Topic: American Sports

@Th3solution I definitely think Shai is the MVP this season! It was literally quite insane what OKC achieved in the second half because of him.

Stats... don't tell the story as such. But in the first half Boston showed why they are good. OKC expected the three and Boston drove to the paint, over and over, and made OKC look bad, whilst still taking (and bricking) the wide open threes that they should take (it happens) And in the second half OKC showed why they are good, and I think it shook Boston. It was a mentality loss, for sure. I think part of it was in the second when they drove to the paint they'd get slapped about and in the first half it was called a foul, and in the second it wasn't. And it just absolutely messed up the game plan. And at that point they couldn't save it due to being so cold from three already.

I did have a theory, and it was a feeling at half time, that maybe OKC defended less well on the first half on purpose (it was glaringly bad first half, and I know they don't play like that) knowing that when they turn it on in the second it will feel like it's come from nowhere and blindsid Boston. Unfortunately it's exactly what happened 😂

I genuinely think that is the best way to beat Boston, which is why it does maybe seem like their coach gameplanned that too, as mad as it seems. If Boston think a game is a little easier it lures then into a false sense of (ball) security.

Overall it was a fun game. And OKC have shown that there is scope to absolutely smack people on defence and it be legal play. So it's something for everyone to aim for, Boston included. And I mean that in a good way, as I love aggressive defence if there is ref consistency that allows for it.

Boston defended pretty well too, but OKC were also pretty hot from three in the second and the plan to leave some shooters open and focus on Shai and Williams totally broke down the later it got. Especially with Boston being so cold from three themselves. Giving up a planned open three and it hitting every time but not being able to get it back yourself is a mentality killer.

@Ravix Yeah, sometimes the stats don’t tell the story like watching a game. And sometimes the final score doesn’t indicate how close a game really was, or wasn’t.

Nevertheless, I don’t know if there would have been an actual gameplan for the change in approach or simply just a halftime adjustment. There is a chess match to these things, of course, and sometimes I do think that a coach may rely on a surprise tactic at the end of a game, especially if he feels confident that his team is younger and has more in the tank, or has a closer who can turn things up a notch in the fourth, or has a deeper bench, etc. I do think that OKC likes to wear the opponent down with tenacious D and rely on just outlasting other teams with their depth and youth. They like to get out and run a lot too for fast break points, which of course is fed by their high steal rate. Still, I didn’t watch the game but it sounds like they were the beneficiary of Dort hitting shots in the 4th, going 3/3 from behind the arc in that final quarter to ice the game. I think if you’re Boston then you just have to live with that. If you lock in on SGA and Williams and Dort is taking those shots then that’s a gamble that should pay off most of the time. He’s a great physical defender, but he’s not your offensive closer, despite being a very respectable 40% from 3 this season. But I’d rather he be taking those shots than Shai or Williams (Jalen with an “e” Williams, that is. 😅 So crazy that the team has 3 Williams’s and two of the three are named “Jalen” and “Jaylin”. I don’t even know a single Jalen in my life, so it’s not even a common name really). So in the usual situation where Dort hits only 1 of those attempts and White or Brown (also funny how the team has two players with colors for last names 😅) or Porzingis hits their average from 3 then it’s a completely different outcome. Looks like they play each other in March again, so we’ll have a really good idea where each team is by then, as far as playoff positioning and momentum at the end of the year.

@Th3solution I was disappointed by Boston in the second half, but it was for sure OKC's win. In the first half they were just not defending in a way that resembled what they are known for, and Boston had every answer for it, despite still missing most threes. At one point Jrue Holiday was easily getting layups in 5 yards of space in the paint?! Jaylen Brown was finding it easy to drive and score. But second half, it was just different.

I honestly believe that, if this was the Finals, and game two was tomorrow Boston would get a big win. But... it's not, and they must learn from this.

Last night, if they had not given away lazy turnovers in the second half that spurred OKC into beast mode, and led to what amounted to about two 15 point quarters 💀 it would have been a close win. If they'd hit anything like the percentage of expected threes it would have been a blowout win last night.

What I will say again though is... Shai is the MVP, wrap that one up now. And OKC some of their stats are mirroring Boston from last year, so I'd not be surprised if it is their year already. Plus minus and/or net rating is through the roof like it was for Boston last year. And in the playoffs refs are going to let them defend how they defend for the whole game.

I'd bet they hold at least one team under 75 one night if they get a good match up in the playoffs. And multiple games with teams scoring under 90

A bunch of NFL takes bouncing around in my brain as we close out the regular season:

Sam Darnold and Bryce Young are two sides of the same coin, and that Lions game put that into focus.

All season even in Darnold's best games he was generally a coin flip away on most throws for those TDs to be INTs instead. But the Vikings are winning and its a nice story so people are happy to gloss over how inconsistent and unreliable Darnold actually is, and if the Vikings flame out in the playoffs and lose in the Wild Card round, I see the narrative on Darnold shifting immediately, cause all of the problems are there, people just don't want to talk about them right now and be the downer on the parade.

Bryce Young is the same. People are talking about Young's redemption arc, how the Panthers need to give him another season. Are we forgetting already that when the games actually mattered, Young looked like he wouldn't even get a starting job in the XFL? But this just feels like the interim HC theory being put into practice at the QB position for me.

Whenever an Interim HC gets put in charge proper, its generally an absolute disaster. But thats because the role of an Interim HC when they brought in in the dying hours of a lost season, is very different to the role they get when they become the HC proper for a full season where things count. You have expectations now, you need to do more than just keep the vibes up.

This to me is absolutely how Young feels. He is playing better, he is playing free, but the Panthers still aren't winning games. It is great to talk about how well Young is playing right now when the season is already lost. But lets see if this Young redemption arc remains being talked about when the Panthers are 1 - 3 after the first month of the regular season next year.

I'm so glad Burrow didn't make it into the playoffs. I'm so bored of the Burrow overhype. The true social media QB. There is no difference to me between the current Bengals, and the Chargers of the last few seasons. But Burrow is apparently failed by his team, yet Herbert is the one failing his team somehow for not putting it on his back???

I didnt need to see people making excuses for Burrow in the playoffs as well. Especially as they would have probably faced the Bills, been blown out and still Burrow would be talked about like he is the best QB in the league (and don't misunderstand me, he is very very good, but he is absurdly overhyped, especially given the weapons he has too).

I thought Mayo would get fired, but was kind of surprised he was the first to go. I guess this means Patriots go all in on Vrabel then. I felt like the Titans were very well coached under Vrabel. But there has to be a reason no one picked up Vrabel last season, and for as much as the Browns talked about loving having Vrabel in their building, that team still absolutely stunk anyway so how much impact did he really have there? And outside of basically QB, the Patriots are just a total mess. I do wonder what Vrabel can realistically achieve with them, especially if Kraft only gives him a year like Mayo.

@Pizzamorg Vrabel is no mere mortal. He also doesn't need good players to coach teams up. The season when the titans had everyone injured all the time and he broke the record for most players used in a season was probably the most entertaining season overall (I think it might be the season when they really should have beaten the Bengals in the playoffs too)

I think maybe the Pats just wanted a buffer between Bill and Mike, as usually when a coach that embodies a team leaves, the next coach struggles to get anything like the same response. Now Vrabel can come in and smack about those that need to be smacked about and inspire the underdog mentality with those prepared to bleed for the team.

Although, it may be too much still. Look at Manchester United in England since Fergie left. This is also a potential outcome for the Pats if they can't get back on track quickly. It could be decades until they find the right coach. I'd say Vrabel at least has a better shot than most of a quick turn around.

Yeah I remember that year where I think the Titans made the playoffs, and Vrabel was practically pulling bodies off the street to flesh out his Titans roster and somehow making it look like a viable team on the field. But I feel like it is one thing to do that to just get you to the end of the season, but that isn't a transferrable skill set necessarily when trying to build up the pillars of a team that are meant to stand long into the future.

I mean the Patriots talked a lot about how Mayo was always their successor. They can lie absolutely but it makes zero sense to me. If Vrabel was always their answer, why didn't they just hire him straight away? Especially as they took a rookie QB. Now Maye is going to have to go through a full staff change probably in his second season. Seems unnecessarily disruptive to his development.

@Pizzamorg that maybe so. But all i'll say is that both Bill and Mike left their teams, and both of those teams were fighting it out for the number one pick this year 👀💀

@Ravix I do think Shai is the MVP. The guy is probably the most well-rounded player in the league. He has great quickness and finish, an absolute assassin from mid range, can hit the 3 with regularity, good defender, great Bball IQ, and by all accounts a great teammate and locker room guy. I really like his chill yet confident personality.

I still like Jokic and Giannis to be in the running too, as well as Tatum. Luka may not make it into the conversation this year due to lack of sufficient games played.

And I forgot to address my thoughts on Butler — I really wonder what team will try to get him. I think the rumor mill has Memphis, Houston, and Denver as all possible landing spots. Golden State would also make sense but I think I saw that they aren’t interested. Honestly, I wouldn’t really want him. Despite him being a great player, he is at the tail end of his career and just too expensive, plus all the headache of the way he’s acting apparently.

What do you think of the Cavaliers? I haven’t watched any of their games. Are they really that good? They’re on pace to win 72 games, which would be close to an NBA record. The ‘15-16 Warriors hold the record at 73 wins, followed by the ‘95-96 Jordan led Bulls with 72. It’s honestly rare company to win 88% of your games. I just don’t think of them as that good, but maybe I’m missing something? We’re halfway through the season so it’s more than a fluke. Are they going to come down to earth?

Yeah I believe the Titans have the number one pick now. Given this is allegedly a weak draft, and the Titans seemingly need bodies rather than necessarily just a couple of key pieces, is it trading Levis and the number 1 pick for a big package of picks the plan then? Do you think Callahan gets to oversee this or is he gone?

@Pizzamorg I honestly don't know, as I just struggled to get into the NFL as a whole this season, and I don't know the feeling around the league or at the Titans. I have read one opinion that seems to think the go to strategy should be to trade down, get bodies, bolster the O line, and if the next season still goes badly with either a new free agent starting QB, or, failing that an even better backup that can swap in for Levis, then the 2026 draft class is the one to go for the next QB and focus a full rebuild around that.

Teams will be looking for a QB this draft, so trading the pick could be the main story, rather than gamble on another QB or waste the pick value.

@Th3solution I don't know, to be honest. Boston beat them and ended one streak, but it seems the rest of the league struggle to deal with them. I don't think teams defend though, like 90% of teams for 90% of the season, so it will be interesting to see in the playoffs. I simply haven't seen any more of them to judge it though. But every time I've flicked on another teams game it's like the all-star game but with less makes, or teams just straight line driving for layups with no resistance. The quality level of teams in regular season games seems really sketchy (unless they are playing a Boston and are therefore up for the game regardless😅) so Cleveland are probably feasting due to the fact no one really expected them to be this good and dont have a Cleveland "plan". But giving any team this much confidence can lead to success, so it could easily transfer.