Sports

Welcome back to the WLOY Sports Wrap! As February reaches its midpoint, that means the NBA trade deadline has passed and moves that changed the landscape of the league need to be dissected and evaluated.

Before we jump into the moves that were made on the actual deadline day, which featured many of the biggest names and surprises, let’s go over the trades that happened prior to February 8th. The biggest move happened before the month, as the Pistons and Clippers swapped three players and draft picks. In the end, the Pistons acquired All-Star Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson, and the Clippers received small forward Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic. They also got the Pistons’ first-round pick (top-4 protected) and a 2019 second-round pick. This trade was a surprise to the league and its fans at first, but when one takes a longer look at it, the swap makes complete sense. The Clippers didn’t want to hold onto Griffin’s contract, as the departure of Chris Paul during the offseason has the Clips in a rebuild mode rather than in a hard push for contending for a championship. Dumping his salary opens up more possibilities of attracting free-agents, most notably LeBron James, as it is unclear if he intends to stay in Cleveland. As for Detroit, it’ll be interesting to see how Blake and dominant big Andre Drummond will work down low in Motor City, but the Eastern Conference got a little wake up call 12 days before the deadline.

The NBA season is finally upon us! After months of crazy and unpredictable moves during free agency and through blockbuster trades, the squads have been finalized and ready to fight for a championship. Unless you are the Golden State Warriors of course, as you basically have nothing to worry about. Let’s jump right into some predictions and storylines for the 2017-2018 NBA season!

Let’s start with the lowly Eastern Conference. Despite the transactions made by the Cavaliers and Celtics to vy for the top spot in the conference, the Eastern half of the NBA is still leaps and bounds behind the Western Conference in talent and interest. The best overall player in the game, King Lebron James, is still with the Cavs, which automatically puts them in contention for a fourth straight Finals appearance. But, the #1 seed for a season ago, Boston Celtics, have made some monster moves themselves to try and catapult themselves into the discussion of teams who can take down the juggernaut that is Cleveland. The opening day roster for the C’s only has four…let that sink in…four returning players from last year’s 53-win team. This is unprecedented in the history of the NBA, but the players gained over the summer months may have made up for their significant losses. In the trade of the summer with the rival Cavaliers, the Celtics lost their leader and star point-guard Isaiah Thomas, small-forward Jae Crowder and the Brooklyn Nets pick for the upcoming draft pick (which will probably be a good
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Week 2 in the National Football League has come and gone, and only two things seem clear: the Jets are who we thought they were, and the Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt is spearheading the next generation of running backs.

The slate of games started on Thursday night, when the Texans took down the struggling Bengals in Cincinnati. Other than J.J Watt’s unbelievable charitable efforts for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, the pieces seem to be coming together for the team on the field. DeShaun Watson has taken his opportunity as the starting quarterback and run with it, racking up 67 yards and a touchdown on five carries in his first career start. But, for the Bengals, their field general, Andy Dalton. isn’t looking like the “Red Rifle” that led the team to playoff appearances in four out of his five years as a starter. Even rumors have popped up that if Dalton is benched in the near future for his subpar play, players are calling for the front office to sign the controversial ex-49ers QB Colin Kaepernick. Constant buzz about his political leanings and protests has steered many owners away from the possibility of adding him to their roster. But it is a storyline to keep an eye on as the season progresses, as Kaepernick is a viable option for Cincy if Dalton’s performance continues to disappoint.