NBA Draft 2016: 5 things you need to know

The highly anticipated NBA draft 2016 will be held on June 23, 2016, at Brooklyn’s Barclay center where NBA teams will take turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The draft lottery that determined the order in which the teams select players took place during the playoffs, on May 17, 2016. This year’s draft is special because it is the first year in which all fourteen teams that missed the playoffs remained in the exact spots they were towards the end of the season. This means that Philadelphia 76ers who had the worst record last season and this season (winning only 10 games and losing 73).earned the number 1 pick. In other words, best players in draft often times go to the worst teams in the league. According to reports from ESPN’s, Brian Windhorst the 76ers have told Ben Simmons from the Louisana State University  that they will select him at number 1. If these reports hold true it ends the suspense that normally surrounds the 1 pick. 

Ahead of the draft on Thursday here are 5 things you need to know

1.  The draft order for the first 10 picks are as follow:
   Philadelphia 76ers
   Los Angeles Lakers
   Boston Celtics
   Phoenix Suns
   Minnesota Timberwolves
   New Orleans Pelicans
   Denver Nuggets
   Sacramento Kings
   Toronto Raptors
   Milwaukee Bucks
2. How did Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors both get a top 10 pick ?

Among the teams with top 10 picks this year, Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors stands out. These teams both finished the regular season with a winning record of  48-34 and 56-26 respectively. They were consequently the 5th and 2nd seeded team in the Eastern Conference of the 2016 NBA playoffs. So then, if the best players in the drafts often go to the worst teams in the league, how did Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors end up with the third and ninth overall pick?

Pre-draft trades.

Prior to the date of the draft, teams in the league engaged in trades that can result in players being traded for future draft picks. On July 12, 2013, the Boston Celtics were involved in such a trade with the Brooklyn Nets. This resulted in a number of players from the Celtics being traded to Brooklyn. In return, the Celtics were given 3 future first round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018, so technically this is how Celtics ended up with the third pick.  On July 10, 2013, the Toronto Raptors were involved in a similar trade with the New York Knicks and this resulted in Toronto acquiring three players along with three draft picks of which the first round 2016 was included.

3. The top three players in the draft.

According to many many experts, the three top players in the draft are Louisiana State University’s Ben Simmons, Duke’s Brandon Ingram and International player Kris Dun from Israel. Ben Simmons filled the stats sheet while playing in the NCAA, he averaged 19.2 PPG (points per game) along with 11.8 RPG (rebounds per game) and 4.8 APG.(assists per game) These numbers are pretty amazing for a college player, among former NBA players that had similar averages while playing in the NCAA are Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson. If the stats are anything to go by, Simmons has a very promising future in the NBA.

Brandon Ingram

 

Brandon Ingram

 

Ingram has an excellent jump shot and he can shoot the three-pointers as well. He shot 41% from 3-point range and a decent 46% from 2-point range. He is also a good rebounder. One of the downsides of his game is that he doesn’t have a post game and he is not very good at finishing at the rim.

 

 

Kris Dun

Kris Dun

Dun is a very good passer of the ball and he can score as well. DraftExpress wrote on their website that “Dun has an exceptional physical profile for a point guard in today’s NBA , standing 6’4” in shoes, with a terrific frame, a long 6’9” wingspan, and elite quickness and leaping ability that place him in rarefied air by even NBA standards.” In addition to being  a very good passer and scorer of the ball, his size makes him good on defense as well.

 

4. Team to watch after the draft.

Minnesota Timberwolves are slowly turning into a force to be reckoned with. T’wolves already have the last 3 number 1 picks in Karl Town, Andrew Wiggins, and Anthony Bennett. They also have the last two Rookie of the Year winners (Town and Wiggins).  With another quality draft pick to go along with new coach Tom Thibodeau, I say Minnesota should make the playoffs in the tough western conference next year. I think their draft pick will help them to continue to build a formidable team.

5. The draft takes places on June 23 at Barclay Center in Brooklyn and will be televised live on ESPN at 7p.m. ET so check your local listings and don’t miss out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there were eight: Copa America Quarter Finals Part 1

The Copa America Centenario moves on to the quarter-finals stage with the likes of Argentina, Chile, Mexico and the USA all booking their spot. The tournament has been eye-catching; from Brazil trashing Haiti (7-1) before losing (1-0) to Peru to controversially being eliminated from the tournament. We have seen flashes of brilliance from Lionel Messi after he scored a 26 minute Hat Trick in Argentina’s 5-0 thrashing of Panama. The USA scoring four goals against Costa Rica was also impressive as well as  Mexico surprisingly beating Uruguay 3-1 to get their campaign under way. This tournament has brought it all from beautiful goals to impressive saves and unnecessary red cards.

Now that the proverbial ‘men’ have been separated from the ‘boys,’ what can we expect from the eight teams left in the tournament? Who will be making it into the Semi-Finals stage and what can we expect from CONCACAF’s two remain teams (USA and Mexico) as the tournament progresses.

USA vs Ecuador

The US men’s national team made their way into the quarter-finals after securing two wins from their remaining two group games having lost their opener against Colombia. The US were superb against Costa Rica as they blew past the team from central America (4-0) before easing past Paraguay with a (1-0) victory. The US team will be without their starting right back, Deandre Yedlin for this game against Ecuador after he received a red card in the last group game against Paraguay resulting in a one-game suspension. Yedlin’s absent will be heavily felt against an Ecuador team that plays a lot of their football on the flanks.  They will also miss his pace going forward and his ability to get balls into the opponent’s penalty area.

Ecuador will be looking to build on their performances from the group stages that saw them drawing two games and winning one. This US team provides a nice challenge for the South Americans; if they are to progress into the Semi-Finals, making a statement against the US would be a nice way of sending a warning to their rivals. This game will be won in the middle of the park; whichever team wins the midfield battle will win the game. Team USA has to come out with the mentality of getting Michael Bradley on the ball in areas where he will be able to get balls up to Clint Dempsey and cause problems for Ecuador. Ecuador should be looking to get the ball on the flanks through Jefferson Montero and Antonio Valencia, if those two can get quality balls into the box then Ecuador will be very tough to beat. Ecuador will also be very physical and the USA has to be prepared so they don’t get caught off guard and allow the game to slip away from them. I am predicting a heavily contested match and we will see some beautiful football but in the end, Ecuador will prove to be too strong for the USA

Peru vs Colombia

Peru made it to the quarter-final after defeating Brazil (1-0) with a controversial handball goal, nevertheless, they made it and they could create some problems for Colombia. One thing that we have learnt from this Peru team is that they know how to defend; they kept two clean sheets in their three group games. They will be looking to sit back and let Colombia have all the ball and then try to hit them on the counter-attack.

This Colombian team doesn’t give much away either so it will be an interesting game when the two meet on Friday. Colombia should be looking to dominate position and getting the ball to James Rodriquez so he can find pockets of space to play balls into the box for Carlos Bacca to get on the end of. Colombia has the better team and they have more dangerous weapons on the attack. They can play the ball through the middle with James or play down the flanks with Juan Cuadrado. This diversity will cause problems for Peru as they won’t be able to adapt to the playing style of Colombia. I am predicting a masterclass from Colombia some of what we saw two years ago in Brazil.

Getting the Job done: NBA Finals Game 3 preview

Game 3 of the NBA Finals will take place on Wednesday June 8. The Cleveland Cavaliers will be looking to stay afloat in the series after losing the first two games while Warriors will be looking to end the series sooner rather than later. The Cavaliers, through the first two games have been out matched and they need answers on their home court if they are going to make this a competitive series. The Warriors will be looking to close out the series as early as possible maybe in Game 5 on their home court at the Oracle arena. Looking at the stats for the first two games it is easy to point out that on the one hand, the Cavs have been an embrassment offensively, shooting 36.75% from the field through those two games. The Warriors, on the other. hand have done great work offensively without any real big performance from their two main men (Steph Curry and Klay Thompson). Through the first two games, the Warriors bench have scored 85 points; that’s more than the entire Cavs team managed in game 2 and more than two times the amount
(40pts) the Cavs bench have managed during the game 2.

Looking ahead to game 3, will Cleveland win at home or will they be steamed rolled by the Warriors and ultimately face elimination in Game 4?

Golden State Warriors

In my preview of Game 2, https://tajsports360.wordpress.com/2016/06/05/filling-the- box-score- nba-finals-game- 2/ I wrote that Warriors centre, Andrew Bogut needed to play more minutes because of his presence

on the defensive end. Bogut played only 15 mins in game two however he managed 5 blocks in that period and he was a handful in the paint for James and company. This Golden State Warriors team continue to impress and solidify their place in NBA history. They have perfected the art of team basketball, everyone on the team knows their role and they execute well. The Warriors also turned it up from three point range in game 2, hitting 15 of 33. It doesn’t matter who the opposition is, when Warriors are hitting 15 three pointers there is almost no chance of beating them. Steph and Klay were better in game 2 but they still weren’t at their best, Steph played only 25 mins due to foul trouble and the splash brothers combined for 35 points in the blowout victory. Andre Iguodala has been very good defensively for Golden State especially up against Lebron. The Warriors will be looking for more of the same from him as they look to continue their march to their second championship in two years. The bench for Golden State has just been amazing Draymond Green, had a big game 2 but the defense of Iguodala on James was off the charts. I am still looking for a 30 points explosion from Steph or Klay, so I think Cleveland is in big trouble if that explosion comes in game 3.

The Warriors turned the ball over 20 times in game 2 and the Cavs weren’t able to capitalise on that deficiency, I think at home, Cavs will do better if given those opportunities. Warriors won the battle on the glass in game 2, if they can do that in game 3, they will win.

Warriors’ key to Victory

Keeping the turnovers at minimum, getting the support from bench players and Iguodala’s denfense on James, who will come out more aggressive at home, are all ways that the warriors can secure victory.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs have simply jbeen outplayed and overmatched in the first two games. Cleveland has to do a better job in the paint. In the first two games, they missed too many lay ups. Lebron has to take the ball to deliver the victory for his team. James looked too passive when driving to the basket. Cleveland will not beat this Golden State team by settling for three-point jump shot because the Golden State is simply the best jump shooting team in the NBA.

I think coach Lue need to make some adjustments, Cleveland needs to go big with Mozgov and Thompson on the court at the same time. We saw in the Western Conference finals the OKC coach changed his line up and they managed to blowout the Warriors on their home court twice. Going big is maybe the last roll of the dice for the Cavs, they need to be more physical, putting their bodies on the line. Kyrie Irving has to be the offensive machine that he can be and put up 30 points to give his team a legitimate chance. I think Kevin love will be a no show in this game 3, whether or not he plays so James and Irving have to get it done. This Cavs team doesn’t seem to fear losing as much as how the Warriors love winning.

Cavs Key to Victory

James has to drive the ball as often as possible and not focus on making threes. Cavs have to get JR Smith involved early, if he can have an explosive game they might have a chance. They also need to be very physical and try to disrupt the Warriors flow.

Prediction

Cavs have to win to prevent a possible sweep. I think they will bring it on their home court winning by 8 points.

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Chelsea’s Title Defence: What’s going wrong at the bridge?

Chelsea FC, champions of England 2014/2015 have begun their title defence on a poor run of form. The ‘Blues’ have won only three of their opening ten league fixtures this season. At the same stage last season they were undefeated in their opening ten matches (winning eight of the ten and drawing the other two). Chelsea has been rocky in defence since the start of this season conceding nineteen goals in their opening ten league matches, that’s not something that you normally see from a Jose Mourinho managed team.  Chelsea’s poor performance this season can be attributed to a number of factors including:  lack of quality signings, lack of squad rotation and poor tactical decisions by the manager.

In the summer of 2014 Jose Mourinho made two decisive signings, the acquisition of Spanish duo Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa. The two were brilliant for the Chelsea in their debut season which saw them helping the team to their first EPL title since the 2009/2010 season. At the end of last season the team needed to strengthen the defensive midfield and the centre of defence. Jose Mourinho however seemed confident in his current squad as he waited until the end of the transfer window to make few mediocre signings.  Chelsea was not able to acquire primary defensive target John Stones as Everton held on to their young starlet; they however ended up with Papy Djilobodji, who is yet to make his first appearance for the club.

The teams in the league that have managed to stay competitive this season are the teams that have made at least one key signing, teams such as Manchester City (Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne etc.), Crystal Palace(Yohan Cabaye), Manchester United(Bastian Schweinsteiger, Anthony Martial etc. ) and West Ham(Dimitri Payet).

Chelsea’s poor start can also be attributed to the fact that the squad lacks rotation in key areas such as defence. Most of the goals that have been scored against Chelsea this season have come from either the right or left hand side of the field. Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta both players who play in those positions have been at fault for more than 50% of the goals that the team has conceded so far this season. Jose Mourinho’s inability to drop players when they are not performing has cost the team a great deal. The four players who have started in the majority of games for Chelsea this season and have been arguably the most disappointing are Fabregas, Hazard, Ivanovic and Azpilicueta. Although Mourinho managed to win the title last season while only utilizing few players but this tactic has not been successful this season. 

In addition to the lack of quality signings and squad rotation, Chelsea’s performance this season has also been negatively affected by Mourinho’s poor tactical decisions.  Pre, post and in game tactics have not yielded much success for Chelsea this season.  In years gone by Jose Mourinho had the tactics to defeat opponents mentally, the case with Arsenal is a prime example of this. An Arsene Wenger managed team has never defeated a Jose Mourinho Managed team in the EPL. ‘The Special One’ seems to be losing it. The teams in the league have figured out some of the tricks that Jose normally implements and that has hurt Chelsea this season.  The quality of players at Chelsea has not diminished over the past year however some of Jose Mourinho’s tactics have become obsolete. Mourinho has lost his defensive identity. The manager needs to implement new tactics to get the team performing up to standard once more.

Given the start that Chelsea has made, the best thing that can happen for them now is a Champions League spot and a solid defence of their league cup title. Again, the lack of signing and squad rotation along with poor tactical decisions at Chelsea this season has been to the detriment of the club.

Champions League Final 2015

Juventus and Barcelona will go head to head for Europe’s most prestige trophy on Saturday, June 6. Football fans across the world can expect a very exciting game when the two powerhouses lock horn in Berlin but who will come out victorious?

Juventus

Juventus has had an incredible season under Max Allegri and they will be looking to finish it off with a win on Saturday, however Barcelona will be looking to spoil their plans. The key to Juventus team is their defense, they play rock solid defense and they capitalize on their chances at the other end. If Juventus are to end their Champions league drought their defense will have to be superb against the lethal attacking trio of Neymar, Suarez and Messi. News coming out of Italy is that key defender Giorgio Chiellini will miss the game due to an injury. If this is true then I can not see Juventus getting anything from the game. Chiellini coordinates the defense and he is a true leader in the back line without him the team will not be strong enough to fend off Barcelona. The old lady plays on the strength of their defense and without Chiellini that strength is shaking.

Barcelona

Much like their opponents Barcelona has enjoyed a brilliant season under Luis Enrique. In 2013 I wrote a blog stating that if Neymar and Messi understood each other then Barcelona will be difficult to beat and they have been difficult to beat this season. The front three of Messi, Suarez and Neymar has been outstanding. Despite their attack being exceptional I credit much of Barcelona’s success this season to their two goal keepers. Since 2011 the problem with Barcelona was the fact that they did not have a good goal keeper. Victor Valdez was poor beyond belief and that often team led to the team’s down fall. This season Bravo and Ter Stegen has been incredible and that is why Barcelona is better.

I am predicting a 2-1 win for Barcelona. Maybe 3-1

2014 FIFA Ballon D’or

The 2014 FIFA Ballon D’or winner will be announced on Monday January 12, Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to win the award for the second time in a row but he will be facing stiff competition from Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Germany Shot stopper Manuel Neuer.

Manuel Neuer

The Bayern Munich and German goalkeeper had a wonderful 2014 playing a vital role in his nation’s World Cup triumph. The 28 year-old won the 2013-2014 Bundesliga along with DFB-Pokal. However I don’t think his performance in 2014 is enough for him to win this award, albeit he had a stellar year playing on a stellar team. He had a great game against Algeria but on the flip side his team mates were also having good games. I credit Germany and Bayern Munich successes to discipline team work. Individually Manuel Neuer has not done enough to win an individual award of such prestige.

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi’s 2014 can be described in two words, Runner-up. The Argentine was second best in three of the four major competitions that he played for during the course of the year. He had a wonderful world cup but he went MIA in the final, If Argentina had won the world cup in Brazil Lionel Messi would have been clear favorite to win the Ballon D’or. In truth and in fact Messi had a poor 2014 by his standards. I know he became La Liga’s and UEFA Champions League all-time leading goal scorer during the year but those achievements started years ago he merely put the icing on the cake in 2014. The statistics shows that Messi had one of his worst year in 2014 since becoming a professional footballer. 41 goals in 46 appearance in the 2013-2014 was his lowest since the 2009 season with that said I don’t think Lionel Messi is deserving of the award.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo had another brilliant year on the club level, he managed to guide his team to four trophies and he was in breath taking form for most part of the year. Cristiano performed exceptionally during the course of the year and it is only right that his efforts be rewarded. He broke Lionel Messi’s UEFA Champions League record for most goal during a UCL season, he also beat Messi to the Pichichi for the most goals scored in the 2013-2014 La Liga season. The one blemish in Ronaldo’s year was in Brazil and in all fairness the Portuguese team wasn’t good enough and Crisitiano was not fully fit during the tournament. The Ballon D’or is an Individual award and CR7 individually has done enough to win the award.

Coach of the Year- Joachim Loew.

The German coach has put an end to Germany’s disappointment on the world stage and he did it with Miroslav Kolse, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski all playing minor roles.

Puskás Award- James Rodriguez

The Colombian sensational strike against Uruguay is a definite winner for me; the technique behind the goal is unbelievable.