NBA Finals Preview!

Tonight, the 2015 NBA finals begin between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. after a week off for both of the weary teams.

The Warriors dominated the rest of the NBA in the regular season to the tune of a 67-15 record and then went 12 and 3 in the playoffs dismantling the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and the Rockets along the way. 

They improved dramatically thanks to Steve Kerr who took what Mark Jackson had left, fine tuned the defense with the help of Ron Adams, and with the help of Alvin Gentry (lead assistant) improved the offense greatly.

Steve Kerr and Alvin Gentry also helped Stephen Curry develop into a bonafide superstar and 1st time MVP winner. Curry also has become a media sensation this postseason thanks to his 2 year old daughter Riley who was with him at two of his post game news conferences.

Draymond Green also expanded his points per game allowing him to become more of a weapon as he can already guard every position on the floor.

The team also got better because every single player was able to buy in to what Steve Kerr and his staff wanted to do.

This is evidenced by David Lee taking a reserve role and barely playing as well as Andre Igulodou stepping down from starting into a sixth man role,  and providing excellent shutdown defense off the bench.
All the players also stayed healthy for the most part so there wasn't a lot of roster turnover.
The Warriors also added quality depth before this season so their starters didn't play too much in the regular season. Their second unit became one of the best in the NBA as they were able to keep the  Warriors in the game while Curry and his fellow starters took a rest.
The Warriors will be going for their first title since 1975 and they'll be looking to end this historic season the right way, but it will not be easy.


Their opponent: The Cleveland Cavaliers
 The Cleveland Cavs,  are looking to bring the first major pro sports title to Cleveland since 1964 earlier then LBJ expected them to be playing for a crown.
They are led on the court by Lebron James, and on the sidelines by David Blatt. Coach Blatt is similar to  Steve Kerr because they're both rookie head coaches in the NBA, but unlike Steve Kerr, David Blatt coached in Europe for a while where he had a lot of success.
Lebron James is playing at his peak form and he's carrying this team through the playoffs basically on his own.




This year he made a new big 3 with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, but Kevin Love separated his shoulder playing Boston in the first round. Kyrie Irving is still able to play, but he's dealing with foot  and knee problems so he's not 100%.
This has allowed for supporting players like JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson, and Timofey Mosgov to step up and help out LBJ.
  The Cavs have gone 12 and 2 in the postseason so far which shows that they're a tough team to beat.

This should be a fun and exciting series and I'm looking forward to watching whether Curry, the reigning MVP can win his 1st title in his first final, or if James, the four time MVP can win his 3rd title in what is his 5th straight final appearance, but first with the Cavs.
I predict that the Warriors will win in 6 hard fought games.

  

California Football and Basketball Heightened Expectations

California basketball
After a down year this last year, Cuanzo Martin has had so many things fall his way this off season.
His star point guard Tyrone Wallace chose to stay in school for his senior year instead of going pro early as he was predicted to be picked in the 2nd round if he declared. This is great news because it gives Cal a senior guard who has played all the years he's been in Berkeley and can provide leadership. Wallace is also one of the best scorers and overall players in the Pac 12 as evidenced  by his 17 points a game last season and first team all PAC 12 honor.


Cuanzo Martin and his staff also picked up the number 5 recruiting class in the country which has allowed him to title this off season "California Rising"
This was a really special recruiting class of 4 because Cal beat out the blue bloods (teams who always win-Arizona, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, Michagen State and some others) for two of the best class of 2015 basketball players in the nation.
The players are
1) Jaylen Brown-2nd ranked small forward  in the nation. He's from Marietta  GA, and he went to Wheeler High school. IF you know your Cal basketball history,you would recognize that Sharref Abdur Rahim was from the same town and went to the same high school before going to Cal in the 90's. Jaylen Brown can play every position except center and he is going to start from the beginning since he's way too talented and athletic to sit on the bench. Plus 2016 NBA mock drafts have him going really early should he follow the one and done pathway.




2) Ivan Rabb-4th ranked power forward in the nation. He hails from local Bishop O Dowd in California, a school that's produced many big time athletes in various sports. Ivan Rabb became the biggest east bay athlete to commit to Cal since Leon Powe and Jason Kidd did. Rabb is a long and lanky power forward who can score on the low block and drain jump shots, but also  act as a rim protector on the defensive end-he's good at blocking shots. He ended up winning the state championship for O dowd over Mater Dei at Haas. Everyone thought he was going to commit then, but he waited and committed later. Ivan Rabb also projects to be a starter from day one and a potential lottery pick in the 2016 NBA draft if he decides to go one and done.
3) Tyson Jolly-a physical defensive minded wing who can also score and hails from Oklahoma. This kid got his toughness from his childhood when he had to deal with pulmonary embolism. He probably w on't start, but he will play and provide good defense off the bench.
4) Davon Dillard-another wing who's very athletic and a good shooter. He hasn't singed yet because there's something wrong with his eligibility and so the NCAA is investigating him. If he does eventually come to Berkeley, i don't know if he'll play freshmen year.

Noah Dickerson is a forward from Monteverde Academy in Florida who de-committed from Florida once Billy Donovan left for OKC and now is choosing between a final 2 of Washington and Cal.
If he comes,  he'll basically play what they wanted Caleb Swanigan to play.

Plus they still have Matthews, Bird, Domingo, Okoroh, Rooks, Singer, and Chuaca who all were on the team last year and will be able to help and provide depth and experience to this team so that Wallace and the freshmen don't get tired.
I look forward to this winter and what i hope to be an exciting basketball season that culminates in Cal going far in the NCAA tournament.

Cal Football
Over spring practice, from what I read on CGB (California Golden Blogs), Cal seems like a much improved team especially on defense. Their defense looks to be playing better and that is what will need to happen if they want to make noise in their division next year.
Their secondary especially needs improvement and 7 defensive backs coming in the fall could greatly help the secondary.
Their offense will be one of the best in the Pac 12 and it will be led by Jared Goff, the amazing quarterback who has a shot at the Heisman if Cal wins games and he puts up huge numbers. Most draft predictors  have Goff going in the first round next year if he has another good year this season.
They also have Daniel Lasco, their running back who should look to build on last year's 1000 yard season.
Then of course, their stable of athletic wide receivers  who in the bear raid will be able to rack up the statistics catching passes from Goff.
These wide receivers are led by Bryce Treggs, a beast out of the slot.
I know that the offense will put up a lot of points this year, but I'm hoping that the defense will not give up the most points in the Pac 12 again and actually put us in position to win games and get to a bowl, maybe the Rose Bowl or the CFP (College football playoff).
It's going to be a fun fall and winter in Berkeley and i really hope that both the football and basketball teams can have a lot of success in 2015-16.


http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/school/_/id/25/class/2015
http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/
http://www.goldenbearsports.com/2014-2015/football/vsarizona/h3E9B7D15#h3e9b7d15
http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=207769910
http://www.hercampus.com/school/uc-berkeley/campus-cutie-bryce-treggs
youtube.com

2015 MLB season-observations from the first 50 games of the season

The first 50 games of the 2015 MLB season have been entertaining and exciting.
They've featured some teams and players exceeding expectations while other teams and players not living up to expectations.
Some of the most hyped young prospects have gotten promoted to the show, especially on the north side of Chicago.
Like always, there have been injuries throughout the league, some worse than others.
Jarrod Parker,  trying to come back from TJ surgery, sustained a fracture of right medial epicondyle in a scary scene.
A ton of pitchers are either trying to come back from TJ surgery such as Jose Fernandez or have just gotten the surgery this year like Yu Darvish.

Here are some of the things that have stood out to me so far.
Bryce Harper is finally staying  healthy and living up to the expectations that people placed on him-he was on the SI cover as a 17 year old number one overall pick. He either leads or is at the top of the National league in homers, RBI, and batting average.


The Houston Astros are surprisingly off  to an amazing start-1st place in the AL west. They're leading the AL in homers and steals, but they're also last in strikeouts.
Another reason why they're winning is they have a left handed pitcher named Dallas Keuchal who's proving that last year was no fluke and that he's actually a legit pitcher.
They also have Jose Altuve, one of the best and most underrated players in the majors.
Finally, i think that AJ Hinch, their new manager, is doing a great job leading them.
They will get more help soon from Carlos Correa and Mark Appel-two former number one overall picks who are close to the majors.
The Minnesota Twins are also off to a tremendous start,led by a new manager Paul Moliter who happens to be a former player in Minnesota.
Like the Astros, the Twins weren't supposed to contend yet because their best prospect(Byron Buxton)  who happens to be the best prospect in the minor leagues is still in Double A.
They're scoring a lot of runs and their pitching is keeping them in the games and allowing their excellent closer Glen Perkins to close the game.
Miami went back to their befuddling ways as they were expected to contend this year, but they didn't start well so they fired their manager and then made their GM manager.

The SF Giants struggled to start the year while Hunter Pence (the man whom the giants call the reverend)was out all of April with a broken bone in his arm.
Once Pence returned and the calender turned to May, the Giants got on fire and are now in contention with the Dodgers for first place in the NL west.
The Washington Nationals with their mega rotation are rounding into form atop the NL east, but now Strausberg has some neck problems.

The A's have struggled all of this season so far as they are 13 games under 500 and have one of the worst records in the majors.
Most of the blame goes to the bullpen,  which has become way worse than last year,  and has the worst ERA in the majors,  and the defense which has made the most errors in baseball.
Sonny Gray, Billy Burns, and Stephen Vogt have been bright spots.
Sonny Gray-6-2 record, 2nd lowest ERA in the AL behind Dallas Keuchal.
Billy Burns-owner of a 327 average, he has taken over center field and the lead-off spot while poor Coco Crisp is experiencing more neck problems.
Stephen Vogt has a career high 11 homers and 38 rbi while playing outstanding defense.
I have hope that the A's will turn it around and get back in contention, but if they keep losing, Billy Beane will probably trade some of his players who are free agents after this year to a contending team.

Speaking of trades the Cole Hamels to Boston rumors keep swirling, but nothing has transpired yet because Boston doesn't want to give up all their best prospects for Hamels.
In Colorado people are speculating that CARGO (Carlos Gonzalez)  or Troy Tulowitski will be traded, but the problem is that these two studs always get injured badly which hurts their trade value.
If they did get traded, then they each would bring back a monumental return.
The trading deadline is 7/31 and other big names rumored to be on the maket are Johnny Cueto, and  Ryan Howard.
The Brewers and A's might trade a lot of people as well.

It has been an exciting first 50 games, and I can't wait to see what action unfolds over the rest of the long season,  which players move teams,  which teams eventually make it to the postseason, and what team can achieve the glory that comes with winning the world series.