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NBA play in games win or home

With the NBA post season officially starting we have the first two NBA play-in games, the first two were the Chicago Bulls vs Toronto Raptors and the New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder. Let’s go through both of these games and how they played out.

The first game was the Chicago Bulls taking on the Toronto Raptors, the Bulls overcame a 17 point deficit in the second half to win this game. With the Raptors missing eighteen free throws, that was the big difference in this game, even though Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet had great games it still wasn’t enough to keep them in the game as Toronto really struggled on the defensive end. Raptors go home as the Bulls will face the Miami Heat for the 8th seed on Friday.

The second game of the night was the New Orleans Pelicans taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder, this game was a nail biter through all four quarters. even with Pelicans star Brandon Ingram having a phenomenal game and a miracle three pointer to pull the game back to one, it wasn’t enough to keep the Pelicans alive. Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey both had 30 point games as they are quickly becoming a top young duo in the league.

7th seed play in winners

With the NBA post season officially starting we have the first two NBA play-in games, the first two were the Los Angeles Lakers vs the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Atlanta Hawks vs Miami Heat. Let’s go through both of these games and how they played out.

The first game was the Atlanta Hawks vs Miami Heat, this game was a shocker as the Hawks upset the Heat and won by 11. With most media and fans picking the Heat to win this game, this was a big upset. Hawks star Trae Young had a decent game as he finished with 25 8 and 7 but on poor shooting (44.4% FG 12.5% 3PT). Overall this was a great win for the Hawks as they will now face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs next week.

The second game of the night was the Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves, this game was a long one as the Lakers and Timberwolves went to overtime but the Lakers edged out Minnesota with a 108-102 victory. This game was more about the Timberwolves poor play down the stretch as Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns, with Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels missing this game the Timberwolves could have easily won this game and punched their ticket to the playoffs but will now face the winner of the New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder.

NFL trades and signings

With the NFL offseason already underway we are starting to gear up for the 2023 NFL draft and with teams looking into top prospects and looking to trade up we are starting to see players get traded and request trades from teams. Let’s go through the two big topics on Tuesday that broke.

The biggest topic of the day is Tampa Bay Buccaneers Middle Linebacker Devin White has officially requested a trade from the Buccaneers as he is heading into his fifth season in the league and is reportedly looking for a new contract. With Tampa being very crunched on cap space for the next few years it would be no surprise that Devin White will get traded, with the Bucs needing to move off some players and free cap space this would be a smart move to make.

Another trade today was Detroit Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah has been traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2023 fifth round pick. Okudah was a top pick in the draft just a few years ago but has massively underperformed considering his draft position, with Okudah heading into the final year of his rookie contract this was a smart move for both teams as the Lions get more draft capital and the Falcons take a flier on a diamond in the rough player.

Odell Beckham Jr signs with Ravens

NFL star receiver Odell Beckham Jr has signed a one year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, this deal is a one year deal worth up to $18 million and $15 million fully guaranteed. With this contract being very front loaded it gives OBJ the security he wants and the Ravens the star number one receiver they have been looking for.

With OBJ coming off an injury year he is looking to get back on the field as he missed the entire 2022-2023 NFL season. After Odell won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams two seasons ago he was going to be a highly sought-after free agent but with Odell blowing out his knee in the Super Bowl his NFL future was in big jeopardy.

Even though this signing seems like a risky one for Baltimore, Odell held a workout for many teams during the NFL combine that showed teams how well OBJ can still play and be a number one receiver on many teams. With the Ravens striking out on many skill position players in the past they finally land a big name player that quarterback Lamar Jackson can play with.

Overall this is a win win for both Odell Beckham Jr and the Ravens as Odell gets the guaranteed money he wanted and the Ravens get the superstar receiver they have been desperately looking for, for the last couple years.

NBA final standings, Who’s in and who’s out

With NBA teams playing their final regular season games on Easter Sunday we have a few teams who are fighting for better playoff positioning and even a playin spot. Let’s look at the official standings set for the play-in and official matchups for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference

Milwaukee Bucks vs 8th seed

Boston Celtics vs 7th seed

Philadelphia 76ers vs Brooklyn Nets

Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks

Western Conference

Denver Nuggets vs 8th seed

Memphis Grizzlies vs 7th seed

Sacramento Kings vs Los Angeles Clippers

Phoenix Suns vs Golden State Warriors

Jeffery Simmons signs blockbuster deal with Titans

The all pro defensive lineman is staying in Nashville, Tennessee Titans superstar Jeffery Simmons has re-signed with the Titans on a four year $94 million dollar extension with $66 million fully guaranteed and $24 million at signing. With the Titans shopping players left and right this offseason it’s to a somewhat surprise that the Titans superstar is staying with the organization.

Simmons has been the last few seasons with the Titans on a very cheap rookie contract as he was selected number nineteen overall by Tennessee in the 2019 draft, Simmons slipped to the nineteenth pick as he tore his ACL training for the NFL draft, Simmons was originally supposed to be a top ten pick but with the significant injury this led the Titans to be able to snag the all pro defensive end later in the draft.

With the new contract Simmons will now rank second in defensive tackles at $23.5 million per year only behind multi time defensive player of the year Aaron Donald. In the past two seasons Simmons has racked up 16 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, 67 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 13 passes defended and 115 total pressures, per PFF.

Simmons has been the anchor of this great defense for the last couple years in Tennessee and will be under contract for the next half decade.

Three scariest teams to play in the first round

With less than one week left of the NBA regular season we are starting to see the standings shape up as the top teams are starting to pull away and the middle to bottom teams fight for one of the final playoff spots. Let’s go through my top three teams that are the scariest to go against in the first round.

The scariest team to play against in the first round is the Phoenix Suns, with teams like the Lakers, Warriors and Clippers trying to avoid the fifth seed it’s making for a very scrunched up fifth through tenth seed in the Western Conference. With the Suns having the most star power out of all the NBA it’s no surprise that teams are tying to avoid them in the first round.

The second scariest team is the Los Angeles Lakers, with the Lakers having a up and down regular season they are a much better team than what their record implies. With LeBron James coming off an injury he is now going to be fresh going into the playoffs and definitely reenergized. Anthony Davis is also playing his best basketball of the year as he has been playing at a MVP level most days.

My third scariest team is the New York Knicks, this Knicks team is playing some of their best basketball of the year. This Knicks team is very young but has playoff experience, if they can play a team like the Cavaliers or the Brooklyn Nets they can definitely advance to the next round. With their stars of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson both playing on an all star level this year, any team who faces them in the first round will have their hands full.

Three most disappointing teams this NBA season

With my most disappointing team this regular season I have the Atlanta Hawks, the Hawks coming into this season has unlimited potential as they traded for all star guard Dejonte Murray who is an all star level player and should have been a great fit next to superstar Trae Young. With this Hawks team not even having a secured playoff spot they have definitely underperformed this season.

The Dallas Mavericks are my number two team as they have failed to make the play in the tournament, with the Mavericks having a good first half of the season the Kyrie Irving trade at the trade deadline. With this Mavericks team having a top ten player in Luka Doncic and a star player like Kyrie Irving beside him, Dallas should definitely be in the mix for a playoff spot.

Lastly the Portland Trail Blazers are my final underperforming team this year as they still have a top player in Damian Lillard, Lillard has a decent supporting cast around him in Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and other good supporting players. With this Trail Blazers team 33-46 on the season they have already shut down some of their star players and are tanking for a better draft pick.

NFL draft reports and leaks thus far

With the 2023 NFL draft less than a month away we are starting to see lots of reports and leaks come out about teams that want to take specific players and trade up or trade down. So far we’ve only had one trade which was the Carolina Panthers trading for the number one overall pick back in March, so far the only team that may want to trade up is the Las Vegas Raiders. Let’s go through some of the reports that have come out in the last week.

The first report we have is the New England Patriots wanting to draft a “blue chip” running back like Bijaan Robinson even though the Patriots have many capable running backs. This is surprising considering the Patriots are in desperate need of wide receivers and have a surplus of backs.

One of the other reports is the Houston Texans are “very high” on quarterback Bryce Young and want to draft him number two overall, obviously the Panthers are taking a quarterback at number one but with Carolina reportedly sold on QB C.j Stroud it’s likely that Bryce Young will be going number two to the Texans.

Lastly defensive tackle Jalen Carter is not meeting with teams outside of the top ten as Carter believes he is still a top prospect even with all of the off the field issues that happened earlier this year. One team that is connected to Carter is the Chicago Bears who have already met with Carter earlier this week.

New England Patriots QB drama

The New England Patriots are once again in the news as they made headlines on Tuesday afternoon with multiple reports coming out that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has tried to shop starting quarterback Mac Jones this offseason, the reported teams that the Patriots have reached out to is the Washington Commanders, Las Vegas Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans.

Last week Patriots owner Robert Kraft said that rapper Meek Mill reached out to Kraft stating Lamar Jackson was interested in joining the Pats but Kraft said “that’s Bill’s decision”.

With a very rocky offense last year there was multiple reports and leaks that quarterback Mac Jones and head coach Bill Belichick we’re not getting along and have a different opinion on the offense, of course this is after Belichick didn’t hire a offensive coordinator for the offense last year and stuck a special teams and defensive coordinator in that role.

With Jackson having next to no market the Patriots are the top team to sign Lamar and trade their two first round picks to get him. This would be a great fit for New England as they lack offensive weapons and Lamar can be just that.