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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF AND NEW ORLEANS PREPARING TO HOST 2020 CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Who is the best team in the NBA playoffs
Heading into the playoffs there are a list of teams battling to move up the playoff bracket. There are fans that say their team is better than the next but who is really the team that will take it all?
Looking at all the teams season stat leaders coming out of the regular season and into the playoffs to see who statistically reigns supreme.
The top five teams in each category will be tallied then sats expressed throughout comparisons of the team.
Taking into consideration Points Per Game, Rebounds Per Game, Assists Per Game, Blocks Per Game, Steals Per Game, Field Goal Percentages, Three-Point Percentage and Free Throw Percentage.
Starting with Points Per Game there is no more than a three point increase within the scores between teams. Starting with the Milwaukee Bucks who are ranked first with 118.1 points followed closely by the defending champions the Golden State Warriors with a close 117.7 points per game.
Following third the New Orleans Pelicans with 115.4 and closely after with a point two deficit is the Philadelphia 76ers with 115.2 and point one behind them is the Los Angeles Clippers with 115.1.
Points scored in a game is a great way to determine the offensive drive a team has but other facts such as defense, injuries, off game and fatigue. Ultimately Points Per Game is not necessarily what tells who will win but does show who has players that can score.
Rebounds Per Game is a way to tell who will retain possession after a missed shot or who will gain possession after a missed shot. The league leader in Rebounds Per Game is the Milwaukee Bucks with 49.7 rebounds, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder with 48.1 Rebounds Per Game.
Following closely behind Oklahoma by point one rebounds is the Portland Trailblazers with 48.0. Fourth is the Philadelphia 76ers with 47.8 and the New Orleans Pelicans coming in fifth with 47.3.
Assists Per Game show that a team is not scared to pass the ball and not play one on one all game long. Sharing the ball and ball movement to get the highest percentage of a spot is how games are won and these teams if they keep up the assists would be the teams to watch this playoffs.
Coming in first with Assists Per Game is the Golden State Warriors with 29.4 assists followed by the Denver Nuggets with 27.4 assists.
The New Orleans Pelicans in third with 27.0 assists. Fourth is the Philadelphia 76ers with 26.9 and the Boston Celtics in fifth with 26.3.
Blocks Per Game is related to well can a team protect the paint and block shots coming from high percentage areas on the court. The league leader in blocks is the Golden State Warriors with 6.4 blocks per game, following in second is the Milwaukee Bucks with 5.9 blocks.
The Utah Jazz are in fourth with 5.9 and the Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat tied for fourth with 5.5 blocks per game.
Steals Per Game is how well defense can turn themselves into an offensive it has been said the best defense is the best offense.
Leading the league in Steals per game is the Oklahoma City Thunder with 9.3 steals per game and the Phoenix Suns point three points behind with 9.0 and in third is the Indiana Pacers with 8.7 steals.
In the fourth and fifth spot are the Boston Celtics with 8.6 steals and the Houston Rockets with 8.5 steals per game in fifth.
One of the most important statistic in basketball to look at is the Field Goal Percentage which shows what teams are shooting the best. Leading the league are the Golden State Warriors with 49.2 and following them is the San Antonio Spurs with 47.8.
Topping off the Field Goal Percentage statistic are the Milwaukee Bucks in third with 47.6, Indiana Pacers in fourth with 47.5 and in fifth with 47.4 is the Toronto Raptors with 47.4.
An aspect and statistic of the game to take off in recent years is the Three Point Percentage which shows what teams can hit the deep ball and are a force to be recon with from the three point line.
Leading the league are the San Antonio Spurs with 39.9 and the Los Angeles Clippers trailing with a38.8%. The defending champions with one of the greatest shooters of all time are nestled in the third spot with 38.5%.
The rest of the teams are filled with the Sacramento Kings wich average a 37.8 % from the three point line and the Houston Rockets in fifth with an 8.5 % from the three point line.
One way a teams can either lose games or win games are at the free throw line in wich give a player two free shots from the free throw line and they have two free attempts at shooting the ball without being guarded.
The leaders are the San Antonio Spurs with 81.9% and followed closely by the Portland Trailblazers who follow the Spurs by point five percent with a 81.4%. Rounding out the final three spots are the Toronto Raptors with an 80.4%, the Boston Celtics with 80.2% and the fifth spot going to the Golden State Warriors with an 80.1%.
Putting all these stats together and comparing who leads the most statistical charts are the Golden State Warriors leading in three categories and the Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs following with two, leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets tied with leading one statistical category.
Alexander Rossi back to back winner of Grand Prix of Long Beach 2019
Long Beach, CA – Guess who took the checkered flag again this year at the Long Beach Grand Prix? Yes even with the new sponsor Alexander Rossi is the back to back 2019 champion.
Rossi speed through this year field in dominating fashion all the way to the end. The 45th Street race through the streets of Long Beach California.
Rossi won by a dominating 20 seconds over second place finisher Josef Newgarden, which was the largest margin of victory at Long Beach since Al Unser Jr. won by 23 seconds in 1995.
This was Rossi’s sixth career IndyCar victory. His first win was in 2016 when he captured the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie. Now Rossi is the fourth different winner to start this season through four races in the IndyCar season.
“It’s an amazing day,” Rossi said. “I have a great car and a great crew behind me” on the Andretti Autosport team, he said.
The win was also the 200th for Michael Andretti’s Andretti Autosports empire, which includes teams in Indy Lights, GT4 America, Formula E and RallyCross where Manteca native Scott Speed holds three consecutive titles.
“Winning the pole here is huge,” explained Rossi. “It allows you to run your own race, control the pace and strategy and dictate what the rest of the field does.”
Los Angeles Sparks snatch National Champion Kalani Brown of Baylor
Los Angeles, CA – The Derek Fisher era kicks off with Kalani Brown standing 6’7 tall from Baylor. Brown was the 7th pick overall in WNBA Draft 2019 for the LA Sparks.
They will use Brown’s height to overpower and slow down the game working in the low post alongside current players.
Brown just won a National Championship last week and now drafted to the Los Angeles.
“It’s been stressful and tiring,” said Brown, “It’s been a dream come true.”
The Las Vegas Aces had the No 1 pick the last two years and tonight they chose Jackie Young (Notre Dame) with No 1 pick.
“Just stepping out of one legacy and entering another,” said Brown.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1116136279786364929
Derek Fisher entering his first draft as the head coach of Los Angeles Sparks needing to draft for needs off watching film to shape the roster. He had 7th, 19th, and 31st pick in this draft.
“It is important to add players who know how to fit in on a good team,” Fisher, “Be yourself that’s why we drafted you.”
Penny Toler the Sparks General Manager entering her 20th season in this role, knows how build a championship roster. The Sparks have three championship trophies in her cabinet.
The Sparks selected guard Marina Mabrey of Notre Dame with 19th pick in the second round. Then followed up with drafting guard Angela Salvadores of Duke with the 31st pick.
The Sparks first two months on the season will challenge them with 12 of their 19 games on the road.
Then the Sparks will finish off playing 10 of last 15 at home in front of the home crowd, hopefully building up for a championship run.
This year WNBA draft was held on April 10 at Nike New York headquarters for all three rounds (36 players). The league invited 12 players to New York for the live broadcast
Where would Zion stand in the NBA right now?
One of the most anticipated NBA prospects in college is none other than Duke Forward Zion Williamson who has heads turning, Sneakers exploding, posters flying. The question comes to where would Williamson rank if he were in the NBA right now?
Williamson who has played 32 games and is currently in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Championship has posted 22.6 points per game and shooting 68% from the field. Williamson is also shooting 33% from the 3-point line and 64% from the line.
Let’s compare Williamson to the top NBA players at his two position. As of now the player leading the race at the Power Forward position is Milwaukee Bucks Power Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo who is leading the league in Point per game with 27.4 and in field goal percentage with 58% through 69 games. Antetokounmpo is also shooting 24% from the 3-point line and 72% from the line.
Comparing Williamson to the top Small Forward in the league look no further than Oklahoma City Thunder Small Forward Paul George. He leads the league at his position in points per game at 28.2 on top of being on of the better shooters at his position. George is also shooting 40% from the field, 38% from the 3-point line, with 83% from the line.
Comparing Power Forward Antetokounmpo and Williamson looking at the stats there are a few details that need to be addressed, Williamson is only 18 years old and is putting up similar numbers as Antetokounmpo who is 24.
The same goes for Williamson and George with them shooting similar percentages from the field, but have fairly different percentages from other shooting stats. Although this is because the two players play different types of games with George being more of floor general and Williamson who plays more of a scorer and human highlight reel.
Age has a huge factor as to which comes basketball IQ, Strength, Maturity, Skill, Athleticism. Surprisingly Williamson and Antetokounmpo both share in almost all these traits surprisingly with the age gap.
George and Williamson have a 10 year age difference wich if you were to compare film of the two players you could not tell there was an age difference in fundamentals with the two players being on paper almost the same height and size with george standing at 6’9” and 220 lbs.
Two factor that differs in the traits of these two talented players is size and athleticism. Antetokounmpo is 6’11” and 242 lbs while Williamson is 6’7” and 285 lbs.
This becomes a huge factor when it comes to athleticism because Antetokounmpo is has such length he can easily weave and euro-step his way through defenders while on the opposite side Williamson is on the smaller side with less length and uses his explosive raw power to blow by defenders and jump past them at the rim.
Williamson is already a dominant force in college but we won’t know for sure where he stands till he gets into the league until then we have a picture to where how dominant of a player he can be.
Notre Dame J. Young leads the charge to the Final Four
Chicago, IL – In all four of the NCAA Women’s Regional Championship games this year has been a No 1 seed versus a No 2 seed. The last game of the weekend was the Chicago Regional matchup between No 1 Notre Dame and No 2 Stanford.
Notre Dame advances to its 9th Final Four with a dominant 84-68 victory over Stanford. Now the Lady Irish are one-step closer of reaching the National Championship Game for the second straight year.
Coming off of Saturday’s 25% shooting effort, Stanford came out firing on all cylinders. Stanford had three players in double figures: Kiana Williams (20),Dijonai Carrington (18) and Alanna Smith (14) for a combined 52 points.
“I’d just say we came out, had a great game plan, and we executed it in the first half. I think we had a few slip ups in the second half, and they are a great team and they were able to exploit those”, said Dijonai Carrington.
The second half is where Notre Dame found their stride, capitalizing off of mistakes by Stanford and second chance opportunities in the paint. “Well, the difference in the halves, we weren’t knocking down shots, but we also gave them a lot of second chance opportunities. So I think once we hit the boards in the second half, that really changed it around” says Arike Ogunbowale.
Scoring only 26 points in the first half, Notre Dame doubled that in the second half with 52 points. The starting five of Notre Dame (78 points) became the first group (men’s or women’s basketball) in NCAA history to score 10,000 points, and adding to that total game with 10,070 points and possibly two more games to go.
Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw said in postgame interviews “I mean, it’s a milestone and certainly the first time it’s been done, men or women. It’s pretty amazing, but it really doesn’t mean anything, except they get a lot of shots”.
The Lady Irish will Face the Lady Huskies of UCONN in the National Semifinals in Tampa.
Zlatan Galaxy Star too much for the Timbers
Carson, CA – The Los Angeles Galaxy were tied with the Portland Timbers in the 65th minute when Zlatan Ibrahimovic beat six defenders to reach the box but was fouled on a slide by goalkeeper Jeff Attinella.
Ibrahimovic, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with an injury, netted his second goal from the penalty spot to help the Galaxy to a 2-1 win over Portland Sunday at the Dignity Health Sports Park.
“I’m here to perform,” Ibrahimovic said. “I said I’m not here on vacation, I’m here to play for the Galaxy and to do my best for the Galaxy.”
The Swedish superstar got Los Angeles on the board first when he was fouled in the penalty area by Timbers defender Claude Dielna. Ibrahimovic converted the penalty kick to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead.
Portland tied it on a goal by Jeremy Ebobisse in the 44th minute. David Guzman found Ebobisse inside the box for the equalizer.
“I think during the game, sometimes, we managed the ball,” Galaxy coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto said. “I think we managed the game, but we couldn’t be deeper like I’d like. But, we had the possibility, they had the goal and some shot from outside the box, and nothing more.”
Los Angeles improved to 3-1 on the season and sit at fifth place in the Western Conference with nine points. Up next for the Galaxy is a road game against the Vancouver Whitecaps Friday at 7 p.m.
“It is very important to be creating a winning mentality, and it’s necessary for a team to have aspirations for winning,” Barros Schelott said.
Notre Dame charges past Texas A&M to reach elite 8
Chicago, IL – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had just enough team defense to defeat Chennedy Carter and the Texas A&M Aggies 87-80, in the Sweet 16 matchup at Wintrust Arena in Chicago Saturday afternoon.
Notre Dame (33-3) now has beat Texas A&M in the regional-semifinal round for the second consecutive year.
Notre Dame Arike Ogunbowale led her team with 34 pts, while forward Jessica Shepard recorded a double double with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
“Arike wins it with a defensive stop,” Irish coach Muffet McGraw said, needling her star on the postgame dais. “I think that should be the headline.”
Texas A&M guard Carter lead all players scoring 35 points, which gives her the second most points for an Aggie in a NCAA Tournament game.
Notre Dame started the third quarter with an 8-0 run capped off by a Brianna Turner layup.
“It was super physical, but that’s basketball,” Arike said, “Having the crowd on our side like that definitely helped us a lot and (gave us) momentum. I’m glad the fans made the trip.”
In the 4th quarter Ogunbowale knocked down a 3 pointer that allowed the Irish never to looked back.
After this victory Notre Dame earned it’s ninth trip to the Elite Eight in the past 10 years.
Next up will be No 2 seed Stanford in Monday nights Chicago Regional Championship game.
Orlando Survives Scare by Memphis To Clinch Top Spot In The East
Memphis, TN – The Orlando Apollos (7-1) after being down 22-31 to the Memphis Express with 8:23 left in the game, scored two straight touchdowns to come away with a 34-31 win. With 2 games to go in regular season play, they clinched the top seed in the east for the Alliance playoffs.
An 18-yard Garrett Gilbert pass to wide receiver Charles Johnson at the 4:59 mark and a 1-yard run by running back De’Veon Smith (that was called short on the field and reversed by the replay official) gave Orlando their final two touchdowns of the game.
Defensive end Earl Okine’s interception of Memphis quarterback Brandon Silvers pass secure the victory and let Orlando run out the clock.
Gilbert put up solid numbers going 22 of 40 for a total 310 yards. But had issues with the Express defense, throwing 2 interceptions, with another two that were negated by defensive penalties and one sack for 13 yards.
Gilbert said of the Memphis defense, “They did a really nice job. They were able to create some pressure. Changing up looks in the back. They’ve got some corners that were aggressive in making plays, and I certainly missed my fair share of throws today and made some dumb decisions as well.”
Memphis went into the half down 14-9 and which grew to 22-9 early in the 3rd only to rally with 3 straight touchdowns to put them up by 9. The second TD came from the sack/fumble of Gilbert, by linebacker DeMarquis Gates, that was scooped and scored by defensive end Cory Crawford.
Penalties and miscues would later hamper Memphis and allow Orlando to retake the lead.
Talk of the Alliance Johnny Manziel was put in the game after two unproductive series by Memphis only to leave with a concussion. Manziel threw 2 of 3 for 13 yards and ran for 18, but ended with a pick by defensive back Will Hill III. On the return, Manziel dove for Hill and took a knee to the helmet. Manziel laid on the field before being helped off by trainers, visibly woozy.
Taking back over, Silvers would improve the rest of the game. Throwing 30 of 49 for 269 yards.
Next Saturday Memphis travels to face the west leading San Antonio Commanders (5-2). Head coach Mike Singletary said of bouncing back from today, “We’ll bounce back because we’re the Express. We’ll bounce back because I’ve got a lot of guys on our team that we came to win today. We came to play football. “
With this back and forth win Orlando goes into next weeks home game against the San Diego Fleet (3-5) showing they can come back from adversity.
Hopefully, the Alliance will be able to show such resilience. Rumors abound about the long term viability of the league or if even if they will be able to finish out their first (and possibly only) season. Majority stake owner Tom Dundon’s comments to the USA Today, concerning the Alliance’s future if they cannot come to an agreement the NFL’s Player Association and the ability to acquire young players, have many guessing on whether there will be a next game.
Notre Dame makes 10 trip to Sweet 16
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Team will make its 10th straight appearance in the Sweet 16 after a dominant win over Michigan State.
In the second round of the NCAAW Tournament, Notre Dame won on its own turf 91-63 of Michigan State. Irish forward Brianna Turner recorded a 14 point, 11 rebound double-double to become the Notre Dame leader in rebounds.
The Michigan State starters only combined for 25 points from three players, while Arike Ogunbowale scored 23 for Notre Dame. Four Notre Dame starters landed double digit scoring, Jessica Shepard, Jackie Young, Turner and Ogunbowale.
Notre Dame (32-3), the number 1 seed, ran away with the game with a 14-0 run to end the first half. The defending National Champions controlled the post on both ends, winning both offensive and defensive rebounds. Notre Dame was up 26 points at the half, 52-26. Sydney Cooks and Shay Colley brought the same energy as they had in the Spartan’s win over Central Michigan, but Notre Dame big four kept them from finding success.
Notre Dame made 47.9 percent of its shots, including 30.8 from outside the circle and 68 from the foul line. Dwarfed in comparison, Michigan State shot 37.3 percent, 26.3 for three-pointers and 61.5 percent of free throws.
Ogunbowale now has over 2,500 career points at Notre Dame. She is the first to do so in history at Notre Dame. Michigan State loss was its worst in school tournament history.
The Irish have beaten its last 11 opponents by 29.8 ppg, and will look to do so again against 4-seed Texas A&M in Chicago Saturday. A&M (29-7) won 78-76 from a clutch 3 over Marquette.
SCORES BY QUARTERS
ND: 25 27 21 18
MSU: 14 12 17 20
MSU: L. ALLEN 5 0 2/3 12; N. CLOUDEN 0 2 2/4 8; S. COLLEY 2 0 1/2 5; N. HOLLIE 1 0 1/2 3; S. COOKS 7 1 0/0 17; K/ BELLES 5 0 0/0 10.
ND: J. SHEPARD 9 0 1/2 19; B. TURNER 5 0 4/5 14; M. MABREY 1 0 0/0 2; A. OGUNBOWALE 6 2 5/6 23; J. YOUNG6 1 6/921.
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