NBA Diary October 25, 2016

These are just my free flowing thoughts of things that occurred, related to the league, on the date of which the article is titled. Some may be my reactions of different news articles, tweets, but mainly non-statistical, organic, lukewarm takes of game play. All games won’t be discussed. If you have anything you want my take on. Email me bigmellz@spitsgame.com or drop a comment below.

Opening night! Everybody is excited and happy that hoops is back and I don’t have to watch trash baseball games that don’t include the Dodgers. I’m still salty AF.

I just dropped my Western Conference Outlook article. But I didn’t have time to write one for the Leastern Conference, so here’s my order of finish predictions:

1. Cavs 
2. Raptors 
3. Pacers 
4. CelTricks 
5. Pistons
6. Wizards 
7. Bulls
8. Bucks

Others - Hornets, Hawks, Knicks, Magic, Heat, Sixers, Nets

I will eventually have takes on each of those teams, like I did for the West.

On to opening night.

As expected, the Knicks got smashed by the Cavs, who will definitely be in the NBA Finals again, barring an injury to either Lebron or Kyrie that would cause them to miss the post season. D. Rose looks good but you can’t help but to feel like an injury is inevitable. Melo is Melo. And Kristaps P-Funk looks like he’s going to be around for a while, maybe he can get some All-Star votes if Knicks are in early playoff contention.

Speaking of all-star, if Dame Dolla is not in the February exhibition, I will lose all faith in the selection process.

Last but not least, about that matter of the Warriors getting blown da phaq out by the Spurs. “It's only one game. It’s only one game.” Like please, STFU. Go have a seat and allow us Warriors haters to enjoy ourselves. I railed against Steph Curry being the unanimous MVP last season because I thought Kawhi deserved a few first-place votes. It is going to be fun watching an improved-on-offense Kawhi play as aggressively on that side of the ball as he does on defense.

My favorite take away from that game is the emergence of Jonathon Simmons, he was 5-5 for 18 points in the first half, so I literally asked myself, “Who da phaq is this guy?” I googled him and learned about his amazing plight. Then to close the game out, he embarrahked Javale McGee.

I hope you enjoyed this read.

2016/17 NBA Western Conference Outlook

Basketball season is here and we have some excitement to take our minds off of Trump, Clinton, and the presidential election. Thus it is necessary for me to get some of these thoughts off before the association gets into full swing. So, here is my snapshot version of the Western Conference outlook.

1. The Dubs  Fitting nickname for a team that racked up Ws at a record clip last season. As a matter of fact, they added 15 more in the playoffs, including the 3-1 series lead in the Finals before they added Pookie to the roster and smoked off the championship to Cleveland.

Over the summer, they were able to replace the uber athletic Harrison Barnes with some guy named Kevin, who most people think will make them unstoppable. This team will undoubtedly win a lot of games in blowout fashion.

Don't forget they were supposed to win it all last season but didn't. One thing swept under the rug was the fact Andrew Bogut was injured in game five of the finals; they were not the same without his physical presence. Guess who the Dubs shipped off to make room for Kevin... yup, Bogut.

2. The Machine  It is all about execution with this team. Working the system is why they have contended for championships year in and year out in the Popovich era. Tim Duncan retired and officially handed the on-court keys to OG Bobby Johnson, better known as Kawhi who still drives his '97 Chevy Tahoe from high school. There is nothing exciting to see here except a nightly clinic on getting open buckets and making your opponent work for everything.

Pau Gasol will try to fill in for Timmy, which he won't have a problem with on the offensive end but the team will truly miss Duncan on defense; he always made sure his guys were in the right place.

3. Clippers  Do not expect me to waste too many keystrokes on these perennial under achievers. They have a championship coach, passionate owner, the best pure point guard of the modern era, an athletic freak of nature at power forward, the best defensive center in the L, annual favorite to win sixth man of the year, and three-point assassin in JJ Reddick.

They might even be good enough to finish second in the conference when it is all said and done but will ultimately be judged by if they can exorcise their second round demons.

4. Kush Blazers  I am a hip-hop head first and foremost, so I love that Dame Dolla has an album coming out. I remember dudes like AI and Kobe were going to drop records but never did, but then again, they did not have bars like Dame. I would love nothing more than for him to drop a diss record about every point guard he lights up this year.

Dame has come out and said he wants to be the MVP, which nobody ever does. Dame knows that MVPs are only given to players on the best teams in the league, and knowing he has this on his brain means he has confidence in his teammates. And that is good enough for me to place them here.

5. The Westbrooks  I’m going out on a limb here because I don’t think the drop off due to Kevin leaving is that great, neither is the Serge exodus. I’ve always thought this was Westbrook’s team and since the former MVP wanted to bounce, it gives the rest of the gang more chances to play a larger role.

Most of the returning players aren’t saying they feel betrayed by Kevin, but they have to be feeling some type of way and it’s going to fun to see them leave their souls on the floor to try and show him they didn’t need him any fucking way. Acquiring Oladipo to be Westy’s running mate is bad news for opposing teams who want to hide their guards on defense.

6. NASA  Mike D’Antoni reintroduced pace back into the league when he took over the Suns job in 2003 and ran his 7 seconds or less offense. Daryl Morey is the statistics guru who’s had an imprint on the nerd revolution that has taken over the sports world, especially the NBA. Morey basically took the finer parts of what D’Antoni did with Phoenix and ran it through super data machines and churned out the blue print for winning basketball.

We now have a match made in offensive basketball heaven with the aforementioned gentleman. We also have the scoreboard operator’s nightmare. If they can figure out a way to stop people, they might win a championship, but since all they have is Ariza and Capela on defense, I’ll settle for The Beard, Eric Gordon, and Ryan Anderson getting buckets.

7. Stockton’s Old Team  They added some old heads in Iso Joe and Boris Diaw, aside from them, this is a young team. What’s old are the glory days of Stockton and Malone and when Deron Williams used to be elite. What’s also getting old is the rhetoric that this team is up and coming. I don’t get why everyone wants them to be NEXT.

I mean, I like Favors, Hood, Gobert, and Exum as individual players but think Hayward is a tad bit overrated, can’t figure out why Alec Burks got paid and brass traded for Dru Hill, I mean George Hill.

Anyway, they’re here strictly because I MUST be missing something. So to save myself from looking like an ass…

8. The Pups  In my neighborhood, I can’t look outside without seeing people walk their little creatures and look so happy to pick up poop, but that’s only for annoying cute ones that are kept in the house. For the most part there is a disdain for all others, particularly the ones that sleep outside; people mistreat them, euthanize them, and basically, aren’t welcomed in society.

Wolves are the largest member of the dog family, and just like all dogs, are usually cautious around humans but they aren’t domesticated. In the NBA, all the other teams have abused them for the past 12 years without repercussion. But this pack is going to start biting now that they have a trainer, err coach, who specializes in making his subjects defend and reach the playoffs.

Wolves mate in the winter time, look for these kids to start screwing everyone over after Christmas then wear down in April. I think they can finish higher than the 8 seed but I purposely placed them here because I want them to matchup against the Dubs. The Dubs weakness is the big man, the leader of pack is the best young big man in the L and ironically, a KAT.

9. Mavericks  Teams out of the playoffs and number three up top do not get nicknames from me, but if I were to name them, they will be the Geezers. Full Disclosure, I think they will make the playoffs but because of number 7, you know.

I liken this team to the old man in the park that’s looking for a good run but everybody takes him lightly until he starts roughing you up, faking you out your sneaks, and raining threes on you until you’re like, “WTF!” This is definitely a team full of that old man in the park spread out across all positions on the floor except for Harrison Barnes, who just got the boot from Silicon Valley and got major cake to not be the go-to-guy.

10. Grizzlies  The transition from ground and pound to pace and space is going to be a hard one. A bunch of square pegs trying to squeeze into a round hole. I see a lot of rectangular bricks failing to fall into a circular rim.

11. Nuggets  There is a lot to like about this squad, including Coach Malone and... Well I guess there is not much to like. Most of these guys play the same position. We can't even call Faried by his once-cool nickname any more.

12. Suns  Now there is a lot to like about this team, at least for the University of Kentucky fan in me. With the trio of former UK guards flying up and down the floor, this team will be fun to watch.

13. Lakers  The marquee team in the league is actually building from scratch, something that has not happened since before color TV.

14. Kings  They have a nice new arena, at least. #FreeBoogie

15. Pelicans  I wonder if Antonio Davis regrets taking the money so soon.

USC Trojans 21, Colorado Buffaloes 17

LOS ANGELES -- The USC Trojans defeated the 21st ranked Colorado Buffaloes 21-17 Saturday afternoon with some key plays by redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold and All American Adoree Jackson. The Trojans offense had their way with the Buffaloes, who entered the game ranked for the first time since 2005, but you wouldn’t know by looking at the final score.

Darnold led USC down the field on its opening drive and it appeared the home team would scratch the scoreboard early but they turned the ball over when Darnold scrambled from 18 and fumbled on the goal line. The turnover seemed to be the popular play of the game for the Trojans.

“It’s hard to win with four turnovers,” said USC head coach Clay Helton.

Read the rest of the story here

The Brexit Effect on English Soccer

Sports, for many people, is a way to take their minds away from other things going on in the world, such as the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union. But for soccer fans, this situation may have dire ramifications on the English Premier League, which most people consider to be the most entertaining football league in the world.

Currently, all players from EU countries are free to play in the EPL. However, those from outside of the EU’s borders, like Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez and Manchester City’s Yaya Toure, must obtain permission. The EPL is yet to comment on if the required permission will now be extended to EU nationals.

On June 23, prior to the announcement of Brexit becoming official, the English pound had a 1.47/1 rate compared to the U.S. dollar, today the rate has dropped to a 30-year low of 1.32/1. According to Bloomberg, the 8 percent drop is the worst day on record for the pound and it will only continue to plunge.

The effect this currency rate will have on the EPL is tremendous. If the league’s players are getting paid in pounds, then how much is the salary really worth? Salaries can be affected as exchange rates fluctuate.

The world’s best players not only flock to the league because of the quality of play but because the average salary paid by its teams trump more than any other football league.

An article published by cheatsheet.com in 2015 stated EPL players earned an average of $3.6 million per season, which is by far the most among the top five Union of European Football Association (UEFA) countries/leagues. The second highest was the German Bundesliga averaging $2.3 million per player, third on the list is Italy’s Serie A coming at $2.1 million, followed by Spain’s La Liga at $1.9 million and France’s Ligue 1 with $1.5 million.

UEFA leagues operate on an open market, which means players can change clubs, regardless of the country during the transfer window. The transfer window, generally, is a 12-week period between June and September. If a player is under contract and wishes to change clubs, the clubs involved will negotiate a transfer price for the players.

It is yet to be determined exactly how the Brexit will affect transfers between England and other countries, but one can assume that a stiff tariff might be applied by the EU to any trade that involves the UK. After all, players are products and are considered imports and exports.

One thing is for certain, English clubs will have to pay more pounds to continue attracting quality players like Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is currently a free agent. The transfer window hasn’t seen much action so far because the UEFA Euro 2016 is currently taking place, deals usually take place after major tournaments.

The Brexit couldn’t have happened at a worse time for the English Premier League.

#CSUDH Bulletin - Rite of Passage pt 3: Express Yourself With Originality

The right to freedom of speech and expression is granted to all citizens of the United States in the first amendment of the Constitution. It is the dearest of all written passages and most important for journalists. What it means is you can say whatever you want as long as you aren't committing libel.

Ask yourself this question, "Why would anyone want to read what I write or listen to what I have to say?" If the answer is because you think it's interesting, then by all means, share your thoughts or findings with the rest of the world, especially if it's never been said before. Even if the information is already out in the atmosphere, put your own twist on it by finding a different angle and go from there.

Many times, we think of ideas that we want to share but when the time comes, we forget about it. One solution is to utilize your smart phone by jotting your thought down in some notes or put it out there on social media. Using social media accomplishes two things: 1) You can easily retrieve what you put out there and expand up on it 2) Others will possibly interact with you and help spark additional thoughts; you can even use what they said in your article but make sure to always give credit when it's due.

After your article is completed, make sure you share it with someone to check for mistakes. Every story needs at least two pairs of eyes on it because you know what it is supposed to say, therefore there's a good chance you might overlook a typo while reading it. When the inspection is finished, publish it, an share it across as many social media platforms as possible. If you're feeling really good about what you wrote and excited, by all means tag folks or directly tweet it to them, flood the the damn timeline every hour.

I wrote a first-of-its-kind basketball article a while back, in hindsight, the writing wasn't all that great, but since it was original and thoroughly researched, I was proud of my work and spread it all over the place. It eventually caught the eye of a well-respected Fred Roggin and he shared it to his followers, then NBC shared it. I couldn't believe what had transpired, and to top it off, the man thanked me "for writing something original." That sentiment gave me all the confidence in the world to know I belong and can make it in this field.

If there is something you want to say, there's no better way to say it than in your own voice. Emulation will only take you so far. People will tune in because it is you, so do you. I live by the words I heard in a Roots song, "Never do, what they do, what they do, what they do."