Philadelphia Has 76 Problems, and Trading is One of Them
By Alex Horowitz
The 76ers are a bad team. Everyone knows that by now. They own one of the worst records in the NBA, which included a historic 0-16 start to the season. However, the one bright spot they had was second year point guard Michael Carter-Williams, who has the potential to be one of the next bright stars in basketball. The former Syracuse guard was averaging 15.0 points, 7.4 assists, and 6.2 rebounds for a struggling Philadelphia squad until he was dealt to Milwaukee in a four-team deal today. It is unclear at the moment what Philadelphia will be receiving in return. Other major pieces of this deal involved Isaiah Thomas heading Boston and Brandon Knight becoming the newest Phoenix Sun. In a separate deal, Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported that another young Philly guard, K.J. McDaniels, will he on the move to Houston.
Michael Carter Williams is on his way out of Philly (Via AP)
Now we are all left to wonder what Sixers management was thinking with these moves. Even if they were “tanking”, why trade their most valuable asset for basically nothing in return? They still have Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid in town, both who have loads of future potential, but with these deals it appears as if the timetable for a successful team in the City of Brotherly Love has been pushed back by at least several years.
Alex Horowitz is a senior at Briarcliff High School and is an aspiring sports writer. As a lifelong sports fan, he has rooted for the New York Knicks, New York Mets, and Detroit Lions. You can follow him on Twitter @alexhorowitz3
2014-15 NBA Predictions
As you know, the NBA season began last night. However, we decided to release our predictions today marking our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY. Thanks for your continued support over the last year and thank you in advance for your support in our second year! Feel free to comment with your own opinions, as these are simply ours. Without further ado, we present our 2014- 2015 NBA Season Predictions:
| EAST | ||
| Place | Sam Breiter | Brett Malamud |
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2 | Chicago Bulls | Chicago Bulls |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | Washington Wizards |
| 4 | Indiana Pacers | Toronto Raptors |
| 5 | Washington Wizards | Miami Heat |
| 6 | New York Knicks | New York Knicks |
| 7 | Brooklyn Nets | Charlotte Hornets |
| 8 | Charlotte Hornets | Brooklyn Nets |
| Bubble Team (9th) | Atlanta Hawks | Atlanta Hawks |
| ECF | Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks | Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls |
| West | ||
| Place | Sam Breiter | Brett Malamud |
| 1 | L.A. Clippers | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 3 | Dallas Mavericks | Golden State Warriors |
| 4 | Oklahoma City Thunder | L.A.Clippers |
| 5 | Houston Rockets | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | Houston Rockets |
| 7 | Phoenix Suns | Dallas Mavericks |
| 8 | L.A. Lakers | Phoenix Suns |
| Bubble Team (9th) | New Orleans Pelicans | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| WCF | L.A. Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks | Golden State Warriors vs. San Antonio Spurs |
| Champion and Awards | ||
| Sam Breiter | Brett Malamud | |
| FINALS | Cleveland Cavaliers vs LA Clippers | Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs |
| Champion | Cleveland Cavaliers | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Defensive POY | Dwight Howard | Joakim Noah |
| Rookie of the Year | Andrew Wiggins | Andrew Wiggins |
| Coach of the Year | Doc Rivers | Gregg Popovich |
| Most Improved | Tim Hardaway Jr. | Anthony Bennett |
| MVP | Blake Griffin | LeBron James |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Isaiah Thomas | Jamal Crawford |
Houston, We Have A Problem
By Christian Pierre-Louis
The Los Angeles Lakers hit 16 3-pointers against the Houston Rockets, but the last one meant the most.
With 1.3 seconds remaining, Steve Blake caught a short inbound pass from Jodie Meeks and drained his fourth 3-pointer of the night. Suddenly, the score was 99-98, and the Lakers held on for the final second and three-tenths to hand Dwight Howard an embarrassing loss against the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers.
Steve Blake hit a huge game winning 3-pointer to take down Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets (Via Getty)
Later in the game, Howard was repeatedly sent to the free throw line using the hack-a-Howard strategy, a strategy that Lakers’ fans painfully lived through last season. Howard finished 5-16 from the charity stripe, and his 15 points and 14 rebounds were overshadowed by his 31 percent foul shooting and four turnovers.
For Lakers fans, it was a case of déjà vu in more ways than one.
Watching Howard miss free throws late in the game was a familiar sight, even if it was welcomed for a change. Also, watching Howard lose the ball on careless turnovers was an all-too-familiar memory for fans watching at home.
This time, though, Howard wasn’t on the Lakers, so all of his mistakes were being celebrated across Laker Nation.
Aside from Howard, the Lakers were the same bunch they’ve been all season long. After getting out to a massive 17-point first half lead, the Lakers found themselves trailing at the end of a close ball game.
Howard’s consistent misses at the line allowed the Lakers to stay in the game, as LA ran out of ammo from behind the arc. Including Blake’s game-winner, the Lakers only made three field goals in the last five minutes of the game.
One of those field goals came via Meeks, who led the Lakers with 18 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc. The Lakers’ bench outscored the Lakers’ starters once again, but that didn’t seem to matter by the time everyone got into the locker room.
On a Thursday night in Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers won their first road game of the season, embarrassed the man who spurned their team, and made the Laker fans proud.
______________________________________________________________
Christian Pierre-Louis is a journalism major at Seton Hall University. He is a HUGE fan of the, LA Lakers, NY Giants, and NY Yankees. He is also an assistant sports producer at Seton Hall’s radio station WSOU 89.5 FM. You can follow him on twitter at @CPL_78.
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