a myriad of role players that are solid. They will win the series in five games. The Hawks-Cavs looks to be competitive, but I don't think it will end up that way. The Hawks have been so much better since they traded Trae Young. They play solid defense and their offense moves a ton, which I like. But the Cavs have been waiting for this time of year. They have to make amends for the past few years where they have crapped out in the playoffs. I think they will play much better and I believe they will beat the Hawks in six games.

That would leave me with a second round of Pistons-Cavs and Celtics-Knicks. All chalk. That changes here. I'm going with the Cavs to beat the Pistons in seven games. This will be the best series in the East in my opinion. It is strength on strength too. But the Cavs will pull it out in the seventh game. The Knicks-Celtics should be amazing as well. These two teams are fun to watch play one another. They will go at it. I'm going to go with the Celtics in seven games due to better defense and Jayson Tatum being back. They also have to make up for last season. T

hat means I have the Cavs playing the Celtics in the East Finals. And I believe the Celtics will win that in six games. The Cavs will be tired, but they aren't on the level of the Celtics. The Celtics are better, and they may be the best team in the East at this very moment. The Celtics will return to the Finals.

Now for the West. My West playoff teams, from 1-8, are as follows, the Thunder, Spurs, Nuggets, Lakers, Rockets, Timberwolves, Suns and Blazers. The Thunder are going to cruise over the Blazers. If the NBA could call it in three games, I think they might. The Thunder are that good, they are pretty much whole and they have a title to defend. The Blazers are on the come up, but they don't stand a chance against the Thunder. The Spurs will take on the Suns in the 2-7 matchup. The Spurs are the most fun team to watch this season in the NBA. Wemby is healthy. Stephon Castle is a star in the making. Keldon Johnson is a great sixth man. Carter Bryant brings a new dimension to this team. Dylan Harper could win rookie of the year. The Spurs are way ahead of schedule, but it is the Spurs and they are awesome. The Suns have Devin Booker, and that's about it. The Spurs will sweep this series and will officially announce themselves as a title contender. The Timberwolves and Nuggets series is going to be closer than expected. Nikola Jokic is back to himself, Aaron Gordon looks to be in game shape and Jamal Murray is having his best season in his career. The Timberwolves have been inconsistent, but they have Anthony Edwards, and he is a stone cold killer on a basketball court. Ayo Dosunmu has been a great addition. Jaden McDaniels is a defensive stalwart, but he is still injured. And Rudy Gobert is still a good defender. The Timberwolves also play to the level of their competition, and they have recent success against the Nuggets. That being said, give me the Nuggets in six games. The Timberwolves have been too inconsistent this season, and the Nuggets have been clicking lately. The 4-5 matchup, the Rockets and Lakers, feels like a real dud to me. The Lakers are injured and LeBron James, while still awesome, is 41. They also play little to no defense, JJ Redick is a mediocre coach and the Forum doesn't hold the weight it used to as a home court advantage stadium. The Rockets do play good defense, but they are horrendous offensively. They have no plan. They miss Fred VanVleet. Amen Thompson has to be better offensively. Alperen Sengun needs to be better defensively. This team has issues. I'm going to go with the Lakers in seven games because the refs will do some wild nonsense to help them win a crucial game 7. It always seems to happen that way for them.

My second round matchups are the Thunder playing the Lakers and the Nuggets playing the Spurs. The Thunder are going to be 8-0 after this series. They beat the Lakers by 40 when they were whole. They are going to obliterate them in this series. The Nuggets are going to beat the Spurs in seven games, and it will be brutal. This is going to be a fun back and forth series. Wemby and Jokic will be cinema. I'm excited to see Murray and Gordon go up against Castle and Harper and Johnson. I'm excited to watch these two young coaches battle. Look, the Spurs are coming, just not this season. I have the Nuggets winning in seven.

That means I have the Thunder and Nuggets in the West Finals. This is the true Finals for all intents and purposes. These are the two best teams in the NBA. I'm going with the Thunder to win in six games. The Nuggets will make it close. They play incredible offense. And even the Thunder, who have the best defense in the league, will struggle in a few games. But the Nuggets play zero defense and that will be their undoing. The Thunder are good, deep and will be well rested going into this series. That is why the Thunder will make it back to the Finals.

This leaves me with a Thunder-Celtics Finals. And as cool as it has been to see the Celtics be this good this year, and to see Tatum back in action, the Thunder are a better team. They are deeper, they are healthy, they have a true home court advantage. The Thunder in the midst of a possible dynasty. They will win their second championship in a row, and SGA will take home another Finals MVP. The Thunder will win a second straight title in six games. 

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 Predicts the NBA Awards

I listen to a good amount of basketball related podcasts. I like to nerd out on these shows. I especially like it when the hosts and guests go into deep dives about certain things. With the regular season winding down in the NBA, most of these shows have been doing their awards talk. They have been going through all of the awards, who they think will and should win and why they think these people will win. And, with the added 65 game rule, some of these awards are going to people who may have not been most people's first choice.

I personally think the 65 game rule is good and should stick around. I do not like that some players are trying to have certain stipulations put in place so they can be rewarded if they played only 60 games or so. These are the rules, the players union agreed to them and that is just the way it is going to be for the time being. I fully understand that this may dilute certain winners, and mess with some players' money, but they all agreed that this was the best way to go about handing out these accolades. With all that being said, I'm going to give you my picks for the major awards and why I think each player is deserving. I will not do all NBA, all rookie and all defensive teams. That's way too dorky even for me. But I do want to give out MVP, Most Improved, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. These are the big ones. These are the ones that I pay most attention to at the end of the season.

I'll start with Most Improved. I would give this to Jalen Duren. He has gotten so much better this year than previous seasons. He has made a leap to all NBA status. I remember when the Pistons drafted him and I thought, he has the body for the NBA, but does he have the game? He does and it has shown out tenfold this season. He's excellent defensively. He is a hellacious rebounder. And he has shown a great low post offenisve game and he is one of the better rim runners in the league. He has improved leaps and bounds and if this isn't your prototype for this award, I don't know who else it should go to. He has also surpassed the 65 game rule, so he's in great shape to win.

Next we have Rookie of the Year. This is going to go to either Kon Knueppel or Cooper Flagg. I was wrong about Knueppel. I thought the Hornets wasted a top 4 pick on him. But the kid can play. He is a lethal shooter and can get his shot off pretty much whenever he wants. He has partnered up well with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller and they look like they will be an elite offense for many seasons to come. But Cooper Flagg is doing some highly impressive things on a pretty bad team. Flagg is all the Mavs have. He is their lone offenisve threat, he has had to be a ball handler for them, he is an astute passer and he tries hard on defense. He also has had two 40 plus point games recently, and one 50 point game. He makes the Mavs no fun to play, and I think he has pulled ahead of Knueppel this past week. It will be a close vote, and either guy is a great choice for ROY. I would give it to Flagg at this point.

Next we have Coach of the Year. Joe Mazzula should win. I was low on the Celtics and they are currently the 2 seed in the East. He has made guys like Luka Garza and Nnemas Queta viable frontcourt options. Payton Pritchard is having his best season. Jaylen Brown has become a viable number 1 option and proven to everyone that he can be a guy to build around. He had to find players to replace Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup and he did. He has helped get Jayson Tatum back in the groove in a proper manner. Mazzula is an insane person, but he knows how to coach this game and he has done an exceptional job this season. JB Bickerstaff should get some love, as should Mark Dagneault. But Mazzula has proven his worth this season and he should reap the benefits by winning Coach of the Year.

Now we have Defensive Player of the Year. Victor Webanyama, if he hits the 65 game mark, should be the runaway winner. I don't know how you vote for anyone else. Rudy Gobert is still good, but not on Wemby's level. Evan Mobley has been better defensively than offensively, but not on Wemby's level. There is no guard or forward that even matches what Wemby does on that end. I fully believe that the Spurs will get him that 65th game and he will walk away with this award, as he should. This is going to be one of many for him in what, hopefully, will be a long career.

Finally we have MVP. Luka Doncic is out. He will not meet the games requirement and he will not win his appeal. He also doesn't play defense. When you have to always put in a caveat of, "good for him", that means he is a liability on that end of the floor. He also whines too much. He is also a drag to watch play basketball. I would not give it to Nikola Jokic for his lack of defense as well. Look, I get it. He is an offenisve wizard. He makes unmakeable plays all the time. He is playing really well offensively to close out the regular season. But, for me, a MVP caliber player needs to play hard on both ends. Jokic doesn't even put forth an effort defensively. He has been a turnstile late this season. He never guards anyone that is close to his height or level. He often takes defensive possessions off. I know the analytic nerds love his numbers, but I loathe that he plays zero defense and gets rewarded with the whole, "good enough for him" treatment. That is just an excuse and until he puts forth effort on defense I will continue to dislike watching him play. The MVP comes down to two guys for me, Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Wemby. Wemby needs that 65th game, but I already said I think he will get there. He is the only defensive player I've ever watched that makes it impossible for teams to gameplan away from him. You can attack Jokic and Doncic. You can stay away from Kawhi Leonard's side of the floor. Gary Payton would only ever guard backcourt guys. Wemby guards everyone and guards them all equally well. He is a blackhole. He can be in the post guarding a big, and if that guy kicks it out to a shooter, he can close out and block that shot. He is amazing. And he is only getting better at offense. He has gotten stronger in the post and he can take guys out to the three point line. That's insane for a 7'4 guy with arms that are insanely long. Wemby is an enigma and I love watching him play. But I would go with SGA to win his second in a row. He is the best player on the best team in the league. His numbers and Jokic are pretty equal. He gets to the free throw. He is not the only "free throw merchant" in the NBA by the way. We just hear more about him because the Thunder are always on tv and won the title last season. He is efficient dynamic on offense. He is also a very solid defender. The Thunder win with defense and he has bought into playing on that end of the floor. He gets steals and blocks. He rebounds the ball. He gets into whoever he is guarding. He plays both ends, is on the best team and has numbers even the analytic nerds love. And he has played the most consistent of any of these guys all season long. SGA should win his second MVP in as many years.

That's it, that is who I have winning the major awards for the 2025-26 NBA season. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

UNC Got the Right Basketball Coach

Michael Malone was formally introduced as the next men's head basketball coach at UNC. Let’s discuss.

I don't know what it is about UNC and hiring former professional head coaches with proven track records, but they've done it again. This feels different though than when they hired Bill Belichek last season. The Belichek hire was totally out of left field, so is this Malone hire. But Belichek was out of the coaching profession for a year or so. And he is old. He is one of the older coaches in all of college football. He also has a partner that seems controlling. I don't know if she is, but she seems to have a hold on him and kind of does all of his scheduling and other things. I understand that he probably needs this, he is so old as I said, but it still feels off. And the Belichek hiring has not paid off to this point. UNC had a bad season on the football field, there seemed to be a ton of problems on and off the field and he's already had turnover on the roster and coaching staff. The UNC football program seems like a program in trouble.

When the men's basketball team fired Hubert Davis, and with Caleb Wilson going pro, it seemed like the men's basketball program was going to go through a similar fall off. They let the head coach go after an okay season. Their best player missed the most important stretch of the season and then went pro. And they have had a few dudes already enter the transfer portal, and this was when they had no head coach. So, when the news came out that they were hiring Michael Malone, I was stunned.

About a week ago I wrote about who I thought they were going to go after in the hiring process, naming Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May as the most likely candidates. Well, both of those dudes said no thank you and, apparently, UNC already had their sights set on Malone. Michael Malone has been at the very top of the basketball world. He was the head coach of the Nuggets when they won the title in 2022. He seemed to be set for life as the main guy there, but the team and front office decided to move on late last season. From what I have read some of the people on the team and on the staff did not like his hard core, yelling approach to coaching. Michael Malone is a gruff, no nonsense old school head basketball coach. He demands the best out of his players and he wants them to give their all every single second they are playing or practicing the game of basketball. I can see how this would wear on modern NBA players. Those dudes make a ton of money, they have been the star at most stops and they pretty much know the ins and outs of the game. They do need a figurehead, someone to take the blame and heap praise upon. But that guy needs to be able to adapt to the lifestyles of their professional athletes. That does not work very well for the Michael Malone's of the world. And that is precisely why I think this might actually work for UNC.

UNC went out of their way to get Malone. They hired a guy that has zero ties to UNC. He didn't play there, he never coached there and I bet the only time he has spent in the Carolinas is when he was a head coach in the NBA and his team had a game in Charlotte. But the dude knows basketball and he has proven that he can win a ton of games. He did it at the highest level for a good long time. But what makes this make sense, college players don't make the money that the pros do. They are getting paid right now, but Michael Malone is going to get paid much, much more than them. He can also show off his NBA championship ring anytime he pleases. He can talk about coaching guys like Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray. He knows what it takes to get to the pros. He can help usher these highly rated recruits and transfers into the pros. He can show them exactly what they have to work on to get to the highest level. He knows the game. And I don't think recruiting is as awful as some say. You do have to travel all the time, you have to sell the program, you have to deal with NIL and the transfer portal, but Michael Malone has dealt with most of this stuff in the pros. He has been through the ringer and come out on the other side.

This is a home run hire in my opinion. UNC reached for the stars and grabbed a pretty damn big one. I think this is going to work out really well and really quickly and I think UNC may have just made the hire of the offseason for men's college basketball. This is a big deal. 

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.

The Current State of Michigan Basketball is Pretty Good

For the second time in three years I have gotten to celebrate a Michigan team winning the national title. In 2023 it was the football team. Last night, it was the men's basketball team. Let’s discuss.

I really enjoy this feeling. There's truly nothing better than when your team is on top. It is the best in the world. I do want to say, as wonderful as this feels, the football title felt a little better. I just have to say that. College football is a little more important to me than basketball. I just wanted to put that out there. But that is to take nothing out of what the men;s basketball team achieved last night.

When the season started I didn't know what to think, especially in the NIL and transfer portal era. I had heard a bunch of good things about the guys they brought in. Aday Mara was tall. Morez Johnson Jr was tall and strong. Elliot Cadeau was going to be able to run the offense properly. And Yaxel Lendeborg was this jack of all trades type player. Throw in some of the guys that stuck around, Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter, Roddy Gayle Jr and LJ Cason, this team was supposed to be good. But I thought I was going to miss Tre Donaldson and Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin and Devante Jones. Those guys were part of Dusty May's first season, in which he took an 8-24 team to the Sweet Sixteen. They seemed to be in a good place. But this was going to be all new. But, like I said, the media seemed pretty hyped about this new roster. And while I was skeptical, they started the season 12-0, and looked really good doing it. They may have started slow, but they went on a run where they were obliterating teams. And I'm not talking about the run of the mill lower level division 1 teams, they were beating up on highly ranked teams. I started to buy in. Then Wisconsin hit a million threes and cooled any of the good vibes I had about them earlier on. But then they went on another long win streak and I was back in. They got all the way to being ranked number 1 overall. It ruled. Then Duke punked them on national tv and I was back in a funk. Sure, Mara was an incredible defender and Johnson Jr was bullying dudes on both ends and Cadeau was killing it as the lead guard and Lendeborg was all I wanted him to be. But Duke took all of that away from me. I fully stopped believing. Then you can add on the struggle they had in the Big 10 tournament, they did make it to the title game, and won the regular season title, and I just kind of gave up. When the tournament seeds and games were announced, I knew Michigan was going to be a 1 seed, and I even had them in the Final Four. But they went on to cruise and crush the competition in the tournament. They went on an unprecedented run. After Howard was throwing flames in the first half from 3, Michigan went on to score 101 and win by 21. Then they crusted over the early tournament sweetheart Robbie Avila and SLU. They scored over 90 and won by 20 plus points again. And this was the game where Lendeborg became everything I ever wanted him to be. He went for 20 plus and made it look easy from everywhere on the court. He was a menace on defense. He was dunking on dudes left and right. It was dope. They went into the Sweet Sixteen facing one of the top offenses in all of college basketball in Alabama. They held them to 77 points, while they scored 90 yet again. They lucked out in facing Tennessee, a six seed, in the Elite Eight. They went on to beat them by 33 points, In an Elite Eight game. On national tv. In front of everyone. This was the moment where I fully bought in and truly believed they may be able to do it. They looked so much more dominant than any of the eight teams left. They looked even better in the Final Four. I was all in on Arizona winning it all all season. I fully thought they were the best team in men's college basketball. They had just beat Purdue, who beat Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. Well, Michigan proceeded to crush Arizona. They beat them so badly that their coach said that "no team has been able to do what Michigan did to them all year". Also, when accepting his coach of the year award, Tommy Lloyd mentioned that maybe they meant to send it to Dusty May. That was how badly Michigan beat them. They won a Final Four game by 18 points, and it wasn't even that close.

With the national title game last night, I didn't just want a win, I expected it. But, when the game tipped off, it went much different than I hoped. UConn muddied the game up and made it sloppy and slow. This worked to their advantage for a bit. They even held an 18-15 lead with about 11 minutes left. They were holding this elite Michigan offense to 15 points nine minutes into the game. I was terrified. I wasn't nervous, I was scared. I thought they were going to get beat, and beaten badly by a team and coach that knows how to win title games. But Michigan persisted, switched up the game plan a bit and went into halftime with a 4 point lead, 33-29. But the way the media was talking you would have thought UConn was ahead. And that was when a revelation hit me. Michigan played really poorly. They couldn't make a jumper. Lendeborg's injury was clearly becoming an issue. They hadn't made a three pointer. And yet they were ahead by 4 points. Going into the second half, while still scared, I felt calmer than I thought. I did yell once, but my son told me to calm down, and I did. Michigan never let UConn get any closer than that 4 points. They stretched the lead to 11 at one point. They made 20 straight free throws. When UConn played pressure defense, it was freshman Trey McKenney who came up big. Lendeborg started to attack the rim and either make a shot or shoot free throws. Mara's presence was felt on the defensive end. And Elliot Cadeau saved his best game for last. Without him, they may not have won last night. But this was this team's MO all year. They didn't need one guy. They had a team of players ready to make plays and step up when asked. Roddy Gayle had a huge putback jam early in the game. Morez Johnson Jr played excellent defense both in the paint and on the perimeter. I mentioned Mara, Lendeborg, Cadeau and McKenney. This was a full team effort and it showed last night. And while this team became known for offense as the season went on, they played an exceptional defensive game last night, especially in the second half.

Dusty May was clearly the right choice as the new head coach two years ago. I liked the hire when it happened, and I loved it even more after last night. He knows how to work the portal, and if he keeps up this level of recruiting high school players, as long as he doesn't leave for the pros anytime soon, Michigan men's basketball will be in good shape.

I'm on cloud 9 today. I have been talking to everyone and anyone that asks me how I feel about it all and let them know. This team went 37-3. I grew to love every player. I'm as big a Dusty May fan as there is right now. And they capped it all off by winning the title last night. This is so awesome and I am so happy right now. Go Blue.

 Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Ty Predicts the Final Four

The men's Final Four is set. UConn will face Illinois in the first game Saturday night, and Arizona will face Michigan in the second game. We have two number 1 seeds, a 2 seed and a 3 seed. We have two Big Ten teams, one Big East team and one Big 12 team. All power conferences, all teams that were ranked inside the top 15 most of the season. This is the way of the current world in men's college sports. The teams that can pay and use the transfer portal correctly will continue to run college sports until some changes are made. It's going to be awhile before we see George Mason or Loyola Chicago in the Final Four. With that being said, I'm going to do a preview and prediction.

UConn-Illinois is going to be an interesting clash of styles. Illinois likes to score fast and furious. They have guys who can shoot from anywhere on the floor. They also have guys that can protect the rim on defense and rebound the ball. They play like an NBA team. Iowa exposed a few things that I think UConn can use to their benefit, probably better than Iowa did. UConn has solid veteran leadership and some young talent. Alex Karaban is a very good shooter and has been here before. Tarris Reed has become one of the better throwback big men in all of college basketball. He has some of the best low post moves I've seen in awhile. Solo Ball can attack and shoot. Braylen Mullins just made the biggest shot of the tournament. That kid can score in bunches. This should be a fun game to watch. I'm curious as to how it will all turn out. Illinois has shooters galore and I think that will separate them from UConn. UConn just gave everything they had in their last game. They came back from down 19. They had little to no chance of winning that game. They needed a bad pass to create a miracle shot. I think that may bite them in the butt this weekend. Illinois is also a really good basketball team that has been consistent and well rounded all tournament long. They easily overcame the mild adversity Iowa threw their way, and they just feel like a team destined to play for the title to me. I think the game will be close up until the end. UConn's bigs will make life tough for Illinois' big men. But the shooting separates Illinois from UConn. UConn is not the dominant team they were in the very near past, and that will only help Illinois push into the final. I say Illinois wins by 8, but it will be that wide because UConn will have to foul late, and free throws will make it seem like a bigger margin of victory than it really is. Illinois will be the first team to make it to the title game.

Now onto the game I want to watch, and I bet most of the country wants to watch as well.

Arizona and Michigan have been at the top of the rankings all season long. Both teams went a long, long time undefeated. Both teams won their regular season conference title. Arizona won the Big 12 title tournament, while Michigan played in the Big Ten tournament title game. Michigan has a program record 35 wins at the moment. Arizona has 35 wins as well. Arizona just showed how good of a team they can be last weekend. Purdue gave them everything they had in the first half. Then Arizona locked in and completely took over. They dominated the second half against a very good Purdue team. They won that game going away. They clawed and scratched, and with about 12 minutes left in the game they totally took over. It was wild to watch. I have been riding with Arizona as my pick to win it all this year most of the season. I picked them in all four brackets I filled out this year. They are a very, very good team with multiple NBA draft picks on the floor. Michigan has had a year to remember. It has been awesome for me to watch as a fan. And they have been as dominant as any team can be in this tournament to this point. They have scored 90 plus points in every game. They have won every game by double figures. Their closest margin of victory was 13 in the Sweet Sixteen. They just beat Tennessee in the Elite Eight by 33 points. Yaxel Lendeborg has been playing out of his mind. Elliot Cadeau is running the offense brilliantly. Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr have been manning the front court. And Roddy Gayle Jr and Trey McKenney have been making plays all over the court. Michigan has looked every bit the number 1 seed they have earned. This game is going to feature so many future pros. It will be the closest thing we have to watching two college teams full of NBA players. Both teams also have guys that can beat you on any night. They don't need one guy to do it all. They have multiple guys that can go off and take a game over. I have been batting it back and forth about who I want to pick. Michigan has been awesome. Arizona has been just as dominant and they beat a better team in their Elite Eight matchup. I'll be rooting so god damn hard for Michigan, but I'm going to stick with my pick of Arizona heading to the title game. They have more weapons and bigs that can matchup with the size of Michigan. It will be a close, very well played game of basketball, but I think Arizona is going to hit a big shot to win the game by three points. And I will be absolutely devastated.

That leaves me with Illinois and Arizona playing for the title, and there's no need to beat around the bush, Arizona will roll. They are a better team with a better coach and a better roster. That's just facts. And any one of their players would win Most Outstanding Player. I'll go ahead and go with Koa Peat. 

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.

Who Will Be UNC's Next Coach?

North Carolina men's basketball have let Hubert Davis go. He was in the title game in 2022, but two first round exits in a row seem to have been the nail in the coffin. Let’s discuss.

Hubert Davis played at UNC, had a solid NBA career, did some tv analyzing and took over as the head coach of his alma mater in 2021. He was there for five seasons, compiling a record of 125-54. That's an average of 25 wins a season, which is really good at the college level. He took UNC to the NCAA tournament four of those five years. The other season they finished 20-13 and declined an invitation to the NIT. In his four tournament appearances UNC had the miracle run to the title game in his first season, made the Sweet Sixteen the next time they made it, and then had to the two first round exits.

The run to the title was unexpected. They made the tournament as an 8 seed. They beat Baylor in the second round, who was the number 1 seed in their region. They then went on to beat UCLA Saint Peters, another Cinderella that season, to make the Final Four. That would have been exciting enough, but they weren't done there. They beat their rivals Duke to make the title game. And they had a big lead in that game until Kansas decided to make a run and win it all. That set the expectations high for Davis.

Not even making the postseason in year two was a bummer. But they returned the next season and made a Sweet Sixteen run, eventually being ousted by Alabama, who would go on to make the Final Four. Then they were beaten in round one the next year, and this year, blowing a 19 point lead to VCU. That was the final deed for the higher ups who make the decisions at UNC.

I do want to say, Davis was coaching without his best player, Caleb Wilson, and basketball is the one sport where one player can change a team's fortune. Caleb Wilson is that good. He is going to be a top five pick in the upcoming draft. And without him you could see that UNC was a totally different team.

If it were me, I would have given Hubert Davis a bit more leeway, another season to see what he could do with a new recruiting and transfer class, but UNC didn't see it that way. And now they are going to go on a big time search for their next men's basketball coach. It looks like they're going to take a big swing too. The early names being mentioned are the cream of the crop, and with the resources at UNC, they may be able to pry one of these coaches away.

Brad Stevens was the first name I heard, but he has already taken his name out of the running. That makes sense because he is doing the job he wants and he is very good at that job. Now that Stevens is out, names like Dusty May, Todd Golden, Billy Donovan, Tommy Lloyd, Nate Oats and TJ Otzelberger, among many others. The idea of Dusty May leaving Michigan scares me. He may want the pressure that comes with coaching a high profile basketball school. He has done wonders in two short seasons, but maybe he wants a bigger challenge. Todd Golden is at Florida right now, and they just got beat by Iowa. He has a national title, can recruit and has shown a nice ability, save for their last inbounds play last weekend, to draw up good plays. Billy Donovan is an interesting name. He has been in the pros for awhile now, but the Bulls are getting younger and he may be sick of this never ending rebuild. Maybe he wants back in the college game, and he is one hell of a basketball coach. Tommy Lloyd has Arizona as a real threat again. They're a number 1 seed and have looked great so far. He is also a very good recruiter and he puts players in the pros. Nate Oats is a jerk, but the dude understands the modern game and he is a very, very smart head coach. He makes his offense better with the plays he draws up. And TJ Otzelberger is young, upcoming and has one of the best defenses in college hoops right now. He also likes to bomb away from three point land.

All of these guys are very solid, very interesting options. I don't think Lloyd or Otzelberger will leave their current jobs. They seem happy and comfortable where they are right now. I don't think Billy Donovan wants to go back to the college game. He has been in the pros too long. Nate Oats and Dusty May should intrigue UNC very, very much. Oats, as I said before, is a college basketball offensive genius. He is prickly, but Roy Williams coached there for years. Dusty May knows how to use the portal properly, and has shown an ability to recruit high school stars. He also has a very solid offensive game plan for every opponent and defense has been Michigan's calling card all season. But I really think Todd Golden may jump at the possibility of coaching UNC. He has taken Florida to the top. He turned them into a 1 seed this year after a slow start. He can do all the things UNC will want in a new coach. Maybe this is just me hoping that Dusty May doesn't want to leave Michigan. Or maybe I just really, truly think that Golden is the best option of the names I listed.

Time will tell, I bet UNC is going to take their time, but if they are going to swing for the fences, these are the names I'd keep an eye on for the time being. 

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 the First Rounds of the Men's NCAA Tournament

The first weekend of the men's NCAA basketball tournament has come and gone like a whirlwind. I watched a ton of the games, and my son's team who qualified for state, and I have some thoughts.

The very first thing I thought of this morning as I updated our brackets that, for the most part, the big spenders in NIL are winning games, and winning them with relative ease. Every one seed, save for Florida, more on them in a bit, had little to no trouble making it to the Sweet Sixteen. I watched Michigan, who held a slim four point lead in their round 1 game, end up rolling both opponents on their way here. They won their first game by 21, and they beat SLU by 23. They have looked good and I have been enjoying watching them play. Arizona had a battle for about two minutes last night against Utah State, and made easy work of their first two opponents. They have been bigger, faster and overall better than both teams they have played. And Duke, even though they had a first round fight with Siena, easily dispatched with TCU and looked back to normal. They are as good as a team is in men's college hoops this season, and with the benefit of the refs' whistles, they should make the Final Four.

Florida, the number one seed that worried me most, proved why last night. They couldn't even get a shot off in the final seconds. They struggled to guard Iowa. They struggled on the boards. They weren't hitting shots. And when you combine all of that, that results in the madness of March. Iowa played well, don't get me wrong, but Florida blew it last night and they are the first number one seed to be bounced from this tournament. And it happened before the Sweet Sixteen. It is hard to go back to back in college sports, but I expected them to be playing this weekend. My hat is off to Iowa though. They slowed the game down, had Florida play at their pace and level and won the game on a last second three. It was your quintessential upset.

Other than the one seeds, we have one double digit seed here, Texas. Texas has played very well, they played their way in from the First Four and beat two quality teams in BYU and Gonzaga. They will be up against it playing Purdue, but they have more than proved their worth so far in this tournament.

Every other team, save Texas and Iowa, is a 6 seed or better. We have six Big Ten teams. I mentioned Michigan and Iowa already, and joining them we have Michigan State, Illinois, Nebraska and Purdue. Purdue and Michigan State belong and have looked very good in their first two games. Nebraska survived a buzzer beater and look to be on borrowed time. And Illinois may be playing the best of any Big Ten team right now. They have blown by their first two opponents and look as locked in as ever. The Big 12 have three teams, Arizona, Houston and Iowa State. Houston looks as good as Illinois, but they play better defense. Iowa State is making shots and they are lethal when they are hitting threes. And Arizona is a legit one seed. They are so damn good in every facet. The SEC also has three teams, Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee. Tennessee squeaked by Virginia, and without the help of late whistles, they may not be here. They are about to hit a buzzsaw in Iowa State. Alabama beat the snot out of Texas Tech last night and have me very worried as a Michigan fan right now. They look very good and very determined. And Arkansas, mainly Darius Acuff, have been as elite as they come on offense. They needed a late game surge to beat High Point, but High Point was the early darling and they were making shots. Darius Acuff is so good and I'm stoked he is getting proper billing as a top prospect in the next NBA draft. And we round out the Sweet Sixteen with two Big East teams, St. John's and UConn. St.John's won on a buzzer beater over KU, but I felt like they were the better team. They're tough as nails and they will make Duke uncomfortable this weekend. UConn looks to be back to normal and they are mashing teams on the boards and hitting outside shots. I'm really excited to root for them when they take on MSU this weekend. UConn has always held a place in my heart, they may be the only college team other than Michigan that I have ever liked, so they will get my allegiance in their upcoming game.

But, the sheer fact that no mid majors are in the Sweet Sixteen, that only four mid major teams won a first round game, and then were easily disposed of by a power conference team, that should show you how big the gap is right now in the NIL era. The teams that can spend the most are winning at the highest clip. Michigan has four starters that are transfers. St.John's best player started his career at KU. Arizona is filled with transfers and five star freshmen. Duke has the best freshmen NIL money can buy. This is the way of college sports right now, and it will stay this way until some regulations are put in place. Until then, the tournament, and any other playoff scenario in major college sports, is going to be filled with teams that spend the most. That is how it is. That's good for me as a Michigan fan, but I get the frustration from fans of smaller schools. It takes away some of the beauty of the tournament.

Where we stand today, I have all four of my Final Four teams left. I have my title game still in play. I got 11 of 16 Sweet Sixteen teams right. And it is because I went chalk. And with all this being said, I still had a blast watching all weekend, and I cannot wait to watch this weekend. I love college sports, and I adore the tournament. 

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.

AJ Dybantsa Made His Case to Be the #1 Pick in the NBA Draft

I am beginning to believe that AJ Dybantsa should be the top pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Let’s discuss.

Some things have to fall into place for this to occur. The team that ends up drafting first will need a score first wing. Dybantsa has said he may come back to school for another year, I don't believe that. And he has to put together solid workouts throughout the draft process. But what he did yesterday, that was more than enough for me to push him ahead of guys like Daryn Peterson, Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson. Those four guys have been the talk of the whole season. They seem to be the consensus top four guys in the draft. But I feel like Dybantsa's game yesterday really put him over the edge. Look, I fully understand that BYU was beaten in that game, but it had nothing to do with how he played. Dybantsa did everything he could to keep his team in the game. He scored 35 points. He had 10 rebounds. He moved the ball on offense. He put forth effort on defense. He looked every bit the best player that is now draft eligible right now. I have concerns about the other three guys I mentioned, but none of that comes to mind when I watch and think about Dybantsa as the top overall prospect.

Cam Boozer is the closest to Dybantsa for me. He is a very good big that can stretch the floor. He is also a solid rebounder. His defense leaves me wanting, but that can be fixed. The issue I have with Boozer, he isn't as complete as Dtybantsa is right now. Boozer tends to float in and out of games. He goes much harder on offense than defense. And he seems to let little injuries affect his game. I still think Boozer is the clear second best prospect, but he is far behind Dybantsa for me.

Everything that has been said about Peterson's lack of caring feels more true everyday. He is an amazing talent, he makes it look so effortless on offense. But he truly does drift in and out of games. He has asked to be taken out of games. His coaches have questioned his will. It may be unfair, but the proof is out there. Peterson has all of the skills in the world, but if he isn't willing to put in the work, I don't know if a franchise should use their first overall pick in the draft on him.

Caleb Wilson is kind of an enigma to me. I watched him play earlier this year and came away super impressed. He made UNC look like a legit threat in the ACC. He can go inside and out. He puts forth tons of effort. He is a good basketball player. But he has some injury that shut him down for the rest of the season. This happened about a month ago, but he missed all of the crucial games it felt like, and that was when UNC needed him most. I understand that he has a clear future in front of him. He is going to make millions of dollars in the NBA, and he probably didn't want to risk getting hurt again, or making his current injury worse. But the other three guys played through the year, or are still playing. The lasting image I had of Wilson was him in street clothes watching VCU beat UNC. That would make me pause a bit before deciding to draft Wilson first overall.

All four of these guys have a case to be the number 1 pick. Peterson was the consensus number 1 for a long, long time. But then the drifting in and out of games occurred. Wilson was making a good case for himself until he got hurt and missed the rest of the season. Boozer has all of the skills in the world, and his team has more games left, which means he has more of a stage to boost his stock. But he has some clear gaps before he catches up to Dybantsa. And what I saw from Dybansta last night really blew me away. This kid is really, really good. He seems to love the game. He puts all of his effort out on that court. I don't know why any team would take anyone else first overall. Even if I had a glut of wing players, I'd make room for Dybantsa. He feels like a player you can build around. He is only going to work harder to get better. He has a passion for basketball and I would be pounding the pavement to take him first overall.

Time will tell, but Dybantsa really looked like the best prospect for most of the season, and especially last night, in the upcoming NBA draft. The kid can ball. 

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 2026 March Madness Preview

I'm going to do my men's NCAA tournament preview and prediction today. Instead of going through each and every game and whittling it all down to a winner, I'm going to let you all know who I have in the final four from each region, who my sleeper team in each region will be, who I have in the title game and who I have winning it all. I'll also pick the most outstanding player at the end as well. Let us tarry no further,

I'll start with the East Region. Duke is the number 1 seed here and the overall number 1 seed in the whole tournament. They're loaded with talent everywhere, deeper than they have been in the past and have what looks like the player of the year in Cameron Boozer. They also always get a beneficial whistle and they have the easiest path to the final four. They are my pick to reach the final four in this region as well. They shouldn't have too much slowing them down. Kansas has been up and down all year. Michigan State has floundered a bit lately. St.John's got a horrific seed and draw and UConn is not as unstoppable as years past. As far as a "sleeper" team goes, I have UCF and South Florida each winning their first game, then immediately getting bounced. I guess you could call St.John's my "sleeper" because I have them going to the Sweet Sixteen, before running into Duke. Duke got the draw they have because they are the best team in men's college hoops this season. Anything less than a run to the final four would be a bummer for them.

Florida is the number 1 seed in the South, but after seeing what Vanderbilt just did to them in the SEC tournament, they may be the weakest of the number 1 seeds. They don't have a picnic either if they get to round 2. They will face either Iowa or Clemson, both teams I think can beat them. Houston is the 2 seed and Illinois is the 3. I think both of those teams could make a run to the final four if things break their way. Nebraskas has had a memorable year, but if they can't get past Troy it will all be for not. And I have no idea which UNC team will show up, which doesn't bode well for them. I have Houston making their way to the final four. They have a stud star player in Kingston Flemings, and they play exquisite defense. They can also rebound the ball at a high rate and they can shoot the three when they need to. Kelvin Sampson has a complete team. As for my "sleeper" in the South, this one is tough. Troy can beat Nebraska. I also think McNeese can dispose of Vanderbilt, VCU can easily beat UNC and Texas A&M is as solid a 10 seed as there is. I'm going to go with McNeese to push their way to the Sweet Sixteen and be the proverbial 12 seed that makes a deeper run than most expect.

Moving to the Midwest, we have my favorite team, Michigan as the 1 seed. They've had a hell of a season, but the Big Ten tournament title game scared me. Purdue outplayed them in every facet. They made Michigan look small and slow. Michigan also didn't hit open shots like they normally do. They also didn't rebound well. That scares me. But they have the dudes to make it right and make a deep run. Iowa State got the 2 seed here, but they're inconsistent and small. If the threes aren't hitting for them they're toast. Virginia is a solid 3 seed and Alabama would have been a threat as the 4 if their second best player didn't just get suspended. Michigan has a clear path to the final four if they can right their wrongs from the Big Ten tournament title game. They didn't win 31 games by accident. They're a good squad and I think they will represent the Midwest Region in the final four. My "sleeper" from the Midwest was easy. I'm going with Akron to make a run to the Sweet Sixteen, They are a very good mid-major and they feel like a team that is destined to bust brackets. I also believe that Santa Clara is going to really expose Kentucky. Kentucky is not very good this season, and Santa Clara is going to let the country see that in round one.

Wrapping up the region, let's head over to the West. Arizona is right up there with Duke in my opinion. I believe they had a real shot at being the number 1 overall seed. Instead they will enjoy their stay in the West and should make the final four. Purdue will be a tough out for them as the 2 seed here. Purdue just showed how good they can be when they're on. They easily disposed of Michigan in the Big Ten tournament final and look to be back on track. There's a reason they were the preseason number 1 team going into this year. Gonzaga feels lacking as the 3 seed. And I'm curious to watch BYU and AJ Dybansta's tournament experience. They could make a run, but it wouldn't shock me if they get ousted in round 1. I do think Dybansta is going to show that he should be the favorite to be the number 1 pick in the NBA draft in the tournament. But Arizona is so good and so complete and so dominant. I think Purdue will give them a bit of a scare, but Arizona should make their way to the final four out of the West. As for my "sleeper" here, give me High Point. I think they can beat an inconsistent Wisconsin team in round 1, and they could make Arkansas very uncomfortable in round 2. No one else in that region that is a higher seed makes me feel like High Point does.

So, that means I have three number 1 seeds, Duke, Arizona and Michigan, as well as second seeded Houston in the Final Four. I know, chalk is boring but that is how it is in the age of NIL. The blue bloods can spend more and make deeper tourney runs. As for the title game, I have Duke and Arizona, even more boring, I get it. But I'm going with Arizona to win it all this year. They have a bit more experience than Duke and they have guys that can slow down Cameron Boozer. And I'll take Bradyn Burries as my Most Outstanding Player. He is going to show why he should be a lottery pick in the draft and the Wildcats will raise another title banner in their gym. 

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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Miami (of Ohio) Belongs in the NCAA Tournament

Miami (of Ohio) got beat for the first time yesterday in the MAC tournament. Let’s discuss.

This is a big deal because they had won 31 straight to that point. They were the last undefeated team in men's college hoops, and you knew this was coming because of all the close games they've had of late. Hell, they weren't even the Vegas favorites for the MAC tournament, that honor went to Akron. And trying to go into the NCAA tournament undefeated had to be weighing on the players and the coaches. That is a tough thing to do.

They still managed to finish the season at 31-1. They have more regular season wins than Arizona, Duke and Michigan. They went undefeated in the regular season, and the conference season. This hasn't happened since, I believe St Joseph's many seasons ago, when Jameer Nelson was their point guard.

What makes this regular season for Miami (of Ohio) feel different though is the sheer fact that some analysts don't have them as a lock for the NCAA tournament. That baffles me. What else do they have to do to prove they belong? When teams like St Joseph's or Gonzaga or Florida International or any mid-major for that matter have a season this good, even if they play in a notoriously one bid league, they are put in the field no questions asked. But because people like Bruce Pearl go on tv and say some nonsense, we have to have a conversation asking if a team that went 31-1 belongs. That is so stupid to me. Of course they belong in the field. They have 31 wins. They were a top 25 team for most of the season. They blew teams out and won close when they had to.  Sure, the MAC isn't a power 4 conference, but still, 31 wins is wildly impressive. You play the schedule, and the job of the team and coaching staff is to win. And Miami (of Ohio) did that and then some.

Because Pearl popped off at the mouth, we have others who apparently think the same way he does, and they think Miami (of Ohio) doesn't belong. It seems that the Bruce Pearl's of the world would rather see a 17-14 Cincinnati Bearcats team because they play in the Big 12. Or they want an 18-13 Indiana team, who was just beat by Northwestern in the Big 10 tournament because of the branding.  Pearl seemingly wants a 16-15 Auburn team in the tourney because they were a preseason top 10 team. And maybe it's because he coached there and now his kid is the head coach. As far as mid majors, I bet Pearl would rather have a 24-7 UCF, or a 20-10 San Diego State state team in there because they have had better tournament history. The fact of the matter, at least to me, Miami (of Ohio) has had a better season than any of those teams, and I would pick them to beat any one of those teams were they to get matched up with them in the first round.

I also saw that some who have Miami (of Ohio) in the field have them as high as a 10 seed. That also baffles me. They should be no lower than a 6 seed to me. I feel like a 4 would be ideal. That would put them in the same grouping as teams like UNC, Vanderbilt and Virginia. These are all teams that, to me, are comparable to what Miami (of Ohio) has accomplished this season. This would also pit them against solid competition in round one and two, if they were to get that far, and all fans could see how they stack up against power 4 teams. But the sheer idea that this team shouldn't be in the field, or that if they are put in the tournament they need to be a 10 seed or worse, that is flat out wrong. The audacity to go on television and call this team and this staff out is asinine. Unfortunately we live in a world where hot takes are the norm and no one seems to call people out when they make a claim this stupid.

The committee should do the right thing and put all this talk to rest and let everyone know that Miami (of Ohio) is a shoo in for the tourney, and they will most likely be a 6 seed at the lowest. I do want to say, congrats to the team and staff for what they have accomplished this season. Winning 31 games in the regular season puts them in rare territory, and now they will be mentioned with every other team that finds a way to win 30 plus games in the regular season. That is quite the year. 

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.

Bam Adebayo Had a Good Game Last Night

Bam Adebayo did something incredible last night.

The Heat have been a pretty run of the mill franchise since the pandemic. Yes, they made a run to the finals a few years back, where they were crushed in five games by the Nuggets. And they had a similar run to the Finals in The Bubble. Other than that, they've been a play-in team or a team that doesn't get out of the first round of the playoffs. They are in that same position right now. I believe that they're in either 7th or 8th place in the East, with no real sign of making that top 6.

Last night I guess Bam decided he was sick and tired of being an also ran. Granted they were playing the Wizards, but Adebayo's stat line was one for the ages. And I didn't turn on the game until late in the third to watch what was happening. I got an update on my phone that he had 31 points after the first quarter. He outscored the Wizards himself in the quarter. He went into halftime with 42 points and I remember thinking it would be cool if he went for something like 60 or 70 points. Not once in my mind did I think he would eclipse those numbers. Then I saw he had 62 after the third quarter. That was when I figured I had to see what was going to happen. Bam finished the game with 83 points, the second highest single game scoring record in the NBA. He surpassed the 81 Kobe Bryant had over a decade ago. The only player with more in one game is Wilt Chamberlain, who famously scored 100 in a game once.

For this to come from a modern big in the modern NBA is special. Guys like Bam don't score this in any game. Ever. This was wild. I didn't believe it when I saw it. I like Bam Adebayo enough as a player. He is an incredible defensive center. He's also undersized, but he hustles his ass off and plays hard. He is one of the few Kentucky players who I have grown to like in the NBA. I also like how understated and about his business he is when he has interviews or something of the sort. When the game ended I had to go and look at the stat sheet. I needed to see it with my own two eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming all of this. He shot almost 50 percent from the field, going 20-43. He took far too many threes for my liking, 22, and he made 7 of them. That's a lot for a player like Bam. I have to assume that when he realized he was on fire from the field, he decided he had to start bombing threes. But the biggest stat, the one that made my eyes bulge, he was 36-43 from the free throw line.

I have griped constantly on this site about fouls and free throws, and this stat should be exhibit number one on how bad it has gotten in the NBA. But when I saw this last night I simply didn't care. Sure, he took as many free throws as he did field goals. Yes, he took 14 more free throws than the entire Wizards team. And the Heat took 59 free throws in total. I'm sure this game lasted much, much longer than it needed to, but Bam was in his bag last night. And he made 36 of them. That is amazing, Just imagine if he was 100 percent from the line last as well. He would have had 90 points. And just for good measure, Bam added 9 rebounds and 3 assists. He also chipped in a couple of blocks and steals. And he only committed 3 fouls all game. That is an amazing stat line for a month of a season. Bam did it in one night.

I am just flabbergasted at this whole thing. Stuff like this doesn't happen all the time, and when it is a big man, that makes me so happy. And when it is a guy like Bam Adebayo, it just makes me happy. I can remember being mad when Kobe did it, thinking he was hogging the ball. I couldn't have been more wrong. When a pro is on fire like that, and when they feel almost unconscious from the floor, they need to be fed and they need to shoot as many times as possible.

This game is going to go down in history. Hell, it kind of already has. But people should not forget this game by Bam anytime soon. He scored 83 points. His team won by 30. They may move up the standings. He contributed rebounds, steals, blocks and assists. He embraced his girlfriend and mom after the game. I am so happy that this happened to a good dude like Bam Adebayo. I implore you, go look at his stat line and watch some of the highlights from this game. It was amazing and Bam Adebayo is now in the record books for all time. That's pretty cool. 

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.

Foul Culture in Basketball Stinks Right Now

The complaining about officiating in the NBA, and men's college basketball for this matter, has gotten out of hand. Look, I've never been a fan of refs. When I was a player I disliked them, and as a coach for junior basketball now, I dislike them even more. Refs make decisions based on biases, on a feeling or if they are mad at someone for coming after them. They tend to make proper calls more times than not, but it's still a feelings based job. It's frustrating and annoying, but that's the way it is. The problem I have is twofold, kids I coach are acting like current players, and the talk to the media is becoming way, way too much. I want to touch on the kids acting like current college and pro players first.

I have coached my son since he was in third grade. He is an eighth grader now, and it has gotten worse every year towards refs. No one takes accountability. Whenever they get called for a foul they put their hands up and say the refs are bad. When they do get a clean block or steal, but a foul is called, you'd think the refs had made a joke at their family's expense. The kids that I now coach, if you ask them, have never once committed a foul. Whenever they are called for one they think the ref is out to get them. It was so bad this year that I told them during practices I wasn't going to call anything unless it was egregious, just to try to get them used to the reffing in our league. They would get so mad at me that they would complain about a lack of foul calls in a team scrimmage. That is sickening to me. It is not always the ref's fault. Kids commit fouls on almost every single play. It's the truth. But, when my eighth graders watch men's college games, or the NBA, they see their favorite players getting called for fouls, throwing their hands up and screaming at the refs, putting all the blame on them. It has to stop.

I could say the same thing for falling down on the ground to try and draw fouls. I have kids who aren't great, so their solution to being on the floor is to fall down, hoping that the refs call a foul on the opposition. I will have kids blatantly miss layups, go to the ground and get free throw shots. Or, if they don't get a foul call, gripe the rest of the game. This destroys any flow we may have at the moment. The second a kid drops to the ground, that kills any team defense you want to play. This is rampant more so in the men's college game too. I was watching some games during the week and I noticed so many kids trying to draw contact as opposed to just making layups. And if they don't get the call, they spend their time picking themselves up off the floor and griping at the refs all the way down, essentially making it four on five going the other way. This is just an awful new occurrence in games. Kids don't know how to properly shoot layups because they see their favorite players going for contact instead of just making the shot. Kids need to stay on their feet, and so do the pros and men's college players.

Now to the NBA.

Look, I get it, the Thunder get away with murder. Shai Gilgeous Alexander knows how to contort his body and get foul calls. They mug their opposition going for steals every single night. But the foul stuff is not what makes this team great. They play hellacious defense. They have the MVP on their team. They have a great frontcourt on defense. They have rim protectors. They have everything a title winning team needs. It is not just the fouls that have gotten them to this level. So for the coaches going to the media, none of you are Phil Jackson or Greg Poppovich. This doesn't work like it used to. Refs aren't going to watch these press conferences where a coach berates refs and starts to get calls all of the sudden. Also, what star player, past, present or future, hasn't foul baited? Michael Jordan did it all the time. LeBron James is still doing it to this day. Luka Doncic spends more time with the refs than he does playing defense. Shaq spent his early career at the foul line. As did Kobe, Wilt and Hakeem Olajuwon. Star players in the NBA get preferential treatment. That is how it has always been and always will be. So coaching bringing this nonsense up again is just that, nonsense. It's also sour grapes. Just deal with it. As for LeBron groaning about "marginal" calls, get the hell over you. You are the second greatest player of all time. You have gotten so many preferable calls throughout your illustrious career. I feel like he has only gotten worse with the refs since Luka Doncic joined the Lakers. But for LeBron to come after the refs, don't bite the hand that feeds you, especially at 41 years old now.

Refs aren't great. They have a tough job and 50 percent of them are not very good at what they do. They also get too involved in important games, and no one is in those arenas to watch the refs. But the constant griping, on court and off, that has to stop. It is making it even tougher to watch full games at this point. Basketball is not the sport I used to watch. People are too busy flopping, or trying to draw contact, or yelling at the refs. The game isn't as beautiful as it could be, and I think it can get back to that if the stuff with the refs calms down a bit. 

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.

I Have a Way to Fix the NBA's Tanking Problem

The NBA has a tanking issue. It has become quite apparent and something needs to be done. Let’s discuss.

I love basketball, and in particular, the NBA. It is the purest and best form of basketball. The athleticism, the shooting, the defense, it is a true joy to watch. It is my version of ballet. I love it. But, especially at this point of the season, the teams that are out of the playoff picture start to tank games for better draft position. It waters down the games and it's a true drag to watch as a fan.

I'm currently rooting for a team that is in tank mode, and let me tell you, it bums me out. The Grizzlies have been out of it for awhile now, and lately they're putting players out there that I don't even know. They have a bunch of two-way guys, and since trading JJJ, the new acquisitions are getting the bulk of the playing time. I will say, I have enjoyed the hell out of watching Cedric Coward progress into a legit player to possibly build a team around. But all of this has not resulted in many wins. And lately I haven't been tuning in to many of their games. I know what is going to happen and I don't want to watch it unfold. I would be even more bummed out to be a Wizards or Nets fan right now. They've been tanking all year. Sure, they have found a few diamonds in the rough this year, but they aren't winning many games. Teams like the Jazz and Trailblazers had solid starts, but now the owners and GM's are more concerned with draft position, so injuries are piling up to crucial players and they are going into full tank mode. This happened a few years back when the Mavericks were dealt some injury blows, and they openly tanked, were fined by the NBA and still secured a lottery pick. Hell, after they traded Luka Doncic last season, they were rewarded with the number one overall pick, Cooper Flagg.

Tanking works in some scenarios, but it is just making some NBA teams unwatchable. I don't know what the solution should be, but I do have an idea that I have heard others mention on separate podcasts. I don't like the lottery anymore. It is a drag. I'm not here for fully getting rid of the draft. If they do that they may as well only house professional teams in big markets. I also think they need to keep free agency, both restricted and unrestricted. The idea I like the most, and think the NBA really needs to consider, flat draft odds. I want every team to have the same chance at the first pick as they have at the 30th pick. I don't care if that team just won 10 games or the title, I think everyone should have the same odds. I know this adds some issues with player placement. If this were the case this past draft, that means the Thunder would have had the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg. That would be tough to swallow for a lot of fans, but that feels like something that would happen once every 10-15 drafts or so. I do think that this would also help to make every team play the proper players. A lot of teams would be less likely to play a bunch of two way players or deep bench guys. I think this would lead to less load management from players and coaches. I feel like injuries would not be so prevalent. I just feel like flat draft odds would make it impossible for teams to tank. There would be no reward for teams that decide halfway through the year to throw in the towel. I also feel like flat odds would force teams to try as best as they can to stay in the race all season long. The product on the court would be much better. The better players would try harder. Defenses would be much more intense and focused.

I love the idea of everyone having the same shot at the top prospect. That's what I would pitch if I had a say to the higher ups in the NBA. Make it all even and see how that plays out. That seems like the best option they have at this point. 

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.

I Want the Bulls to Be Good

I don't know that I have seen such a mediocre fall off in the past decade when I look at the Chicago Bulls. Let’s discuss.

When I was a kid the Bulls were the best. They had Jordan and Pippen and Phil Jackson and they were winning titles left and right. Jordan is the greatest, Pippen was the perfect Robin and Jackson is one of the best coaches of all time. They were able to bring in great complimentary pieces, like Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper. They drafted properly with guys like Luc Longley and Steve Kerr. They were in on the international players before it was a big thing. But the most important thing, and I will say this until the cows come home, they drafted Michael Jordan and kept him through his prime.

The Bulls were the definition of a dynasty. They had some down years until they drafted Derrick Rose, who made them relevant again. They had some nice runs with Rose, but then his knee exploded and that was when this team became the best at being mediocre. They have gone through any number of players to try and make themselves a viable playoff threat. They traded for Nikola Vucevic when he was still a borderline all star. But he never really lived up to the hype as a stretch big man. He would have one of two good games a month, then revert to being average. They got Zach Lavine when he was angry with Minnesota. This seemed like a good move at the time, but Lavine is just an empty stats guy. He can fill up the scoresheet, but it never amounted to many wins. They went out and signed DeMar DeRozan, who is one of the better midrange offensive players in the game, but he doesn't play a ton of defense, and if we learned anything from his trade from the Raptors to the Spurs, teams seemed to get better when he was not on them. They traded for Alex Caruso, or maybe signed him, I don't remember. Caruso is only good when he is on a contending team and he has to guard multiple guys. He has never been a scoring threat and he never will be. That doesn't suit his skill set. I liked when they drafted Coby White, who had his moments, but he never lived up to the lottery selection he was, and now he is gone. They gave Patrick Williams a big deal when he hadn't really proved much of anything. And they seem to be whiffing on their most recent draft picks. All of this kept this team in the play-in race, but they never made it out, or if they did, they were an easy first round out. Billy Donovan is a solid coach, but he has never been given a real chance to win big in Chicago. Every time he shows some stability, and the Bulls get their head above water, they trade guys or force him to play players he may not want on the floor. They let go of Caruso so they could build a team around Josh Giddey. Giddey is okay, but he is not a number one option that you can win a title with. Plus, he has had some questionable off court issues in his past. They let Ayo Donsunmu go. Matas Buzelis hasn't been able to put together a month's worth of solid play. Jalen Smith is a fine backup center. He starts for the Bulls. They now have three of the exact same player in guards Anfernee Simons, Rob Dillingham and Jaden Ivey, all of whom they traded for. Simons can score and do not much else. Dillingham is wildly unproven and Ivey has been very up and down his whole career. And he tends to be injury prone. They also added Collin Sexton, who I like, but he cannot seem to stick with one team any longer than one or two seasons.

I don't know what game the Bulls are playing, but they, and by they I mean the front office, don't seem to truly know what they are doing. They are taking some of the oddest swings I have seen in a long time. They are too far in to tank, and their record, especially in the Eastern Conference, is on par with being in the play-in once again. The roster construction and team building makes zero sense and the powers that be seem to be more than thrilled to stay in this weird mediocrity they have set for themselves. I like the NBA much more when the Bulls are relevant. At this moment, and for the past decade, the Bulls have been wildly irrelevant. And that bums me out. 

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 James Harden Going to The Cavaliers

Yesterday I wrote about a big trade involving the NBA team I root for. Well, the NBA decided they had to pull off an even bigger trade a few hours after JJJ was moved to Utah. Let’s discuss.

James Harden is on the move yet again. He started his career with the Thunder, and wasn't happy with the fact that he wasn't the focal point of the offense. They traded him to the Rockets and he had his best years with them. But he grew tired of each new star player they brought in to play with him so he decided he wanted to team up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant and forced his way to Brooklyn. When Kyrie wouldn't get vaccinated and KD couldn't stay on the floor, he decided he wanted to play with Joel Embiid and edged his way to the 76ers. When that blew up in his face he decided he wanted to go home and play for the Clippers. And that actually seemed to be working out just fine. He didn't have to be the focal point, he was back home and he was playing pretty well. But he didn't get the contract he wanted, and even though he may have made some claims today saying he did not request a trade, he has found his way to Cleveland, being traded for Darius Garland and a second round pick.

I want to believe Harden when he says he didn't request a trade and that he wants a chance to play in the finals and that that is easier in the Eastern Conference and he wanted to leave the Clippers in a better space to rebuild quicker, but I just don't buy it. James Harden is a good enough offensive basketball player. He is a willing and very good passer. He is a tremendous three point shooter. He can still get to his spots on the floor. He shoots a ton of free throws. He is a ball stopper and constantly needs it in his hands, but he usually ends up doing good things with it in the long run. He can just come out and admit he wanted out of LA because he thought that it was going to be next to impossible to get to the Finals in the West. He is a mercenary. That has come to be his thing in the NBA, and I don't mind it from his perspective. He wants to get paid, he likes going to new and different cities and he usually helps that team win. And he is getting close to the end of his career, and maybe he truly does want a shot at a ring. I don't know if I fully believe that, but maybe this move is his last, and best shot at a Finals appearance.

The East is not close to the level of the West, the Cavs are getting better everyday and they can make a strong push to close the season out and make a deep run in the playoffs. Now, will the usual Harden show up in the playoffs? The guy that disappears in crucial moments? History points to yes. But maybe Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley can help him overcome that stigma. That's the best part for the Cavs too. They did have to trade a key piece in Garland, but they got to keep everyone else. Donovan Mitchell is still their top player. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen will protect the rim and rebound the ball. Jaylen Tyson has been a total revelation. They have a solid bench, especially for the East. This is a good team that will be even better on offense with the addition of Harden. Harden is going to take some pressure off Mitchell, get three point shooters wide open looks and have Allen and Mobley rolling to the rim for lob dunks. This will only help the Cavs, unless playoff James Harden shows up, which is very likely.

The Clippers got a point guard that is 10 years younger than Harden. He is twitchier and faster than Harden. He isn't a great defender, but he is much better on that end than Harden. He doesn't have the ego Harden has either. But Garland is almost always hurt. The past two seasons have been filled with random, weird injuries that seem to pop up out of nowhere. Garland just cannot seem to stay on the court. Harden always plays. He barely misses games. Garland misses a ton. But I think, if they keep this group together, the Clippers did get wildly younger at point guard. They just need Garland to play. Kawhi Leonard is having a great season. Brook Lopez has started to look more like himself. Kris Dunn is an elite defender. And Ivica Zubac is looking more and more like himself with every passing game. I think the Cavs "won" the deal with Harden coming over. But the Clippers got younger and faster, as long as Garland plays 20 to 25 of the last 30 plus games.

I'm very curious to see how this all plays out for the rest of the season. But what I do know, the Cavs are going to push their way to a three or four seed and get home court because James Harden brings wins with him wherever he is traded to. 

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.

What are the Grizzlies Doing?

I truly have zero idea what the Memphis Grizzlies are attempting to do, but they are clearly up to something. I wrote while back that I was fully ready for them to trade Ja Morant. I wanted them to move on and preferably start building the team around a rookie, or even better, Jaren Jackson Jr (JJJ). Well, while out exercising this afternoon I got an alert on my phone that the Grizzlies had made a trade. I naturally assumed they had traded Ja, but I was wrong. Apparently they have traded JJJ to the Utah Jazz for a bunch of other players and draft picks. The Grizzlies, along with JJJ, traded a few other rotational players. But the big name here is Jaren Jackson Jr.

I just don't get it. The Grizzlies have been wildly inconsistent all season long. They will go on a little run, win five of eight games here and there, and then fall off a cliff. They are currently on the cliff as we speak. They cannot seem to close out games. They will carry a lead into halftime and find a way to get beat by double figures by the end of the game. They have been wildly frustrating to watch all season long.

Part of their inability to put together a long winning streak is the health of key players. Ja Morant has barely played this season. And when he does play you never know which version of him you're going to get. Zach Edey has been out most of the season. Kentavious Caldwell Pope hasn't brought it since the trade. He has only been 1/4 the player he was on his former teams. Ty Jerome, one of the better offseason additions, has not played a second yet. They have had no real continuity all season long. But, the one consistent player, the one guy I could count on to be on the floor most nights, was Jaren Jackson Jr. He may not be having as good a season as he has in the past, his defense and rebounding have regressed a bit, but he was almost always on the court. I knew he would be in the starting five and he would play 25 plus minutes a night. That's gone now. He is off to Utah.

Jackson is going to pair up quite nicely with Lauri Markkanen, if the Jazz ever let him play real minutes. JJJ is also going to help the Jazz defense. He will be another big body to clog up the paint. He can also take the ball outside and shoot the three. He has always had a solid low post game, but he has turned himself into a solid three point shooter. If I were Markkanen I'd be happy about this move. This would give me the feeling that they may not be going into the tank after this season. The rest of the Jazz roster is unproven and young, but some of these dudes have upside. Ace Bailey is a pure scorer. He just needs to get stronger. Isaiah Collier reeks of a microwave bench scorer. Keyonte George can hoop. Cody Williams hasn't lived up to the lottery pick he was in his draft, but he has shown minor flashes here and there.

The Grizzlies, I don't really know what they are planning on doing with this current roster. They let their most dependable guy go and apparently they're still shopping Ja Morant. The rest of the roster is odd to me. As mentioned before, Edey and Jerome have barely played or not played at all. GG Jackson can't seem to get real minutes. Santi Aldama had a few moments earlier this season, but that has died off as of late. Cedric Coward has been a bright spot, and maybe they will build around him if they eventually trade Morant. Brandon Clarke never sees the floor due to injuries, Cam Spencer is a one week wonder who has wildly cooled off as of late, Scotty Pipen Jr hasn't made much of a leap and Olivier-Maxence Prosper has not figured out the NBA. The Grizzlies roster is a total mishmash now that they have traded JJJ.

This really bums me out. I have had the pleasure of seeing JJJ play live and he was fun to watch. I, as mentioned before, relied on him to constantly be in the lineup. I knew he was going to do what he does and play a significant amount of minutes. That's all gone now. My hope for the rest of the year and into the summer for the Grizzlies is a full rebuild. Tear it down and try to build back up through the draft. Now that they have traded JJJ, they need to move Ja and some other vets. They should give the keys to Coward and see what they have in some other, younger and unproven players. Let this coaching staff start anew and give them two or three years to build the Grizz back up into a perennial playoff team. As for now, they have left me annoyed and confused. And there's still a few days left in the trade deadline to further frustrate me. Time will tell. 

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 the Trae Young Trade

Trae Young was traded to the Washington Wizards yesterday. This has been a deal in the making for about a week now, but I did not think it would end up with Young playing for the Wizards. Let’s discuss.

When I first heard about his trade request, the two teams first mentioned were the Timberwolves and Nets. These two teams made some kind of sense to me. The Timberwolves need a true, real deal point guard and that is exactly what Trae Young has been since he entered the league. I didn't know how this would work on the Timberwolves end, but that didn't make it make any less sense. The Timberwolves already have a real deal star of the team in Anthony Edwards. He is the most important player on the team and he has the keys to the car. He is their leader and most important player. I don't think Young would take to that so well. You could see some fracturing on the Hawks with Jalen Johnson emerging as an all star candidate. They also took Zach Rissache number one overall in last year's draft. And they have some other young players that they may want to build the team around. Young wasn't the player to build around anymore on the Hawks, and he would be the third or fourth option if he were to join the Timberwolves. Besides Edwards, the Wolves like to feed Rudy Gobert from time to time in the low post. Sometimes the offense goes through Julius Randle occasionally, and even a guy like Naz Reid gets to run the bench unit. Young may have given the Timberwolves a true point guard, but I feel like he would have been almost instantly unhappy at his place and role on that team.

The Nets actually made the most sense to me because they have picks and young players looking to prove themselves. And playing for the Nets would give Young a humongous market, Brooklyn, and he would be the number 1 option by a mile. I would have to imagine the Hawks would have wanted picks, which the Nets could provide, but I also think the Hawks would have wanted some of their young shooters. I would have asked for Michael Porter Jr first. He is having a breakout season and he would be a perfect replacement for Trae Young in Atlanta. If they wanted a pure scorer, they could have asked for Cam Thomas. He may not pass much, and he isn't the best defender in the NBA, but the dude is a microwave when his shot is falling. If they wanted an unproven guy they could have asked for Egor Denim. He is a rookie and he pretty much only shoots threes. But if he can hone that skill and become a lesser Kyle Korver, he could bring spacing to Atlanta. And if they wanted to go big for some reason, why not ask for Nic Claxton. He is young and a good rim runner and rebounder and he could bring more energy to a younger roster in Atlanta. But Brooklyn didn't happen either.

Then, as I was writing yesterday, I saw that Young all of the sudden wanted to go to Washington and Atlanta was willing to try and make that happen. I was confused, but hey, if that was where he wanted to play, why not go for it. Throughout the afternoon I had to imagine both sides were working on a deal. Then it was announced that a few of the Wizards players were "healthy" scratches right before their game. That was the only evidence we all needed. Pretty soon after that Young was traded to the Wizards for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum. After the trade came out and the players were mentioned, I was unmoved. The deal seemed to be very boring and dull. The only true "star" in the trade was Trae Young, and his star is starting to fade. McCollum had his moment, but he is now your typical veteran journeyman. And Corey Kispert is no better than a bench player. He can score here and there, but he is not a name that moves the needle all that much. The Wizards got the guy that wanted to be there. And Trae Young is going to be able to do whatever he wants. They won't win much, and I wonder if a guy like Alex Sarr, who is having a solid second season, will grow frustrated playing with such a ball dominant guard. And the Wizards are not going to win all that much with the addition of Young. As for the Hawks, they have been a bit of a disappointment so far, and while they played well without Young earlier this year, I don't know if that will happen again. And bringing in Kispert and McCollum doesn't really help or hurt them all that much. They added two decent shooters, but neither is as good as Young. And they don't make defenses shift as much as Young did for them.

This trade feels odd and unfulfilling. I don't really think either team got better. Young got to go where he wanted, and the Hawks got two shooters, but I don't think either team will see any real difference in their records for the rest of the season. Maybe this is just the start of a wild trade deadline. Time will tell. But this trade isn't as juicy as it could have been. 

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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Best of 2025 - Sports

We are getting close to the end of the year so that means it is time for my Best Of 2025 lists. This year I'm going to do four lists, sports, music, movies and tv shows. These are what encompasses the majority of my time right now, besides my family, so they will be the focus moving forward. I'm going to start with my personal top five sports moments of the year. Some involve my fandom, one involves my kid and the others were moments I was just happy to bear witness to, even if I had no real rooting interest.

My number 5 moment is Michigan beating Alabama in the 2025 Reliaquest Bowl. Michigan was somehow able to beat the university of Ohio State in their regular season finale to give them a 7-5 record. Had they not won that game they may not have gotten such a decent non playoff bowl game. But they got into a bigger New Years Day game and they were matched up with Alabama, who had barely missed out on the playoff. Alabama was also at almost full strength, playing pretty much every important player they had on their roster. Michigan had a bunch of rotation guys step into starting roles. On paper this should have been a blowout for Alabama. Lucky for me, these games aren't played on paper. From the start Michigan looked more prepared and more game ready. The defense was firing off the ball. They were in Jalen Milroe's face all afternoon. Then it started to rain down. This only helped Michigan. They caused a myriad of turnovers, most of which ended with a Dominic Zvada field goal. They did have one td, a pass from Davis Warren to Fred Moore. But the defense won the day for this team. Even after Davis Warren had to exit the game due to tearing his ACL, Alex Orji, who had announced he was transferring after the game, stepped in and kept the ball moving on the ground. And Jordan Marshall announced himself as a serious force to come in the Big 10. This was a great way to start 2025 as a Michigan football fan. I was pretty happy.

At number 4, speaking of Michigan football, while the regular season ended with a thud, The Wolverines finished the year with 9 wins, but the big takeaway for me, the young kids got a ton of playing time and I got to get a glimpse into what this team might look like for the next three or four years. Uber recruit Bryce Underwood became the third true freshman to start at QB for Michigan. He had his ups and downs, but you can see the talent is there. Jordan Marshall came on strong after Justice Haynes got injured. Andrew Marsh looks like the best wideout prospect they've had since Braylon Edwards. They have an anchor at left tackle in Blake Frazier. Shamari Earls has a depth of talent at safety. Nathaniel Owusu Boateng got some run late in the season and he looks the part of a Big 10 linebacker. Jyaire Hill built on a solid sophomore year. Brandyn Hillman is one of the best hitters in college football. This team is young and has tons to improve upon, but they also have a good upside and I'm interested to see how they progress while they are with the Wolverines. I'm very, very cautiously optimistic about the talent they are bringing to Ann Arbor right now.

At number 3 I have the World Series. Now, I will fully admit I was rooting against the Dodgers the whole series, but damn this was exciting. I feel like baseball may be back. This series had it all. From blowouts to pitchers duels, it was all there. But game 7 was one for the ages. I'm sure Blue Jays fans were devastated at the outcome, they were so close, but damn did they play against this juggernaut incredibly admirably. They should have won. But the Dodgers' talent and luck showed up at the most opportune time. From Miguel Rojas', who hadn't had a hit in forever, game tying home run, to the Blue Jays getting robbed in the bottom of the ninth, to the Dodgers starters making up for the bullpen, they fought hard and earned this title. This wasn't a walkover. They had to fight for every win. And to see Shohei Othani pitching and hitting again, in high pressure situations, he may be the best to ever play baseball professionally. This World Series was incredible and I'm so glad my son convinced me to watch game 7 with him. It was one for the ages.

At number 2 I have the NBA Finals. This was another seven game series with a massive underdog making the heavy favorite work for every single thing they wanted. The Pacers did not go down without a tremendous fight. It is such a bummer what happened to Tyrese Haliburton in the first quarter of game 7. He looked to be on fire and then his body gave out on him. But the Pacers kept fighting, so much so that they had a lead going into halftime. But then the talent of the Thunder showed up and won out. Chet Holmgren became a black hole for anyone trying to drive to the hoop. Jalen Willimas started to hit shot after shot. Shai Gilgeous Alexander proved why he was the rightful MVP. Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso were pests. Lu Dort made big shots and frustrated everyone he guarded. The Thunder are on the cusp of something magical right now and last season's NBA Finals was just the start. This team is here to stay. But the Pacers did give them a run for their money.

And finally, at number 1 I have my son playing his last year of junior football and making the B team in his final year of junior basketball. My son is a big 13 year old. He is almost 6 feet and he weighs about 220 pounds. He plays right tackle on the offensive line for his football team and to see his growth this season was great. His team wasn't that great, they have issues actually acting like a team, but he improved in areas he needed work on. He used to struggle with smaller, faster defensive ends, but he worked hard with his coaches and found ways to block them this year. He played to the whistle. He would get pancake blocks that stunned me from the crowd. He worked with coaches individually in the offseason and you could tell it helped. He has told me he loves football and he is showing that by what he does on a field. Things will be different when he is in high school next year, but I know he has the talent and ability to be very good if he continues his hard work. As for hoops, he has been on my team since 5th grade, which is the C team in our feeder program. But each year he has added something new or really just started to literally throw his weight around on the court. I noticed him doing just that in a tournament last season, and the coach of the B team happened to be at that game. The coach approached me and said he wanted my kid on his team the next year. And luckily for my kid he had a great summer of basketball and a very good tryout. He made the B team and he has been doing some very nice things. He needs to get in basketball shape to continue, but to see him throwing around kids that may have a little more talent than him has been so nice for me. He's got a nice soft touch around the hoop. His passing has gotten way better. He could close out and rebound a little better for my taste, but I see his coaches working with him on that at practice. It is so nice to see his hard work pay off in the ways he has wanted and I'm very proud of him as a coach and a dad. We all want better for our kids, and in the case of my son and the sports he plays, he is better than I could have ever imagined being when I was 13.

That's it, those are my top five sports moments of 2025. Come back tomorrow when I give you my top five albums of the year. 

Ty

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

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