Tag: Toronto Raptors

So Many Sports, So Little Time

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

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Wednesday was a busy day in the sports world. Too much for one person to handle some might say. But I’m here, so I may as well give it a shot….

NBA

Wednesday night showcased two NBA playoff matchups. Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers steamrolled the Toronto Raptors (125-103), taking a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Lebron did what he does, scoring 39 points while adding 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Just another day at the office huh?? Lebron’s 39 points were special because he passed Kareem-Abdul Jabbar for 2nd all-time on the playoff scoring list. Bad became worse for the Raptors as Kyle Lowry went down in the 3rd quarter with a left ankle injury. Lowry would return to the game, but with a noticeable limp, so I’d call Lowry questionable at best for Game 3.

The late game Wednesday night was Game 2 of the Houston Rockets vs. the San Antonio Spurs. The storyline here was simple: after a lopsided Game 1 win by the Rockets, how would the Spurs respond? And they responded exactly as I expected, with a 121-96 victory. Kawhi Leonard showed the world why he is an MVP candidate. Leonard dominated the offensive side of things with 34 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Tony Parker also had a good game, however, he had to be carried off the court during the 4th quarter when his left knee buckled. The real story of Game 2 was Leonard’s defense, as he showed why he is the 2-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year. He locked up James Harden for the majority of the game, holding Harden to 13 points on 3 of 17 shooting. I guess Leonard doesn’t fear the beard.

NHL

The NHL also put forth two playoff games on Wednesday night. The Anaheim Ducks won an overtime thriller over the Edmonton Oilers (5-4). After an awful giveaway in his own zone by Adam Larsson of the Oilers, Ryan Getzlaf fed a wide-open Jakob Silfverberg right in front of the net.  Silfverberg drove home the one-time winner just 45 seconds into overtime, and this series is now tied at two games a piece.

Earlier in the evening, the Sydney Crosbyless Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Washington Capitals in Game 4. Crosby is still out after leaving Game 3 with a concussion. I guess the Capitals felt bad for the Penguins, so they decided to score for them. Oh yeah, you heard that right. In the 2nd period, Pittsburghs’ Jake Guentzel sent the puck in front of Washington’s net and defenseman Dmitry Orlov thought it would be a good idea to kick that puck into his own net. Nice work! The Penguins went on to win 3-2, and now hold a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

MLB

There was a full slate of MLB games on Wednesday night, but there was one game that dominated the headlines. The Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles have an on going feud that began on April 11th. It all started with a hard slide from Manny Machado into 2nd base that took out Dustin Pedroia’s legs. Since then, the Red Sox threw at Machado’s head, the Orioles plunked Mookie Betts, and Machado was thrown at again (this time going behind him). These actions resulted in a conference call between the Red Sox and Orioles organizations, the MLB Commisioner, and the MLB Players Association calling for the feud to be put to rest. Well you guessed it, the feud was not put to rest. Wednesday night, Kevin Gausman hit Xander Bogaerts, albeit with a curveball, as some form of sneaky retribution. Gausman was immediately ejected. I view Gausman and the Orioles as the immature person who must get the last word in no matter how wrong they know they are. But at the same time, can we not throw baseballs at people’s heads at 100 miles per hour? Okay cool, thanks. Good Talk.

In New York baseball news, the New York Mets continued their roller coaster season, beating the Atlanta Braves 16-5. As for the Yankees, they continued their winning ways, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 8-6. Aaron Judge smashed his MLB leading 13th home run of the season, and I’m quite certain he grew a foot taller last night as well.

BOXING

I’m assuming you haven’t watched a boxing match since Evander Holyfield was in the ring, but let’s talk about it anyway. This Saturday, May 6th, Canelo Alzarez (48-1-1, 34 KO’s) will take on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KO’s) in an All-Mexican Showdown in Las Vegas. Coincidentally, this match will take place just one day after Cinco de Mayo. Canelo, the Junior Middleweight Title Holder, will move up a weight class to fight Chavez Jr. at a catch weight of 164.5 pounds. Canelo’s only loss to date remains a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2013. Canelo is the odds on favorite to win this match and for good reason. I see Canelo winning fairly easily in a unanimous decision.

SOCCER

Juventus is very good.

 

What did you watch on Wednesday night? Let me know all about it in the comment section below.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. You can also follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

 

 

Knicks To Sell The Farm For Andrea Bargnani

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

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Well it was business as usual for the New York Knicks on Sunday night. What do I mean? Oh I’ll tell you have no fear. Despite the Knicks “success” last season, the Knicks usually rival the New York Jets and Mets for head scratching managerial moves. Sunday night, the Knicks continued on their path to who knows what. The early reports indicate that the Knicks will trade Steve Novak, Marcus Camby, their 1st round draft pick in 2016, AND (yes there’s an and) 2 future 2nd round draft picks for Andrea Bargnani. The Knicks will also have to sign and trade a player to make the trade work, but that would be a nobody so let’s not stress over that part of this atrocity. Now, some of you are probably saying to yourselves, “but Bargnani is better than Novak and Camby, so why are you ripping this deal a new one”? Yes, Marcus Camby is older than dirt and Steve Novak is useless unless he’s WIDE open, but if I’ve taught you nothing else I’ve taught you that everything is about money (and in this case it’s about their dim future as well). Obviously if I could get Bargnani for just Novak and Camby, I’d be doing backflips right now, unfortunately the world doesn’t make that much sense. Bargnani is set to make 22.25 million dollars over the next 2 seasons compared to Novak and Camby’s combined 8.7 million salary. For a team that has little to no money to spend, it is mind boggling why they would decide to shell out this much money for Bargnani. Before I get into the draft picks, let me give you a little history lesson on Bargnani. Andrea Bargnani was the 1st overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. Originally from Italy, Bargnani has called Toronto home for the past 7 seasons. Unfortunately due to injuries, he hasn’t played more than 31 games over the past 2 seasons. Amar’e junior?? All joking aside that’s pretty much what he is. Bargnani plays next to no defense (that’s Amar’e). For someone who is 7’0″ tall, he should be embarrassed that he’s averaged 4.8 rebounds per game for his career (that one’s really Chris Bosh but that’s also Amar’e). Kevin Durant gets 8 rebounds a game by accident (I’m just saying). The Knicks rebound the ball really well and play amazing defense at the power forward position, so they should trade for someone who does none of that. For those of you who didn’t catch on there, that’s what they call sarcasm. Now follow me down here as I delve into the numerous draft picks that the Knicks gave up for absolutely no reason.

This trade is bad on so many levels, but the fact that they continue to trade their future away as if they have a present is the worst part. Knicks ownership is convinced that they can win now. The only problem is with Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani in your front court, you can’t win ever (forget now). I’m ecstatic that ownership wants to come out of pocket to try to win a championship, but if you’re going do that you should fill some needs rather than repeat your mistakes. As mentioned earlier, the Knicks will be shipping off 3 future draft picks (a 1st rounder and 2 2nd rounders). Really? REALLY?!?!?! Why do you think the Knicks only had 1 draft pick in last weeks NBA Draft? Ownership must think that if you can’t see it it doesn’t really exist (kind of like the wind). Anyway, the Knicks are instantly better on paper because they gave up a pile of scrap metal for Bargnani. However, it is the financials and future draft picks that will cripple the Knicks for years to come. What do you think of the trade? Tell me in the comment section below.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

What’s On TV??

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

It’s Friday night and you had a long week. You don’t feel like dragging your butt out of the house into the cold when you’re tired; so don’t. I’ve got just what you need to keep you company. So sit back, relax, and enjoy these basketball games on the collegiate and pro levels. Today, as most of you know is the 2nd day of the NCAA basketball tournament. Tonight you’ll have some good games starting at 7:20 p.m. EST. The action will start on TNT where North Carolina(8) will take on Villanova(9). North Carolina is the favorite in this one having played well leading up to the tournament. Look for UNC to win this one by 5 points. After that game you can switch over to either TBS or CBS for two interesting 7 vs. 10 match-ups. At 9:20 p.m. you’ll find San Diego State(7) taking on Oklahoma(10), and at 9:45 p.m. you can see Notre Dame(7) take on Iowa State(10). Both should be close games, but I like the lucky number 7 in both of these games. And lastly, in the final game of the 1st round you’ll have UCLA(6) taking on Minnesota(11). You can find that game on TruTv at 9:57 p.m. I see a nice upset in this game, with Minnesota showing the world why the Big Ten is the best conference in college basketball this year. I think they will pull out the victory by 7 points.

If you are the 4 people in the world that are not into college basketball, then let me highlight the best NBA games on TV tonight. Starting with my favorite team, the New York Knicks, they will be in Toronto this evening to take on the Raptors. You can find that game on MSG Network at 7:00 p.m. I foresee the Knicks winning a close game by 6 points. Lord knows they need to keep winning basketball games. If you want to watch the Miami Heat attempt to extend their winning streak to 25 games, then turn on NBATV at 7:30 p.m. They will be taking on the Detroit Pistons at home (I think it’s safe to say they’ll extend their streak). Whatever you tonight, enjoy yourself. Thanks for reading!

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook athttp://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Wednesday night Carmelo Anthony came back to the court and the offense followed. The Knicks beat a young Orlando Magic team by a score of 106-94. The game should have never really been that close, but the Knicks like to take their foot off the gas once they feel they have a comfortable lead. They did this twice last night. They found themselves up 15 in the 1st quarter which quickly shrunk to a 4-point lead, and they were also up by 20 points in the 4th quarter and only won by 12 points. There were some concerns as to how Carmelo Anthony would look after missing 3 straight games with a sore knee. He looked fine throughout the entire game and played a really good all around game. It was amazing, he actually looked to pass the ball a few times. Granted, they were playing the horrid Orlando Magic, but they reminded me of the team we saw 4 months ago. They played pretty solid help defense and offensively they hit their three’s (open threes). The Knicks success goes as Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler go, so it is imperative that Melo stays healthy and Chandler can return without any bumps in the road. The reports are now saying Chandler will be able to return in a week. Man I hope that is true because the Knicks won’t be able to defend consistently against playoff teams without him. After a night off Thursday, the Knicks will play back to back games against he Toronto Raptors Friday and Saturday night. You can catch Friday’s game at 7:00 p.m. in Toronto.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook athttp://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!