Episode 3 - MNF Preview and IUBB

Josh rolls with the podcast on a solo-mission. A preview of the Ravens-Cardinals Monday Night Football Game tonight. Then a transition into basketball with a look at the Indiana Pacers season. Followed by a sneak peak into IU's surprisingly lackluster conference schedule, and a look at the big IUBB games this season.

Episode 2 - NBA Roundtable

This week's show covers a crazy last weeks in the sports world. We start out by putting people on blast, from the Louisville basketball program to Chuck Pagano and the Indianapolis Colts. Then enter a long debate about the guy's preseason NBA picks, including individual player awards, bold predictions, and some more quirky discussion topics. We would also like to give a brief shoutout to some teams/people around the world....Congrats to Australia for advancing to the Rugby World Cup Final....Thank you to the Columbus Blue Jackets for winning their first game last night...and shoutout to John Buccigross for continuing to be the funniest ESPN anchor. Thanks for listening!

NBA Pre-Season Predictions

Can John Wall make the jump to NBA superstar this year? (source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/f1cMrsbrG4M/maxresdefault.jpg)

This is the most excited I have ever been for an NBA season. The potential storylines are ridiculous:

• Steph Curry appears primed to contend for back-to-back MVP's and titles. That has happened only 3 times in NBA history: LeBron James ('12, '13), Michael Jordan ('91, '92), and Bill Russell ('61, '62, '63). 

• There was too much talent lost last season due to injuries, and a number of high-profile players are coming back. Julius Randle, Jabari Parker, Kobe Bryant, Paul George, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant all look to return. 

• Portland took a huge blow, but somehow the West is as stacked as ever. And its not just at the very top of the conference, as many young teams are looking to make a jump into playoff discussions. Look for at least 3-4 teams to be battling for the 8 seed down the stretch. 

• If Curry doesn't repeat, who wins MVP? I think there is an opportunity for a player not from a top-seeded team to win the award. Anthony Davis, Carmelo, PG13, and Damian Lillard are a few that come to mind.   

• Is this the year LeBron finally brings a title to Cleveland? He has perhaps the most thorough (complete?) team of his career. If Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love stay healthy, I don't see anyone really challenging them in the Eastern Conference. 

• Similar to LeBron, Chris Paul has arguably the most complete team around him. This is by far the best defensive team of the CP3-Blake-Deandre Era. Adding Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson, and Josh Smith will do wonders for their bench. Look for Clippers to go far and Blake to have a potential MVP season.

• Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili will become the winningest trio in NBA history. They should pass Bird, Parish, and McHale within the first two weeks of the season. That being said, are the Spurs set for another title run? The addition of LaMarcus Aldridige and further emergence of Kawhi Leonard should keep them more than relevant in the West.

• It would be awesome if the Lakers could return to the postseason for Kobe's last season. It seems like a very distant possibility at the moment, and it all rests on their young core being able to dominate early. Julius Randle should be phenomenal, and I imagine it won't take long for Russell to adjust to the NBA game. 

• There are bound to be a few surprise teams in the East. John Wall could finally make the jump and lead Washington into Conference Finals contention. Orlando is bound to put it all together at some point. Detroit is much better than what people are making them out to be. Led by Drummond and Reggie Jackson, they have to survive the initial stretch of the season without Brandon Jennings (Rehabbing from Achilles surgery). How about the Knicks too? Playing in the weakest division in basketball, I like them ahead of the Celtics, Nets, and 76ers in their division. 

....and these are just a few of the many storylines that could come up over the course of the season. Regardless if these scenarios come into play, this will surely be one of the most exciting and competitive NBA seasons in recent memory.

 Regular Season Predictions

Eastern Conference

Outside of Cleveland, Chicago, and Miami, the East seems very open to me. Toronto will win the Atlantic, but that division is one of the worst the NBA has had over the past 5-10 years. 76ers should bottom out the Conference, but  the Nets, Magic, Hornets, and Bucks could all be right there as well.

It pains me to say this, but I really really really like the Heat's starting lineup this year. Goran Dragic, Dwayne Wade, Luol Deng, Chris Bosh, and Hassan Whiteside. Wow. Not to mention Gerald Green, Justice Winslow, Mario Chalmers, Chris Anderson, Josh McRoberts, and Amar'e Stoudemire of the bench. This is arguably the most complete team in the East (with Cleveland), and will challenge for the top seed in the East. I would not be surprised if they were playing in June, especially with it possibly being Wade's last season in Miami.

Staying in Miami's division, Atlanta will be down this year. I am certain them winning the East by 7 games last year was an anomaly, and could be attributed to a weak division (injuries across the board) and an almost unimaginable winning streak. I expect big things from John Wall this season. This is the year he makes the jump to superstardom. You will be able to throw his name in with Russell Westrbrook, Kyrie, CP3, Curry, Lillard, Conley, etc. at the end of the season. I'm also hoping for Brad Beal to progress as well.

Orlando and Charlotte are two of the bigger wildcards to me. Orlando has an insane amount of young talent, but it might actually be too much as not enough people are getting minutes. Its a waste that Mario Hezonja (5th pick) is projected 8 minutes (!!) in the rotation. I really like the core of Oladipo, Vucevic, and Tobias Harris. Elfrid Payton could be the next coming of vintage Rajon Rondo, but it still remains to be seen. Big fan of Aaron Gordon, and he could mold a pretty Blake Griffin-esque game if he can add a jump shot.

As for Charlotte, they've had basically the same core in the past and have not been impressive. Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson always leave me wanting more. It was rumored MKG had added a reliable jumpshot, but it still appears to be nonexistent. I like the addition of Batum, and I am intrigued by what he could do in a larger role. Hoping to see Cody Zeller continue to improve, and Frank Kaminsky looked fantastic in the pre-season. Still unfathomable that Charlotte turned down 4 first-round picks for Kaminsky.

The Central division should be loaded. I like the Cavs, Bulls, Pacers, and Pistons all competing for playoff seeds. Cavs and Bulls will be two of the top three teams in the East. Pistons have the potential to grab a top-six seed. Andre Drummond could mature into a double-double monster this year. I am not as high on the Pacers as others, but I think they could still be a playoff team. They're relying way too much on Ian Mahimi and Jordan Hill for consistent production. I think Myles Turner will be starting by the end of November. Paul George has to become a consistent scoring option if the Pacers are going to make the playoffs. He has struggled with this a bit in the past, but signs of his growth are very present in the preseason.

Western Conference

The west will sure be fun this year. I like Oklahoma City to grab the number one seed. Their division is weak with Portland losing Aldridge and Durant returning from injury will give them the best 1-2 punch in the league. Utah and Minnesota should both be pretty decent, and could compete for the 8-seed. Realistically, however, I think both of these teams need another year for their cores to grow and develop (although Utah is further along than Minnesota).

Portland is all Lillard this season, and it will be a waiting game on the development of Mason Plumlee, Noah Vonleh, and CJ McCollum. Denver will be absolute garbage, and they have set themselves up for a solid rebuilding process. The Nuggets could have four first-round picks next year, as they are owed picks from: Houston (1-14 protected), New York (Right to swap), Memphis (1-5, 15-30 protected), and Portland (1-14 protected).

The Warriors and Clippers should battle it out for the Pacific division title. I think Golden State pulls away down the stretch, as they look to rest their role players and get them ready for playoff time. I'm a big fan of Phoenix this year, and this is the year they finally make it into the playoffs. Expect big things from Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. DeMarcus Cousins will be great as always, and I'm hoping Willie-Trill can get big time minutes in Sacramento.

I'm expecting San Antonio to win the southwest division. The team is simply too solid overall. It may be a difficult stretch, but I think they pull away from Houston and Memphis down the stretch. As a Harden fan, I'm hoping he can be as good as he was last year. I still believe he should have won MVP last year, and he needs to play at the same level if the Rockets want to stand a chance. Dwight will be Dwight as always. And there is a chance he could leave after this year. AND there is a chance he could leave after this year. AND THERE IS A CHANCE HE COULD LEAVE AFTER THIS YEAR. A Melo-Dwight-Wade big three in New York next season could be interesting...

Dallas is in a really weird state as a franchise. With Dirk's last season on the horizon (next 2-3 years) they're trying as hard as they can to win a title. Their team with Deandre Jordan is a lightyears more exciting than what they ended up assembling. And with Wes Matthews, Chandler Parsons, and Deron Williams hurt to the start the year, the Mavs could get behind early. I wish the Pelicans could do more to surround Anthony Davis with talent. Pick two out of Jrue Holliday, Eric Gordon, and Tyreke Evans to start a trade package and get someone who can really bring value to NOLA.

 

5 Things we know after Week 5 of the NFL Season

1. Devonta Freeman is a Beast

It was only 5 weeks ago that Tevin Coleman was the surefire starting running back for the Atlanta Falcons. He was recently removed from a junior season in which he terrorized opposing defenses. Altogether, he ran for 2,036 yards and 15 touchdowns, and doing so with a broken foot for all of Big Ten play. That stat does not get highlighted enough, HE RUSHED FOR 2000+ YARDS IN THE BIG TEN WITH A BROKEN FOOT. If it wasn't for Melvin Gordon, Coleman would've been the highest ranked Big Ten running back. Then he was drafted in the third round by the Falcons, and all was set for a TecoRaw breakout party...

Coleman got banged up in week 1 and formerly projected starter Devonta Freeman to regain the majority of backfield touches. And man, it is crazy to think where we are now. Over his last three games, Freeman's stats are as follows:

• Week 3 @ Dallas; 30 att, 141 yards, 3 TD
• Week 4 Houston; 14 att, 68 yards, 3 TD
• Week 5 Washington; 27 att, 153 yards, 1 TD

The guy has been absolutely unreal. It's sort of disappointing because it has taken away a little bit from Julio Jones production, but that is surely to pick up. Freeman is the number one fantasy player at the moment, and will continue to eat up snaps in Atlanta. He has played so well that Coleman's return will essentially be irrelevant. He's also been getting it done against solid defensive fronts in Houston and Washington. Freeman has the chance to keep up the production too, with games against New Orleans and Tennessee over the next 2 weeks.

2. The Bears really missed Jay Cutler

Jimmy Clausen starting for the Bears on the road at Seattle is a gruesome sight to imagine. As one could probably imagine, the Bears were shutdown on offense that game. However, they have looked good over the past two weeks with Jay Cutler returning to the lineup. The big-time comeback win on the road at Kansas City will help revitalize a somber team.

Cutler went for 252 yards, 2 TD, and 0 INT against a very solid chiefs defensive group. He led a final game-winning drive to seal the deal for the Bears. While the team is definitely in full-scale rebuild mode, they should be better once Alshon Jeffrey returns. Look for him to really break out of his shell, as him and Martellus Bennett will get about 70-90% of Cutler's targets. If Forte can stay healthy, the Bears will churn out a solid offense. Its just a problem that they have absolutely no defensive presence to back that up. Give them a year or two for a couple of solid defensive building blocks before the team can truly turn it around again.

3. Detroit is back to its old ways

The Lions have looked absolutely awful this season. It seems that management completely relied on Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson to lead them to winning ways this season. Simply put, Stafford is not the quarterback that Detroit wants him to be. He has an incredibly strong arm, but is way too turnover prone. And the guy just doesn't win games. His whole premise is lobbing it up to Calvin Johnson whenever he is in trouble. He may have a tight end version of him coming in Eric Ebron.

They lost huge defensive pieces in Donkey Kong Suh and Nic Fairley, although they added Haloti Ngata. Ezekial Ansah should have a monster coming out party with additional playing time, and Deandre Levy is a terror on the outside. Kyle Van Noy is very solid as well. Their defensive pieces are solid, but as a unit they haven't played well together. It is in part to their secondary, which is dreadful at best.

4. The AFC goes through Denver, Cincinnati, and New England

The Broncos, Bengals, and Patriots all head into week 6 at 5-0. All three of these teams have looked the most solid out of the first five weeks.

Denver's defense is one of the most thorough I can remember in the last 5 years. The secondary is absolutely stacked with Chris Harris and TJ Ward. The linebacking core is the best in the league with Von Miller, Brandon Marshall, Danny Trevathan, and Von Miller. Absolutely disgusting. Peyton has struggled but they have still been fine. If he can turn it on at some point later on in the season, Denver will be tough to beat.

Andy Dalton has looked like he's finally turned the corner from average to above average. Maybe he can get a little bit of the Flacco magic and win the Bengals a Super Bowl. I don't know how I let myself just say that. Still, the Bengals have looked great and playing in the AFC North will really help them this year, which is weird to say. Big Ben's injury has rattled the Steelers early, and a LeVeon Bell injury would be incredibly back-breaking to them. The Ravens have really struggled defensively without Suggs in the middle and they have no one for Flacco to throw to outside of Steve Smith. And the Browns have Josh McCown at quarterback.

No comment on Patriots.

5. Colts have a tough road ahead of them

A Thursday night win against the Texans is reassuring, but the Colts have a long stretch ahead of them. They face a brutal stretch of New England, New Orleans, @ Carolina, Denver, and @ Atlanta

Revamping the NBA Lottery

Stanley Johnson fell to the Pistons at #8 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. Could a new lottery system allowed him to go to the Spurs or Clippers? (Source: http://sports.cbsimg.net/u/photos/basketball/nba/img25225535.jpg)

 As Bill Simmons once suggested, the current NBA lottery format consistently awards the most "incompetent" team over the years. It is in most cases a result of poor management decisions and players not panning out. Like, when the Cavaliers were awarded three of four number one picks (also two number four picks). And the management team used it on Kyrie Irving, Anthony Bennett (Traded), Andrew Wiggins (Traded), Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters (Traded). Two of those players are surefire stars, which everybody knew at the time. Thompson just got too big of a payday. Waiters is with the Thunder now and looks like at best an above average role player. And some consider Bennett to be the worst #1 pick in history. Ouch.

There is absolutely no reason to reward such a poorly run organization with another first overall selection. That being said, the lottery system could benefit from a nice revamping. Over the past couple of years, two popular lottery formats have been suggested to the NBA.

The first scenario, publicized by Grantland's Zach Lowe, is the wheel format which pre-determines each NBA team's draft position for the next 30 years. Under this format, each team would select in a specific draft slot once, and only once, every 30 years. Simply put, the teams would cycle through the 30 draft slots year by year. The predetermined order is designed so teams would select within different parts of the draft each year, hypothetically creating a fair draft system.

This particular format is simpler to understand in pictorial form. The graphic below outlines the suggested formatting of the selections for the wheel system. The top-six picks are highlighted in red to show that each team would be guaranteed a top-six selection every five seasons. Additionally, each team would also be guaranteed at least one top-twelve pick every four years.

(Source: http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4484507/lotterywheel_medium.png)

Following the graphic: If a team was rewarded the first overall pick in the system's inaugural season their selections over the first six seasons would be the following: 1st, 30th, 19th, 18th, 7th, and 6th. Just follow the wheel around clockwise depending on the particular starting position.

While a radical change, this system is designed to create a fair and impartial lottery system for the draft process. Essentially, this idea would eliminate tanking from the NBA all together. If teams knew their draft order beforehand, they would have no incentive to try and lose. However, there are some serious complications with the wheel system.

First, the wheel could create situations where teams are rotting away for six years, which could be extremely detrimental to the organization and fan base. Let's say you're a low-caliber team playing in a smaller market (insert Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz), if you draft a Greg Oden or an Andea Bargnani with your top pick you have nothing to look forward to over the next five to six years. If you're the Milwaukee Bucks, could you survive by adding Greg Oden to your roster and then drafting 30th, 19th, and 18th for the next three years? Not a chance.

On the flip side, a top-tier team could grab a top-six selection and add even more talent to its roster. Imagine Golden State or Oklahoma City adding Karl Towns this year. With the parity among teams already so high, is this what the NBA wants? While teams would have the chance to build a team with it's share of top-six selections, this system could add to the growing parity in the league at least for the time being.

Additionally, another problem arises in collegiate players leaving early for the draft. If you're Jahlil Okafor or D'Angelo Russell, and Milwaukee is picking first in 2014, but the Lakers are picking first in 2015, who's to say you don't stay another year? If the draft slots are pre-determined prospects could leave earlier or later depending on which franchise is picking when. Considering this, the system would give at least somewhat of an advantage to big market teams.

While I love the idea of the wheel system, I think there are too many questions at this point surrounding how and when the NBA would implement such a system. With some more work, this system would be something the league will definitely consider within the next couple of years.

Moving forward, the second scenario would be returning to the NBA's original lottery format that was created when the NBA adopted the draft lottery system in 1985. In this system, each non-playoff team has an equally likely chance of winning the lottery. While certainly not the most creative system,  it makes a lot of sense.

If the sole goal of a season is making the playoffs, then all 14 non-playoffs teams are essentially the same. Despite record or roster differences between the non-playoff teams, each team did not accomplish its goal of making the playoffs. Also, in giving each team an equal shot at winning the lottery, this system eliminates tanking. If you're the 76ers and you have an equal chance at the first pick as 13 other teams, there is no reason to lose 26 straight games. Or have TJ McConnell on your roster.

In fact, this system sort of propels teams to win games and play their hardest. Even if you're destined for the lottery, you would be much better off as an organization by at least attempting to establish a culture of winning rather than tanking.

There are some questions surrounding the "fairness" of this system. For example, say Phoenix, which barely missed the playoffs in a stacked Western Conference, won the lottery and Milwaukee was awarded the 14th pick. There is some apparent disparity there. However, as I mentioned earlier, I think the current system is unfair in the fact that Cleveland has been awarded three first overall selections in the past four years. I guess it's just how you look at the situation.

Overall, I think instituting the original system, while not particularly creative, is the most plausible option and could make for a far more interesting lottery. Under the currently proposed wheel system, there is just too much room for increased parity between small market and big market organizations. I would love to see the wheel  adopted sometime within the future because I do believe it is the most fair system if it is implemented in right way and at the right time. It will be very interesting to see how Adam Silver deals with this situation moving forward.