Kevin Durant: Most loved to most hated

If you are an avid sports fan like myself, you usually watch the "ESPY" awards. You get to see a celebrity host kickoff the show with a recap of this year in sports. It's usually really funny, the host cracks jokes at all the embarrassing moments of the year (ex: JPP's firework incedent). This year, the host of the festivities was Peyton Manning. Peyton is a guy most people love, his commercials are always a hit and he seems like a real down to earth guy (Ryen Russillo might not say the same for his wife unfortunately). Anyway, Peyton's joke of the night had to be when he mentioned the success of the us women's gymnastics team, and Peyton mentioned that Kevin Durant is considering joining them, in reference to his shocking move to Golden state from OKC, and Durant did not like it. Usually when an athlete is made fun of, they can laugh it off and take the joke, but Durant was clearly offended by the humor. Now this could have been staged, but if it wasn't, it's really disappointing that he simply couldn't laugh off this hilarious diss at him, when he acts like he really didn't do anything wrong in joining the warriors. This brings up my main point, that in agreement with my man Stephen A smith in that Kevin Durant's move to Oakland from OKC was one that ruined the regular season in the NBA as well as the post season. When we look back at the 2017 postseason, how could one forget the thrilling series that was Golden State vs Oklahoma City. The warriors were down 3-1 and they came up big in that series. Klay Thompson was simply unconscious from behind the arc in the later part of that series and this combined with the disappearance of Kevin Durant in game 6, the warriors pulled off the comeback from down 3-1. This set up and epic finals match up of the Cavs and Warriors. The previous year, these teams matched up and the series quickly got out of hand and the warriors won in 6, as the cavs were heavily outmatched as Kevin Love had been sidelined for the rest of the playoffs by Kelly Olynyck's dirty play when he dislocated Loves shoulder, and Kyrie Irving hurt his knee early in the series, and despite the best efforts of Lebron James, the series wasn't much of a contest with Matthew Delevadova as the cavs best second option. This year, the story was different. The Cavs were fully healthy and the we were all on the edge of our seats to see if the cavs big 3 was enough to beat the seemingly unbeatable team that was the golden state warriors, and well, you remember what happened, the cavs down 3-1, draymond greens antics finally catching up with him for a game 5 suspension, the lights out scoring off lebron and kyrie irving, and an epic game 7 ending with Lebrons block and then the cold blooded 3 point dagger from Kyrie, and thus the "Warriors blew a 3-1 lead" joke is born and we are all were witnesses to a classic finals battle for the ages. Now personally, I was very happy to see Lebron finally fulfill his promise to bring a championship to the city of cleveland, as I had been rooting for them for the entire playoffs. But even if the Cavs hadn't been able to pull of the historic comeback, I could still appreciate the game and say "wow! what an entertaining series that was." This whole midset changed for me and most basketball purists when Kevin Durant shocked the NBA and decided to leave Russell Westbrook and the incredibly supportive city of OKC and pulled the "weakest move we have even seen from a superstar"-Stephen A Smith, and joined the very team that beat him in the WCF the previous season before. This move completely shifted the balance of power in the nba. The Warriors went on to roll through the entire western conference in the playoffs, not losing until the losing just one in the finals. Now this may have been different if the pride of Georgia, Zaza Pachulia didn't purposely injure Kawhi Leonard in the game one of the conference finals, but regardless, we had the "Rubber Match" of Cavs vs Warriors in the finals. This was far less exciting to watch, the warriors were just too good at defending and the cavs were simply helpless in defending all of the Warriors shooters and the series was over in 5 games. Now that Kevin Durant was finally a champion, and most of the media expected the people against Durant's move to Golden State as acceptable, becuase he's a champion and that will silence all the haters. This was anything but the truth. When Durant first joined the Warriors, it was hard to see them not win a championship, I mean they added probably the second best player in the world to a 73 win team, how do they not win the championship? This championship was SUPPOSED to happen, this didn't surprise me at all, and therefore doesn't change my mind about his decision.  The way Durant "earned" this championship was just too disheartening to ignore. I mean, lets take a look back at some of the NBA greats overcoming their rivals. in the late 80's, MJ couldn't overcome the bad boy pistons, so what did he do? He got in the gym and GRINDED. He built up his body to withstand the pistons physically punishing brand of basketball and along with Scottie Pippen coming into his own as a player, the bulls were able eventually able to sweep detroit, and Jordan's Bulls would eventually have 2 3-peats and solidifying jordan as the "goat".When Jordan faced hardship, he didn't JOIN THE PISTONS because it was "the best move for his career", he stuck with his squad and took down his rivals, and that one of things that makes jordan so legendary. many remember the classic celtics and lakers finals match ups of  the 80's. Red Auerbac building the celtics into a juggernaut with the way larry bird was acquired while he was still in college and the trade with golden state where they got mchale and parish in a ridiculously lopsided trade that built this historic celtics team. They were challenged time and time again by the la lakers, which was a team an unable to defeat the celtics throughout the 60's despite being so close so many times. They were showtime, with probably the greatest point guard of all time in Magic Johnson, big game james worthy and the nba's all time scorer Kareem-Abdul Jabarr. These series were so memorable and because the competition matchup EVEN. It's not like when the lakers lost the first or second finals to the celtics they just said, "nahh lets win championships in boston", they said "We are gonna attack these guys and we'll beat them, together." And the lakers eventually beat the celtics in the 80's, and the celtics themselves went to the lakers locker room post game to congratulate them on finally overcoming them. This is something we'll never be able to see from Kevin Durant, as his decision to leave the thunder ruined any hope of something similar to that kind of rivalry. Now some may say, "Hang on, didn't Lebron do the same thing when he left for Miami?" I say no, it's not the same at all. Although Lebron leaving Cleveland was heart wrenching, and he probably didn't need to announce it on national tv in the face of his cleveland fans, his decision was definetly justified. In Cleveland, Lebron didn't have a whole lot of help. Dan Gilbert and the cavs organization seemed to take him for granted, and really didn't put many valuable pieces around him. His best players from his first stint in Cleveland were who? Mo Williams? Larry Hughes? Old man Shaq? come on man! Lebron wanted to beat his rivals, the boston celtics and joining the heat gave him a legitimate shot at that. Him and banana boat friend dwade built a new superteam in miami to dethrone the celtics reign over the east and they did just that. Remember: Lebron left to beat his rivals, he didn't JOIN THEM.

In conclusion, The Warriors reign over the NBA seems to be far from over, as they re signed durant and curry to long term deals, not to mention signing nick young to bolster the bench while retaining virtually all of their other key pieces. They also added big man Jordan Bell, looks like he could be the second coming of draymond green in a trade with the bulls for nothing but cash (thanks garpax). This reign was greatly bolstered by durant's move to the warriors and while some may think that durant has etched his name in the nba record books as an all time great for winning this championship and probably more to follow, he won't be that in my book. He will always be the kid who simply gave up on russell westbrook and the solid, championship caliber team that was the OKC thunder, for the almost guarenteed championship in Golden State, He fore fitted his shot at an epic redemption, for one that is far less respectable, and one that will never be forgotten.

NBA PLAYOFFS RECAP

           If I had to summarize these playoffs in one word, I would have to quote Lebron James in saying "CLEVELAND!" I found these finals much more intriguing then the past few years. There was a team other than Miami or San Antonio in the Finals and Lebron and the Cavaliers finally got to showcase what a great and memorable team they have become and what a terrific job Tyronn Lue did and redeeming himself from his past finals experience.......... lets just say he's glad he wasn't guarding Allen Iverson. These playoffs showed many story lines. The Cavaliers quest to end the drought of championships in Cleveland (Thanks John Elway). The Golden State Warriors quest at history and going back to back (Clipboards beware). And a surprising team in the Toronto Raptors who were never out of it, winning two seven game series before eventually falling to the Cavs in 6. One thing we learned about them is that Bismack Biyombo is a beast, and will likely get a max contract, whether Dikembe Mutumbo has authorized it or not. But they do have a promising back-court in Lowry and Derozan and if they stay together, could have a bright future. This playoffs was one of much Controversy as well. Draymond Green kicked and punched his way into this report, getting himself suspended for game 5 of the finals after numerous flagrant fouls through Steven Adams' kiwis. This Playoffs really heated up in the confrence finals. In the West, we saw the 73-9 Golden State Warriors fall down 3-1 to the The Thunder. Golden State proceeded to win the series in 7 games due to the unconcious shooting of the splash brothers (KLAY THOMPSON........ oh and the 2 time and unanimous MVP steph curry was there too, but GS fan or not, you can't deny Klay often put on the backpack in that series, especially game 6). OKC had the Warriors on the ropes, they were beating them at their own game, transition shooting and lockdown defense. Then for some reason, this stopped. Andre Roberson got in foul trouble as well as resurgence of Steph Curry, not to mention Kevin Durant's attempt at hero ball in the final games as well the forever unpredictability of Russell Westbrook. Despite the epic collapse, the future in OKC could be promising. The draft day trade that saw the edition of victor Oladipo, Damontas Sabonis and Ersan Ilyasova could prove very tempting to Kevin Durant's re-signing, but we'll just have to wait and see. The East saw a blowout boring series to a dramatic resurgence, back to a blowout. Toronto's shooting was very sparatic. Whatever it was, the Raptors fell 2-0 in the series to the Cavs, losing handily in the land both times. But game 3 was the first confrence finals home game in Raptors history, so the Raptors faithful (shoutout to drizzy) were quite fired up and seemed to fuel the Raptors resurgence and Bismack Biyombo's glass cleaning as they stole the next two. The thing the Raptors struggled with once again in the series was staying hot and winning on the road and they would go on lose the next two. This was a valiant effort however going against the juggernaut cavaliers and "playoff mindset" Lebron James, not to mention the historic Cavaliers 3pt shooting. Heck of a job by James Casey though, who wouldve been fired reportedly if the Raptors lost game 7 in the first round vs the Pacers. 

        So here we are, Cavs/Warriors, the series we all wanted to see, the rematch. Games one and two in Golden State saw the emergence of two established bench players. Shaun Livinston and Leandro Barbosa played ecsquisetly in games 1 and 2 as the Warriors win both at home. game 3 saw  a Cleveland resurgence and the cavs winning by 30 which was somewhat of a common trend throughout these finals, blowout wins. This game also saw the absence of Kevin Love. Love hasnt really fit with this team and honestly, they looked like a better team with Richard Jefferson in who was playing in the finals when lebron was in high school. Love would return for game 4 as the Warriors set an NBA finals record with 17 three's in a finals game (Wow, the Warriors set a 3pt record, never seen them do that..........). This was also a game that saw "The shot to the groin heard round the world". Draymond Green hit Lebron in the groin and was suspended for game 5 as the Warriors win, but lose a key contributer. Game five was what many thought would be the end. No Draymond no problem right? No. Lebron and Kyrie combined for 82 and despite a meer 2 points from Kevin Love, The Cavs lived to fight another day, stealing one in Oakland going back to the land. Now this is something we have seen before. Everyone said "OKC has this in the bag" going up 3-1 but game 5 proved to not be that in the west finals. the warriors won and gained momentum. this same thing happened for Cleveland. The Cavs gained momentum and not to mention Lebron James knocking down 3's. Draymond Green was back for game 6 in the land. Something no one couldve predicted happened. The cavs got off the an unbelievable start, going up 31-11 in the 1st. The Warriors got off to the worst start possible. No team has scored that little of points in a finals game since the 50's. This is the 73-9, hot shooting Golden State Warriors!!! later on, The Warriors started chipping away at the cavs lead. they had cut it to single digits when steph curry, pulled a shot from the parking lot that missed  and seemed to give the cavs back the momentum. Curry had picked up fouls here and there throughout the game and they started to add up and eventually led to a sixth foul late in the 4th. This led curry to yell at the referee "thats b*** s**** and throw his mouthguard into the stands and the first ejection in his career. Sure, Steph curry can keep his cool when everything is going in and they're winning every game, but not in this moment. Not to mention his wife tweeting about the nba being rigged. Really?!? Your husband is a two time mvp on the team with the best record in regular season history. if the Nba is rigged Ayesha, you have nothing to complain about. Anyways, Lebron dropped 41 again and the cavs win again. So here we are, game 7 at oracle. This was without a doubt, one of the most entertaining games to watch. Lebron and Kyrie going and forth with Steph, Klay and Draymond Green who, not matter what anyone may call him for obvious reasons, came up HUGE for them, dropping 32 in the First half. Fast forward to the 4th, steph curry goes 1-6 in this quarter while Lebron and Kyrie come up HUGE in the final minutes. curry was careless with the ball, much like game 6 and the cavs capitalized. then comes the play we all will remember from theese playoffs. Lebron james with the EMPATIC chasedown block of iggy and then the absoluetly disrepectful kyrie irving 3 in the face of steph curry. now something most wont remember is that Kevin Love actually played quite well in game 7, looking a bit like him Minnesotan self, grabbing 14 boards, 9 points and the best plus minus on the team at 19. So as many know, Lebron finishes with a triple double and hes done it. The cavaliers are finally champs. No one and i mean NO ONE can question his legacy. Coming back from down 3-1 against steph, klay and the warriors that were 73-9? Are you kidding me?!?!?!?! We then saw Klay Thompson, who was very adiment in saying that "Oh, i guess lebrons feelings were hurt." After draymond green being suspended, walk out without any "good games" to the cavs and he also walked out early in game 6 as well. Who feelings are hurt now, Klay? All jokes aside, this will be remembered by many as one of the greatest finals and playoffs in years. 

Bengals get back on track, defeat struggling rams 31-7

The Bengals were able to beat the Rams 31-7 on Sunday. Andy Dalton had a terrific game through the air, Throwing for 233 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception. The prolific Bengals offense was able to move the ball pretty well and get plenty of points on the board. A.J. Green had a monster day, catching 6 receptions for 61 yards and accounting for 2 of Andy Dalton's touchdown's. Tyler Eifert produced his normal showing with 4 receptions, 30 yards and yet another touchdown to make an NFL high 12 touchdowns on the season. Eifert left the game early with a stinger and we'll see how things go this week, but he should probably be good to go next week. The Bengals defense also had a decent showing despite all of the injuries in the secondary, allowing only 7 points and Leon Hall got a pick 6 as well. Finally, we saw Jeremy Hill look somewhat like his old rookie self, as he rushed for a season high 86 yards while Giovoni Bernard struggled with only 16 yards on 10 carries.

Nick Foles got the start for the Rams. He had another lackluster performance, throwing for 228 yards and 3 picks. Todd Gurley had another weak performance. he only got 19 yards on 9 carries which despite the deficit. Even with all the injuries on the offensive line, the Rams still need to utilize the workhorse that Gurley is. Whether that's running to the outside to stay away from Geno Atkins, or getting him some screen play, the offense needs to run through him. The rams did utilize Tavon Austin well, he scored the rams only touchdown, tallying 63 yards on 4 carries and he was also involved in the pass game as well. Although the rams have some key injuries such as Case Keenum and Robert Quinn, but they have really been shooting themselves in the foot these last few seasons. Since 2012, the rams have had a total of 458 penalties, the most in the league.

Not a game the Bengals can quite just overlook, but they were a heavy favorite coming in. For the rams to succeed this season and in the future, the rams offense needs to feed Todd Gurley in order to open up other options for the offense to flourish. The Bengals seem to be on their way to a division championship, but we'll see if Andy Dalton can get that ever elusive first playoff win.

Bears get big win on Thanksgiving night versus Green Bay

The Chicago Bears were able to pull of a 17-13 victory over the Green Bay packers at Lambeu Field as they were able to spoil Brett Favre's number retirement ceremony. This was Jay Cutler's first victory in Green Bay as a Chicago Bear. He had a decent night despite the conditions and pressure of the left side throughout the night. he was 18-36 with with a touchdown to tight end Zach Miller. Cutler has been a real bright spot for a injury plagued and rebuilding Bears team with injuries to Martellus Bennett, Eddie Royal and the still yet to play a game top pick, Kevin White. Despite these downfalls, Cutler really has shined and displayed what he is capable of in this Adam Gase Offense.
The Bears were assisted by the return of Matt Forte. He split carries with Jeremy Langford and they combined for 92 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears Defense had done a lot with a little, per say. The switch to 3-4 scheme behind the leadership of former 49ers coordinator Vic Fangio has really been a huge improvement over the defense last year which was arguably the worst in the teams long and illustrious history. The free agent acquisition of Pernell Mcphee has been a real get and he has been instrumental in the teams success. In Thursdays game, 2 players who really are worth highlighting are Tracy Porter and Lamar Houston. Porter was a key performer in the bears secondary with that interception late in the 4th against Aaron Rodgers. Lamar Houston helped Mcphee at applying pressure on Rodgers all night and was noted for injuring what appeared to be Rodgers funny bone. Rodgers in general seemed to have an off night but he missed a few throws possibly due to the injury.
A bright spot for the Packers was Eddie Lacy. He had over 100 yards on the ground and a receiving touchdown with an almost costly, Desean Jackson Esq, play by nearly dropping the ball before crossing the goal line. Even with a fumble, he still has been a bright spot for a packers team that has been struggling as of late and its nice to see him starting to play like his old self.
All in all, it was a tough, well deserved win by a undermanned win over a heavily favored Packer team in Prime time.