Rooting for a tanking team is tough—and weird
March 5, 20192019 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings: Interior Defensive Linemen
March 6, 2019Good morning and happy Hump Day, you guys! Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday so far. At the very least, I hope everyone is at least happier than both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving seem to be in their respective situations on the hardwood.
Without further ado, let’s talk about that, and include some talk about the Ohio State Buckeyes’ dominance in the NFL Draft Combine that just concluded as well.
The Cavs’ Former Big Three
We all know how great the Big Three were together, with their highest of highs together being when they led the wine and gold to an NBA championship on June 19, 2016. The Golden State Warriors not only blew a 3-1 series lead, but the Cavaliers won Cleveland it’s first major sports championship since 1964. It was awesome. It was a night (and week) many will never, ever forget. It’s crazy to think that that was less than three years ago because so much has changed since then.
Kyrie Irving is now a Boston Celtic. LeBron James is now a Los Angeles Laker. Kevin Love, the guy who has been included in trade rumors since the moment he became a Cavaliers, is somehow the last one remaining in Cleveland.
After demanding a trade, Uncle Drew seemed to think that the grass would be greener on the other side, in “a real, live sports city”. Little did he know, that Celtic Green grass isn’t greener and it’s actually far from it.
With his unrestricted free agency looming, he hasn’t liked the fact that reporters have repeatedly asked him about his future. After publicly saying that he wants to re-sign with the Celtics prior to the season, things seemed to have changed. Now, it looks like he’s on the way out. Whether it’s his one-word responses to reporter’s questions, Kyrie seemingly not enjoying himself, or just the Celtics struggling and having a “toxic” locker room, Uncle Drew isn’t enjoying himself whatsoever.
I will always love Kyrie because he played a huge part in giving me the happiest sports-related moment of my life, but is it bad that I’m enjoying all of this mess with the Celtics, especially because it’s happening in Boston?
Then there’s LeBron. It’s clear that basketball wasn’t the only thing he went to LA for. It was obvious from the start and given the Lakers’ current situation this season, it has become even more evident.
They haven’t officially been eliminated yet, but with the Lakers 5.5 games out of a playoff spot with just 18 games to go in the season, the odds aren’t in their favor, to say the least. In fact, some people have even noted that Los Angeles has a better chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery than they do of making the postseason. That’s incredible, honestly.
A lot of people saw this coming from all of the moves the Lakers made following the signing of LeBron, including myself. But it’s still insane that a LeBron-led team most likely won’t be in the playoffs. It will be weird, to say the least. It also could affect the NBA as well because, well, it’s never a good thing if the best player in the league doesn’t make the postseason.
Last, but certainly not least, Kevin Love. Say what you want about his extension this past summer, but the big man has been a key member of the Cavs when he’s healthy. Whether it’s his shooting, rebounding, veteran leadership, or being a leader on a team that has players such as Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman needing to continue to develop Love is a huge part of this team, now and in the future.
What if I told you that in the last six games Love has played in, the Cavaliers are 5-1. Granted, some of those wins come against not-so-good teams, but we’re talking about a Cavs squad that’s one of the worst in the league as well. It’s apparent that Love being on the court completely changes things for the wine and gold.
While Love is 5-1 in his last six games, LeBron’s Lakers are 5-10 in their last 15 games. Kyrie’s Celtics? 5-7 in their last 12 games. Now, who saw that coming?
This sums it up perfectly:
The Big 3. March, 2019. pic.twitter.com/o0kpB7ITlt
— 2020 CAVS BELIEVER (@WayneEmbrysKids) March 4, 2019
It’s crazy to think that of the three, Love seems to be the happiest this season, at least on the court. What a time to be alive.
Ohio State’s dominance at the 2019 NFL Draft Combine
#DevelopedHere and #BIA (Best In America) are two key hashtags that the Buckeyes tend to use. If this past week’s Combine proved anything, it’s that they are true. To say that the scarlet and gray dominated the NFL Draft Combine would be quite an understatement.
Their linemen did well on the bench press and in cone drills and what not, but it was what the Buckeyes did in the 40-yard dash that put the rest of college football and the NFL on notice.
Ohio State’s wide receiver trio consisting of Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, and Johnnie Dixon proved that the Buckeyes may have had the Fastest Damn Offense In The Land this past fall. Campbell ran a 4.32,1 McLaurin ran a 4.35, and Dixon ran a 4.41. Add in Mike Weber’s 4.47 and well, the former Ohio State standouts are pretty damn fast. The trio of wideouts accounted for three of the top-10 fastest times. Weber’s was 21st-fastest. No other school had even two players in the top 25. Quite impressive.
The only negative part of the Combine for the Buckeyes was when cornerback Kendall Sheffield tore his pectoral in the bench press portion. Luckily, he won’t need surgery, but that’s still quite a step back ahead of April’s NFL Draft. Considered one of the fastest Buckeyes in 2018, Sheffield could have added to their dominance in the 40-yard dash if he didn’t get hurt, too.
The Kyler Murray madness may turn into the former Oklahoma quarterback going first overall, but if the Arizona Cardinals don’t decide to take the Heisman Trophy winner at No. 1, there’s a good chance Nick Bosa will be the first player off the board. The defensive end did nothing wrong at the Combine, basically proving that he is the top player in the draft this season.
Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! Warm weather will be here before we know it, Northeast Ohio people!
- Tied for the fastest time at the NFL Combine this season and in Ohio State history. [↩]