Category Archives: Julius Randle

Are the Lakers Planning a Big Move this Offseason?

kobe bryant los angeles lakers lamarcus aldridge nba demarcus cousins kevin love goran dragicThe Los Angeles Lakers were an embarrassment last season. After major injuries to Julius Randle and Kobe Bryant, the roster was full of D-League talent and aging veterans. If you pay close attention to sports betting odds, the current outlook for next season doesn’t look great either.

The Lakers are not used to being in this position. They always just restock instead of doing a long-term rebuild. Kobe doesn’t have much time left, so he is certainly in management’s ear in hopes of winning one more title to tie Michael Jordan’s ring count.

They are now trying to free up enough cap space to make a run at some of this offseason’s top free agents. They gained $9 million more by declining Jordan Hill’s team option.

Which free agents are the Lakers targeting this Summer?

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2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers sad mad NBA black mamba OMGI wonder if Kobe Bryant ever wonders if he should have retired after blowing out his Achiilles’ tendon? I’m sure it crossed his mind a few times in-between the gym and the bank…where he cashes those huge checks. He now finds himself trying to play with Swaggy P.

The Lakers are expected to be near the bottom of the NBA standings. Does Kobe have a little magic left in him? If things go bad, how does Kobe handle losing?

We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.

Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Los Angeles Lakers.

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2014 NBA Draft Analysis – First Round

2014 NBA Draft Andrew Wiggins Jabari ParkerMy favorite night of the year has arrived!

I love the anticipation and the speed of the NBA Draft. You don’t have fifteen minutes in-between picks like the NFL and you actually know these players, unlike the NHL and MLB.

If you can stomach two-three hours of Bill Simmons, it will be a fun night.

We give analysis for every pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) – No surprise here. Cleveland is looking to rebuild and they don’t need a player like Jabari Parker to be an instant boost. They loved Embiid, but they couldn’t risk a #1 overall pick on a player who is a major injury risk.

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2014 NBA Mock Draft: Who Will be #1?

Joel Embiid 2014 NBA Mock Draft Cleveland CavaliersNow that the NBA season is over, let’s focus on the NBA Draft. I personally think the NBA Draft is the best draft in any major sport. There’s usually more trades, the impact of these rookies is usually felt immediately and it doesn’t go on and on like the NFL Draft.

You will begin to hear a lot of rumors about what’s wrong with these prospects. You rarely hear anything positive until a day or two before the draft. Teams know how to leak information to attempt to hurt a player’s draft stock. It’s all smoke and mirrors at this point.

I try to forge through the piles of trash out there and give you where I think the player will be drafted. I personally wouldn’t draft a few of these players in the lottery, but it’s the NBA and there are a lot of bad General Managers in the league.

Here is my 2014 NBA Mock Draft for the first round.

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2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: Betting Picks Against The Spread

Adreian Payne Michigan State Spartans 2014 NCAA TournamentThere have been some shocking upsets so far in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. A few are still alive and want the fairytale to not fade away. Dayton, Stanford, UConn and Tennessee hope to go even deeper in the tournament.

Tournament favorites Louisville, Michigan State and Florida are still alive. Many of the pundits have these three teams winning it all or meeting in the Final Four. I think they all have a shot at winning in the Sweet Sixteen.

One of the most intriguing match-ups is in Indianapolis. Kentucky faces in-state rival Louisville. The Wildcats beat them in December, but the teams have changed over the course of the season. Will the outcome be the same?

I pick all the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen games against the spread.

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2014 NBA Draft: Top 20 NBA Prospects

Jabari Parker Duke Blue Devils 2014 NBA DraftThe 2014 NBA Draft is stacked. NBA teams have been tanking all season to get the most ping-pong balls in hopes of landing the #1 pick. Two players in particular have NBA teams drooling, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.

Not only does this draft have two potential All-Stars, but it’s deep. You could get a player late in the Lottery that could start right away. You don’t see that in most drafts. Actually, the top five players in this draft would have been #1 overall picks in last year’s draft.

Players will begin to announce their intentions to either declare for the draft or stay in school. You have the usual suspects, but there are always a few wild cards that declare, but end up going back to school after the NBA Draft Combine

We list the top 20 prospects in the 2014 NBA Draft.

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2014 NCAA Tournament: Betting Picks Against The Spread

Doug McDermott 2014 NCAA Tournament Point Spread Picks Creighton BluejaysI love the NCAA Tournament. It’s my favorite time of year. The underdog victories in early rounds and the yearly tradition of coming up with a creative excuse to call in sick to work on Thursday and Friday. It should be a national holiday.

Since Sunday, I’ve been filling out NCAA Tournament brackets, writing game previews and scouring sites for College Basketball odds. I had to wait a few hours for them since they weren’t immediately available after the Selection Show.

I have a ritual the first day of the tournament. I spend the first few hours at home watching the first two sets of games (probably still in my pajamas). I then make it to a Buffalo Wild Wings or BBQ rib joint and watch the next set. I then close out the night back at home drinking a six-pack of good IPAs.

I pick all the NCAA Tournament first (second?) round games against the spread. Can Harvard pull off the upset against Cincinnati?

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2014 March Madness: #8 Kentucky vs #9 Kansas State

Julius Randle Kentucky Wildcats 2014 NCAA TournamentWe are picking every NCAA Tournament game in an effort to help you fill out your bracket and win your office pool.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari is a great recruiter, but turning over a roster every year might be getting to him. The players on his roster will go onto the NBA and have great careers, but the last two seasons have been disappointing.

Kansas State played one of the hardest schedules in college basketball. They were playing a ranked team every other night. I am surprised they survived and played well enough for an at-large bid.

Can the Kentucky freshman pull it together and make some noise in the tournament?

Who do you think will win? We help you fill out your bracket.

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Sweetbob’s Saturday Betting Bonanza

Joe Biden Syracuse Orange Duke Blue Devils College Basketball February 2014I miss college football, so on Saturdays, I find myself watching everything. I use the word ‘everything’ because I seriously watch any sport that pops up on my DirecTV. At the moment, that means a lot of the Winter Olympics.

As I’m in the vortex of random sports, I find myself doing my fair share of betting. I had a great NFL and college football season and historically, I’m even better at college basketball.

This Saturday is filled with more than luge and figure skating. You have some great college basketball matchups (Syracuse at Duke) and UFC 170.

I pick February 22nd college basketball games against the spread and also pick the winners of tonight’s UFC 170. Will Ronda Rousey defend her title?

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