Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Wizards, Bucks, Rockets, Thunder

On to day 8 of my NBA countdown.

Coming in at number 8 I have the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are a lot like the Raptors,  I like the Wizards back court way more. John Wall is one of the best point guards in the league. The dude can flat out fly. He is so quick with the ball in the open floor. He is an explosive dunker. He has kind of gotten himself a jump shot. He is a very good defender. I love everything about John Wall's game. I also love that the Wizards front office finally realized how great he is and gave him that enormous contract. Bradley Beal, when healthy, is a great scorer. He finally played, for him, a full regular season, and he was great in the playoffs. He is the perfect compliment to a player like John Wall. He doesn't need the ball all the time, and he can hit some open shots. He got so much better last season. His health is the biggest factor when determining how he will look, but if he can play as many games this year as he did last year, he is going to be an All Star. I'm a fan of Otto Porter Jr. He was looking like he was going to be a bust, but he turned all that around last year. He really showed he was worth the third pick when they took him, and his game got so much better. He is a very good open shooter and an okay enough defender. Marcin Gortat is there for the toughness he brings. He isn't a scorer, but he can rebound, play defense and he will put fear into opponents with some hard fouls. Kelly Oubre is turning out to be an okay player. He is kind of figuring it out, and he is the best bench player the Wizards have. Markieff Morris, just like his brother Marcus, is a pretty decent NBA player. Markieff can hit open shots, he plays defense and he brings it every night. What the Wizards lack, and what will be their downfall in the playoffs, they have no real depth behind Oubre. Ian Mahinmi is a waste of a contract. He was horrendous last year, hurt all the time and in the preseason, just look at how he got dunked on the other night. Tim Frazier was their "big" free agent, but he hasn't really done anything in the pros yet. Jodie Meeks is there, but his best days are way behind him. Mike Scott came over as a free agent too, but so what. The Wizards rely solely on their starting 5. Now, I love their starting 5, but they need some help on the bench, especially come playoff time. If they can get some real bench players, they could make some noise in the East. But, as I see them now, they are a 50 win regular season team and a first or second round out in the playoffs.

At number 7, and I am going way, way out on a limb for this team, I have the Milwaukee Bucks. First off, they have Giannis Antentekoumpo. He is amazing. He is freakishly athletic. He is so long. He has bulked up. He is a highlight reel every night. Once this kid gets a jumper, and he will, there will be no stopping him. He is next. He will be a perennial all star and always in the MVP conversation. Antentekoumpo is amazing. After Antentekoumpo, it gets kind of murky, but it is also filled with players that play within their limitations. Jabari Parker looked great last year until he got hurt, again. If he can stay healthy for 60 games or so, he and Giannis make up for a great tandem of forwards. Parker is an excellent scorer and a great floor runner. Malcolm Brogdon was a great surprise. Now, we get to see if last year was for real or a fluke. I like to think he is going to be a decent NBA player, so lets hope he continues to get better. Thon Maker showed some flashes last year, and he should frighten opponents if/when he starts to figure it all out. He is built like Giannis, only a bit thinner and not as polished yet. Khris Middleton is an underrated scorer. He, mush like Parker, gets hurt too often, but when he is in there, he gets buckets. He is good for anywhere between 18-22 points a night. Matthew Dellavedova stinks. Luckily for the Bucks, they can now rely on Brogdon and Middleton. If all Greg Monroe did was rebound and play defense, he'd be one of my favorite players. But sometimes he tries to do too much offensively. He is such a good rebounder and a good enough defender, that is all he should do. John Henson is a pretty decent vet. He is tall, can shoot and plays a little defense here and there. Tony Snell has gotten so much better since he was traded to the Bucks from Chicago. He is doing all the little things that help playoff teams continue to stay in the playoffs. I think DJ Wilson is a great fit with this team. He won't be asked to do too much, and he can team up with a guy like Maker on the second team and they can use their length and ability to stretch the floor to scorch other second units. The Bucks have one super star and a bunch of role players. In the East that is more than enough to challenge for a top 4 seed. This team will go as Giannis goes, and by all indications, that is up.

At number 6 I have the Houston Rockets. The Rockets got better this offseason. I'm still not too sure of how Chris Paul and James Harden will coexist happily, but they got better. Paul is one of the best point guards ever. He is so good at running an offense, and I think he will be fine in Houston. James Harden was a revelation last year. He looked so good. Hopefully that is the guy the Rockets get this year, and not the guy from 2 seasons ago. I am a big Clint Capela fan. He is an excellent rim runner and I love his tenacity on defense, which this team needs since they are not that good on that end. Eric Gordon was healthy all last year and he won Sixth Man of the Year. He was a great bench scorer and a knock down three point shooter. If he stays healthy, expect more of that this year. Same with Ryan Anderson, except he isn't as good as Gordon, and the Rockets want to trade him. Nene is still a good NBA player. When he went down in the playoffs last year, the Rockets missed his toughness and inside presence. He needs to be in this lineup for this team to succeed. The other guy the Rockets got this offseason, PJ Tucker, will bring some added toughness along with Nene. I still am not too sure how he fits, but he is a consummate pro, and the guy will do the dirty work with a smile. Every contender needs a player like that. Trevor Ariza is still there and he is still another three point threat. His defense has tailed off, but the dude can still shoot. I like Tairk Black on this team. This was another move to make this team tougher. They got pushed around a bit last year, but with Black, Tucker and Nene, that won't happen as much. Luc M'Bah A Moute is gone from the Clippers, and I think he will have much more fun playing with this group of guys. The Rockets are going to be a good to great regular season team. You don't add Chris Paul and get worse. But, both Paul and Harden have been the ultimate playoff chokers. Will that change this year? In the hyper competitive West? We will have to wait and see.

My final team for today, coming in at number 5, is the OKC Thunder. Tell me another team that had a better offseason? I'll wait. Cant think of one? That's because the Thunder got Paul George and Carmelo Anthony and offloaded Victor Oladipo's contract and traded away three players that they couldn't play in the playoffs last year. Oh yeah, Russell Westbrook is still there too. I mean, Westbrook, George and Carmelo, that is one hell of a big three. Paul George, while not KD, is a perfect fit next to Russ. He doesn't always need the ball, can score when open and attack the rim, is one of the best defenders in the league, and he is in a contract year. He is going to be awesome this year. Carmelo, if he plays like Olympic Carmelo, will get so many open looks he won't know what to do with himself. This is one of the best places he could have been traded to. Russ will have to taper down his work load, something I think he will be fine with, but don't expect him to not go 100 percent every night. He will continue to play his ass off and the Thunder will benefit from that. Now, it will take a little bit of time for these three to figure it all out, but when they do, watch out. The Thunder also have Andre Roberson. Yes he is a horrendous shooter, but give all of his shots to Anthony or George, and let him focus on what he does best, play defense. He and George will be able to lockdown legit back courts by themselves this season. I love this pairing. Steven Adams is going to be able to rebound and kick all year long. He is a guy that doesn't care about stats, and on this team, that is perfect. The thing that should worry Thunder fans, they do not have a great bench. It is okay, but not great. Alex Abrines is a fine player, but he still needs time to develop. Their draft pick, Terrance Ferguson, who knows. In his tapes he looked great, but when you talk to some people that scouted him, they say he comes and goes sometimes. I do love the idea of Patrick Paterson as their sixth man. He is a real good all around player and they got him on a great contract. He is their best bench player. Jerami Grant, while hyper athletic, I just don't see him as a great talent. Raymond Felton, he is too old and only getting slower. Semaji Christon and Josh Huestis are more likely to be in the G League when the season starts. Same with Dakari Johnson. There is no denying how much better and how surprising the Thunder got this offseason. You don't add two great players and not expect to get better. As I have said, it may take 15-20 games, but when the Thunder's new big three figure it out, they are going to be awesome. I could honestly see them push for the 2 seed in the West.

That's it for today, come back tomorrow when I am back to just three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Pelicans, Raptors, Heat, Timberwolves

To change things up just a bit, for a surprise type ending if you will, I'm going to do 4 teams today and tomorrow, then back to three on Friday, saving Monday for my number 1 overall team. It may be a bit odd, but hey, it's my blog and I will do what I want. Anyway, here we go.

At number 12 I have the New Orleans Pelicans. I am much, much higher on this team then some of the so called experts seem to be. I love the trying to be the twin towers thing that they are doing. Boogie Cousins is one of my favorite NBA players. I know he can be a hot head at times, and he may whine a bit too much, but he is so god damn good at basketball. He is nearly unstoppable in the low post, and he has gotten himself, for a guy his size, an okay jumper. He is also a tenacious rebounder. If he is fully engaged on defense he is a force to be reckoned with. This is probably his last year as a Pelican too, so I expect him to ball the hell out. Anthony Davis is a once in a generation player. When healthy, there is no better center in the league. He literally does it all. He can dominate the post, he can shoot all the way out to the three point line, he is a great rebounder and one of the best rim protectors in the NBA. He has all the tools and he is only going to get better. He just needs to stay healthy. I could see him make a real push for MVP this year, especially if the Pelicans are as good as I think they will be. I am not a big Rajon Rondo fan, but I love the signing. I know he is hurt, but he will be back before they even hit the quarter mark of the season. He cannot shoot, at all, but he will put Boogie and Davis in the best possible position to each average at least 20 points a game. And if he is engaged on defense, well, we all saw what he did in the playoffs before he got hurt last year. Jrue Holiday got too much money, but I get why the Pelicans did it. He is very important to this team, and he has played through some bad injuries and bad family stuff for this franchise. He is also not that bad too. I like that Ian Clark is going to get some real playing time for the Pelicans. He showed flashes here and there when he got in games for the Warriors last year, but he was way too far down the depth chart. Now, he will get 20 minutes plus a game. Omer Asik needs to go, especially since Boogie is now on the team. He is a zero gain for this team. His contract was an atrocity and they need to move on. Soloman Hill is a fine role player. Nothing more, nothing less. Tony Allen is going to bring some much needed toughness and defense to this team. Cheick Diallo, who I thought was going to be a bust, looked okay in his limited playing time last year. He can spell either Davis or Boogie when they need a break. The Pelicans may not have many big names besides Boogie and Anthony Davis, but I would be happy about having those 2 guys if I were a Pelicans fan. Look for them to return to the playoffs this year.

At number 11 we have the Toronto Raptors. What is there to say about the Raptors that I didn't say last year, or the year before that. They are running it back once again, and while that will be good for 50 plus regular season wins and a playoff berth, will they make it passed the second round? I don't know. Depends on who they play I suppose. But, getting Kyle Lowry to return was big. He is an important player and a good playerfor the Raptors. He just needs to play better in the post season. DeMar DeRozan is a great scorer. He is one of the better mid range shooters and rim attackers. The problem with him, he cannot shoot threes. He has never been a good three point shooter. He will still get 24 or 25 points game though. Serge Ibaka is back. He kind of tailed off at the end of last year, but I like his fit with Toronto. He is a good third option, he has expanded his touch and he can still be a good rim protector. Jonas Valenciunas is back, but he hasn't gotten better every year like so many other younger players have. He is good for 12 points and 8 rebounds a night, but if I had to pick between him and Marcin Gortat, I'd go with Gortat. Valenciunas just hasn't shown the full potential so many expected out of him when he came into the league. Losing PJ Tucker and Patrick Paterson will hurt. But, this gives guys like Norman Powell and Lucas Nogueira more playing time. They could replace some of what the other guys are leaving behind. Jakob Poertl is a mystery to me. I expected him to be good, but he had a rough rookie year. Maybe he will bounce back, maybe he will be a bust, but this season will let us know for sure. They signed KJ McDaniels and CJ Miles this offseason. McDaniels was pretty mediocre in Detroit. But, CJ Miles was the Pacers second best option last year. He is a very good, long and left handed scorer. Don't sleep on Miles. The Raptors also drafted OG Anounoby. He will miss the first part of the year recovering fro, his injury, but I do see him as a lite version of Victor Oladipo. The Raptors will be a good regular season team and coast to the playoffs, but matchups will be a determining factor as to how far they go.

At number 10 I have one of my new favorite teams, the Miami Heat. I love what the Heat did in the second half of last year, and I think they will only get better this year. Erik Spoelstra is a good coach. Last year made that wildly clear. I am a big fan of Hassan Whiteside. I'd put him second to only Rudy Gobert as the best rim protectors in the NBA. He is also a beats on the boards. And now he is figuring out the offensive end. That is scary. Goran Dragic is a solid NBA point guard. He can pass, score and even defend a little bit. Dion Waiters has finally found a perfect spot for himself to just let it fly and fly as often as he wants. I would not be shocked at all if he is 20 point per game scorer this year. James Johnson looks like a linebacker and runs like a running back. He is so big and strong and can get to the rim. Tyler Johnson, after getting a crazy contract, wasn't all that bad last year. He surprised me with how okay he was. This is the make or break year for Justise Winslow. Either he fixes his jumper, or he is destined to be a bench guy the rest of his career. He still does play some solid defense though. We will also see how he does coming off an injury. I love the pick of Bam Adebayo. He looks like he is going to be a solid center in the NBA for awhile. He is big and can run the floor. All he really needs is a competent jumper. Josh Richardson isn't all that bad either. This Heat team reminds me a lot of the early 2000's Pistons. They don't have any "star" players, but they do have guys that bought into playing team basketball. They won't win the title, but I do like them to be a top 4 seed in the East come playoff time.

And for the fourth and final team of today, I have the Minnesota Timberwolves. Last year I was reluctant to call this team a playoff team. This season, I would write it in pen. First off, they got Jimmy Butler. He was one of the prize guys this offseason, and he is reuniting with Tom Thibodeau, and he is the veteran super star this team needs. The fit is perfect. Karl Anthony Towns is becoming one of the better big men in the league. I know his defense needs work, but he is already a big threat on offense, and he will learn to play defense. I love the way Towns approaches the game. Andrew Wiggins is getting, in my opinion, unfairly dubbed as a bad defender. I think a ton was asked and expected from him when he came into the league, and he is still kind of figuring it out. He is so explosive though, and I really love his game. Besides Butler, the Timberwolves also signed Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson. Crawford brings some instant offense for this team. Jeff Teague is a good point guard that will run the offense and play some defense and hit some open shots. And Taj Gibson is a great rebounder and a great veteran leader. All three of these guys bring something that the Timberwolves were missing last year. Shabazz Muhammed has been a fairly decent player in the league, much to my surprise. He is a good bench player. Gorgui Dieng is a fine backup center. He does need to play better defense, but he is still a solid backup. Tyus Jones has finally made his way to an NBA roster. He has become a solid player too. I also like their pick of Justin Patton. He can learn behind Towns and Gibson before being pressed into action. The Timberwolves will be the team that everyone thought they were going to be last year this year.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next four teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Hornets, Jazz, Nuggets

Again, I have a another quick hot take I need to get off my chest before I get back to my NBA countdown. Jerry Jones and the other NFL owners that are saying that players have to stand for the anthem or they will be punished need to shut their god damn mouths. These grown men can do whatever the hell they want. Kneeling for the anthem is them expressing their right to free speech. I'd love to see some big time players, especially guys like Dak Prescott, Ezekial Elliot and Dez Bryant all sit for the anthem, and see how that dickhead Jerry Jones and these other racist, selfish, asshole owners react. It needs to be an important player that is willing to take a stand against these monsters. I have lost any respect I may have gained for these holier than thou owners that basically used the mass protests as a photo op after this news came out. You guys do not own these players. This isn't the 19th century. Screw you selfish, maniacal, stupid racist owners. You are the worst.

Okay, back to the countdown.

At number 15 I have the Charlotte Hornets. They were number 13 until the other day when I heard about Nic Batum's injury. He is massively important to this team, and if he misses as much time as some are saying, it may be tough sledding. Luckily for the Hornets, they have Kemba Walker and they play in the East. Walker is awesome. He is a quieter version of Russell Westbrook. He plays extremely hard every night. He makes big shots all the time. He plays solid defense. I love that he made the All Star team last year. I love Kemba Walker. The rest of the roster is just solid enough for this team to win between 40-42 games. Michael Kidd Gilchrist hasn't really been any threat on offense, and he does get hurt a lot, but when he is out there, he plays some good defense, which is what the Hornets hang their hat on. Cody Zeller is the better Zeller brother. He can kind of score in the low post, and he knows what type of player he is. Frank Kaminsky, while not great, isn't the bust I assumed he'd be. He does little things that help this team out, and he can kind of shoot from the outside if he is open. Marvin Williams has quietly had a decent NBA career after being labeled a bust. He is decent on offense, and long on defense. I love the pick of Mailk Monk even if Monk isn't thrilled to be there. If/when he gets over not being picked by the Knicks, he can be great instant offense off the bench. I'd love to see him and Walker play together. Jeremy Lamb and Michael Carter Williams are just not that good. Carter Williams cannot shoot, and Lamb just doesn't look engaged at all. The Hornets traded for Dwight Howard. I don't know what will happen, but if he fully commits, he can help this team. He is more likely done, but maybe, just maybe, he can play hard enough to help this team make the playoffs. The Hornets will play solid defense and be involved in a bunch of games with scores like 80-78 and 76-73. They will do enough to make the playoffs, but the Batum injury is a brutal blow.

At number 14 I have the Utah Jazz. I am very aware that they lost George Hill, and more importantly, Gordon Hayward. I've never really understood the hype around Hayward. He is a fine player, but a top 20 NBA guy? No way. I don't think losing him will be that big of a deal. I actually think Rodney Hood will step in his spot nicely. He can shoot and attack the rim. I love Rudy Gobert. He dominated the Clippers in the first round last year, especially when he got back from his injury. He is one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, and he is only getting better on offense. Ricky Rubio is a nice fit to take over for George Hill. He can't shoot, but he can run an offense. He is also underrated as a defender. I do think that Donovan Mitchell will eventually be taking over the point guard duties. Mitchell was awesome in college, and I think he will be awesome in the pros. He is wildly athletic, and, once he figures out the NBA, he is going to be great for a long time. Joe Ingles got big money from this team, and while I think they paid him too much, the Jazz like him and what he brings to this team. Joe Johnson is still hanging around, and he is still a very efficient scorer. He was their best player in the playoffs last year, by far. Dante Exum is out for the year, and I think it is time to close the door on this kid being a prime time player. He can't stay healthy, and when he is on the floor, he is kind of meh. Alec Burks can still score and play a little defense. Hopefully Derrick Favors is fully recovered from his injury because I think he is still a very competent player. They signed Jonas Jerebko and Thabo Sefolosha this offseason. Both guys should excite Jazz fans. Jerebko can stretch the floor and Sefolosha is still one of the best defenders in the league. He can hit open shots too. They're also giving Ekpe Udoh a second chance, and he was crushing it overseas. I hope he brings that game with him back to the NBA. The Jazz lost a "big" name, but I think they will be just fine. They are a tenacious defensive oriented team, and while RD may not agree, Quinn Snyder has proven to be a hell of an NBA coach. This team will be back in the playoffs this year.

At number 13 I have the Denver Nuggets. I'm high on this team, but not as high as some other people are. But, I love the roster construct, they just need to find a true point guard. I thought Emmanuel Mudiay was the answer, but he hasn't been very good his first couple seasons in the NBA, and I do not think the Nuggets trust him. Jamal Murray is more of a 2 guard, but the Nuggets have flirted with playing him at the point. That is not his game. And Jameer Nelson may as well be 100 years old in basketball age. He is a fine player still, but he has played a ton of minutes and he is only getting older. What the Nuggets have is a good to possibly great front court. I love Kenneth Faried. I know some people don't think that highly of him, but he is such a hustler. That dude can rebound and run the floor with the best of them. He never stops going and attacking the basket for rebounds and put back dunks. Nikola Jokic is the real deal. He is an incredible passer and spreads the floor perfectly in the modern NBA. He is so god damn good. Getting Paul Milsap was enormous for this team. He is an older version of Jokic. I cannot wait to see the 2 of them play together and run this offense. It will be pure joy for the eyes. Wilson Chandler, while always in trade rumors, can still score in bunches. Gary Harris has turned himself into quite the NBA player. He just got a massive extension, but it was well deserved. Juan Hernangomez has the potential to break out this year. He showed some flashes last year, and this year, he should take the next step. Malik Beasley is also, quietly, a very good scorer. The Nuggets will return to the playoffs this season based on the abilities of their front court players. This team would be near the top of the West if they had a real point guard. But for now, they will be somewhere in the 5-8 range for seeding. The Nuggets are coming.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Grizzlies, Clippers, Trailblazers

Two quick hits before I get back into my 2017-18 NBA countdown today.

First, I was going to write a whole article about how I am embarrassed to be a Michigan Wolverines football fan, but I slept on it, and I am not. I'm embarrassed how they played this past Saturday, and they need to not be so god damn predictable on offense, but I have come to the realization, with the youth and John O'Korn at QB, they will be worse than mediocre on offense all season. They were horrendous on Saturday night, and I feel like that will continue to be the case the rest of the season. I'll hit more on it when I do my mid season checkup. But, instead of sitting here and airing out frustrations about the Wolverines, I had an epiphany watching them. While they are great on defense, they are going to struggle the rest of the year because their offense is so far behind. I picked them to win 10 games this year, they look more like a 7 or 8 win team. And this talk of Harbaugh being a poor coach or bolting for the NFL is getting real annoying. If he wants to leave, fine. If he wants to stay, great. But every year I am sick of hearing all the "experts" say that, "this is the year Harbaugh bolts for the NFL". Give it a rest until he does leave. Enough Wolverines football talk.

The other quick thing I mentioned, I saw "Blade Runner 2049" last Friday and it is amazing. I'm not going to spoil anything because this is a movie that everyone needs to see in the theaters. With that being said, it lived up to my very high expectations. The tone, the visuals, the music, the writing, directing and acting, the graphics, everything about this movie is perfection. Please do yourselves a favor and go see this exceptional movie. It may be almost 3 hours long, but it never felt like it was. Go now and see "Blade Runner 2049".

Okay, the quick hits are out of the way, lets get back to the NBA preview. We will finally get a playoff ready squad today.

At number 18 I have the Memphis Grizzlies. I pored and pored over where to put this team. They have been really good to great for the majority of my twenties and early 30's. But, they lost a ton of key players this offseason. Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and Vince Carter are all gone. I know those guys are old, but they were some of the most important glue guys to the "grit and grind" style they play. They do still have Mike Conley Jr and Marc Gasol though. Conley Jr has turned himself into a premiere point guard. It was so hard for me to see this, because of where he played college ball, but damn is he good. He gets the big guys involved, he runs the offense perfectly and he has turned himself into quite the scorer. Marc Gasol is one of the better big guys in the league too. He is an exceptional passer and can fill it up too. He is also underrated as a defender in my opinion. But, after those guys, it gets murky and that is why I don't see them as a playoff team this year. Chandler Parsons will get hurt. He always does. His contract is dreadful for this team too. Ben McLemore is going to love being away from Sacramento, and I even wrote how I liked the signing, but he is what he is in the NBA. He is wildly inconsistent. Andrew Harrison could be good, but he hasn't shown it yet. JayMychal Green has the makings of a decent player, and with more playing time, he could get there. Mario Chalmers is back, but he is toast, especially after tearing his ACL. Tyreke Evans is too much of a ball stopper and not good enough of a shooter to do that. They drafted Dillon Brooks and Ivan Rabb, but I don't see how they get much time with the other guys on this roster. I feel bad for Conley Jr and Gasol. They are good, but if things start out rough I could see the Grizzlies blowing it up and trying to trade them to contenders. I still like this team, but they need an entire new identity, and that will be tough to find.

At number 17, just outside of my playoff teams, I have the Los Angeles Clippers. I do not get the hype surrounding this team. They lost a ton from a group of players that never really achieved much of anything anyway. They lost Jamal Crawford, JJ Redick and, most importantly, Chris Paul. That is brutal. How is DeAndre Jordan going to fair without Paul? I think it will be disastrous for him. I know Crawford is most likely done, but who will be his replacement for instant offense? Lou Williams? Isn't he the same player? Wesley Johnson? He isn't that good of a pro. Danilo Gallinari? How long until he gets hurt? Oh, that's right, he punched a guy in a Euro League game, and he is already hurt. What about Redick's replacement? I think he is pretty overrated, but Austin Rivers as his replacement, bull shit. Rivers might be a solid defender, but he is a horrid shooter and an all around bad offensive player. Blake Griffin is the point forward, and the face of the franchise now. But, he isn't one tenth the guy that the Clippers think he is, LeBron James. Griffin is incredibly overrated, and how long until he gets hurt? He will miss time again this year. You can bet on that. I do not like Patrick Beverly's fit on this team. I like Beverly's game, but he will not thrive off the ball, and Griffin is going to be the primary ball handler on this team. Sam Dekker is of no consequence in the NBA, and the same can be said for him on the Clippers. Jawun Evans and Sindarius Thornwell were good picks, but will Doc Rivers even play them? He didn't play Brice Johnson hardly at all last year, and he is a full year behind the rookies from his class. I do not see this team staying healthy, and even if they do, I do not see them being a 44 or 45 win team like some others do. They are, at best, a .500 team.

The final team for today, the first "playoff" team, is the Portland Trailblazers. The Trailblazers play no defense at all. They are really bad on that end of the floor. But, when you have Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, you can outscore enough teams to win enough games to push to the playoffs. Hell, they made it last year with those 2 as their only threats. Where the Trailblazers struggle is the front court. I love how well Jusuf Nurkic played after he was traded, but he needs to do that for a full year before I fully buy in. He also suffered a rough injury in their first round playoff appearance. Meyers Leonard is trash. Why this dude is still in the league, and not in the G League or overseas, is baffling to me. Al Faroq Aminu is a pretty good player, and if you forget about him on offense he can score. He is not a horrible third option. Evan Turner just doesn't fit with this team. He had a good thing going in Boston, but he got a big contract, and I can't fault him for taking the cash. He just is way too ball dominant, and that doesn't work on a team with Lillard and McCollum. Noah Vonleh is a bust. He was all hype and has been no production. Maurice Harkless is a fine 8th or 9th guy, but he plays too many minutes on this team. Zach Collins was a so so pick. I do not like that they took him that high when he really didn't prove himself until tournament time. I do like the Caleb Swanigan pick though. That kid has had to work extra hard for everything in his life, and his work ethic is unparalleled. He will be a great grinder in the NBA. The Trailblazers are not great by any stretch of the imagination, but they won 41 last year, and Lillard and McCollum will only get better. I could see them winning 43 or 44 games this year to just get in to the playoffs and get swept by the Warriors.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 3 teams. Nothing but playoff level teams from here on out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Pistons, 76ers, Mavericks

Day 4 of my 2017-18 NBA countdown moves on with my number 21 team, the Detroit Pistons.

I, like many other people, were pretty high on the Pistons last year. I thought they had the goods to make a run in the playoffs, and push for a top 4 seed. Well, that didn't happen. And the main problem with this season, they are basically running it back. Reggie Jackson is still their point guard. Haven't they seen enough to realize that he isn't even a top 30 guard in the league? He shoots way too much, and he dribbles even more. I was so stoked when the Thunder traded him, and he became the Pistons problem. Then they gave him a max contract. This was doomed from the start. To make matters worse, they tried and tried to trade him, but no one, and I mean no one, was biting. I really like Andre Drummond, but he just isn't that good of a modern day center. He can dunk and rebound, but that is it. He is a poor man's Dwight Howard. I'm sure he is a much better teammate, but that may be about it. At least Dwight Howard got a team to the Finals. They traded for Avery Bradley, who is a very good defender, but he is going to have to do a lot more on this team if he wants the same success he had as a Celtic. This was a god move though. This is the make or break season for Stanley Johnson. I love the dude's confidence, but now he has to show that he can play. He has been very inconsistent since he got to the NBA. If he doesn't figure it out this year, he is destined to be a role player. Tobias Harris can still score, but that is about it. A lot of people like the Luke Kennard pick. Not me. I think he is just like any other Duke player. He can kind of shoot, but he brings nothing else to the table. Also, he is going to get torched when he has to guard real super stars in the league. Their first round pick last year, Henry Ellenson, has gotten better by all accounts, but he wasn't that good last year, and he barely saw the floor. Don't believe the hype. Ish Smith is a fine bench player. Nothing more, nothing less. They also gave Langston Galloway a ridiculous contract this offseason. That move should be evidence enough that Stan Van Gundy should only be coach, not coach/GM. The Pistons are going nowhere fast and they are destined to be a 30-32 win team for the next couple years with this current roster.

At number 20 I have the Philadelphia 76ers. Now, a lot of people are as high, if not higher, on this team than some are on the Lakers. I say about the 76ers what I say about the Lakers, cool down. The 76ers have a great group of young and exciting players. I love love love Joel Embiid. He is the second coming of Hakeem Olajuwon. He is majestic to watch. He plays the game so freely and has so much fun doing it. He could be one of the greats. But, he has played a total of 31 games in 3 years, and said do not expect him to play a full season this year. I need to see him play at least 60 games before I fully buy in. Ben Simmons is the same. He has not played one real NBA minute yet, but people seem to think he is going to transform the game. Ease up. Give him some time. He is only 20 years old. It is going to take a minute to get acclimated to NBA life. Also, he needs a jumper. I really like Markelle Fultz, but again, he was on a horrid Washington Huskies team last year, and he sprained his ankle is Summer League. I want to see him play well against real NBA competition. Dario Saric is pretty good, but the same thing can be said for all the other players I have mentioned. Show me that you can put up big numbers for a full season, not just half a season. Nik Stauskas is destined to be an 8th or 9th guy off the bench in the NBA. He is a streaky shooter and nothing more. They added JJ Redick on a wild 1 year contract, but what does he bring besides shooting? He's an overrated defender and not the veteran leadership this team needs. When is Jahlil Okafor going to get traded also? He wants out and the 76ers clearly are trying to move on from him. He is in the worst possible situation for himself as an NBA player. Both would be better suited moving on from each other. Robert Covington, TJ McConnell, Amir Johnson and Justin Anderson are fine bench players, but that is all. For the people that have this team penciled in for the playoffs, just stop. This team is way too young and way too often injured. Give them maybe 2 more seasons before they return to being a perennial playoff team. They also need to stay healthy.

The final team for today, coming in number 19, is the Dallas Mavericks. Initially I had Dallas back in the 20's, but then I remembered that Rick Carlisle is the coach, and I love their pick of Dennis Smtih Jr. If they give him the keys to run this team, they could do some good stuff. Now, I do not expect them to make the playoffs, but they could approach something like 35 or 36 wins, which would be massive for this team. This is probably Dirk Nowitzki's last year, and I'd like to see him play on a decent team. He will have a ton of fun playing alongside Dennis Smith Jr too. Nerlens Noel will be a beast on the pick and roll. He is also coming off the bench, which I think will make him play even harder to get a big contract next year. He is also an excellent rim protector. Harrison Barnes played much better than I expected last year. Maybe getting away from Golden State was best for him. He is a very good all around player. Seth Curry, while not his brother, can still score a little bit here and there. I think he will be a very good instant offense guy off the bench. Wes Matthews and JJ Barea may be coming to an end with their careers, but both those guys bring it every night. They play hard and smart. And Devin Harris and Yogi Ferrell make up a fine back court off the bench. This team is a mix of too old and too young, and they play in the West, which will be their downfall. But, please watch Dennis Smith Jr. He is going to do some amazing stuff this season for this team.

That's it for today. Come back next week when we will finally be getting into the playoff teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Lakers, Knicks, Suns

Day 3 of my NBA countdown begins with one of the most overrated teams coming into this season. People are expecting way, way too much from this team just because of who they drafted number 2 overall in the most recent draft. Need I remind fans of this team, they just traded away a point guard that they drafted second overall 2 years ago, so maybe they should temper their expectations.

The team I am talking about is my number 24 team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Now first I have to say, I do like the direction they are headed in. I love the hiring of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. These may be the 2 guys that can lure stars back to the Lakers. But, for people expecting a possible playoff push from this team, calm the hell down. This team is way too young and way too inconsistent. People seem to love the pick of Lonzo Ball. As I mentioned before, people also loved the pick of D'Angelo Russell. Now, from what I have seen so far, Ball is a better passer than Russell, but that is it. Ball has one of the most awkward jump shooting forms I have ever seen. That shot is going to get blocked so much by real NBA defenders. He isn't much of a defender himself yet either. People need to calm the hell down on the Lonzo Ball talk. He could be good, but he will have a TON of rough patches. He is a teenager and a rookie after all. He is not the savior that the Lakers faithful are expecting. Brandon Ingram looks like he has put on some weight, but the comparisons to KD need to stop. Just because he is long and can kind of shoot doesn't mean he is going to be KD. There is only one KD. I feel like if he played for any other team, he would be compared to a third or fourth option type player, or even a bench player. But, since he is in a Lakers uniform, he will forever get unfairly compared to KD. Julius Randle comes and goes. One night he looks great, the next, he looks like he doesn't care. He could be really good, but he needs to fully commit. I do think Kyle Kouzma could be good, but again, people need to calm down. He is not the next Steph or Dirk just because he has been filling it up in Summer League and preseason. I want to see him do it against the best of the best before I give him my full attention. Some people think the Kentavious Caldwell Pope signing is a big deal. I see it more as a ho hum deal. He was not that great in Detroit, so why would he all of the sudden be a great shooter for the Lakers? Doesn't add up. I do like Jordan Clarkson. He is a proven scorer and he could be pretty good for awhile. They got Brook Lopez in a trade, and while he is good, he is not a modern day NBA center. Again, I do not get the joy and all the big time talk by acquiring a player like Lopez. Who cares? Same with Andrew Bogut. How long until he gets hurt and misses the whole year. 10 games? Maybe 20? And while Larry Nance Jr is a great dunker, what else does he do, and how much playing time will he get? I can't answer that. People need to chill out on the Lakers. If they do get LeBron next year, then hype them up as much as you want. But with this current roster, I'd be shocked if they win 30 games this year.

At number 23 I have the New York Knicks. The Knicks finally, mercifully, traded Carmelo Anthony. What they got in return is not that big a deal though. Enes Kanter can score, but he is horrendous on defense, and Doug McDermott is worse than mediocre. His game has not translated. They gave Tim Hardaway Jr a ridiculous contract only 2 years after trading him. This deal was bizarre, but this is the same team that signed both Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose last year, so nothing they do should surprise me anymore. I like the French point guard they drafted, Frank Nkilitina, but I have never seen him play, so who knows how he will perform. I do love his cockiness and confidence though. Derrick Rose is gone, but unfortunately, they still have Noah and his outrageous contract. He is done as a player. Michael Beasley has been talking out of his ass this offseason, and he will be lucky if he gets 15 minutes a game on this horrid team. Courtney Lee deserves better than this. He could be a great 3 and D guy for a title contender, but he is in NBA purgatory. At least he will get a ton of minutes. Some people think that Guillermo Hernangomez is going to take a leap. I say, what gives you that impression? He hasn't really shown any flashes yet. Kyle O'Quinn is of no real consequence in the NBA anymore. And the rest of the roster is blah. What the Knicks do have is Kristaps Porzingis. He is one of the most unique players in the game right now. He can score, rebound and rim protect. What he can't do, stay healthy. He has gotten hurt every year he has been in the league. Also, I'll be interested to see how he handles being the top guy for an NBA team. Very interested. For the time being though, the Knicks will continue to struggle mightily.

The final team for today, coming in at number 22, the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are going to lose a ton of games this year, but they will also be a ton of fun to watch. I love the young players on this roster. Devin Booker is a born scorer. He scored 70 in a game last year, and he is only getting more and more confident. I love Tyler Ulis, who should take over for Eric Bledsoe at point guard. That is no slight to Bledsoe, I think he should be traded to a contender that needs a real point guard, but the time is now for Ulis to start, especially if the Suns are going to go the youth movement. Ulis is also lightning fast and a great passer. I LOVE Josh Jackson. He might be my favorite rookie this year. He can already defend. He can get to the rim. I know people are worried about his jump shot, but he can learn to shoot. You can't teach some of the gifts he already has. He is so long and so athletic. He is going to be a very good NBA player, and a multiple All NBA defender. Dragan Bender was awful last year, but maybe with an offseason of some work, he can be better. He is also super young. Marquess Chriss came into camp overweight, but he can play himself into shape, and when he is out there, he can rebound and score in the post. Alex Len is done. That dude is a bust. He has done ZERO in the NBA. Brandon Knight is still there, but he always gets hurt, and he should be traded so the Suns can go all youth. I'm a bit confused by the contract TJ Warren got, but the dude can play, and the Suns seem to like him. Derrick Jones Jr is electrifying, and with more playing time, he could become a real player. Tyson Chandler, who I love, needs to retire. I'm sure he likes being the veteran on a young team, but he just cannot get it done anymore. Look, the Suns will be awful, but when you get a chance, watch them because they will be a ton of fun. They will run up and down the court, and they will definitely get some highlight plays throughout the season.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Pacers, Magic, Kings

Day 2 of my NBA countdown starts with another East team that was in the playoffs last year. In fact, I was so high on this team last year, I thought they could have pushed all the way to a 2 seed. But, they couldn't play defense and they couldn't really score. They made the playoffs, but got swept out of the first round. They also traded their best player for a bag of beans this off season.

The team I am talking about is the Indiana Pacers. They got rid of Paul George before he left them in free agency after this year. That's the good. The bad, they got Victor Oladipo and Damontas Sabonis for him. Oh, they also got a second round pick. Oof did they get screwed. So, now that George is gone, they are really left with next to nothing. I think Oladipo is decent, but he is not a number one option on a playoff team. His game comes and goes, and he just hasn't been the great defensive player that many thought he'd be when he was drafted 4 years ago. It is also telling that OKC was ready to give him up after signing him to a decent contract. Sabonis really faltered and hit a big time rookie wall near the end of last season. He was basically unplayable in the playoffs. The Pacers also lost Jeff Teague, and replaced him with guys like Lance Stephenson, who is toast and Darren Collinson, who is also toast. They have no real point guard. They get Thad Young back, but so what? Is he really going to push them to the playoffs? He's a decent role player, but no more. They drafted TJ Leaf, but I feel like he is just slightly better than Lauri Markenan, and I think Markenan is going to be horrendous. Al Jefferson cannot stay on the floor for any kind of long stretches anymore. Glenn Robinson III might be good, but he has been wildly inconsistent his whole NBA career, and now he will be pushed into a starting role. Corey Joseph was their "big" offseason acquisition. That is quite telling. The only thing the Pacers have going for them is Myles Turner. Turner is going to be very good very soon in the NBA. He needs to get a few more moves, but this dude can play. He is who they should build around for the future. But, the Pacers are going to be pretty awful this year.

At number 26 I have the Orlando Magic. What is this team? Who plays what position? I know the modern NBA is "position-less", but the Magic have too much of the same type of player. They have a glut of point forwards on this team. Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Mario Hezjona and Nikola Vujavic all play the same spot. Gordon can dunk, but that is about it. He cannot shoot, isn't much of a rebounder and doesn't really play defense. Fournier plays no defense, can't rebound, but can score. Hezjona is a bust. I'm calling it now. He has not even come close to the potential that people thought he had when he was the fifth overall pick. He is toast. Vujavic is a tremendous fantasy player, but he is a good stats, bad team guy. I'd be curious to see if he could do this on a good team. The Magic have no real point guard. Elfrid Payton showed flashes near the end of last season, but he needs to put it together for a full season. He cannot shoot the ball either. DJ Augustin is still on an NBA roster, which is baffling to me. I like Johnathan Issac, their first round pick, but he is rail skinny and I am curious to see if he can hold up for 82 games. I do really like his game though. Hell, he might be the best shooter right now on this team. They signed Marresse Speights, but his days of instant offense off the bench are done. In fact, he was best suited staying in Golden State,, but they found him expendable, and let him go. Bismack Biyombo got paid last year, but he was non existent for this team all last year. This dude had a 20 rebound playoff game while in Toronto, but since then, its been all downhill. The one thing I do like about this team is the addition of Johnathan Simmons. He was great for the Spurs, and I think he might flourish with the extra responsibility and extra playing time with the Magic. Simmons has the makings of an All Star, especially in the East.

My final team for today, coming in at number 25, my first Western Conference team, is the Sacramento Kings. Now, before I get into it, I do really like this Kings team, they just play in the West, and the West is loaded. I love the pick of De'Aron Fox. He is an amazing defender, passer and can get to the rack. He needs to work on his jumper, but he is a professional now, and he can work on it as much as he wants. Fox is going to be so much fun to watch. The even better news for Fox, the Kings signed George Hill, who is not great by any stretch, but he can be a tremendous mentor on NBA life for Fox. Hill has been there and done that, and he should be able to work wonders with Fox. Even though he cannot do anything but dunk and kind of protect the rim, I love to watch Willie Cauley-Stein. He can jump out of the gym, and he has gotten a little bit better each of his first two years in the league. I'm a big time Buddy Hield fan. I have written a ton about him since SeedSing became a real thing. I think he will be a decent scorer for this team, and he will get free rein to fire at will. Now, the bad news. Outside of the guys I mentioned, I'm very luke warm on the rest of this team. Kosta Koufas is a waste of a contract. Malachi Richardson was horrendous last year. I am not a fan of the Harry Giles pick. I know it was late first round, but he was coming off a torn ACL his senior year of high school, barely played at Duke, and when he played, he was a non factor. Frank Mason was a great, great college player, but so was Trey Burke, Jimmer Fredette and Doug McDermott. I see a lot of those three in Frank Mason. I'm not too pumped about the Justin Jackson pick. He can play some pretty good defense, but he is an irrational confidence guy on the offensive end and he needs to let Buddy Hield and De'Aron Fox run the show on that end. The Kings also signed Zach Randolph and Vince Carter. While this seems like a decent fit, I think both guys are done. Zach Randolph could never really jump, but he was aided by having a great point guard in Mike Conley and an excellent front court companion in Marc Gasol. He now has Cauley-Stein and some also rans next to him. I do not like his fit with this team at all. Vince Carter, the ageless wonder, is back for another year, but I look at him more as a hanger on than a guy that will be a real contributor. More power to him for still cashing checks, but I hope this is his last season in the NBA. The Kings need to embrace the youth movement, and if they do that, they could be a decent, possible playoff team, in a few years.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Bulls, Hawks, Nets

This is getting rough, but before I get into my 2017-18 NBA countdown, I have to say RIP to the great Tom Petty. I know there were conflicting stories all day yesterday about his passing, but it was confirmed that Petty had died at the age of 66 today. He was an all time great. He was a great guitar player and one of the best song writers ever. I will greatly miss his music. He was one of the first musicians that made me respect the guitar and rock music in general. He was a master, and he will be deeply missed. RIP.

Okay, hopefully I don't have to talk about crummy or horrific current events for awhile. Now, lets get to my NBA countdown. For the next 10 days or so I will be counting down the NBA teams from worst to best as I see them coming into this season. At the end of my countdown I will pick all the award winners and who I think will win the title, spoiler alert, it will be the Warriors. But, before I get all the way to the good stuff, I have to start with the teams that I think will be the worst of the worst. Also, these rankings have no reflection on the playoff picture. I will tell you know that I have, at least, 9 teams from the West in my top 18. So, there will be some shitty team, or teams, from the East that make the playoffs. This is just how I see all the teams. Okay, lets start with the bottom of the barrel.

At number 30 I do not have the Philadelphia 76ers anymore. In fact, I have a team that was in the playoffs last year. My number 30 team is the Chicago Bulls. Yes, they were in the playoffs, as just mentioned, but EVERYONE of importance from that team is gone. Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo and Dwayne Wade all skipped town for greener pastures. What the Bulls have left leaves a lot to the imagination. The roster is filled with unproven players or guys past their primes, if they ever had one, or just mediocre NBA players. I'm pretty sure the best player on this team is Robin Lopez. Now while he isn't that bad, he is not a modern day center, and no team will ever even make the playoffs with Robin Lopez as their best player. Denzel Valentine may make a jump this year, but he was real bad as a rookie, and barely saw the floor. Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn, the guys they got for Butler, are very meh. Lavine will not be ready for the start of the year, still recovering from his torn ACL, and I think it speaks volumes that the Timberwolves got better when he got hurt. Kris Dunn was horrendous as a rookie, and I picked him to be the rookie of the year last year. He was just awful whenever he was on the floor. Maybe he will get better, but he has a long way to go before he is any kind of threat. Nikola Mirotic just signed a big contract extension, but what is he other than a liability on defense and a guy who's shot comes and goes. Cristiano Felicio could be better now that he won't have Wade chastising him for grabbing rebounds, but I just can't peg his game yet. Cam Payne is hurt and looking like a bust. Same for Bobby Portis, except he isn't hurt, his game just hasn't translated to the NBA. And taking Lauri Markenan number 7 overall was the worst pick of the whole draft last year. That guy is soft as tissue paper and he is going to get devoured by power forwards in the NBA. The rest of the roster is filled with D League guys and deep bench players. The Bulls stink. They will most definitely be in the lottery next draft, and I would be shocked if their head coach makes it through the whole year.

At number 29 I have another playoff team from last year, the Atlanta Hawks. This is the same team that just 4 short seasons ago won 62 games and sent 4 players to the All Star game. No one is left from that team. Hell, they lost a ton from last year's playoff team. Dwight Howard, Tim Hardaway Jr and, most importantly, Paul Milsap are gone. They all jumped ship. Their starting point guard this year, Dennis Schroder, just got arrested for some kind of assault. They are already off to a horrid start. Kent Bazemore is over paid and not producing like he did when he was a bench player. Marco Bellinelli and Ersan Ilaysova bring nothing to this team besides some lackluster experience. I'm curious to see how Dewanye Dedmon does away from the Spurs model. The only thing that the Hawks really have going for them is Deandre Bembry and Tauren Prince. Bembry looks like he could be a decent role player, and I really like what I saw from Prince last year. He looks like he could be the third or fourth guy on a title contending team. Problem in Atlanta, he will be the center piece. He isn't ready for that yet. The Hawks are going to take a GIANT step back. That's unfortunate because I have always kind of liked the Hawks. They are going to be horrible this year though.

My final team for today, coming in at number 28 is the Brooklyn Nets. They have been either 30 or 29 in my first 2 countdown's, but they moved up this year. Sure, it's only one spot, but progress none the less. Trading Brook Lopez was much needed, and they didn't get anyone great, but D'Angelo Russell isn't terrible, and Mozgov has played in a Finals. But, lets be serious for a minute about these guys. Mozgov is toast. He will bear no effect on how the Nets play. And Russell, he was the second overall pick a few years ago and the Lakers were eager to trade him. He just hasn't figured it out yet. Brooklyn is a better fit, but he needs to become a complete point guard. I think the Jeremy Lin hype is more about his hair and less his game now. He can still score a little bit, but he gets hurt far too often, and he is not the guy you want to build around. They took on Allen Crabbe's ridiculous contract, but that is what this team needs to do. They need to grab these guys that had one good year and hope they rekindle that magic because they have no draft picks of any note for a few more years. Maybe Crabbe finds his stroke again, but if I were a betting man, I'd say that one season was an anomaly. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has not turned into the type of bulldog, rebounding and defensive force I thought he could be. He has moments here and there, they are just too infrequent. They took on Demarre Carroll's contract, a la what they did with Crabbe, and maybe he can find his defensive prowess that got him paid so much by Toronto. But I seem to think that he is done as a player of importance in the NBA. They took the center from Texas, Jarrett Allen, and I think he will be a decent replacement for Lopez, but he is a teenager, and I think he will find the NBA interior to be tough sledding. Tyler Zeller left Boston for the Nets, but who cares. He is of no consequence. The player I like most on this team, and yes I am being totally biased here, is Caris Levert. If he can stay healthy, and that is a big. big if, he can be a player in the NBA. He has a decent inside out game and he can defend. I watched him do it for 4 years at Michigan, and he has played better than his former Wolverines teammates, Nik Stauskas, Trey Burke and Mitch McGary, all have in the NBA. I think Levert has a very good chance to be a player that other teams have to game plan for. But, the Nets still stink, and they will for some time.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow when I get to the next group of crappy teams. I have to say though, I'm so excited for the NBA to be coming back in 2 weeks. It's wonderful.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Get Ready for Ty's 3rd Annual MLB Playoff Preview

Check out Ty's preseason preview here.

Two quick things before I get to my MLB playoff preview. First, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" came back last night and it is as wonderful as it has always been. The show is pure genius, and it was like they never left. Larry David is a god damn genius and everyone needs to watch the show. It is glorious.

Second, what happened in Las Vegas last night is pure tragedy. We are in very dark times as a country right now, and just when you do not think it can get any worse, something like last night happens. This is scary and just awful, awful news. America is not the safe place I knew as a child. I should never be scared to go to a concert, but last night will forever have me looking over my shoulder at any live event. What a horrible tragedy.

Now, to lighten things up a bit, I am going to do my MLB playoff preview. First off, I have only been to one Cardinals game this year, and other than that, I have watched next to no baseball this year. Football is back. The NBA preseason is going on, so why on Earth would I watch baseball. But, I do enjoy the playoffs, even though I will enjoy them a bit less this year since the Cards didn't make it. Also, I have not read RD's preview yet, but that is on purpose. I want to write mine, then see how close we get to each other's picks. Anyway, lets get to it.

I'm going to focus on the American League first. In the Wild Card game we have the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. Man do I want to pick the Twins. That would be amazing. What holds me back from picking them is the fact that they lost 100 games a year ago, and they barely squeaked into the playoffs this year. The Yankees were pretty decent all year. Their pitching is subpar, but they can hit. In a one game matchup I just see the Yankees being able to score 6 or 7 runs and win a high scoring game. Something like 7-5 or 6-3. I'll be pulling for Minnesota, but I think the Yankees will win this first game.

A Yankees win would make the divisional matchups Yankees-Indians and Red Sox-Astros. The Red Sox may have think they dodged a bullet because you know Terry Francona probably would have swept them out of the first round again, but the Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball all year. They can hit, play defense, and since acquiring Justin Verlander, they have some solid pitching. The Red Sox have a great lineup capable of putting up numbers. What should scare Red Sox fans is their pitching. On paper they look dominate. But, David Price has been either hurt or inconsistent, David Pomeranz cannot go more than 5 innings and Chris Sale, who is supposed to be the surest thing in the AL, has been getting shelled lately. I like the Astros to win this series in 5 games. I think the fact that they can throw Dallas Kuechel and Justin Verlander out there for at least three games gives them the edge. They also have some great hitters, Jose Altuve to be more specific, and I just think they are a better team.

In the Yankees-Indians matchup, I do not see how the Indians don't sweep them. They are better in every phase of the game. They have better pitching, more timely hitting, better fielders and much better coaching. They may have peaked too soon some will say, but they will be sweeping the Yankees out in this round.

So, the ALCS will be Houston and Cleveland. Houston matches up better than the Yankees do, but I still like the Indians. Again, they are playing excellent baseball right now, they have a great lineup, great pitching and the best coach in the AL. This series will go a bit longer, I'm thinking 6 games, but I like the Indians to return to the World Series.

On to the National League. The Wild Card game again has me wanting to pick one team, but thinking the other will win. I'd love to see the Rockies make a long playoff run, but the Diamondbacks have better pitching and Paul Goldschimdt and one of the Upton brothers. That is more than enough for them to win. The game will be fun, but I see the Diamondbacks pulling away late in the game.

So, that gives us the divisional matchups of Dodgers-Diamondbacks and Cubs-Nationals. The Dodgers-Diamondbacks is going to be a hard fought, five game series. These teams matchup very well against one another. I know that the Dodgers have over 100 wins, but unlike the Indians, they have been in the tank for a couple months now. And, they have not been the best playoff team in the past few years. They still have Clayotn Kershaw and a great lineup and Yu Darvish, but they always seem to choke in critical moments. I expected this Diamondbacks team last year, but they are good this year. Their problem, they really only have Zack Greinke as a top notch starting pitcher. He can go, max, 2 games as a starter. They need more than that. Again, this will be a rough 5 game series, but I think the Dodgers, despite their recent playoff stumbles, move to the NLCS.

The Cubs-Nationals matchup may be the best of the entire playoffs. I love this matchup. These are 2 of the best young teams in baseball. The Cubs are also peaking at the exact right time, and they are the defending champs. When I watched them clinch the other night I kept saying to anyone around me, don't sleep on this team returning to the World Series. But, the Nationals may be the only team they did not want to face in the NLDS. They can match their pitching, and for me personally, especially with a fully healthy Bryce Harper, they have a much better lineup. I know the Nationals are a team that has never really won anything, but I feel like the time is now. This series is going to be amazing, and I think the Nationals will win it in walk off fashion in game 5.

So, that gives us the Dodgers and Nationals for the NLCS. This is so much easier for me to pick than the other series. The Nationals should cruise by the Dodgers. The Dodgers are swooning, the Nationals have their best player back, and they are a better team. They should, and will, win this series in no less than 5 games.

That means we have a Nationals-Indians World Series. I believe this was my preseason pick. And just like my preseason pick, I'm going with the Indians (ed note: Ty actually picked the Nationals. We'll let him slide). They are on fire right now. They were there, and should have won, last year. They are a better overall team. They will frustrate and small ball the hell out of the Nationals. The World Series is right there for them to snatch up. It will go either 5 or 6, but it will not be the epic that last year's World Series was. The Indians are so good, and just like the Cubs ended their title drought last year, the Indians will do the same this year. I like Cleveland in 6 games.

There you have it, my 2017 MLB preview. I have to go see what RD picked now, and for all my NBA fans out there, my NBA countdown starts tomorrow. I just wanted to get a little baseball in right before the playoffs start. Lets get ready to see how this all shakes out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He had convinced the head editor that the Nationals were going to win it all. Then Ty pulls the rug out and switches to the Indians. Damn you Ty. Damn you to hell.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2017 MLB Playoff Preview

Time for October baseball. 162 games in the books, and we have a playoff field. I want to start by saying I think this group of teams could make for a great October. Any of these squads could win it all, and I would not be surprised at all.

Having said all that, it is time to look back at our predictions for the season. Yes, the Reds and Padres were terrible, but the worst team was the San Francisco Giants. Both Ty and I put them in our playoff predictions. I was also way wrong, and Ty was way right, on the Atlanta Braves. They were terrible this year. The St. Louis Cardinals got old, and had a questionable man at the helm, and they will miss the playoffs. The Royals and Pirates hung around for a big chunk of the season, but they will both finish below .500. The Yankees will return to the playoffs, but the Red Sox were the better team, and Boston took the toughest division in baseball. Oh, and the Cubs, they did not come close to 110 wins.

I was right on a few things, or at least I was close to being right. Houston and Washington DC coasted in their divisions. The wild card races did have some drama with a surprising Milwaukee Brewers team battling another surprise in the Colorado Rockies for the last wild card spot. The Brew Crew just came up short. Joey Votto and Mike Trout also put up MVP numbers on teams going nowhere. I was right on that, but it still makes me sad.

With that out of the way, let’s look at what the SeedSing brain thinks the 2017 MLB playoffs will look like.

The Wildcard

Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

First up, great job Twins. I never even mentioned them in the season preview. Joe Mauer is still a stud, and the rest of team played good ball all year. It is awesome to see a team like Minnesota make it into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, the party will be short lived. The New York Yankees are back, and they will not lose this game. The Yankees made some of the best moves around the trade deadline, and their lineup is going to be way too much for the Twins. Great year Minnesota, hope to see you again next year.

Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks

This game could go either way. Arizona finally started to unlock it’s potential. Colorado came out of nowhere and had a great year. The problem with these one game playoffs is that one player can make a world of difference. In this game, that one player is Diamondback’s ace Zack Greinke. Arizona has the playoff tested ace that every team desires in that one game. Greinke will take the Diamondbacks to the divisional round.

The Divisional Round

Cleveland Indians vs New York Yankees

Are the Yankees back? Not against this Cleveland team. The Yankees lack of any real starting pitching, and their young lineup, will be swept out of the playoffs by Terry Francona’s club.

Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox

First off, sorry Boston. I was way wrong. I knew you were good, but I did not think you were this good. Chris Sale has been a beast, Mookie Betts is one of the best players to watch. The Red Sox were slept on by a lot of people. That was wrong.

The Houston Astros are the most forgotten team of the 2017 MLB season. This team was awesome. They nearly matched Cleveland’s win total, and the Indians needed a 22-game winning streak to get where they are. Houston has been consistent, and they have been great. This consistency will serve them well in a hard fought 5 game series win over Boston.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers

LA had the money, they got the talent, and they are back at the top of baseball. New superstars replaced aging ones, great prospects became great players, the Dodgers have a system that always works.

Except that system has not produced any meaningful postseason success. Clayton Kershaw has not been the multiple Cy-Young winner of the regular season in the playoffs. The Dodger bats seem to fall asleep every October. Will this be the year they finally make all that money spent worth something?

The Arizona Diamondbacks are not the team the Dodger’s want in a short series. Greinke could go, and win, two games. Paul Goldschmidt had another MVP like season. Arizona has also been red hot in the second half of the season, the Dodgers have not. Arizona will continue the postseason misery for LA and win in four games.

Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals

I will be shocked if the Nationals do not sweep the Cubs. Washington has great pitching, an unreal lineup, and fixed their bullpen through trades. Chicago has had an underachieving season for a team with that much talent. Maybe the Cubs can break their one-year curse next season. Washington skates to the LCS.

The League Championship Series

Cleveland Indians vs Houston Astros

This is going to be a great series. Houston and Cleveland are like mirror images of each other. Both have pitching and hitting riches. Both have a mixture of youth and experience. The one difference is the manager. Terry Francona has proven he is one of, if not the best, skipper in all of baseball. That will be the difference in an incredible seven game series.

Washington Nationals vs Arizona Diamondbacks

The National League has had some truly great baseball this year. Milwaukee, Colorado, and Arizona all made the experts look like idiots. The Cubs struggled, and still took the division. The Marlins showed some life early on. It has been a great year for the senior circuit.

This will be a bad NLCS. Again, Washington will win in a sweep, maybe five games. The Nationals are far and away better than any team in the NL. The Dodgers have all those wins, and Washington would have swept them. The Cubs have last year’s title, and the Nationals would have swept them. Dusty Baker could get his DC squad to the World Series without dropping one game. They are that good.

The World Series

Washington Nationals vs Cleveland Indians

Back in April both Ty and I picked a Washington / Cleveland World Series. Ty picked the Nationals to win, I picked the Indians. Am I sticking with my pick?

No, I am not.

The Washington Nationals are the most loaded team in all of baseball. They had a problem with the bullpen early in the year. They fixed it. Their starting pitching cannot be matched. Their lineup is incredible. They have Bryce Harper. The only negative thing I can say about the Nationals is that Dusty Baker is their manager. I saw Dusty blow a few big games when he was here in Cincinnati. I do not think the same will happen this time. Francona is a better manager, and that will get Cleveland two games in the series. It will not be enough.

The Washington Nationals will be the 2017 World Series Champs.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is only picking the Nationals because he saw them live in DC. Maybe next year he will go to Cleveland and check out a game. It is a way faster drive. Have a thought on the playoffs?  Come tell us. 

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "Nathan for You" Season 4 Premier

Last night was the season 4 premiere of the wonderful "Nathan For You". This show is the perfect blend of humor, humility, weird ideas and some of the best deadpan comedy that I have ever witnessed. Nathan Fielder is a master of his craft. He is so good at what he does, and on "Nathan For You", he gets to show that ten fold.

I've been on board with this show from day one. I became a fan of Fielder's when I first saw him on "Jon Benjamin Has a Van", a one season long, hilariously underrated comedy on Comedy Central. He is the best. He has gone on to do many other things, most recently being in "Tour De Pharmacy" with one of the better roles, but "Nathan For You" is his baby and he takes great care of it. The show is based on his business ideas that help businesses that are on the down turn, or that have fallen on hard times. He claims that he went, "to a one of the best business schools in Canada, and got really good grades" during the intro. They even show his grades, and he has a few A's, some B's and one C. He got average grades, which makes the premise of the show even better. Some of his stuff from the first couple of seasons have made national news. He did Dumb Starbucks. He was the one that made it look like a pig was saving another animal from drowning in a lake. He convinced a realtor to become the "Ghost Realtor", who would guarantee that there were no ghosts in the houses she was selling. He created Summit Ice. This is the clothing apparel company that gives all of its proceeds to Holocaust awareness. He had someone ghost write a self help book, which I bought and read, called "The Movement". He's done a lot of crazy, but also sometimes very good stuff for people. He knows that there is comedy in what he is doing, but the people he goes to help are not aware. They are looking for legitimate help, and he wants to provide them with it. And while he knows that the show is comedic in nature, he does it all in a good nature.

Now, before I get hammered for calling last name a premiere, I'm fully aware that last Thursday they did a celebration of sorts and revisited some of his past customers and where they are now. But, for all intents and purposes, last night was the season 4 premiere, and it was just as wonderful as every other episode. In this episode, Fielder goes to a diner in LA that isn't the hopping place that it once used to be. The diner used to be pulling in money and customers left and right. But now, while still having a solid customer base, they weren't doing as great as they once did. Fielder arrived at the diner and met with the owner. First off, the owner kept telling Fielder that he was trying to get on "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives", and Fielder had to keep reminding him that his show wasn't Guy Fieri's show. It was hilarious. The guy kept bringing it up, and every time, Fielder had to shut it down, and he did it in the only way he could, with pure deadpan comedy.

After the guy got over his Guy Fieri stuff, he finally let Fielder tell him his plan. Fielder let the man know that he always saw an uptick in business when a celebrity would leave a big tip. This is true. When famous people leave a crazy tip, it is shown all over the news. The problem Fielder found was that no real celebrities wanted to do this for his show. He found another route though, and he auditioned some celebrity impersonators. It was hilariously sad to watch these people try and get this meaningless job. The Ace Venture/Jim Carrey impersonator was equal parts hilarious and sad. Fielder showed the tapes to the owner, and he picked a guy that was a Kramer impersonator. This led to a whole new set of problems. First, the racist stuff. Enough time had passed that most people brush that off now. But, he needed someone with the name Michael Richards to give him their credit card info, and this was met with all no's, obviously. Next, he found a guy that was willing to legally change his name. This scene was great because of the negotiation between the 2. With the name change came new problems though. They needed a 4 week period where the name change was announced in a publication. So, Fielder hired back the guy that ghost wrote "The Movement", from last season, to be the head editor of a newspaper he called "The Diarrhea Times". This was all perfect Nathan Fielder and "Nathan For You" stuff.

Once the 4 weeks passed and the name change was set, Fielder had the whole crew of the restaurant, and his Kramer impersonator ready to do the deed. Before I continue, please watch the Kramer guy try and figure out how to be Michael Richards and not Kramer. It is gold. Anyway, the Kramer impersonator does all the things Fielder had him do, the staff reacted as they were supposed to, and sure enough, the story made local news. It was on a local LA news station the next day. Fielder, to hammer home his point, had this story be the headlining story on the last issue of "The Diarrhea Times". It was tremendous.

I am so happy that this show is back. It is one of my favorite things on TV right now, and probably ever. Nathan Fielder is so funny and this show is so perfect for him. I'm so excited to see where he takes this season. I have heard that the season finale is going to be 2 hours long! I can't wait. It was a long 2 years to wait for the new season of "Nathan For You", but I'm so happy it is back and I am so happy that it will be in my life for the next couple of months. This show is perfect.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is trying to figure out who is best to help a struggling business. Should you go with Jon Taffer or Nathan Fielder? Either way, the audience will always win.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Adidas, Rick Pitino, AAU, and the Filthy Business of Non-Professional Basketball

All this sleaze for a stack of greenbacks

It looks like some schools, and Adidas, are going to be getting into a ton of trouble. The other day it was reported, by the FBI, that they have found a ton of money being funneled from AAU basketball all the way up to the NCAA. The main shoe company that was put on notice is Adidas. I'm sure some other shoe companies are involved, but the one with the biggest paper trail is Adidas, and most of the schools that have put assistants and head coaches on unpaid leave, are represented by Adidas. I have some thoughts on this whole ordeal.

First off, the fact that the FBI is involved means that this is some serious stuff. I've seen the NCAA try to dole out their fake punishments, i.e, small sanctions, taking recruiting away, missing one or two years of the tournament, but that isn't going to fly with the FBI. If the FBI is involved, that means some people may be going to jail. Some big name people may be going to court, then possibly jail. This is very, very serious, and there is a ton of money involved. When the FBI gets into a case, I have to imagine that it is millions upon millions of dollars. This is crazy. I cannot believe this is what is going to possibly be the death knell to some NCAA basketball programs. There has been a lot more shady shit that has happened, stuff like hookers, strippers, buying cars and homes for families of recruits, grade tampering, any number of immoral things, but it looks like the scourge that is AAU basketball will be what takes them down.

Which leads me to my second thought. AAU basketball is the worst of the worst when it comes to shady characters being around young kids and telling them that they will do great tings if they sign with them. These "boosters" and "agents" and "recruiting gurus" for AAU teams are the lowest of the low. They find some young kid, usually around 13 or 14, and they don't see a kid playing a sport, they see a brand. They think these kids can make them millionaires. They don't care about these kids or their families, they just want to make money off of them. It is sickening. Then with these kids, if they don't make it, these scumbags just disappear and move on to the next kid. And that first kid, who these guys give up on, still feels entitled and tries to move on to the next "agent" or whatever that can try and give them big things. It is so seedy and shady and corrupt. AAU basketball is as corrupt as FIFA. Yeah, I said it. These kids are not basketball players to these AAU programs anymore. Like I said before, they are brands. For the most part, the kids don't even get to pick which AAU team they want to play for. Either their parents or one of the scumbags I have talked about pick a team for them based upon what shoe company they are beholden to. It is gross. The kids sometimes have to move to a new state or a new county just so these AAU assholes can deck them out in Adidas gear. It is sickening. I remember when I was younger I tried out for an AAU team. I made it to final cut down day, but what I saw, as a 14 year old, made me feel sick. I didn't feel like a basketball player, I felt like a piece of meat. All these creeps hanging out on the sidelines that weren't coaches, just trying to figure out which one of us they could use as a marketing tool. That was over 20 years ago. I have to imagine that it has only gotten worse. I even watched a documentary on Netflix a month or so back called "At All Costs", and it was about the current AAU culture and parents that live vicariously through their kids. It was disheartening. These kids, these 14, 15 and 16 year old kids, already seemed like they were working full time jobs as basketball players, and the ones in this movie, seemed to be fed up already. Sports are supposed to be fun, but the people that run AAU and other things of that nature, have turned it into a job and a show. It is disgusting. I loathe the entire idea of what AAU basketball has become.

Which leads me to my next thought. Why is anyone at all surprised that Rick Pitino is right in the middle of this? He is a garbage person, and he is one of the biggest cheaters in all of NCAA basketball. The guy is a scumbag. He looks like a used car salesman. He hires strippers and hookers for recruits. He has done awful, reprehensible things to get kids to come to whatever school he is coaching at the time. So I say again, why are people shocked by his inclusion? Of course he is involved. Of course he is a major player in the whole pay for play feeder programs. Of course he is making deals with Adidas and people who have an Adidas sponsor in AAU. It makes too much sense. For him to come out and say that he had nothing to do with this is a bold face lie. He is justly going to get fired, finally. Rick Pitino is as big a scumbag as the "agents" and "boosters" I mentioned.

My final thought, don't let this news make you think that Sonny Vacaro is some kind of good guy. He was the one who started the whole shoe war with children. Hell, ESPN made a "30 For 30" about that single topic. Don't let Sonny Vacaro on any show to be a talking head about this situation because he is the godfather of all this. He started it all. It all comes back to him. He is just as slimy and creepy and crummy as Rick Pitino and the "boosters". AAU and NCAA basketball are complicit and a joke.

What is most surprising to me is how unsurprised I was when this story broke a few days ago. The NCAA has always been shady, and so has AAU basketball. It is all gross and disgusting. Why don't we just let kids be kids and let them play the game of basketball with joy as opposed to being a product of some dumb ass shill for shoe companies. What a joke.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. He was almost the 14 year old poster child for KangaROOS shoes. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Is Adding Dwayne Wade Good Enough to Win the Cavs Another Title?

Another day, another big NBA name on the move. This one isn't as shocking as Carmelo to OKC though. As many expected, after being bought out by the Bulls, Dwayne Wade made it clear that he will sign with the Cavs once he clears waivers at some point today. Two thirds of the Heat's "big 3" will be back together for what seems like one final season.

This move I am a bit more bullish on than I was with Carmelo to OKC. Where I like the fit in OKC, I see this as the Cavs having way too many guards that all will want equal playing time. It should be fine at first, what with Isaiah Thomas supposedly out until the All Star break. But, when he comes back, they have a glut of guards. On their roster now they have Derrick Rose, Kay Felder, Kyle Korver, JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Isaish Thomas and, when it becomes official, Dwayne Wade. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 7 legit guards, and for all intents and purposes, LeBron pretty much runs the offense, so 8. They have 8 guards on a roster that holds 12 players. That is too much. Now, I'm sure someone like Kay Felder will be relegated to the D League, and they will look to move Shumpert most likely, but that still leaves you with 6 guards. How is Ty Lue going to find playing time for all 6 of these guards.

As pointed out, it will be a bit easier at the start of the year with the Thomas injury. Lue should be able to find a rotation where Rose, Wade and LeBron get the brunt of the minutes at the 1 or 2. So, that leaves 2 guys, Korver and Smith, in unknown territory. Korver will probably switch to an instant offense off the bench guy, but they are paying a player of his talent a lot of money for what will be 10-15 minutes a night. Korver's best days are far behind him, and he will see his playing time almost completely disappear. Smith, on the other hand, is a much better scorer than Korver, and he can play some defense when engaged. He has also come up big at times for the Cavs in the last 3 Finals. He has made, and taken, some of the biggest shots for this team. Now is he just going to have to give those minutes to Wade because he and LeBron are best friends? That is unfair to a guy that has found the perfect place for him to play basketball.

I think JR Smith is going to become very unhappy at the diminished role he will see.

Then we have Derrick Rose. By virtue of trades and injuries, he will probably be the starting point guard on opening night for the Cavs. Yikes. Rose was great while in Chicago for his first 3 years. Hell, he won an MVP. But his last 2 years with the Bulls were riddled with injuries and last year with the Knicks was a total disaster. I do not think he is the driving force that he was 5 years ago, and he cannot shoot the jumper with any consistency. He is also a ball dominant player, and we saw what happened to another ball dominant guy playing with LeBron, Kyrie. Irving got so much better, but he was so unhappy. So much so that he begged to be traded, and he was. Also, Derrick Rose is nowhere near the player that Kyrie Irving is right now. They are not even on the same planet.

And now they have to insert Wade into their starting 5 because he is Dwayne Wade and he and LeBron are best buddies. Wade is an all time great. I love the way he plays basketball. He is a joy to watch when he is fully engaged. The problem lately with him though, he cannot go a full season. He either gets hurt or needs rest. He is old, Carmelo Anthony old, in basketball terms. The Cavs will be lucky if he plays 60 games this season. I know that he has had a ton of playoff success, but not lately. He disappeared in the last couple of finals he went to with the Heat and LeBron, and with the Bulls last year, it was all about Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo. Wade was a non factor. But, he will be starting on this Cavs team.

The Cavs will also have to find a way to insert Thomas back into the lineup when he gets back, and I just don't know how that is going to work for him and the Cavs.

So, if I sit down and try to figure out the starting 5 for the Cavs this year, I come up with Rose, Wade, LeBron, Jae Crowder and either Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson, depending on if they want defense or offense that night. I don't think Love or Thompson will be thrilled with a move to the bench. I also think JR Smith will be pissed off too. But, this is what LeBron wants. He wants to play basketball with his buddies. And for the East, this will work because the East is horrendous. The Cavs will, barring major injuries, win the East again, and get smoked by the Warriors again. Sure, they are getting smaller, but the guys they have are much older and will not be able to keep up with the Warriors. Who is going to guard KD? LeBron. Great, then put someone like Rose on Curry and Wade on Klay. Both of those guys will torch them. Same can be said for any number of matchups between these 2 teams.

Like I said yesterday, I love that teams are trying to match the Warriors, but in the long run, it doesn't matter. The Warriors are too young and too good. Also, this move makes the Cavs a much older team, and that just won't cut it against the Warriors. So while I'm happy that LeBron and Wade are back together again, I still don't think it will matter in the end. The Warriors will sweep them out of the finals and run them off the floor.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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How Good will Oklahoma City be Next Year Now that they Added Carmelo Anthony?

Carmelo Anthony finally, mercifully, got traded this past Saturday. This was a long time coming. I was at work, and the news buzzed that Melo had been traded. Naturally I assumed it was to the Rockets. That was all the talk for the entire summer, so I figured both teams finally pulled the trigger.

Well, it wasn't the Rockets. My next thought was the Trailblazers. I knew they were a long shot, but at the "eleventh hour", it seemed like a deal was in the works. If this was the destination, I was actually on board. I didn't think it would make them a title contender, but I loved the idea of a McCollum, Lillard and Anthony backcourt. There wouldn't have been much defense, but they would have scored a ton.

Well, it wasn't the Trailblazers. The next team I assumed was the Cavs. I read that he had opened up to being traded to a few new teams, and the one team that was number one on that list was the Cavs. He could finally unite with is buddy LeBron, and he would add some much needed scoring now that Kyrie Irving is gone. He could also make that team a little bit harder to defend. They would have been horrendous on defense, but they could have scored 120 a night.

It wasn't the Cavs though either. Much to mine, and almost everyone else's surprise, Melo was traded to the Thunder. The OKC Thunder pulled off two of the most unexpected, crazy moves of the summer. I was floored when they traded Victor Oladipo and Domantis Sabonis for George. I was SHOCKED when they got Melo for Doug McDermott and Enes Kanter! Absolutely shocked. I didn't see this coming at all. The Thunder were never, ever in the mix for Melo. No one mentioned their name, especially after they pulled off the Paul George trade. My hat goes off to Sam Presti and the Thunder organization for what they did this summer. They may only have this "big 3" for one season, but in the process they were able to unload terrible contracts, Oladipo and Kanter, an unproven rookie, Sabonis and a poor man's JJ Redick in Dougie McBuckets. If they do lose all three of these guys after one lone season, they will have a ton of money to spend on free agents.

But, lets deal with that topic next summer. I want to look at this current lineup that the Thunder will trot out there this season. There assumed starting 5 will be Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Paul George, Carmelo and Steven Adams. That is a pretty damn good starting 5, if they can mesh. That will be the biggest problem they will face early on. I read a stat a few days back that said that George, Westbrook and Carmelo were numbers 1, 2 and 3 in isolation plays last year. This is a classic case of, "there is only one ball" talk. They will have to learn to share the ball. I'm pretty confident that they will figure it out, but Westbrook will have the toughest transition. He is coming of an incredible season where we won the MVP and averaged a triple double. But, he did those things because he had too. He didn't have many weapons at his disposal. He has those weapons now, and he will have to learn to share the ball. I think that Paul George is a perfect guy to play next to Westbrook. George is an awesome defender. He is one of the better ones in the league. He is also a good scorer, and I think he will thrive playing off the ball. He had to do too much while in Indiana. Now, with Westbrook running the point, he can roam and find open spots. He will eventually score in bunches. I'm very curious to see how Melo fits in. He has been "the man" in both Denver and New York. Now, he is the third option. He is older, a poor defender, but he can fill it up. He can score and score and score again. He will get a TON of open shots on this team. With Westbrook and George being more of the driving type player, he will get a lot of catch and shoot chances. That is when he is at his best. That is what he does on Team USA, and he always shows out at the Olympics. He is old though, at least in the NBA. He will be a liability on defense. He may get mad at the lack of touches he will get. But, he is a top 20 NBA player, don't buy that stupid ranking that ESPN, or whoever did prior to this season.

As far as the other starters, Steven Adams will be needed for toughness and rebounding, which is what he does already. And Andre Roberson won't have to worry about shooting and can strictly focus on defending one of the better players on the other team, which he is best at. They both benefit from these 2 trades. As far as their bench, the Patrick Paterson signing is great, but he will lose some minutes to Carmelo. It's not a big deal, but they will need Paterson in the playoffs. Jerami Grant will get a chance at being the backup point and 2, and he should do well in short bursts here and there. Alex Abrines will be a minor scoring threat off the bench. Semaji Christon was awesome in Summer League. I'd like to see that translate to the NBA. And who knows with Terrance Ferguson, their first round draft pick. He is a great scorer, but no one really knows all that much about his overall game.

This Thunder team will be all about Westbrook, George and Carmelo, as it should be. I think this team, once they figure it out, will be very good. I could see them winning 50-55 games. I think they could be the 2 or 3 seed in the West. That all depends on how well James Harden and Chris Paul mesh. But, the Thunder will be better than the Rockets.

With all this being said though, it does not matter. They are still nowhere near the level of the Warriors. The Warriors are the best team, by a wide, wide margin, in the NBA. I love that teams are trying to pull in stars and band together to try and beat the Warriors, but all their best players are some of the best at their positions, and they are all in their primes. The Warriors are too good. But, I love this trade and I'm super excited to watch the Thunder again. I'm still sticking with the Timberwolves and Spurs as my new teams, but these 2 trades make the Thunder must watch basketball for me this year.

I'm still shocked they got Carmelo Anthony.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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We Need to Talk About the NFL National Anthem Protests

There was a ton of things that happened in the sports world this weekend, and I will cover it all this week. But today, I have to talk about the biggest thing, and that was the mass protests prior to kickoffs at all the NFL games this weekend.

I LOVED all the protests that happened. When that moron came out and called Colin Kapernick a "son of a bitch" at a rally in Alabama, that was one of the lowest marks in American history. This golfing oaf goes to one of the most racist states in America, holds a rally, which is insane, and calls out an African American that was using his free speech better than most. I thought that was going to set all social media ablaze, but after Steph Curry said that he wouldn't visit the White House, after KD and Andre Iguodala had already said the same, that dip shit says some of the most childish shit I have ever heard. He "rescinded" the invite before it was even given out, and he took to Twitter to do it.

First off, cancel this douchebag's Twitter account. People have been thrown off Twitter for much, much less. All this orange piece of human garbage does is incite hate on your website. Suspend his account. And like a child that has been told that a friend of his or hers is not coming to party and says, "I didn't want them here anyway", that is exactly what this asshole, racist blob of flesh did. He is the mean guy or girl from high school. He is the frat boy that gets upset when he gets rejected and talks behind that person's back. He is the guy at your job that NO ONE wants to hang out with. He is THE WORST.

I was so happy to see all the love and support that Steph Curry got from athletes and all other people across the world. Everyone was stomping on the monster that presides, when he isn't golfing or staying at one of his tacky ass hotels, in the White House. A lot of athletes came to Curry's defense, but LeBron's was the best. He called him a "bum", and said, "it was an honor to come to the White House until you got there". He dunked all over that hateful piece of trash. It was glorious.

After the big time backlash for pulling the invite, later in the day, the UNC men's basketball team that won the tournament last year also declined their invite. Woo Hoo! Again, I was thrilled. This horrible person in office craves the support and attention from athletes, and they are spitting in his face, and I couldn't be happier. The Pittsburgh Penguins had to be the one downer, saying they'd go to the White House, but then I remembered that hockey is stupid and filled with idiotic white guys. No one cares about hockey or NASCAR or any white trash sport. The fact that the NFL, NBA and now even the MLB are coming out against this "administration" is truly great. With all the Steph Curry and LeBron James and the NBA making statements saying that they will not only accept, but stand behind people that protest, I was very happy.

Then the whole "son of a bitch" stuff came back up. After that failed business man attacked Curry and James, again on Twitter, he said some BS about any player that "kneels during the anthem should be suspended or fired", I was so stoked to see the response. I had to work yesterday, but I was able to follow all the anthem protests via my phone, and boy were they plentiful. The Ravens and Jags started off the day with the majority of the players kneeling during the anthem. We were off to a great start. Then, the Steelers upped the ante, by all of the players, excluding one veteran, staying in the locker room for the anthem. From there on out, it was a sea of players sitting, kneeling or locking arms. Hardly anyone had their hands on their hearts during the anthem. Again, I was so happy to see these millionaires taking a big, big stand. Even guys like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers participated in the protests. This was great. After a ton of NFL players took to Twitter to bad mouth the guy Russia got to be "president", they took to the field and showed their solidarity for each other, and protested this hateful and hurtful "government". Hell, even Robert Kraft, Shad Khan and Rex Ryan came out and chastised this oaf, and they all supported him.

As I stepped back and watched and was thrilled at what I was seeing, I did have a few things that crept into my mind that I wished had happened in addition to the mass protests. I wanted every NFL player to kneel. I'm fine with the locking of arms, and I love the sitting down, but I wished every single player took a knee. That would have been awesome. I was also upset at ESPN for giving Rex Ryan a lane to talk abut someone that he supported, but they tried to drag Jemele Hill's name through the mud for saying the same things on her personal Twitter account. They can't just pick and choose when they want someone to do what they say. And a little part of me wanted all the teams to protest like the Steelers. That would have been amazing. But all in all, I was very happy with what I saw yesterday from the NFL, for the most part. People always say, "don't mix sports and politics", but now is the perfect time to do this. Sports figures are more famous than ever, and they hold a ton of weight with younger generations. I love that they are showing young kids that it is okay to rebel against what most of the country considers a hurtful, hateful, racist, homophobic and Islamophobic "government". I've been incredibly embarrassed to be an American for 8 months now, but with these athletes, owners and commissioners coming to the support of their players yesterday, it was a step in the right direction.

Lets keep it up. Lets keep fighting. With good people making good choices and fighting for the right things, we can be better. Hell, we could even return to some kind of normalcy if we keep fighting the injustices that the current "government" keeps trying to push on us. Lets keep getting our voice out there. Keep protesting and keep fighting.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. For the very first time in his entire sports writing life, he is on the same side as Roger Goodell. Trump is so bad that he made Ty and Goodell agree on something.

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There are Only Four Rivalry Games in All of College Football

Any backyard Nerf football game is the fifth biggest rivalry.

I was out to lunch today with my daughter and my folks and the topic of college football came up between my father and I, as it almost always does this time of year. We were talking about the Purdue-Michigan game this Saturday and then moved on to some other matchups that intrigued us. I said to my dad that a big rivalry game was on tomorrow night. He asked me which game, and I told him that Notre Dame and Michigan State were playing. He kind of shook his head and asked me why I thought that was a rivalry game. I told him that ESPN, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, pretty much every sports media site and publication always says this is a rivalry game. What he said next was pretty profound, and really speaks to the current state of college football.

My dad said that when he was a kid, and even in his early adult life, Notre Dame and MSU was not a rivalry game. He said that the 2 teams barely played each other until fairly recently. He seemed to think that the media has this hyped as a rivalry game, but in actuality, it is just another game.

We spoke more about what we each consider to be relevant rivalry games in college football. We are both big time Michigan fans, obviously. So, he asked me who I considered was Michigan's biggest rival. Without hesitation I said the University of Ohio State. They always have been and always will be Michigan's chief rival. He was happy with my answer, but asked me about teams like Notre Dame, Minnesota, MSU, and I kind of shrugged them off. Don't get me wrong, those are big games, but not as big as the University of Ohio State. They don't play Notre Dame or Minnesota every year anymore and, while the MSU game can be big, it doesn't hold the same magnitude for me as a Michigan fan. We started to look at other games that are considered "rivalry" games by some places. We both agreed that Auburn-Alabama and Army-Navy are legit, big time games. Those games are almost always as important as the University of Ohio State-Michigan game. I was even quick to say the Egg Cup, Washington and Washington State, is a big time rivalry game too.

Outside of some in state stuff, we couldn't come up with many other true rivalry games, what with all the realignment, and the state of some teams currently in college football. Take a game like Iowa-Iowa State for example. Who, outside of alumni and people that live in Iowa, really care about this "rivalry"? I know I wasn't watching, or paying that much attention to this game when it was played a few weeks ago. Sure, they have some trophy, but who really cares besides the players and coaches. My dad informed me that some people consider Minnesota-Wisconsin a rivalry game. I thought they just played each other to get some big ass axe. I didn't realize until today that this was a rivalry trophy. Some people still consider UCLA-USC a rivalry game. Not me. For my generation, Notre Dame is a much bigger rival to USC than UCLA is. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State fans might take me to task because I don't really think Bedlam is a legit rivalry game. It's a battle for Oklahoma, but it usually doesn't have the big time stakes of true rivalry games. I remember asking RD's wife, who went to Purdue, who their biggest rival was and she told me Indiana. I would not have known that in a million years. I guess it makes sense because they are both in Indiana, but a rivalry game, I don't think so.

Then I thought about some old time rivalry games that are now gone due to conference realignment. We don't get to see Texas-Texas A&M every year anymore. That's a drag. That was always a fun game to watch on Thanksgiving weekend, no matter how good or bad the teams were. Colorado-Colorado State has fallen into that Iowa-Iowa State role for me now that Colorado is in the Pac-12. Who cares about that game, including people that live in Colorado. Missouri and Kansas not only stopped playing football against each other, but they don't even play basketball against each other anymore. That is a damn shame as someone from Missouri that roots for Kansas. The used to have some great matchups back when the Big 12 had 12 teams. Penn State and Pitt only recently renewed their rivalry, but both those schools aren't what they used to be when that game would have truly mattered.

I guess when I look at the new landscape of college football, it is hard for me to see a true rivalry outside of some in state nonsense, or some made up stuff by people that just want others to pay attention to their schools. Outside of University of Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, Army-Navy and Notre Dame-USC, what are the big "rivalry" games? Who is Florida's rival? Is it Florida State or Miami? Same for Miami. Is it Florida State or Florida? Who is Georgia's rival? Is it Georgia Tech, or some random SEC school? Who's Texas main rival now? Oklahoma? Aren't they supposed to be Oklahoma State's biggest rival? What about KU or Missouri? Who are their chief rivals? How about Stanford? Do they consider Notre Dame or USC their biggest rival? Who is LSU's most hated team? Is it Alabama? Maybe Auburn? What about Clemson? Has Louisville jumped older teams, or is it still another team from the Carolina's? It is all very muddy now in college football.

I love to watch all these games, but I want people to temper what they consider a "rivalry game". I will still tune into Notre Dame-Michigan State, but only because Michigan's game should be over by then, and the only other intriguing night game matchup to me is TCU-Oklahoma State. No other reason. I don't know, I just feel like people are making up new rivalry games just to make them up. Tell me why I'm wrong. Let me know how much the Georgia-Georgia Tech game means, or why Miami is a bigger rival to Florida than Florida State. Because where I sit now, there are only 4 true rivalry games. All that other stuff is pure nonsense.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is on the wrong side of our world's greatest rivalry, yellow or red Gatorade. We all know the true answer.

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Let's Take Another Look: The Movie "Her" is Even More Relevant Four Years Later

I was scrolling through the movie channels that we have provided by our cable provider and I came across the movie "Her" from 2014. I saw this movie in the theaters when it was first released and I loved it. I remember it winning best original screenplay at the Oscars that same year. It was much deserved for Spike Jones and all the people that helped write the movie. It was a very forward thinking movie. I wanted to see if it held up, so I watched it.

First off, it totally holds up. In fact, I think it holds more weight now than it did when it came almost 4 years ago. In 2014, the idea of a lonely guy that just got divorced and ends up falling in love with a computer operating system was far fetched. Now, I think it is less than a few years away where this will be widely accepted. We are all already so heavily involved with our phones, computers, tablets, anything electronic basically. I'm just as much at fault for this. I read the majority of my news from my phone. I listen to podcasts on my phone. I watch TV on my computer and my son's tablet. All my music is played through my iPod. I use electronics everyday. Hell, my "watch" is also my Fitbit. It keeps time, but it also tracks my steps, my heart rate, the calories I've burned and how many "hills" I've climbed. It can also map my runs and any other exercise, and that is just a "watch". So in re watching "Her" the other day, it felt more like a "Black Mirror" episode that a light dramedy. It was kind of horrifying if I'm being totally honest.

For example, there is a scene near the end of the movie where Samantha, Joaquin Phoenix's OS that he calls his girlfriend, wants to be intimate with him and she finds a service where a real life person can come to his home and she can talk through an earpiece that they both wear. The scene is kind of awkward and I felt kind of wrong watching it. Phoenix didn't know this girl. She was hired to be a real life form of Sam. It was a very light form of prostitution. When Phoenix finally becomes too weirded out by the whole situation, he is made to be the bad guy by Sam and the girl she hired. That is crazy. Also, no one else besides a weirdo like Joaquin Phoenix could have pulled off this role, and more importantly, this scene.

How far off are situations like this in our real life? It is not too far fetched that some stuff like this may be going on right now. I have no doubt at all that some people have a genuine "love" for their phone or tablet, and they call that piece of electronics their partner. No doubt at all. We are all becoming attached to our devices. It is becoming a problem. I'm just waiting for a "True Life" on MTV or some god awful TLC show that talks about people wanting to marry their phone, computer, tablet, whatever it may be. People already have been on TV shows that have shown love for things like real life dolls, cars, furniture, basically all kinds of stuff. Now, as long as you aren't hurting anyone, I have no problem with this. Love whoever or whatever you want. I'm just curious, and I really think it is a real possibility, that people are already saying that some piece of electronics with an operating system is their lover. I know people that freak out when they can't find their phones. I've heard people say, "I don't know what I'd do without my phone". That is crazy.

Every time I go out for coffee or lunch with a group of friends there is inevitably a table filled with people that all have their computers out, are eating lunch and not speaking to one another. Same goes for teens. They'd rather text or Snapchat than engage in a real life conversation. Could this current generation of teens be the first to claim that an OS is their boyfriend/girlfriend? I say most definitely.

The one nice thing I took away from my second go round of "Her", and I say again, I think this movie is wonderful, the people in this futuristic society passed no judgement on these people that were in relationships with their OS's. I think that is great, and I think everyone should be accepting of all consensual love. Love is love and love is blind and love is great. I say again, as long as no one is getting hurt or worse, I'm down with whatever.

The one thing that made me look at "Her" with terror was the end of the movie. Before I go on, spoiler alert. I'm going to wreck the end of this almost 4 year old movie. But, at the end, Phoenix is struggling with his relationship. He and Sam are fighting all the time and they just seem bored and tired of each other. In a last ditch effort Phoenix tries to get her back on his side and he runs into a train stop. Here he realizes that "Sam" is in many relationships. She is an OS, so of course other people have this program for their piece of electronics. It is so heartbreaking and upsetting, but also real. Many people have similar interests when it comes to a partner, and Phoenix finds this out the hard way. It is so gut wrenching because of how true it really is.

Look, I highly recommend the movie "Her". It is great. But, the next time you watch it, if you have already seen it, or if this is your first viewing, think of how close this idea is to reality and watch the movie through that lens. It will really open your eyes. I know it opened mine.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once fell in love with an OS. Jennifer Aniston and Matt Perry could really make a guy love Windows 95.

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Kevin Durant Just Needs to Let it Go

I think it is time for me to give my two cents on this whole Kevin Durant trashing the Thunder organization from a dummy Twitter account.

First off, how does something like this happen with someone this famous? Why doesn't he have people that can stop this, or stop him, from doing something this dumb and easy for hackers and computer people to figure out? Do these pro athletes think they need to be this open to their fans? No way. I think it is cool that some pro athletes want to be able to reach out to fans, but trying to troll trolls, come on, they are better than that.

It is a matter of fact that there will always be someone out there that doesn't like you, especially if you give your opinion. I've found that out by writing for the site. I do not care about the people that say mean or bad things about me, but I also do not engage it. I just let it go. I never return comments on Facebook, Twitter or any other website that has a comment section. It is a waste of time and effort. Same goes for the good comments. I love to hear people say they like my stuff, but I never comment back. Again, there is no need to. The only time I comment back is when I have made a mistake and I want to clear the air. That is it.

Since his last year in OKC and his first full year in Golden State, it seems like KD thinks it is his personal mission to get social media trolls. Anyone that has called him a snake, a traitor, a front runner, a ring chaser, anything bad, he feels the need to write back. Why? What good does that do? Who is he trying to impress? How does he have time to do all this? I have so many more questions, but unfortunately, there seem to be no real answers.

What I think it boils down to is, he has never really been someone that people have actively rooted against. He has always been a player that 99 percent of NBA watchers love. He plays the game so freely and fun. I wish I could play the game of basketball like he does. He is so god damn good. He has been that good since high school, his one year of college, and his entire NBA career. He is one of the best players in the game right now, and he is a sure fire hall of famer. So, for him to call out the "haters" or "doubters", stop it. No one hates your game or doubts your talent. You are a once in a generation player and I am grateful that I get to watch you play, at least, 100 games a year. That nonsense needs to stop from him. He has proven his greatness. He has been to 2 Finals and won one. He is a multiple league leading scorer. He has won a regular season and Finals MVP. He is a multiple All Star. He is always a first team all NBA player. He has done it all. So stop calling out a few dumbass trolls that don't think you aren't any good. You are great. I also love your stance on politics. Keep that up.

It's stuff like this recent Twitter thing and the new shoes that make me rethink my thoughts on you as a person KD. The new shoes, with all that garbage written on the bottom of the shoe is ludicrous. People only said that stuff about you because you joined a team that you couldn't beat, which is fine. NBA players have done that all the time. Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers late in their career. Charles Barkley got traded to the Rockets near the end. Steve Nash and Dwight Howard also joined the Lakers. It happens all the time. Get over people calling you a front runner. You are a front runner and that is okay. You made the Warriors nearly unbeatable. I never thought I'd see a team destroy a LeBron James led team like the Spurs did in his last go round with the Heat, but due to your presence, the Warriors did just that, and they will continue to with you on their team. Yes you are a ring chaser, but you have a ring. Stop going after people for spouting out facts. It is the truth. You know, I know it and most of the NBA fan base knows it, including Warriors fans. But what you did with these comments about the Thunder and Billy Donovan and Russell Westbrook is straight up childish. You whined and complained when people bad mouthed you for leaving this organization to join the team that beat you and you didn't say anything about the Thunder then. You griped that people called you a snake or a traitor during the season, you didn't say anything about the Thunder then. You outplayed Westbrook in the regular season head to head matchups and you didn't say anything about the Thunder then. So why, one week before media day and 2 weeks before training camp kicks off, do you say this stuff? This is like when a high schooler breaks up with his or her boyfriend/girlfriend, dates someone more popular and trashes their ex to the whole school. This is some childish bull shit that you should be above.

You won KD. The Warriors are champs. The Thunder are a second round playoff team at best. Get over it. To publicly call out Billy Donovan and say that the roster was terrible is so whiny and conniving and just flat out wrong. This might be worse than some high school bull shit. This is like when my kid says he got into a fight with someone smaller than him and beat him up. That is unfair and he gets punished for that. And when it was found out that you did it, you tried to play it off all cool. I do not buy it for one second. You said you let your emotions at the time get the best of you, I say BS. These were clearly feelings that you had inside the whole season and off season. That doesn't just come out of nowhere. 

All in all, this childish behavior and "woe is me" attitude coming from a multi millionaire that gets to play basketball for a living is really making it hard for me to continue to root for you KD. You are a tremendous talent. Just let your game do the talking. Don't engage with dip shits online, no good will come of it. This will be something that you will always be remembered for the rest of your career. People will say, "multiple champion, 20 plus time all star, multiple all NBA teams, multiple MVP and weirdo that trashed his former organization on Twitter through a dummy account, Kevin Durant". That is crazy, but you brought this upon yourself when you decided it would be a good idea to throw the Thunder under the bus. Let this social media stuff go and just go out there and kick ass on a basketball court. You are better than this KD.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. He also spent one semester at a D 1 college like most of the players in the first round. When will his name be called?

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Ty Watches "Vice Principals" Final Season Premier

This past Sunday "Vice Principals" returned to TV. I loved the first season of this show. Anytime that Danny McBride and David Gordon Green get together, save for "Your Highness", I am completely on board. They did great work with "Eastbound and Down", and they are doing it even better, in my opinion, on "Vice Principals". That is very high praise from me. "Eastbound and Down" is one of the greatest shows to ever appear on TV. It was perfect in every possible way. But, I feel like "Vice Principals" is darker, funnier and just a sight bit better. The show is so dark.

The opening scene of the season 2 premiere was intense. I watched it while sitting on the edge of my couch. It only got darker, but also funnier from there. Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the first season yet, McBride's character got shot in the school parking lot by a masked person. I didn't know if the show was going to come back, or if they did, how would they treat what happened? Would McBride be dead? Would he be paralyzed? Who did it? Why did this person do it? I had so many questions. So, when they announced that they were doing a second season, and it would be the last season, I was pumped.

I watched the season 2 premiere yesterday when I finally had a chance to sit down. As I said, they had that crazy dark opening dream sequence, and then the show snapped back to its comedy roots. McBride was awoken by his daughter, and she told him breakfast was ready. What made this so funny, he was staying at his ex wife's house, played by Busy Phillips, and her new boyfriend was his live in nurse. If people remember my review from season one, one of my favorite characters is Busy Phillips new boyfriend. He is so nice to Phillips, her daughter and, especially, McBride. That is hammered home in the season 2 premiere. McBride seems to think he needs a wheelchair and a lift to get up and down the steps, but we find out that he was shot in the shoulder and the hip. He is not paralyzed, but he acts like he is. He has become so reliant on the chair and the lift.

Later on Walton Goggins shows up to give McBride his medicine, so we find out then that he and McBride still hang out. They successfully got the new principal fired, and now Goggins has become principal of the high school. He does find time to help out McBride though. They go on walks and feed ducks. McBride tells Goggins his plans for getting Dr. Brown back, he believes she shot him, but Goggins says that everyone in town, including the police, say that it was a stereo thief that was spooked by McBride's presence. McBride doesn't believe that, and neither does Goggins. But, they have to go along with it so no one will find out all the terrible things they did to Dr. Brown in season 1.

At this recent walk in the park, Goggins gets McBride to get out of his chair and walk. He needs him back at the high school. Goggins is having a hard time being the full time principal. He goes on to explain how hard it has been by describing all things he has to do for the parents and administrators by describing it as "the worst gang bang I have ever been a part of, and believe me, I have been in some gang bangs". McBride returns to the high school the day after his last encounter with Goggins, and that scene was hilarious. He has the student choir sing "Tears in Heaven", and McBride is so very uncomfortable the whole time. It was comedic gold.

The episode did get dark when McBride found out where Dr. Brown was living now and confronted her in the restroom of a restaurant she was at with her kids. She told him she did not shoot him, and at this point, McBride tried to pull a gun on her. It slipped out of his arm, still using humor even in dark scenes, and rolled to her feet. He then pulled the sword out of his cane and told her not to move. She explained then all the reasons why she wouldn't shoot him, and even showed him a tattoo of him and Goggins holding hands and eating shit. She has put them behind her, just like gin, and got it tattooed on her back, as is her way. She then tries to tell him that she thinks it may have been Goggins that shot him because everything worked out for him. McBride storms into the school the next day and asks Goggins if he shot him at their meeting spot in the woods. Goggins is appalled, and starts to walk away. McBride apologizes, and this is when we hear about how bad it is to be principal. Goggins shows him a binder filled with possible suspects of people that could have shot McBride. They seem to be back in business as partners in crime again.

The final scene of the first episode shows McBride getting his gumption back and tearing into students that are acting up at lunch. It was great, and he is most definitely back. I'm very excited to see how this second, and final season, goes. I want answers, hilarious scenes and dark shit to happen, and I'm one hundred percent sure that "Vice Principals", Danny McBride and David Gordon Green will deliver. Everyone should be watching this show. It is amazing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is right that "Vice Principals" is an awesome show. It is not better than "Eastbound and Down". I mean the first ten minutes of that show's premier is the greatest piece of entertainment man has ever created.

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The NFL is Pretty Terrible Right Now, and Other Thoughts

Can you smell what the NFL is giving you?

There will be no Emmy talk from me today. I saw that people like Donald Glover won some awards and "Black Mirror" got its due respect, but I did not watch one single second of the show last night. Also, "Legion" didn't get a single nomination, so who cares.

Second, I cannot sit here and type about the horrific judge's ruling here in Saint Louis this past weekend. I'm embarrassed, ashamed and saddened to be a Saint Louis resident after last Friday. That police officer killed a kid in cold blood and was ruled not guilty. It is the 21st century yet people are still racist and blind. The police all over this country are becoming, if they weren't already, horrible, power hungry monsters.

Instead I want to talk about something that I feel like I am pretty well versed in, and that is the NFL. Now, don't expect this to be some lovey dovey ode to the NFL. This is going to be quite the opposite in fact. I have 2 games in my mind that show how far the NFL has fallen off in the past couple years.

The first game was the Texans-Bengals atrocity  that the NFL fans had to bear witness to last Thursday night. That game was an abomination. The two teams playing in that game played some of the worst offense that I have ever witnessed by "pro" football players. The Texans kind of have an excuse. They started a rookie. Sure, they traded up very high to get Deshaun Watson, but he is still a rookie, and this was his first start, and the game was on the road. Yes, the Texans offensive line is horrendous and they have no real running game, but Watson was fine, for a rookie, and at least he got the ball to DeAndre Hopkins, something Brock Osweiler couldn't do last year. That being said though, the Texans offense was just horrendous. I didn't think the Bengals would be worse, but damned if Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton didn't prove me wrong. I'm sorry RD, but the Bengals may be worse on offense than any team in the NFL, including the Jets.(Ed Note: The Bengals stink) In 2 games the Bengals have 9 points. I say again, they've played 120 minutes of football and they have scored 9 total points. They haven't put the ball in the end zone yet. I found it funny during the offseason when some people called the Bengals a "sleeper" team and thought that Andy Dalton could "take the next step". If anything, they have taken a major step back and Andy Dalton is never going to be any better than his rookie year. That seems much more likely to me. There are stories coming out today and yesterday that a bunch of current Bengals want the team to sign Colin Kaepernick, and I think that may be the best thing to happen to this team. They won't do it, but they should. The final score of that game on Thursday night was 13-9 and the best player on the field was a rookie QB that ran the ball 49 yards for a score. That game was a disgusting display of coaching and playing. It was bad all around.

I thought we had seen the worst game of the week, possibly the year, but when I got home on Sunday, I turned on my favorite channel, the "Redzone Network", and watched games all day long. One game they kept going back to for some inexplicable reason was the Seahawks-49ers game. I know that the Seahawks have some "big name" players, and the 49ers have some young talent and a new head coach, but this game was just as bad, if not worse, than the Texans-Bengals game. Neither team could do anything on offense at all. Some blamed it on the weather, but that excuse needs to be tossed out the window. Teams play in bad weather games all the time and they never play as poorly as these 2 teams play. The Seahawks apologists will say, "the 49ers always play them tough", but the Seahawks have destroyed them, especially at home, since Russell Wilson has been their QB. I think these fans were thinking of the Rams, and that is not much better. But, like I said, "Redzone Network" kept going back to this game to show me a 2 yard gain here, a big hit there and nothing but field goals or punts. It was a big time test of my patience. There were some other good games going on at the same time. The Buccaneers were pounding the Bears during their first game of the year. I want to see if this Buccaneers team is for real. The Patriots were filling up the scoreboard against the Saints. The Steelers were pounding the Sam Bradford less Vikings. Hell, even the Browns and Ravens were playing a better game. The Raiders were putting it to the Jets. All these games would have been so much more entertaining to watch. But, they kept cutting to this terrible Seahawks-49ers game with the hopes of something big about to happen. Nothing big ever happened. It was 6-6 at halftime. The second half was not much better. They kept going to the host, I believe his name is Chris Hansen, and he kept yelling as if he was Gus Johnson anytime Russell Wilson scrambled for 10 yards, or whatever 49ers running back was running would go for an 8 yard gain. He was really trying to sell this game to the viewing audience. When the 49ers went up 9-6 you would have thought that this was the Super Bowl. Hansen was pulling out nonsense stats left and right. The Seahawks eventually scored a TD, only to miss the extra point, and win the game 12-9. It was a joke of a football game. I know it is only 2 weeks into the season, but for all the people that picked the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl, they may want to rethink that prediction. The Seahawks cannot protect Wilson and they have no one, and I mean NO ONE, that is a threat on offense. Their defense is great, but their offense could be their downfall. They have scored a combined 21 points in 2 games. That's more than the Bengals, but not that much more.

The NFL has been pretty rough for the first 2 weeks. The QB play last week really showed this, and these 2 particular games only magnifies it more for me. It has been rough to watch for 2 weeks. I'm almost to the point where fantasy football is the only reason that I will even pay attention to the NFL. As I said last week, football on Saturday's is so much better than football on Thursday, Sunday and Monday. The NFL is slowly but surely turning into a horrific product. And I do not know if they can fix it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor wants to once again say that the Bengals stink, because they really do stink. Stink.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.