Let’s be honest folks, the NBA Awards show last night went like most awards ceremonies typically play out. The awards are given out and aside from a speech here or there, it isn’t something we’ll come to remember down the line. However, the seeds for the NBA’s next great rivalry may have been planted last night. This is something that might not bloom for another year or two but it is something worth keeping an eye on.

In today’s NBA rivalries are few and far between. All we really have at the moment are Cavs-Warriors, and potentially Boston-Washington. We can’t really call OKC-Golden State a rivalry either. Although there is bad blood between the teams, the Thunder can’t touch the Warriors on the scoreboard.

Maybe this is more emblematic of the star-driven nature of the NBA, but we can all agree that a top-flight rivalry would help the league hold our attention a little more. Yes, this most recent Finals drew big ratings, but overall the NBA season ratings took a dive. The inevitability of Cavs-Warriors III in the Finals certainly could have had something to do with that, but there is an argument to be made that the lack of rivalries didn’t help either.

There is some hope though. Even if the 2017-18 season is looking like the coronation for the Warriors dynasty, there is a shift waiting to happen in the NBA after that. The league will not belong to Cleveland and Golden State forever.

Boston is already on the fringe of contending, and has a ridiculous amount of assets and money to build a championship team. Minnesota cashed in young talent to steal Jimmy Butler from Chicago, solidifying a potential big three. The Lakers cleared out cap space for next offseason in the hopes to bring Paul George into the fold, and potentially another star as well. Milwaukee is building quite the roster around the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokoumpo. Plus, Philadelphia’s process has them on the precipice on making a huge move towards the top of the league provided they all stay healthy (easier said than done though).

A lack of parity has left us with a sense of apathy for the other 28 teams in the league. That is all hopefully about to change, as some of these teams that have been building these past three years finally become contenders. With a potentially leveled playing field, competition will breed compelling rivalries down the line.

 

Which brings me back to last night. Milwaukee’s Malcolm Brogdon took home the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year award over the Philadelphia duo of Joel Embiid and Dario Saric. On the surface this doesn’t seem like much ado of anything, but it did lead to quite a Twitter spat between the Bucks, Sixers, and their respective fan bases.

Like I said, this was just a seed, but this could lead to quite the rivalry in the Eastern Conference between two teams poised to battle down the line. Milwaukee is clearly ahead of the Sixers at the moment but Philadelphia doesn’t seem too far behind the Bucks from joining the big boys table in the NBA.

Let’s compare real quick. On each side you have generational talents in the Greek Freak, Embiid, and Ben Simmons who each have the potential to be squarely in the MVP discussion down the line. NBA fans should be salivating at the thought of Antetokoumpo and Simmons matching up against each other. The Bucks have their own spry big man in Thon Maker to go up against Embiid. Brogdon will now be the ire of the Philadelphia fan base, which should provide plenty of fun there. The Sixers now have top-pick Markelle Fultz to counter the Rookie of the Year in Brogdon.

Last night’s seed will need some watering over the next season or so if this is going to bloom into the next great NBA rivalry, but there is clearly something palpable between these teams.

 

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with “Heat Check” with a rumor-round up ahead of the start of free agency in the NBA. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Well it only took a week for the NBA to descend into chaos. The league seems to be coming to terms with the budding Golden State dynasty, which means everyone is trying figure out how to stop the champs. It may only be two days until the draft, but no one is waiting to make a move to improve the team. Today’s “Heat Check” is will be examining the Sixers-Celtics trade and reviewing some of the other hot headlines and rumors heading into the NBA Draft.

The Process Gets Another #1 Pick

Photo Credit: NBA.com

The 2017 NBA offseason got a shotgun start over the weekend as the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers shook up the top of Thursday night’s draft. Late Friday afternoon Twitter went ablaze with reports from all the insiders that both teams were in “deep negotiations” in a trade that involved Boston’s number one overall pick. This then led to reports that top prospect Markelle Fultz would be heading to Philadelphia on Saturday, lending more credence that the trade was imminent.

Finally the trade became official yesterday, which now means Philadelphia will have the top pick in the draft for the second consecutive season. Boston now owns the third selection on Thursday. Philadelphia will also give Boston a future first round pick. If the 2018 Lakers pick falls between 2-5, Boston gets the pick otherwise they will get the better pick between the 2019 Kings or Sixers pick.

Overall, this is win-win for both teams involved, which is not something you often see out of a trade involving Boston GM Danny Ainge. Philadelphia gets Markelle Fultz, who is not only seen as the best player in this draft, but is seen as the best fit within the core of the Sixers. The Process gains another cornerstone to build around, and leaves Philadelphia in a terrific position to take the next step towards becoming a contender.

Boston picks up another high value first round pick in the future and stays within the top five on Thursday night. The Celtics now have eight first round picks over the next three drafts, but the real question is what are they doing with those assets? On The Bill Simmons Podcast yesterday, Simmons and Kevin O’Connor theorized that Boston is potentially building for 2018 and 2023.

It’s a long discussion, but the thinking is that Boston could try and trade for a player like Jimmy Butler now. Then the Celtics could control the East if LeBron leaves Cleveland next summer, but also become a viable landing spot for Anthony Davis in a few years.

One final note about this trade, it is just the fourth time in NBA history that the number one overall pick has been traded. This is a rare occurrence and this could be a trade we look back at in a decade as a turning point in the NBA.

 

With Trade Negotiations Underway, Cavs GM Griffin Steps Down

Amidst all of the rumors that surfaced after the press conference in Philadelphia yesterday, Cleveland had some big news of its own as general manager David Griffin stepped down just days before the draft. The draft isn’t the interesting bit of the timing though, because many of yesterday’s trade rumors involved the Cavaliers.

It is no secret that the Cavaliers are looking to retool the roster in order to matchup better against Golden State. Cleveland has been linked in trade talks to players like Paul George and Jimmy Butler. These rumors also led to reports that the Cavs had been looking for a third team in any trade that would land either of the All-Stars from Indiana and Chicago. Griffin is the one who negotiated the trade to bring Kevin Love to Cleveland, so this is a very bad time to be shaking things up.

Much of the blame for the sudden departure has fallen on Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, who has never extended a general manager in his tenure as team owner. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Griffin and Gilbert had differing opinions on the future of the team, which put the writing on the wall for the now former general manager. Even more alarming was that not even LeBron James was consulted before any of this went down.

This doesn’t necessarily sound like things are peachy in “The Land” but there does seem to be a backup plan in place. ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups is reportedly being looked at by Cleveland to become the President of Basketball Ops. Either way, it was a wild day for the Cavs.

Jimmy Butler: The Big Ticket Item of Summer 2017

Photo Credit: Getty Images

After limping into the playoffs after a season of issues, it looks like the Bulls are ready to hit the reset button on the franchise. The first move would be trading All-Star guard Jimmy Butler. He is 27 years old and has two years left on his contract, so this could be the perfect timing for the Bulls to get maximum value for their superstar. Cleveland and Boston will likely be the two top potential landing spots for Butler, and this could turn into quite the bidding war.

Boston could seemingly snap their fingers and have Butler in a Celtics uniform tomorrow, but they could have done that four months ago as well. Either way the Celtics have the most to offer for Bulter, which could make for very high priced negotiations over the next few weeks.

The Cavaliers need to get very creative in order to acquire Butler. Despite the fact that there have been conversations between Kyrie Irving and LeBron James with Butler about joining the Cavs, it will take much more than charm to get this done. Cleveland has no cap room and very little trade assets outside of Kevin Love, so a third team would need to be roped in for the Cavs to get their man.

Interestingly, the third team reportedly at the front of the line for Butler is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Butler has a previous relationship with Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau, and there are considerable assets that the team could offer in a trade. Karl-Anthony Towns will likely be untouchable, but Minnesota does have players like Zach Levine and Andrew Wiggins to help sweeten a potential deal.

The Summer(s) of (Paul) George

Photo Credit: USA Today Sports

After Paul George failed to make the All-NBA team a few weeks ago, the Indiana Pacers lost its leverage to keep star Paul George. Jokingly known as the “sack of money” extension, Indiana can no longer offer George more than $70 million more than other suitors to keep George in a Pacers uniform long term. George then made it known to the Pacers organization that he does not intend on resigning with the team in 2018.

Now the fun starts. Indiana may not be able to get full value for George now that other teams know he is on his way out, but the team’s top priority will be to get something for him sooner rather than later. The bidding war could already be underway with teams like Cleveland, Boston, and Los Angeles (Lakers) all in the mix to acquire the All-Star. Even if a team can strike a deal, the concern for them would be getting him to sign long-term.

When George told the Indiana front office that he did not intend to resign with the team, he also made it know that he would prefer to sign with the Lakers. Obviously that would put the Lakers in the driver’s seat to acquire him this summer or next. As of about 3 P.M. today, we can also add the Clippers, Rockets, and Wizards among the teams that are vying to acquire George.

Did the Knicks Really Put Porzingis on the Block?

In today’s bit of wild and crazy news, the New York Knicks are entertaining trade offers for Kristaps Porzingis. This comes on the heels of a tumultuous end of the season for the Knicks, leaving Phil Jackson at the mercy of Carmelo Anthony’s no-trade clause in order to make this team any better. Now it seems that after skipping his exit interview with the team, Porzingis may be on the move.

Nothing is concrete, but there are plenty of teams that would line up to acquire the budding superstar. The 7’3” Latvian has been tabbed as the next Dirk Nowitski and is on the forefront of the evolution of NBA centers. It will likely take a king’s ransom to pry Porzingis away from the Knicks but the fact that Jackson is weighing his options really speak volumes about the dysfunction at Madison Square Garden.

 

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with a look ahead to the NHL expansion draft for the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

The two-month wait is over. Golf’s second major begins this weekend as the 117^th U.S. Open tees off tomorrow at Erin Hills. Over the course of the next four days, 156 of the world’s best professional and amateur golfers will attempt to win one of the most storied tournaments in the world. Similar to two years ago at Chambers Bay, the field will be playing a course hosting the U.S. Open for the first time. How will it all shake out, and who will take home the championship?

The Course

 

Erin Hills will act as the setting, but also the main antagonist to the drama that will take place just 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee. In true U.S. Open fashion, this course has some interesting challenges for this type of tournament. The course will play as the longest in the history of the U.S. Open but that doesn’t necessarily mean hitting it long is the surest path to success.

That was until Tuesday when the USGA shortened the knee-high fescue roughs. The USGA claims that this was not due to complaints from certain players. Some players voiced concerns that potential rainstorms could create areas in the rough that would be unplayable during the course of the weekend. It was a bit of a controversial move, considering that this essentially makes things a bit easier for the field.

This course has some of the widest fairways that you will ever see for a course hosting the U.S. Open. Tee shots shouldn’t be the issue this week if you find the fairway, which should play into the favor of the more powerful and accurate players. However, the players that will rise to the top of the leaderboards will be the guys who are solid with their irons.

Approach and short games will really be tested this week as Paul Azinger, on the Clubhouse podcast, described the areas around the greens to be more Augusta National than a traditional U.S. Open course. This means there will be up-and-down opportunities available, but you have to be extremely precise with your approach. Winds will be a key factor to keep an eye on this weekend, because if gusts are weak, the greens will become even more accessible with a lack of physical protection from the surrounding course.

As for the actual greens themselves, they are supposedly in perfect condition at the moment. However, the guys from Shackhouse did point out that if the course gets firm these greens would become a nightmare for the players. It will be interesting to see how all of these factors come together this week.

The Field

156 players (if Phil Mickelson can play) start the tournament tomorrow trying to take home the U.S. Open Championship trophy. By Sunday, there will be one man hoisting the trophy as the ultimate Father’s Day celebration. There is a very intriguing mix of talent in this year’s field:

• U.S. golfers in the Field: 87
• Former Champions in the Field: 11
• First time qualifiers in the field: 50
• Number of Countries Represented: 23

Those are some of the more interesting statistics, but the one that caught my eye are the number of players who have actually played at Erin Hills for a tournament of this magnitude. The biggest tournament that this course has hosted in its ten-year history was the U.S. Amateur in 2011. In this field there are 18 golfers who played in that tournament, including Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Experience may not be a huge factor this week, but this is certainly an interesting bit of information to keep in your back pocket.

Let’s move on to some of the best pairings for the opening rounds. Often times, the best part of Thursday and Friday are watching star-studded groups playing with and against each other, jockeying for position on the leaderboard. Here are some of the best groups for the first two rounds. Keep in mind that tee times for Thursday are the opposite on Friday (ex. Morning groups on Thursday play in the afternoon on Friday).

Thursday

7:51 A.M. (10^th tee) – Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm

8:24 A.M. (10^th tee) – Matt Kuchar, Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed

8:35 A.M. (10^th tee) – Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson

1:36 P.M. (1^st tee) – Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott

1:47 P.M. (1^st tee) – Henrik Stenson, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen

1:58 P.M. (1^st tee) – Jimmy Walker, Justin Thomas, Paul Casey

2:09 P.M. (1^st tee) – Jason Day, Rory McIlory, Justin Rose

There are some incredible groupings here and feature some of the best golfers and potential storylines that could dominate the tournament. Spieth and DJ could see a lot of each other this weekend considering they are two of the favorites to win the tournament, it could be possible to see them play against each other for three or potentially even four days in a row.

For my money, the group I am most interested in is the Matsuyama/Fowler/Rahm group. Each one of these men have the ability to win this tournament, but we can more realistically think of this as the “Wild Card group.” This is a group that can have all three near the top of the leaderboard or at least two players miss the weekend.

The Weather

As of right now, the weather report looks okay for the weekend. Rain is in the forecast, but Saturday is the most likely day for that to be a factor. Winds will be light to moderate for most of the weekend, until the final round on Sunday where winds could reach upwards of 17mph during the day.

*A quick side note for the weather. If there is any kind of rain delay on Thursday morning, Phil Mickelson will be able to make it to Erin Hills in time for the 2:20 PM tee time. He previously said he would miss the tournament to attend his daughter’s graduation, but the USGA has given him a way to do both (with some help).

The Winner

With so many factors to consider, this is a difficult tournament to predict. Weather could play a huge factor in augmenting the features of this course. Mother Nature has the ability to turn this long but forgiving course into a hellish nightmare that has no end. That being said, it looks as though the weather should cooperate for much of the week.

While many experts believe that the long-ball players will own this course, something tells me it won’t be the major key for the winner. Irons and putters will be doubly important with the way the greens are expected to play. Dustin Johnson is the popular pick to win this tournament, but he has yet to regain his early season dominance following his unfortunate accident that caused him to miss The Masters.

Finesse will outweigh power when it counts this weekend. The conditions of the course would lead you to believe that this is shaping up to be similar to when Rory McIlory shredded the field at Congressional in 2011. Unfortunately, Rory still hasn’t looked like Rory this season.

Could this be the week we finally get to see Jordan Spieth get back on track? Of the favorites, Spieth has the best chance of winning this week. While he’s isn’t one of the longer players off the tee, his short game has always been one of his best assets. While he’ll be in contention this week, this major championship won’t belong to him by the end.

I’m going out on a limb here, but I think that this is the week that Rickie Fowler finally wins his first major championship. He’s coming off of a T2 finish at The Memorial two weeks ago, so there is some positive momentum heading into this week. Yes, Fowler has not played well in previous U.S. Open tournaments, but this course seems like the one that he can find success on.

Fowler is in the top-five on the PGA Tour in fairways hit this year. Despite the USGA knocking down the fescue roughs, missing the fairway will most likely lead to big numbers. Accuracy off the tee is going to be more important that whacking the ball 350 yards off the tee.

The putter is going to be big this week for Fowler as well. If he is in a groove like he was at The Memorial, then he will be tough to beat. In fact, Fowler is seventh on Tour this season in strokes gained from putting. At some point it has to come together for him, and this looks like the course that can provide him with his first major championship.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back on Friday with a new episode of the Shooting the Moon Podcast where I’ll be talking U.S. Open and MLB. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Just like that, the NBA Finals trilogy between Golden State and Cleveland has come to an end. Golden State clinched the NBA championship for the first time at home, the franchise’s fifth title overall, with a 129-120 win over Cleveland. After a year of hype and anticipation, round three between the NBA’s two best teams felt more like The Godfather Part III than an epic conclusion to a fantastic chapter in the history of the NBA Finals.

Truthfully, the lopsided result of the Finals leaves us with quite a bit to chew on as we try to put this Warriors championship into context. In fact, the aftermath may prove to be more compelling than the past year-plus of anticipation. Before we shift gears into the uncertainty of the NBA’s offseason let’s break down some of the more interesting storylines to come out of last night in today’s “Heat Check.”

Redemption For the KD and the Warriors

A blown 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, and one text message may have changed the course of the NBA a year ago. Weeks later, the biggest free agent move since LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach set in motion a series of events that culminated last night. The Golden State Warriors found vindication in one of the most dominant postseasons of all time. A 16-1 record in the postseason puts the 2017 Warriors right there with the 1983 Sixers and 2001 Lakers among the best playoff runs in NBA history.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Igoudala, and Shaun Livingston all avenged their collapse in the Finals a year ago. Even more impressive was the performance of Kevin Durant, who silenced some critics by leading the Warriors to a title rather than just being along for the ride.

Durant was rightfully awarded Finals MVP, and finally won the title that had eluded him for almost a decade in Seattle/Oklahoma City. Despite what your feelings might be about how he won the title (joining a team coming off a 73-win season), his performance should speak volumes about Durant’s place among the NBA’s elite. The image of LeBron and KD’s embrace at halfcourt capped a five-year odyssey for the NBA’s second-best player winning a title that many thought he might never get.

Golden State now enters rarified air as they have the opportunity to become the latest dynasty in the NBA. While its still premature to compare these Warriors to the 00’s Lakers, 90’s Bulls, and 80’s Celtics/Lakers, you can’t deny that they are on the precipice of NBA immortality.

Trouble in Cleveland?

Among some of the more interesting bits from the post-game press conferences were many of the comments made by LeBron James. The King’s responses to certain questions about the Finals bordered on cryptic in regards to the future of his career. After becoming the first player in NBA Finals history to average a triple-double, LeBron didn’t seem to have many regrets about his performance in the Cavs’ 4-1 series loss.

“For me personally, I left everything on the floor every game, all five games,” said James. “I have no reason to put my head down and look back at what I could have done or should have done…”

Obviously, you see this type of comment and you wonder if LeBron is planting the seeds to leave Cleveland again in 2018? You never really know with LeBron. As we reached the conclusion of the Finals there were insiders and experts throwing out the possibility that LeBron may be interested in heading to Los Angeles to join the Lakers. That is a move that is still a year away, but ultimately feels a bit too farfetched.

The more realistic question is will Cleveland’s roster undergo a bit of an overhaul? LeBron “may not be the GM or in the front office,” but he has a lot of influence on this roster. Becoming the first MVP to lose five Finals definitely won’t sit well with LeBron as he is chasing down MJ for the title of the G.O.A.T. (a debate that may have ended last night).

Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson each had their struggles in the Finals, and could be on the proverbial trade block. Love would be the more attractive piece for other franchises and some in the media are already theorizing that he would be the chip to acquire someone like Paul George.

With LeBron and Kyrie Irving, the Cavs will remain the favorites in the Eastern Conference, but tweaking this roster to compete with the Warriors will be the top priority this offseason. However, things are clearly not okay in “The Land.”

What Now for the Rest of the NBA?

Over the course of this postseason, there has been a lot of chatter about whether the Warriors “superteam” and the Cavs dominance in the East are good for the league. We just witnessed one of the most star-studded NBA Finals in history with both teams combining for the most All-Stars in a Finals. Injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Isaiah Thomas certainly didn’t help the perception that this was a bad thing for the league.

If anything this should help to raise the level of competition across the league. Would that be something you might be interested in? Golden State may be head and shoulders above the rest of the NBA, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other teams that can close the gap.

As I mentioned before, Cleveland is still the first in line to dethrone the champs if they get creative with the roster. LeBron and Kyrie are still the two most dangerous players against Golden State, and if they can figure out who the third star on this team can be, they will be ideally placed to knock off the Warriors. But that leads to another question that we’ll get to in a second.

How about the team’s that fell short of the Finals? Boston and San Antonio are the most logical roadblocks for Golden State and Cleveland in their respective conferences. There is a way for each team to make a move towards a title.

The Celtics own the top pick in the draft and have possibly the best cap situation in the entire league. Brad Stevens is on his way to being on par with Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich among the coaching elite. Boston also has attractive assets between draft picks and players with team-friendly contracts that could aid their quest to acquiring a superstar. The problem though, general manager Danny Ainge seems content to play the long game to get to the mountaintop.

San Antonio arguably could have defeated Golden State with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, but time is not on their side at the moment. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli are each in the final stage of their career. Retirement seems imminent for the pair of longtime Spurs, and replacing them won’t be an easy task. LaMarcus Aldridge hasn’t been the type of star that San Antonio had hoped he would be either. Rumors have put the Spurs in the hunt to acquire Chris Paul, but that would mean gutting a portion of the team to do so. Regardless, San Antonio always has a way to be among the best teams in the league with Popovich on the sidelines.

Houston leads the next tier of potential challengers to the Warriors. They chose to try to fight fire with fire, becoming a three-point centric team. Mike D’Antoni, who will probably win Coach of the Year, has already said that he wants to bring a more defensive focus next season in an attempt to be a better two-way team. Daryl Morey is one of the better executives in the league, which will keep them on the fringe of any trade talks. So don’t rule out the Rockets making some form of a splash this offseason to get closer to beating the champs.

Aside from those three teams, the other 25 teams in the league will have a lot of work to do to become relevant in the championship discussion. Milwaukee made some big strides this season, and the progression of the Greek Freak gives them a potentially top-ten player to build around long-term. Honestly, we are starting to get well past the 2018 NBA Finals outlook though so let’s table this for another time.

Are We Destined for Cleveland-Golden State IV?

That’s a hard one to answer just because the offseason hasn’t even started. The quick answer might be yes, barring injuries. We can all agree that Golden State should be there at the end (currently a -220 favorite to win the 2018 championship), but we’ll have to see what happens with Cleveland. Either way we are entering one of the most intriguing offseasons in recent years. The NBA now enters a prolonged arms race in an attempt to take out the Golden State “superteam.”

 

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with “Tour Talk” to preview the U.S. Open. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. While one championship was decided, another is still up for grabs. All of it was compelling, if not a bit surprising as well. It’s going to be a lot of title talk on this week’s “Weekend Recap.”

NHL: Pittsburgh Completes the Repeat

I think we can all agree that the biggest winner of the NHL/NBA postseason has easily been the NHL. That didn’t change last night as the Stanley Cup Playoffs came to a close with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning a barnburner to finish the Predators in six games.

The game itself was a thrilling affair that featured all of the drama that comes with a season on the line. Nashville threw just about everything at Matt Murray to try and force a Game 7, but the Pittsburgh goaltender was brilliant last night. In fact, both goaltenders were the stars of last night’s game.

However, just when it looked like we might be heading for overtime with a scoreless tie, Pittsburgh was able to find a brief moment of offense. Late in the third period, the Penguins started playing “dump and chase” in the offensive end, but a stray slap shot ended up doing the job on the game-winning goal. Pittsburgh caught Pekka Rinne slightly out of position then former-Predator Patrick Hornqvist corralled the rebound off the end board and scored off the back of Rinne.

With 1:35 left on the clock, the Predators had to pull out all of the stops to try to extend the game. Nashville went with an empty net to get the extra attacker, then a misplayed puck allowed speedster Carl Hagelin to put an exclamation point on the night.

Pittsburgh became the first team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98. Sidney Crosby won the Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP) for the second consecutive season. Crosby joined fellow Penguin captain Mario Lemieux and Philadelphia legend Bernie Parent as the only players to win consecutive Conn Smythe trophies.

The champs won’t have much work to do in the offseason, as they will look to lock and reload for another title defense. Las Vegas currently has Pittsburgh as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup next season (8-1 odds). The Penguins will start getting ready to attempt the first three-peat since the Islanders won four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-1983. For the other 30 teams in the league, the road to next year’s Stanley Cup starts next week with the Las Vegas expansion draft and the NHL Draft.

NBA: Cleveland Avoids a Sweep, Ends Golden State’s Chance at History

Kyrie Iriving thrived in the role of “Mr. Do or Die” once again with a fantastic performance in Game 4. Photo Credit: Getty Images

We kicked off the weekend with a potentially historic Game 4 between Golden State and Cleveland. A win by Golden State would have given them a second NBA Championship in three seasons, and clinched the first undefeated postseason in professional sports. The Cavaliers took the opportunity to make some history of their own. Cleveland put in a dominant performance on Friday night, avoiding a potentially embarrassing sweep in emphatic fashion.

LeBron James and company poured it on in Game 4, putting up points at a ridiculous rate. Cleveland won Game 4 137-116, and set numerous Finals records during the game. The Cavaliers set the records for most points in one quarter (49), most points in a half/first half (86), made three-pointers in a half (13), and made three-pointers in a Finals game (24). Golden State and Cleveland also set a record for the most combined points in a half/first half with 154 points.

Scoring records aside, the real story of the game was the incredible performance of Kyrie Irving. The Cleveland point guard dropped 40 points in the game, knocking down seven three-pointers in the game, one shy of the single game Finals record. It was a welcome sight for Cavs fans, who quickly recalled Irving’s three-game run in last year’s Finals that was a catalyst for Cleveland’s championship.

The series now stands at 3-1 with Game 5 tonight in Oakland, where the Warriors will look to clinch a championship at home for the first time in franchise history. For that to happen, the Splash Brothers will have to play much better than they did in Game 4, specifically Steph Curry. While Kevin Durant has been historically great in these Finals, he will need a little help from the other members of Golden State’s “Death Lineup.”

That’s it for me today. Stay tuned tomorrow for “Heat Check” which will have reactions to tonight’s Game 5. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

As of June 6^th, I’m still questioning how in the world some things are playing out in the MLB. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make me wonder if we have entered an alternate reality where the 2016 season never happened. So far 2017 has been a topsy-turvy season in which nothing is what it seems.

If you recall from my most recent power rankings, there were a few familiar names missing from the list, and for good reasons. The Chicago Cubs were likely the most notable of the missing teams, but if you look at their record its not easy to understand why they have fallen out of the top five (for now). Boston and Cleveland are in that boat as well considering both were the top contenders for the AL pennant just two months ago. That’s just a small dose of the strangeness of 2017, but is it going to last?

For starters, let’s talk about the defending champs. Yes, there definitely seems to be somewhat of a World Series hangover in Chicago. The lineup is not producing as much as we might have expected. In fact, they haven’t even come close to the expectations so far.

Chicago ranks 15^th in the majors in runs scored, 17^th in on base percentage, and 28^th in batting average. Yikes. For a team with this much firepower in the lineup, you would think that they would at least be in the top ten in these categories. Now, there is a simple explanation for this problem. No one is hitting right now.

Reigning NL MVP Kris Bryant is technically the team leader in batting average at .267, while the team’s other MVP candidate Anthony Rizzo is batting .232. None of this compares to the struggles of leadoff man Kyle Schwarber, who has a paltry .162 batting average.

The Cubs are clearly a much better team than they have showed so far in 2017. They’ve got the ring to prove it. It does seem like they have bottomed out though after a disastrous West Coast swing where the Dodgers and Padres each swept the Cubs. Chicago is off to a good start to the month, winning four in a row since returning to Wrigley Field, including a much-needed three-game sweep of St. Louis.

Do you want to hear the craziest part of all of this with the Cubs? Despite all of their problems (and I didn’t even talk about the pitching woes), Chicago is somehow tied atop the NL Central with Milwaukee. Obviously the bar is set a tad higher than a division title though. It seems like the champs are getting ready to turn the corner.

The AL Central is another source of bizarre outcomes at the moment as well. Cleveland is currently one game out of first place, chasing the Minnesota Twins. Why is this strange? Well, both teams can’t seem to win at home right now. In fact, Minnesota is in first due to the second-best road record in baseball. Cleveland should eventually make a move on the Twins, but again you would have thought this team would have been better after coming up short in the World Series.

The Indians made one of the biggest splash moves in the offseason by signing Edwin Encarnacion away from Toronto. Unfortunately, it seems losing the lineup protection of Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, and José Bautista. Encarnacion is on pace to shatter his career worst in strikeouts (138) and is completely off the rails in terms of his RBI pace (22 RBIs so far in 2017). Fortunately, this isn’t the worst problem for Cleveland at the moment.

Starting pitching is a problem right now. As of today, none of the Cleveland starters have an ERA under 3.00 (Mike Clevinger is the best with a 3.10 through seven starts). In fact, the average ERA for the starters is closer to 4.00. Even more alarming are the lack of quality starts for the Tribe. Through 55 games, the Cleveland starters have combined for only 25 quality starts.

This likely will be improved now that the team’s ace, Corey Kluber, returned from injury over the weekend. Kluber should bring some stability to the rotation, but everyone else needs to follow suit and pick up their game. Over the course of 162 games, manager Terry Francona can’t rely on the bullpen like he did in the postseason a year ago.

Of the three teams I mentioned at the beginning, the Red Sox actually are in the best shape of the bunch. Unfortunately, the problem for them is that they are in one of the league’s best divisions in 2017. The Yankees are way ahead of schedule in their franchise retooling, Baltimore is a solid team once again, the Rays aren’t a pushover, and Toronto is getting back in the hunt after injuries derailed the first two months.

The acquisition of Chris Sale has gone as well as expected, which has helped since Rick Porcello hasn’t been nearly as good as a year ago. David Price is back after missing the majority of the past two months with an injury. AL MVP runner-up Mookie Betts isn’t putting up the same numbers as last year but has been overshadowed by the tremendous start of Xander Bogaerts.

It also helps that the Red Sox currently have the league’s second-best closer in Craig Kimbrel. If Boston brings a lead into the ninth, odds are the game is over once Kimbrel toes the mound. Now they just have to survive in the AL East heading into the dog days of summer.

Aside from the presumptive favorites going through various hardships this season, we are still trying to figure out whether some of the surprise teams can continue their success. Colorado is still playing well, while Arizona is slipping a bit on their road trip. Although I think we can all agree that so far, this has been the year of the Astros so far.

The best part of all this is that we have plenty of time to find out definitive answers to all these questions.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Happy Monday everyone! As we flipped the calendar to June, we got a weekend full of high profile games. We saw a possible momentum swing in the Stanley Cup Final while the NBA Finals may be over sooner than most of us wanted. There was also a bit of history made in the MLB. Somewhere in between we even got a hotly contested tournament in the PGA as well. Overall it was a fun weekend, so lets dive into the action in this week’s “Weekend Recap.”

NBA: Golden State Imposes Its Will, Now Lead 2-0

It’s interesting to see the way a narrative evolves over time. On Friday morning the media was showing a lot of love to Kevin Durant after his impressive performance in Game 1. Today, despite Durant playing arguably a better game last night, the narrative has now shifted to the question of how good this Warriors team will compare to the all-time great teams.

I mean let’s be honest, its not like this series has actually lived up to the hype so far. Cleveland completely embarrassed themselves with their Game 1 performance, but last night they were putting up a fight. However, just like in Game 1, the Warriors eventually made the big run to put the game away.

Durant was the star last night, but Steph Curry is really putting the “Cleveland is his kryptonite,” narrative to bed so far. Curry became the fifth player in NBA Finals history to record a 30-point triple double. The turning point of the game even belonged to Curry, as he put LeBron James on skates (or double-dribbled depending on who you ask) and got to the basket for a layup. It was all Golden State after that as they coasted to a 132-113 victory.

Now Golden State is exactly where they were a year ago, up 2-0 on the Cavs heading to Cleveland with a legitimate shot to sweep the series. Clearly the addition of Durant has completely shifted the dynamic between these two teams. Cleveland won the turnover battle in Game 2 and outshot the Warriors, but the result was still the same. Things are looking dire for the defending champs as they head back to “The Land.”

On a bit of a historical note, the Warriors now have an impressive feat in their sights. Golden State is now 14-0 this postseason, and is two wins away from becoming the first team in NBA history to sweep through the playoffs. IF they are able to win the championship with an undefeated run through postseason, then we should start having the greatest team of all time discussion. Until then, we should just appreciate the moment with this series, it wouldn’t be the first time we got ahead of ourselves with this team.

NHL: Pittsburgh Learns About “Smashville” in Game 3

Now that we’ve got the NBA blowou… I mean Finals, out of the way, let’s focus on the more compelling series in sports right now. Pittsburgh had to feel good about leading 2-0 after the first two games in this series. Now that the series has shifted to Nashville, we are starting to see why the Predators have made it this far in the playoffs.

Nashville is a much more dangerous team in the “friendly” confines of the Bridgestone Arena. One thing that hasn’t changed though is that the Predators have been the better team in all three games. Pittsburgh has scored six goals in a matter of about ten minutes, aside from that they have only scored three goals in 170 minutes of game time.

If you are a Nashville fan right now, you have to feel pretty good despite being down 2-1 right now. The Predators +30 shot differential is the best of any team trailing 2-1 in a series. Also, three out of the last four times a team lead 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final, that team went on to lose the series (the exception was Pittsburgh last season).

We’ll see how things shake out tonight, but there is a very real possibility that Nashville ties up the series.

MLB: Pujols Hits #600, Volquez Tosses a No-No

We saw a bit of history in the MLB over the weekend from both ends of the sixty feet and six inch space between the mound and home plate. Saturday turned out to be much more interesting than your typical first weekend of June.

Angels slugger Albert Pujols etched his name into one of the most exclusive clubs in Major League history in grand fashion. Pujols hit his 600^th home run of his career, becoming the ninth player in MLB history to reach that mark. Unlike the previous eight men to do so, Pujols is the first to hit a grand slam to reach 600 home runs. It was never a question whether or not Pujols would be enshrined in Cooperstown, but this certainly helps his case as one of the greatest first basemen of all time.

Earlier in the night, another bit of history was made in Miami as pitcher Edinson Volquez threw a no-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks. On the surface, throwing the 297^th no-hitter in MLB history doesn’t seem that special, but this has a ton of sentimental value wrapped into it.

After the game, Volquez said that he had dedicated the game to the late Yordano Ventura and José Fernández, who both tragically passed away in the past few months. Volquez won a World Series with Ventura in Kansas City and Saturday would have been his 26^th birthday. This was a remarkable moment that should not be soon forgotten as we progress through the season.

PGA: Dufner Erases a Four-Shot Deficit, Wins the Memorial

With less than two weeks before the start of the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, the PGA Tour was in Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. Otherwise known as “Jack Nicklaus’s tournament” Sunday not only brought us a hotly contested tournament, but some less than ideal weather for the players to deal with. With about six-to-ten players in contention at some point during the day, someone would need to step up on the difficult final holes.

That man would be Jason Dufner, who was able to put the tournament to bed before the second weather delay came into play. The Memorial is often talked about as the launching pad for previous winners, so it will be interesting to see how this will affect Dufner heading into the U.S. Open.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.