With the 2017 NBA Draft officially in the books, the Los Angeles Lakers are one step closer to finishing their rebuilding process and competing for an NBA title, or at least they hope. After landing the second overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery for the third consecutive year, the brain trust of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka made UCLA point-guard Lonzo Ball the newest member of the Lakers. Chosen as the first player under the Lakers' new regime, Magic is putting all of his eggs into Lonzo's basket in hopes of him being the new face of the franchise a season after the former UCLA Bruin helped lead the program to the Sweet 16 and compiled the most assists in a single-season in UCLA history as a one and done freshman.
Though its been widely speculated that many including Lonzo's outspoken father LaVar Ball saw the pick coming months ago, nothing was set in stone until NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced L.A.'s selection on Draft night Thursday evening. Despite the rumor of it being a foregone conclusion that the Lakers would take Ball, Magic and company still did their due diligence by working out other players and at least listening to trade offers. Not to mention a few boulders needed to be shifted along the way to make room for their "new leader" as Johnson called him. Having grown up in Southern California and playing collegiately just a stones throw away from his new home in Staples Center, Lonzo did take a gamble by working out exclusively for the hometown Lakers. And though he would consider working out for other clubs once the Lakers announced they had sent out invites to several other players in the Draft, the Lakers remained the only team he would meet with after both parties scheduled a second workout which solidified L.A.'s decision and proved to pay dividends for the 19-year old Ball.
Having drawn comparisons to future Hall of Fame point-guard Jason Kidd, the Lakers are getting an elite passer who is dynamic in transition and is an excellent shooter, something Kidd was not. When comparing their college numbers, Ball shot a 73% field goal percentage from within the three-point line compared to Kidd's 54% at Cal Berkeley. He also had him beat from behind the arch as Ball shot 41% from three compared to Kidd's 33%. So if Lonzo can pan out to be a better shooting version of Jason Kidd, I'd say the Lakers made out alright and have their leader Magic coveted.
If Lonzo can succeed in a Laker uniform, he'll deserve all the praise in the world as he enters the league with lofty expectations set by the constant chatter and sound bytes from his loudmouth father, coupled with playing under the bright lights of his hometown in L.A. And then there's the void left by the now departed D'Angelo Russell who the Lakers decided to trade in order to make room for Lonzo. Two days prior to the Draft, the Lakers packaged Russell who was selected second overall just two years ago and the expensive contract of Timofey Mozgov to Brooklyn in exchange for center Brook Lopez and the 27th Pick in Thursday's Draft which they would then use to select power-forward Kyle Kuzma out of Utah. While critics and fans alike praised the move which now free's the Lakers of Mozgov's terrible four-year, $64 Million dollar contract, they also expressed their disappointment in the Lakers' front-office for giving up on Russell so early into his career. Coming out of College at Ohio State University, Russell was touted as being the best passing point-guard since Magic Johnson. And though he would often times show flashes of brilliance, mostly with his shooting, he struggled to rack up the assists and failed to even resemble Kevin Johnson, much less Magic Johnson.
With the trade being just as much a salary dump as it was a chance to make room for Ball, the Lakers have now freed up nearly $60 Million in cap space for the chance of potentially luring two big name free-agents with such names as Paul George and LeBron James expected to hit the free-agent market in 2017-18. With lots of money to play with in the coming seasons comes plenty of intrigue. But that's not to say this season isn't worth forgetting about according to one person. Just when you hoped the annoying interviews and quotes from Lonzo's father LaVar Ball were through, out he comes with another batch freshly brewed from that relentless mouth of his. After his son was introduced by the team during a press-conference on Friday, LaVar made sure to add at least one more pressure-filled prediction on his son's shoulders by claiming, "Lonzo Ball is going to take the Lakers to the playoffs this year." While I hope he isn't wrong with that one, if Lonzo and company can deliver on LaVar's latest promise, it'll end the Lakers' four-year playoff drought, the longest in franchise history.
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Finally. At last. It's about time. Just a few expressions that had to be running through the mind of former NBA MVP and 4-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant who can now be regarded as a champion after finally getting the monkey off his back by adding a Larry O'Brien Trophy to an already impressive resume following Golden State's 129-120 win over the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers last night in front of a max capacity crowd. After being on the losing end to a LeBron James-led team in his first NBA Finals experience back in 2012, Durant appeared much hungrier in his second go around, leading his team in scoring in all five games and averaging 35.2 Points Per Game, 8.4 Rebounds and 5.4 Assists, while shooting 60 for 102 from the floor (.588) and earning Finals MVP honors in his first year with the team. Something only Moses Malone (1983) and Magic Johnson (1980) had done before him. By pouring in 39-points in last night's series-clincher, the 28-year old Durant joined an elite class of players as only Jerry West, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki managed to average more career playoff points at the time of their first NBA title.
Avenging last year's heart-wrenching loss in which the Warriors became the first team in NBA Finals history to blow a 3-1 series lead, Golden State made quick work of their counterparts, needing only five games to seal the series and claim their second title in three years. Though he wasn't with the team at the time, the heartbreak of blowing that 3-1 lead was also shared by Durant who saw the Warriors storm back from a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference Finals against Durant's then Oklahoma City Thunder. Both collapses would prompt Durant to leave and the Warriors to pursue him, making for what would ultimately be a mach made in heaven as evident by their remarkable run in this year's playoffs. Finishing 16-1 along their chase to the title, this year's Golden State team has to be up there among the greatest runs in NBA history for their pure dominance. And had it not been for a blowout defeat at Cleveland in Game 4, the Warriors would've been the first to go a perfect 16-0 in the postseason. But it's not just this postseason that's been impressive.
Led by head coach Steve Kerr, the Warriors have stringed together one of the greatest three year stretches of all-time. After claiming the franchise's first NBA title since 1975 in 2015, the Warriors followed that up with an all-time great regular season record of 74-9 as well as another trip to the Finals and managed to bookend it with another NBA title. Had it not been for the 3-1 collapse in which the Cavs climbed their way back to pry the championship away from Golden State's grasp just a season ago, we'd be looking at the first three-peat since the Kobe-Shaq Lakers of the early 2000's. In what's become somewhat of a rivalry, Cavs-Warriors has certainly become must-watch TV over the past few seasons and last night's Game 5 was no different and the viewers would agree as it gained the highest rating for an NBA game since Game 5 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Generating a 16.0 metered market rating, ratings shot up 13 percent from the Game 5's of each of the past two years when these two teams met.
The Real MVP - Immediately following the game, it was only appropriate that Durant was greeted on the floor by his mother Wanda who Kevin based much of his memorable MVP speech around after the 2014 season. The two shared a moment and were brought to tears as confetti fell from the rafters at Oakland's Oracle Arena. Not shying away from his emotions, Durant hasn't been one to shy away on the game's biggest stage either as he became one of only three players to score 25 points or more in each of his first 10 NBA Finals games, joining only Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal. Durant also received a congratulatory hug and handshake from LeBron who Durant told they're, "tied up now" at an even 1-1 against one another in the Finals and that they'll, "have to do this again." Assuming Durant returns to play for the Warriors next season and chooses not to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract, both teams are perennial favorites to make it back to a fourth consecutive NBA Finals next year. And I'm sure we'd be treated to yet another show between LeBron and Durant if they met up as both players were equally good against one another when guarding each other in this series. While Durant scored 43 points and shot 18-for-30 from the floor including 4-for-11 from three with James guarding him, LeBron scored 44 points on 18-for-32 shooting and an identical 4-for-11 from three with Durant guarding him.
Despite becoming the fourth player and first NBA MVP to lose in five NBA Finals, the 32-year old LeBron averaged the first triple-double in NBA Finals history by posting 33.6 Points Per Game, 12.0 Rebounds and 10.0 Assists to further his claim for the greatest of all-time in his seventh consecutive Finals appearance. Sure it's another Finals loss to his belt, but like LeBron said in his post-game presser, "I left everything I had out on the floor every single game for all five games", doing all he could while receiving minimal help from his teammates. A much different approach than the one he took two years ago when he sat at his locker for nearly an hour with a towel over his head. Even when LeBron was on the sideline getting the little rest he received (28 minutes), the Cavs were outscored by 27 points in the series.
With another ring to his resume, Warriors coach Steve Kerr adds ring No. 7 to his mantle after winning 5 as a player with the Bulls and Spurs. As for someone else destined for the Hall of Fame who waited even longer than Durant for his first Championship ring, Steve Nash can finally say he's got one. After playing 20 seasons with the Mavericks, Suns and Lakers and never making it past the Conference Finals, 2-time league MVP Steve Nash joined the Warriors following their 2015 title run as a player development consultant as was one of the first people to receive a hug from Kevin Durant in the tunnel as the players made it from the floor towards the locker room. With Durant being one of the players Nash worked the most with during the season, the two can now share in common that they've got a Championship ring on the way, regardless of how they got it. With the sole mission of winning a ring being the reason Durant signed with Golden State during the offseason which sparked plenty of criticism, he can finally sleep well knowing his decision payed off as a success.
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With one of the worst records in the National League and a league-leading 36 losses, you would think the 24-36 San Francisco Giants would be ready to jettison a few guys in preparation of retooling for a successful run in 2018, right? Wrong. The Giants actually did the opposite of that on Tuesday by going out and acquiring former Texas Rangers closer Sam Dyson for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The 29-year old reliever who's been knocked around this year to the tune of a 10.80 ERA in 17 games, is only a year removed from posting a 38-save season for the Rangers and an ERA of 2.43 and two seasons removed from an impressive 2015 in which he logged a 1.14 ERA while splitting time with the Rangers and Marlins. Those numbers have been a far cry from what 2017 has looked like thus far for Dyson which led to him being demoted from the closer role in Arlington.
After being designated for assignment by the Rangers, the Giants decided to take a flyer on Dyson and are hoping one team's trash is another team's treasure. Giants skipper Bruce Bochy said it himself following Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Brewers during which Dyson was acquired that he hopes a change of scenery will do the newly acquired Dyson some good. Though his fastball has reportedly decreased from 96 mph to 93 mph since the start of May, his strikeout to walk ratio has also plummeted as batters have feasted off of Dyson with a .392 batting average. It's obvious the guy is struggling, but who's to say Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti who served as a closer himself, can't help turn the guy around and pinpoint just what it is that has led to such a disappointing start to Dyson's 2017 campaign. Dyson brings with him five years of big league experience and the know how to pitch the late-innings. A pair of guys who have both caught and faced Dyson and are glad he's joining the team is Buster Posey and Joe Panik. Posey, who was behind the plate and caught Dyson in this year's World Baseball Classic, praised him for his powerful sinker by calling it, "one of the best sinkers" he's ever caught. Panik also commended Dyson's power sinker only he was in the batters box facing Dyson whom he went 0-for-6 against in his career.
As Panik and company no longer have to worry about facing Dyson's powerful pitch, they're hoping he can regain that power and use it to help right the ship in the Giants bullpen that has been sinking since last season. If the newest member of the Giants can somehow manage to regain his form of the last few seasons, he could be in line for a set-up role to closer Mark Melancon.
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Following their dreadful month of April, the early part of May appeared to be a step in the right direction for the San Francisco Giants as they took two of three on the road against the archrival Dodgers in their first trip to Los Angeles this season. With one of those wins being a 4-3 victory against Dodger ace Clayton Kershaw in the series-opener, a 4-1 win in the rubber-match would help the Giants bookend the series with victories as the Giants claimed only their second series win of the season and their first on the road. The win would also be victory No. 1,800 in the illustrious career of manager Bruce Bochy, allowing him to etch his name into the record books as being only the ninth skipper in Major League history to reach that feat along with three World Series titles. And the other eight before him are all in the Hall of Fame, a place the 62-year old Bochy will likely join them someday.
With many great seasons under his belt, 2017 doesn't appear to be one of them as the rest of the road trip was one Bochy would rather forget about. With three games down along this road trip and six more to go, the Giants would pay a trip to Cincinnati where the Reds swept a three game series in which the Giants were outscored 31 to 5. As if the Giants couldn't wait to get out of the Queen City any faster, the team bus would break down on the way to the airport, adding insult to injury. It would likely be a bad omen of things to come as their next series against the New York Mets wasn't a whole lot better. After dropping the first two games at Citi Field, the Giants headed to the ninth inning in the series finale on the verge of being swept. Trailing 3-2 and set to face one of the league's best closers in Jaurys Familia, the Giants managed to pull a rabbit from their hat, rallying for 4 runs including a bases-clearing double by rookie Christian Arroyo to put the Giants ahead, 6-3. But the Mets wouldn't go down without a fight as the Giants would suffer a scare of their own, giving up a pair of runs before escaping with the 6-5 win. The comeback victory would snap a streak of 134 consecutive losses when trailing heading into the 9th inning.
Finishing the road trip 3-6, it was the first inning that proved to be trouble for the Giants in all six of their games in Cincy and New York which saw Giants starting pitchers allow at least one run in the opening inning, including a pair of 2- run first innings, one 3-run first inning and one 4-run first inning. One guy who didn't wanna leave New York's Citi Field was one Buster Posey who homered in three consecutive games for the third time in his career and the first time since June 2014. A return to AT&T Park for a 7-game homestand against the Reds and Dodgers would begin and end with losses, but would ultimately be a success as the Giants managed to win a pair of series consecutively for the first time in 2017, highlighted by a season-high 5-game winning streak after taking 3 of 4 from the Reds and 2 of 3 from Los Angeles. During their win streak, Giants pitching would allow a total of 11 runs, a night and day difference from the 3-game series at Cincinnati alone. The homestand would also feature the second longest game in AT&T Park history -- a 17-inning marathon that ended on a walk-off blast by Posey to beat the Reds, 3-2. It would be the third walk-off home run of Posey's career and his fourth homer in five games.
San Francisco's winning ways would continue in the first part of their following road trip as the Giants took 2 of 3 from the St. Louis Cardinals. Playing their best ball yet, a 6-4 win to open a 4-game series against the reigning World Champion Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field would give the Giants 9 wins in 12 games. Unfortunately, they would follow that up with four straight losses including each of the next three at Wrigley and the first of three at home against the Braves. Prior to a 2-run homer by outfielder Mac Williamson in the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss to the Cubs, the Giants stringed together a streak of 19 consecutive solo home runs, falling two shy of tying their own Major League record set in 2011. After winning the next two games against Atlanta, the Giants would host a 3-game series against the red-hot Washington Nationals who entered the series 30-19 and eight games ahead of first place in the NL East. As if the Giants didn't already have their hands full with one of the top teams in the National League, a benches-clearing brawl some three years in the making would take center stage in the series-opener.
Giants reliever Hunter Strickland who was taken deep not once but twice by Nats outfielder Bryce Harper in the 2014 NLDS where the two exchanged staredowns and a few words as Harper made it back to the dugout, made it very clear that he hadn't forgotten about Harper showing him up, despite the Giants eventually winning that series and going on to win their third World Series title in five years. And in their first meeting since then, Strickland would greet Harper with a 98mph fastball to the hip that Harper took exception to and charged the mound. With both players landing a punch before being separated or in Strickland's case carried off the field against his will by his own teammates, we would be treated to our first "basebrawl" of the 2017 MLB season. The fight would land both players suspensions as Strickland was hit with a 6-game suspension and Harper was hit with a 3-game suspension after having his initial suspension of 4-games reduced. Oddly enough, the two guys that would receive more damage than either Strickland or Harper were Jeff Samardzija and Michael Morse who collided head first when trying to get in between the fracas. While Samardzija would be fine enough to pitch the next game, Morse wouldn't be so lucky as he showed up to the park the following day showing concussion-like symptoms which ultimately landed him on the 7-day disabled-list.
In what's been another rough year for the Giants bullpen, Strickland has been one of the few bright spots and owns a team-leading 1.45 ERA in 22 appearances (18.2 innings pitched). By completing the three-game sweep, Washington would eventually get the last laugh as the Giants fell to 13-16 in the month of May and 22-33 overall. In need of a miracle to help turn things around fast, the Giants are tied for last in the division with the Padres and are dead last in the league in runs score per game. Given their struggles and the unlikelihood that they'll be able to overcome their early slumber, it's worth wondering whether or not the Giants will be sellers at the July 31 trade deadline, something Giants fans have been used to being on the opposite end of since 2009. With such names as All-Star pitcher Johnny Cueto who's eligible to opt out of his contract at the end of the season as well as infielders Joe Panik and Brandon Belt ringing out the top of the list of players who the Giants could certainly field offers for if a playoff contender comes calling, the faces on this Giants ball club could look much different come August if the struggle continues. And with 15 of their next 20 games on the road to kickoff the month of June, let's just hope the team bus can survive without breaking down this time around.
Noteworthy: Matt Cain became the 12th pitcher in Giants franchise history to log 2,000 innings with the club, tying them with the Braves and Cubs for the most pitchers all-time with at least 2,000 innings pitched.
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