Weekly Takeaways

I apologize for a lack of posts the past couple of weeks. For those who have not heard from the most recent podcast, I have recently got a job working for the Utah Jazz which may affect the frequency in which we at SportsTake can post content, including podcasts and articles. We are working, however, to branch out and create other media that can be posted. So please stay tuned for further content from Talmge Ames, Thabo Wright and Alex Whisler. But until then I will work to post content as often as possible.

With that said, here are my five weekly takeaways from the past week in sports.

1. Lebron and the Cavs may not be the best team in the Eastern Conference. It wasn’t long ago when people were completely counting out the Boston Celtics following an injury to Gordon Hayward, simultaneously clearing the way for the Cleveland Caveliers to reach the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year. Since then the two teams have been on complete opposite trajectories and not the ones you would think. The Celtics are currently riding a 9 game winning streak following a 0-2 start. Meanwhile, the Cavs are 2 games under .500 and have lost to the Hawks, Pacers, Knicks, Magic and Nets by a combined 64 points. Coincidentally the Cavs rank last in defensive efficiency and 28th in opponents points per game while the Celtics rank first in each category.

2. Kyrie Irving should be an MVP candidate. The success the Celtics have enjoyed is a direct result of the phenomenal play of Kyrie Irving. Irving has been forced to carry the Celtics due to Hayward’s injury and has responded in the best possible way. Irving is averaging 22.3 points per game on 46% shooting in addition to 6 assists and 2 steals per game. What is not shown on a box score, however, is how Irving has taken over games late. Multiple times during the Celtics 9 game win streak, Boston has found itself in a tightly contested game late in the fourth quarter. And each time Irving has taken over and almost single-handedly put the game away for Boston. Is it to early to question whether it was Kyrie Irving who carried Lebron and not the other way around?

3. The Patriots are once again the favorite to come out of the AFC. Early on into the season I sat here and stated that the Patriots defense would single handedly cost Tom Brady his sixth Super Bowl. How foolish of me. I forgot who I was dealing with. I should have known better than to doubt the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, Tom Brady, and the greatest coach to ever put on a head set, Bill Belichick. The Patriots are currently riding a four game winning streak and have only allowed an average of 12.75 points per game since their last loss, a 33-30 loss to the Panthers at home. The Patriots appear to be the most likely team to get to the Super Bowl especially considering the weak AFC.

4. The NFL could not care less about player safety. The NFL has consistently preached about player safety over the past few years, trying to convince us that they were doing everything in their power to make the game of football safer for the players involved. But if there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the past several weeks, it’s that this is absolutely false. It started with a late helmet to helmet hit from Seahawks CB Richard Sherman to Titans QB Marcus Mariota that occurred after Mariota went out-of-bounds and then proceeded to call the world ‘soft’. The hit resulted in no suspension. Fast forward to last Thursday when Dolphin’s linebacker Kiko Alonso made contact to the head of Raven’s QB Joe Flacco which resulted in a brawl and Flacco left the game with a concussion. Alonso was fined $9,000 although he was not suspended. And then again on Sunday, jawing between Buc’s QB Jameis Winston and New Orleans CB Marshon Lattimore resulted in Bucs WR Mike Evans running full speed and launching himself into the head of Lattimore, blindsiding the Saint’s rookie. Evans was suspended for a single game (much too low) although Evans was not ejected from the game. If the NFL actually cares about player safety, then plays like this would be punished more severely in order to dissuade players from making dangerous plays.

5. I’m a little nervous about the Jimmy Garoppolo trade. In Belichick we trust. In Belichick we trust. In Belichick we trust. This has pretty much been my throughout process since the Patriots traded QB Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a second round pick. Garoppolo seemed like the QB of the future for the Patriots once Brady retires and all signs pointed towards Jimmy G being a Pro Bowl caliber QB. While I’m sad to see Garoppolo go,I understand it. Garoppolo is coming up on a contract year and obviously was going to look for a place where he can get paid and get playing time. And Brady wants to play another 10 years so I understand getting something in return for Garoppolo rather than watch him leave in free agency. But now the Patriots are left with questions about the future of the franchise. No matter how good or how healthy Brady is, he can’t play forever. So when he does eventually retire, who is going to fill his shoes? My theory? Once Andrew Luck returns to 100% and starts for the Colts, the Patriots reacquire Jacoby Brissett and Brady continues to mold him into a starting QB and Brissett eventually leads the Pats to more Super Bowls. But maybe I’m dreaming.