Timberwolves' Disappointing Season Ends in Game 5 Rout

            The Minnesota Timberwolves reached the postseason for the first time since 2004. Two of their players, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, represented the franchise at the 2018 All-Star festivities. And yet by most measures, this was a dissatisfying season for the Wolves.

            Finishing eighth in the conference and grabbing just one playoff win cannot be considered a success for a team expected to post a top-5 record in the West. The Houston Rockets dispatched the Wolves in five games in the first round of the 2018 postseason, culminating with a convincing 122-104 Game 5 win on Wednesday night. Three of the contests in the series were blowouts, including a Game 4 home loss for Minnesota in which they allowed 50 points in the third quarter.

James Harden and Chris Paul, Houston’s star-studded backcourt, outperformed the Wolves’ duo of Towns and Butler.

Towns was even outplayed by his center counterpart Clint Capela, who is one of the league’s most improved players this season. Capela brought more energy on both sides of the court.

Capela recorded 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in the opening playoff game. Towns had just eight points in the 104-101 Game 1 loss for Minnesota, which missed a golden opportunity to steal home court advantage from the top-seeded Rockets. 

Closing out the series in strong fashion, Capela registered game highs in points (26) and rebounds (15), going 12-of-14 from the field in Game 5. For the series, Capela posted better offensive statistics than Towns—something few could have predicted before the series began. He had averages of 15.8 points and 14.2 rebounds, compared to 15.2 points and 13.4 rebounds per contest for Towns.

Capela outplayed Towns for the majority of the series. (Michael Ciago/Houston Chronicle)

Meanwhile, Andrew Wiggins failed to make a significant impact for the Wolves all series, a microcosm of his underwhelming season. The 23-year-old signed a massive contract extension in October—a 5-year, $145.6 million deal that kicks in next season. He remains one of the league’s weakest defenders and offers little outside of scoring.

Butler is eligible for a maximum contract extension in the summer of 2019 and Towns will eventually command a max deal as well. That means the Wolves will feature Towns, Butler and Wiggins for the foreseeable future—a “Big 3” that pales in comparison to the league’s most dominant trios.

            While Tom Thibodeau helped the Wolves reach the postseason, the 2012 NBA Coach of the Year has ran into the same problems as he did in Chicago. This is fitting given that, as the team's president of basketball operations, Thibodeau acquired some of his former Bulls players, including Butler, Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose and Aaron Brooks. He still plays his starters far too long. Towns and Wiggins ranked in the top-15 in total minutes played, while Butler (who missed 23 games this season) ranked in the top-10 in minutes (36.7) per contest. Gibson averaged 33.3 minutes per game.

Thibodeau was frustrated throughout most of Minnesota's five playoff contests. (Jim Mone/AP)

            Thibodeau was brought in for his supposed defensive prowess, but the Wolves ranked 17^th in points allowed per game. Towns has the potential to improve defensively, but Wiggins seems hopeless on that side of the ball and he is under contract through the 2022-23 season.

            The Wolves broke their 14-year playoff drought. But if this season is any indication, they are far from being title contenders.

Yankees Starters Flop in First Test vs Red Sox

            The New York Yankees had their pitching rotation’s purported top-3 starters—Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray—aligned for their midweek series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

            All three fell flat on their faces versus their division rivals.

            Severino, the ace of the staff, relinquished five runs in five innings in the series opener. After posting a 1.38 ERA in his first two starts, he allowed a run to score in the first and three more in the second frame as Boston cruised to an eventual 14-1 victory.

Severino had a disappointing outing versus the Red Sox on Tuesday. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

            Aaron Boone, the rookie manager, even suggested the 24-year-old Severino may have been tipping his pitches.

             "We've addressed certain things in the past," Boone told The New York Post. "We've noticed things from time to time. We're always as vigilant as we can be with what he may or may not be doing."

            Although the Yankees won the next game—a contest highlighted by the brawl sparked by Boston’s reliever Joe Kelly and New York’s Tyler Austin—Tanaka was far from sharp on the mound. After the offense gifted him an 8-1 lead, Tanaka let the Red Sox back in striking distance after surrendering a grand slam to Red Sox newcomer J.D. Martinez in a five-run fifth inning. Tanaka managed to get the win, despite giving up six runs in five innings, but the Yankees couldn’t have been encouraged by his performance.

            Gray had the worst showing of the three. He gave up six runs and only lasted three innings, forcing the bullpen into a heavy duty day of work. The relievers registered five scoreless innings, but Gray dug the Yankees too big of a hole to recover as a late rally in the ninth fell short in a 6-3 defeat.

Gray struggled at a rainy Fenway Park on Thursday night. (Winslow Townson/AP)

            Boone recognized Gray’s struggles and noted how the right-hander will be a determining factor in the Yankees success this season.

            “It’s frustrating because he’s really important for us and we know what he’s capable of,” Boone said. “He’s coming off an outing where he gave us six strong innings and we feel like it will turn around for him, but tonight wasn’t the night.”

            The rotation was not expected to be the strong suit of the Yankees. The strengths of this team lie in the power hitting of the middle of the lineup and its top-notch bullpen. But the Yankees’ rotation can’t be this weak of a link if they are truly to contend for a championship.

          The starters have to perform better than this, especially against a Red Sox club that figures to be the Yankees’ biggest competition in the American League East.

Rockets' Morey Tops Celtics' Ainge for Executive of the Year

Danny Ainge pulled off the firework offseason that the Boston Celtics had promised fans for years in the summer of 2017. A decade after acquiring future Hall of Famers Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in separate trades, Ainge landed perennial All-Star Kyrie Irving in a blockbuster deal with the rival Cleveland Cavaliers and signed All-Star Gordon Hayward to the most lucrative contract in franchise history.

Not only did Ainge acquire Irving and Hayward, he also fleeced the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that netted Jayson Tatum and a future first-round pick. Tatum is expected to finish third in Rookie of the Year voting, while the 76ers traded up for the top pick with Boston to select Markelle Fultz, who had a disastrous first season in the league and even forgot how to shoot.

Danny Ainge acquired two All-Stars this offseason. (Elise Amendola/AP Photo)

Boston's offseason changes also included the free agent signings of big men Aron Baynes and Daniel Theis, in addition to the initially-scrutinized trade with the Detroit Pistons that swapped Avery Bradley for Marcus Morris. It was arguably an A+ summer for Ainge—yet his offseason excellence shouldn’t earn him the Executive of the Year award. Instead that honor should go to Daryl Morey, the Houston Rockets general manager.

It’s an unfair reality that Hayward only played one game for the Celtics. A freak injury suffered to his leg on opening night sidelined him for the entire season and robbed him of the chance to contribute for the Celtics. Unlike Hayward, Morey’s prized offseason addition, Chris Paul, made a splash in his first season in Houston and helped lead the Rockets to the best record in the NBA.

Morey brought Paul to Houston in a stunning trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. Paul and MVP favorite James Harden, who Morey landed in a trade in the 2012 offseason, formed a dynamic duo that spearheaded the best regular season mark (65-17) in franchise history.

Harden—the league’s leader in scoring and player efficiency rating (PER)—and Paul are easily the best backcourt court in basketball. They average a combined 49.0 points and 16.7 assists per contest. Paul has posted a 55% effective field goal percentage, while Harden owns a 54.1% mark.

Paul was just one of the widely successful offseason moves Morey made. The bench was bolstered through the signings of defensive stalwarts P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute. Tucker and Mbah a Moute have built the Rockets into a top-eight defense. Tucker and Mbah a Moute allow the Rockets to hide guys like Harden and Eric Gordon on the defensive end, both of whom have struggled  in times on that side of the ball.

Daryl Morey has built the Rockets into a championship contender. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)

In rare occasions, the Rockets have used Mbah a Moute and Tucker at the 5 and 4, respectively. When doing so, Houston has outpaced opponents by 38.4 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning The Glass. This could be a lineup utilized for stretches when the Rockets inevitably play the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. The Rockets will counter the Warriors’ “death lineup”—which features Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green—with the length of Mbah a Moute and Tucker, rotating in-and-out starting small forward Trevor Ariza.

Morey managed to augment the bench during the season, too. He inked free agent guard/forward Gerald Green to a 1-year, veteran minimum deal in late December. The 32-year-old Green emerged as a reliable scorer off the bench, producing per game averages of 12.1 points over 22.7 minutes.

New additions galore, the Rockets cruised through the regular season. They were the only team to win 60+ games and clinched home court advantage throughout the playoffs two weeks before the season had even ended. The Rockets dominated the regular season because of the shrewd moves by Morey, who should be recognized as the 2017-18 Executive of the Year.

MLB Predictions 2018: Standings, Awards, Playoffs

American League

AL East

Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees*

Toronto Blue Jays

Baltimore Orioles

Tampa Bay Rays

AL Central

Cleveland Indians

Minnesota Twins

Chicago White Sox

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

AL West

Houston Astros

Los Angeles Angels*

Seattle Mariners

Texas Rangers

Oakland Athletics

National League

NL East

Washington Nationals

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

Atlanta Braves

Miami Marlins

NL Central

Chicago Cubs

Milwaukee Brewers*

St. Louis Cardinals

Cincinnati Reds

Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers

Colorado Rockies*

Arizona Diamondbacks

San Francisco Giants

San Diego Padres

* Indicates Wild-Card Team

Awards

AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, Red Sox

AL Rookie of the Year: Shohei Ohtani, Angels

AL Manager of the Year: Mike Scioscia, Angels 

NL MVP: Bryce Harper, Nationals

NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, Mets

NL Rookie of the Year: Ronald Acuna, Braves

NL Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell, Brewers

Playoffs

ALCS: Indians over Astros

NLCS: Nationals over Cubs

World Series:  Nationals over Indians

NBA MVP Race: James Harden the Heavy Favorite; Davis Enters Conversation

1. James Harden, Houston Rockets

Harden leads the NBA in scoring (31.0 ppg) and player efficiency rating (30.62) and ranks third in assists per contest (8.9). All the meanwhile, the Houston Rockets are on a 16-game win streak and maintain the NBA’s best record. Further evidence of Houston’s dominance?—the Rockets are 33-1 when Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela suit up.

James Harden and the Rockets have a realistic shot to win the NBA title. (Tom Gutierrez/AP)

2. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans

Behind the brilliance of Davis, the Pelicans have won nine consecutive games and vaulted to fourth-place in the Western Conference standings—all without DeMarcus Cousins, who was lost for the season to an Achilles injury. For the month of February, Davis ranked first in scoring, second in steals, third in rebounding and third in blocks. According to NBA.com, he is the first player to finish top-3 in the aforementioned marks since 1973-74—the season steals and blocks became official statistics.

During the current nine game winning streak Anthony Davis is averaging

37.7 points
14.6 rebounds
3.0 steals
2.8 blocks
53.2% FG%
41.9% 3PT% (NOT A MISPRINT)
61.8% TS%
33.2% USG%

— The Bird WWWWWWWWWrites (@thebirdwrites) March 7, 2018

3. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

James looked like the early favorite to win MVP through the first two months of the season, but now Harden is by far and away the leader of the race. The Cavs have struggled since the calendar flipped to January, hurting James’ chances to capture his fifth MVP trophy. Even so he has been great in the absence of Kevin Love and the departure of failed experiment Isaiah Thomas, averaging a triple-double for the month of February.

Congratulations to @KingJames – the Eastern Conference #KiaPOTM for the seventh February in a row!

For the first time in his career, LeBron averaged a triple-double for the month with 27.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 10.5 APG.

DETAILS → https://t.co/m5X26947UA pic.twitter.com/6i1ZeJbvlp

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 1, 2018

4. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers are riding an eight-game win streak, thanks in large part to Lillard. In the eight victories, Lillard has posted per-game averages of 32.6 points, 6.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds. As clutch as they come, Lillard is shooting 46.1% from the field in that span and Portland now has the third-best record in the West and the fifth-best mark in the NBA.

5. Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors

Durant won’t win MVP as long he is a member of the Warriors (unless Stephen Curry goes down with a long-term injury), but he can remain in the conversation because of his stellar play. Durant is averaging 25.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists with a 25.56 player efficiency rating. He is the driving force of the Warriors (50-14), who trail the Rockets by a half-game for the best record in the NBA.

Next in Line

6. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

7. Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics

8. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

9. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

10. DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors

Red Sox Sign J.D. Martinez, add Coveted Power Hitter

                The Boston Red Sox agreed to a five-year, $110 million deal with J.D. Martinez on Monday, giving them the slugger they yearned for all offseason. Martinez hit .303/.376/.690 with 45 home runs and a 166 OPS+ for the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks last season.  He was traded to Arizona at the trade deadline—where he smashed 29 homers and slugged .741 in just 62 games, helping the Diamondbacks reach the postseason.

J.D. Martinez is the newest member of the Boston Red Sox. (Christian Peterson/Getty Images)

                In two years, Martinez will have collected $50 million in this frontloaded contract and will possess the ability to leave in free agency. He has an opt-out clause after year three, as well, and can test the open market then if he so pleases. But whether Martinez stays in Boston for two, three, or five years, this was a necessary signing by Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

                The Red Sox had to add pop to a lineup that ranked dead last in the American League in home runs (168) last season.

                Expected to be the team’s designated hitter in 2018, the 30-year-old Martinez is of two players to hit over .300 with at least 125 home runs and a .550 slugging percentage since 2014—the other, according to ESPN Stats and Information, being Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, a two-time AL MVP and six-time All-Star.

                Martinez is the most potent power hitter to be featured in Boston’s lineup since David Ortiz retired in 2016. He is the guy the Red Sox needed in order to keep pace with the heavy-hitting New York Yankees—now rostering arguably the two best home run hitters in baseball with Aaron Judge and the recently-acquired Giancarlo Stanton—the Cleveland Indians and the World Series champion Houston Astros in the loaded American League.

Jaguars Must Move on From Blake Bortles, Upgrade QB

            By and large, Blake Bortles had a successful postseason. He did not commit a turnover in any of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ three playoff contests. He did just enough in the Wild-Card round versus the Buffalo Bills—using his legs (88 rushing yards) and allowing the defense to lead the way in a 10-3 win—and then guided the Jaguars to an upset victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. He even had stretches of strong play in the near-upset of the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship, totaling 293 passing yards and pushing the Jaguars to a 20-10 lead before their fourth-quarter collapse.

            The Jaguars have a difficult decision to make this offseason with Bortles. The third overall pick in the 2014 Draft is due $19.1 million if he is on the roster by March 14. He was far from great this year, but did complete over 60 percent of his passes for the first time in his NFL career and threw a career-low 13 interceptions. Even so, Bortles was atrocious at some points of the season. The final two weeks of the regular season were particularly horrific, throwing five interceptions in two Jacksonville defeats.

            No matter what the statistics may show or what the coaches say, it’s clear the Jaguars don’t have full confidence in Bortles. They went super conservative at the end of the first half versus the Patriots, choosing to kneel the ball with 52 seconds and two timeouts left in their pocket as they took a 14-10 lead into intermission. It was the first time this season a team had taken a knee in the first half with over 50 seconds while maintaining two or more timeouts, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The Jaguars need to decide if Blake Bortles is their QB of the future. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

            With the game on the line against the Patriots, the Jaguars revealed their lack of trust in Bortles not to make mistakes. Up 10 in the fourth quarter and then later holding a three-point advantage, Jacksonville took the ball out of his hands, opting to pound the ball with Leonard Fournette, who struggled to get anything going on the ground in the second half after a strong start to the contest. Once the Patriots focused their attention on the Jaguars’ rushing attack, it was game over for Jacksonville’s offense. The Jaguars relied on their defense to close out the game, which it failed to do.

            A more reliable passer could have steered the Jaguars to their first Super Bowl appearance. They have a complete team. They led the league in rushing yards per game behind Fournette, earned their nickname of “Sacksonville” by constantly putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and forced 33 turnovers—the second-most in the NFL.

            Yet the Jaguars won’t be representing the AFC in Minneapolis in 10 days, mainly because they played scared on offense in the final quarter against New England. Although Bortles did not commit a turnover, his lack of playmaking skills allowed the Patriots to hone their attention on bottling up Fournette in the backfield and it worked.

            Jacksonville is ready to win now. They cannot allow the quarterback position to hold them back anymore. It will be a challenge to sustain success if they cannot find their long-term quarterback. Bortles is not that player. Jacksonville should do everything in their power to upgrade the position—whether that means trading for 34-year-old Alex Smith or the 37-year-old two-time champion Eli Manning, or if it requires throwing massive money at Kirk Cousins or even Case Keenum (presumably on a short-term contract) in free agency. If it means drafting a quarterback—no matter what round the selection—the Jaguars shouldn't be hesitant to pull the trigger to grab a player they like.

            The Jaguars are now at the level where it’s Super Bowl or bust. Bortles is a bust—not a championship-caliber quarterback.