Tagged under: 2017 NBA Finals, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, NBA Finals, Steph Curry
By @TrueGodImmortal
The 2017 NBA Finals are over. The Golden State Warriors won in 5 games, with Kevin Durant winning Finals MVP. With some great performances all around, we wanted to rank the 5 best players in the series. Let's take a look.
5. Klay Thompson
(16.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 43% FG, 42% 3PT)
-Klay wasn't as ball dominant as he normally is, but Klay was defensively the biggest difference maker in the entire series. His shot was falling in games 2 and 3, but he kept defensive pressure on Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in games 1 and 2, and there's a possession in game 5 where he tightly guards LeBron and forces a horrible shot. Klay makes the list because of his contributions offensively in games 2 and 3, and his defense throughout the entire series. Klay continues to grow and improve overall. He's dangerous.
4. Kyrie Irving
(29.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 47% FG, 42% 3PT)
-If you believe Kyrie outplayed Steph, you're sadly mistaken. Sure, he shot slightly better from the field, but he wasn't the playmaker that Steph was and he didn't attack for boards or find the open man like Steph did. Kyrie however did what he does best and that's score. His amazing performances in games 3 and 4 are still ridiculous now, and there's not much more that you could ask Kyrie for. He showed up on the biggest stage, despite lackluster games in game 1 and 2, and he went missing in the 2nd half of game 5, but when he needed to step up, he did so in crucial home games.
3. Stephen Curry
(26.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 9.4 APG, 2.2 SPG, 44% FG, 39% 3PT)
-His shooting numbers don't look like his MVP days, but in the NBA Finals you can't be expected to shot as well as you did in the regular season. The truth remains, Steph has shown up to play in 2 of the 3 Finals series and why his 2016 performance was below the standard his MVP season set, he was excellent in this series. With a career high average in rebounds and a high in assists, as well as his highest scoring average in 3 Finals appearances. He was actually solid on the defensive end as well, averaging over 2 steals and hitting clutch shots in games 1, 2 and 3, while maintaining a presence all through game 5 with an amazing 34 point performance. While Steph didn't average a triple double (he was close), he did have a double double in every game in the Finals, even in his worst game in game 4 (14 points and 10 rebounds). Steph was excellent through the series and showed up. Put some respect on his name.
2. LeBron James
(33.6 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 10.0 APG, 56% FG, 38% 3PT)
-You might wonder how a guy who averaged a triple double is not the best player in a series, but the truth remains that Bron didn't show up in crunch time when it was vital through the series. He had a massive series, with solid outings in games 1 through 5, but his turnovers in game 1 was a bit deal, his 4th quarter disappearance in games 1 through 3 was a detriment, but for the most part, Bron was excellent. Anyone who averages a triple double in the Finals, something that's never been done before, deserves all the credit in the world for his solo performance. Still, there was one player who was better and led his team to the ultimate goal... victory.
1. Kevin Durant
(35.2 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.6 BPG, 56% FG, 47% 3PT)
-There's no denying that the best player on both ends, was Kevin Durant. KD owned the series with big performances in every single game, including his big performance in vital games 3 and 5, with the shot seen around the world over LeBron James to clinch the game 3 win. He was also the momentum killer for Cleveland in game 5, as he managed to destroy their hopes of forcing a game 6 with an amazing and efficient 39 point performance, his highest scoring game of the series. When KD was needed, he answered the call and showcased why he's one of the best, if not the best in the game. That Finals MVP was well deserved. He was the BEST player in this Finals series without question.
-True
Tagged under: Big Show, Chris Jericho, EOTR Tag Team Tuesdays, JeriShow, Tag teams, WWE
By @AmeenKnows
The thing I love most about my favorite wrestlers are how well they adapt to situations and display their versatility. Like how well a main event talent adjusts to being pushed back to the midcard to give someone else a chance. In 2009, Chris Jericho was still in the midst of his best character, in my opinion of course. The year prior, he was the World Heavyweight Champion on Raw. He was drafted to Smackdown and engaged in one of the best feuds of the year with Rey Mysterio over the Intercontinental Championship, thus showing his versatility. Leading up to their partnership, The Big Show was in a feud with John Cena (Sidenote: I hate when WWE makes feuds like these because of the outcome. For example, Cena definitively beat Show twice on PPV but Show beats Cena on Raw and he's declared the winner of the feud. Makes absolutely zero sense). However an untimely injury would bring these two stars together.
At The Bash, Chris Jericho and Edge were surprisingly added to a tag team title match with the Colons and Legacy for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. (Sidenote: Teddy Long was pressured by Vince to improve the quality of matches on Smackdown so that's why Edge and Jericho were added. All in storyline of course). Edge and Jericho would go on to win the titles but shortly thereafter, it was announced that Edge had suffered a torn Achilles. So without a partner, Teddy Long tried to strip Jericho of the tag team titles but Jericho had a loophole in his contract which would give him time to find another partner.
At Night of Champions, Jericho was set to defend the titles with his mystery partner against Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. Jericho revealed that The Big Show was his new partner and they defeated Legacy to retain the titles. With Big Show on Raw and Jericho on Smackdown, holding the Unified Tag Team Titles allowed for them to travel across brands. Their first feud came against Cryme Tyme, who they went on to defeat at SummerSlam to retain their titles. Then they faced MVP and Mark Henry, who proposed a very formidable challenge for the Tag Team Champions. Like Cryme Tyme, they too would fail to win the titles at Breaking Point.
Their next short feud would come against Batista and Rey Mysterio, and they too were defeated by Jeri-Show at Hell in a Cell. Before Bragging Rights, the champions started a feud with DX after losing a non-title match. The feud would be put on pause for a while as the two teams competed at Bragging Rights in a Team Smackdown vs Team Raw match. Then, Jeri-Show would be placed in a triple threat match with the Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship while DX was placed in a triple threat with John Cena for the WWE Championship. Both Teams failed in their quest to become World Champions thus allowing them to continue their feud. At the TLC PPV, DX beat Jeri-Show to become the new Unified Tag Team Champions. A night later, Jeri-Show was awarded the Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year and beat DX by Disqualification. DX granted Jeri-Show a rematch under the condition that if DX wins, Jericho is banned from Raw. Jeri-Show would lose this match, marking the end of the team.
I wasn't big on these guys as a team but looking back at it, Jeri-Show had 2 stars who were already well established as decorated world champions. I can't really think of another team that was paired up together this late with careers more successful than these two. That's not counting teams who later got back together after going on hiatus like DX and The Brothers of Destruction.
Anyways, I mentioned versatility in the beginning and Chris Jericho's run from 2008-2010 is my favorite example. He was World Heavyweight Champion, then fell out of the main event scene to elevate the midcard with Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship, and after all that, he gave the Tag team division a much needed boost of fresh air. Show, who was originally placed in the WWE Championship 6 Pack Challenge and would likely have lost, was given a new direction to go in. Jericho's sneaky and cunning tactics combined with Show's brute force made for a very deadly combination which could have been even better to showcase if they had better teams to work with back then. The split also didn't hurt either star as Jericho would go on to regain the World Heavyweight Championship while Show formed Show-Miz with The Miz and that team went on to defeat DX to win the Unified Tag Team Titles.
-Ameen
Tagged under: Becky Lynch, Carmella, Charlotte, MITB, Money In The Bank, Natalya, Smackdown Women's MITB, Tamina Snuka, WWE
By @TrueGodImmortal
History is being made yet again in women's wrestling... word to Sasha Banks. Over the last year, we've seen women headline RAW and Smackdown, as well as headline a PPV, have their first Hell In a Cell and Ironman matches on WWE PPV, and now we will get the very first MITB Women's Match. Who has the best chance of winning? Let's take a look.
*Natalya
-I don't think she has a chance to win at all. She's been relegated to secondary status in this match, essentially since she's not as important on the roster. Still, Natalya is a great performer and a win for her would restore her momentum for sure. Still, it's unlikely.
Chance Of Winning: 5%
*Carmella
-A true dark horse candidate who could end up sneaking away with the briefcase. She's growing as a heel for sure, but for some reason, I just can't see her walking out with the briefcase. It's possible she gets the win and has James Ellsworth carry around her briefcase, but there's no telling if that'll be the case for sure. Will Carmella take that next step? Who knows, but I'd say she's got a better shot than two other women in this match for winning.
Chance Of Winning: 20%
*Tamina Snuka
-I really don't see Tamina winning this at all, mainly because I don't see a championship in her future, but I could very well be wrong. She's a part of a legendary family, so it's entirely possible that she sneaks a win, but is anyone interested in seeing a Tamina push or title run? Not really. I'd say she and Natalya have the least chances for winning, but you never say never in the WWE, I guess.
Chance Of Winning: 5%
*Charlotte
-The perennial favorite to win it all shouldn't come as a shock. She's the biggest name in the Women's Division and as a face, she's not well adjusted yet, but perhaps as a tweener, a big time victory for Charlotte carrying around a personalized Queen's briefcase would be fun to witness. I think she is the most likely to win, only because she has the most momentum of any wrestler on the entire Smackdown roster right now. I expect Charlotte to walk out with the briefcase.
Chance Of Winning: 40%
*Becky Lynch
-Becky would be my 2nd choice to win this match, after Charlotte and only slightly ahead of Carmella. Becky was the first Smackdown Women's Champion and she has a chance to get back to the top spot with a victory in this match. However, the issue here, is that Becky is still a face and with Charlotte creeping up in that no. 1 face spot on Smackdown, it's possible a heel turn would be perfect for Becky with the briefcase. I'm not 100% sold on her winning over Charlotte, but I could very well see it happen.
Chance Of Winning: 30%
So, who wins? As you see here, I've chosen Becky and Charlotte as the two top choices, with Carmella as a dark horse. Whoever wins this match will have a heavy honor and this match could surprise a lot of people for sure.
-True
Tagged under: 2011 WWE Draft, Cena, John Cena, John Cena vs CM Punk, RAW, Smackdown, WWE Draft
By @AmeenKnows
For a little background on how I came up with the idea for this article, I work a 16 hour shift every Sunday. So that means I have a lot of time on my hands and what I do with that time is I look up random episodes of wrestling and watch them. For those who may want to go back and watch the 2011 Draft, it happened on April 25th. Anyways, back to more important matters.
The 2011 Draft kicked off with The Big Show and Kofi Kingston eliminating Mason Ryan to earn the Smackdown brand the first pick in the draft, which turned out to be none other than the man who called the blue brand home 6 years earlier, John Cena. However, by the end of the night, there was a 6 man Raw vs Smackdown tag team match. Team Raw consisted of The Miz, CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio. Team Smackdown consisted of John Cena, Christian and Mark Henry. Team Raw won this match and Cena was subsequently traded back to Raw. Why even waste our time or a draft pick to keep Cena on the same show? That's when I started thinking what if Cena had stayed drafted to Smackdown.
Raw Without Cena
Now since Raw won the match, they still need to have someone drafted over to their show so let's just plug in Jack Swagger in that spot since he was brought over to Raw in the supplemental draft. The day of the draft, Cena was already penciled in to face The Miz and John Morrison in a Triple Threat Steel Cage match for the WWE Championship. Cena won that match so that means in this scenario that Cena loses and let's give the title to Morrison. Okay, so Morrison beat R-Truth for his Number One Contender's spot at Extreme Rules. Truth turned heel that same night so moving forward Morrison beats Miz to retain the WWE Title, then proceeds to feud with Truth. Without the company's resident Superman in the fold that means there is a realistic chance that the ever-so entertaining Conspiracy Theorist R-Truth could finally have a taste of Gold. The problem with that is there's a lack of babyface competitors on the roster to carry Raw for the rest of the year. So this means we miss out on the 5 Star Classic between Cena and Punk at Money in the Bank. This is not to say that Punk wouldn't become a WWE Champion, but he'd have to go an less interesting alternate route whether it be with Morrison replacing the role of Vince's Batman to Punk's Joker. Or maybe the momentum created during the "Pipebomb" turns Punk face a few weeks early to feud with a heel Truth, although the dynamic of that feud would change with Truth laying under a crushed table instead of Cena while Punk sits a top the ramp, letting everyone know how he really feels. Even though ADR cheated his way to the WWE Title he doesn't have the notch in his reign of beating Cena at Vengeance and Hell in a Cell, but then again he also doesn't drop the belt just a month after winning it at SummerSlam.
Smackdown with Cena
With Cena on Smackdown, the entire brand experiences a shift in power. In reality, Cena was involved in the WWE title picture in some form for the rest of 2011. Over on Smackdown, Christian wins his first World Heavyweight Championship. However the question is, does Randy Orton still come out on Smackdown 2 days after Extreme Rules and beat Christian for the World Title? We got an entire summer worth of great matches between two fresh opponents who have insane chemistry. Orton was a boring World Champion and having Cena as the leading babyface may have been better in the short term, but it also gets in the way of Mark Henry's Hall of Pain arc. I doubt Henry cleanly beats Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship so if they did add Cena to the Hall of Pain arc, I think they'd do it early in the arc to let Henry at least beat Cena down to boost the credibility and let Orton and Christian continue feuding. That also gets in the way of Daniel Bryan's cash in at the end of the year if Cena is the one holding the title at the end of TLC instead of a beat down Big Show.
When I started this article I actually had a positive mindset about Cena's return to the blue brand. It had been so long since he was really a big part of Smackdown at that point so I thought it would be a good thing. However it hurts a lot of great things that happened that summer. Taking away a 5 Star Classic just for possibly a month or 2 of Conspiracy Theory R-Truth as WWE Champion just isn't enough. Also, having him on Smackdown could possibly threaten a great Orton/Christian rivalry, threaten Daniel Bryan's Cash In and derail the Hall of Pain. So maybe it was a good thing after all that he got drafted back to Raw that night, but if that's the case they could have used those 2 picks to make different moves. Maybe they did it for ratings, but it's still a confusing move nonetheless.
-Ameen
Tagged under: 2017 NBA PLAYOFFS, Eyes On NBA, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, NBA
By @AmeenKnows
You know as I've watched these NBA Playoffs this year, everyone has been saying its the worst its been in a while. I, on the other hand, believe it to be the best in the last 2-3 years. People complain there's too many blowouts as if that isn't normal the past few seasons so I picked out my favorite individual performances. I've left off some notable stars, for example Russell Westbrook's 51 Point triple-double and some impressive performances by Steph Curry, but I really feel like I've put together a solid list. These are also in no particular order because this would be a completely different list if it was.
*Chris Paul
(1st Round, Game 3 at Utah)
Chris Paul's status as a Super Star is often debated because of his inability to reach the Western Conference but me? I don't care about that at all. CP3 had to throw the team on his back after Blake Griffin injured his big toe in the second quarter. What followed was a masterful performance put on by CP3 in the second half when he put up 24 of his 34 points and led a 15-0 run in the 4th to take a 2-1 lead over Utah after Game 3.
*Kawhi Leonard
(Western Conference Finals, Game 1 at Golden State)
-Kawhi Leonard has had many great games this postseason including a game that will also appear on this list later on, but the one I want to focus on here is his Game 1 performance against Golden State. The Spurs led by as many as 25 led by Leonard who held Kevin Durant in check while also adding 26-8-3 in just 23 minutes before being lost to an ankle injury for the rest of the series.
*LeBron James
(Round 1, Game 3 at Indiana)
-There's a reason they call him a king. LeBron James once again proved his otherworldly status by bringing back the Cavaliers from down 26 to win 119-114. With the Cavs struggling to get stops, Tyronn Lue opted to go with a better defensive unit and took Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love out of the game in the 3rd. What would follow seemed straight out of the NBA Jam video game as LeBron instantly caught heat, leading the Cavaliers to a 35 point quarter. He would finish the game with 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists on 51% shooting while also shooting 50% from 3. And if you need one more impressive stat, LeBron scored or assisted on 73 points!
*Kevin Durant
(NBA Finals, Game 3 at Cleveland)
-This performance is still fresh in our minds and it actually snuck up on me. Kevin Durant had waited until the 4th quarter to get his first bucket of the second half. I even tweeted we needed to fill out a missing person's report for the guy who in the first 2 games had scored 71 points alone. Kevin Durant has been my favorite player since he was at Texas and I had seen him make some epic clutch shots, but none were bigger than this one. With less than a minute left, Durant took the ball and came up court for a pull up 3 over LeBron James that gave the Warriors a 1 point lead over the defending champions. While this shot will turn out to be a career defining moment, KD also put up 31 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to go with 8 rebounds and 4 assists to bring the Warriors back and take a 3-0 advantage in the NBA Finals.
*John Wall vs Isaiah Thomas
(Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 2, Boston vs Washington)
-I think John Wall has had better performances in these playoffs, but the reason I picked this game was because it was an epic point guard duel with Isaiah Thomas putting up a career performance in the game. John Wall had the edge on IT all night, coming down and attacking the heart of the Celtics to finish with 40 points. However, IT would not be denied as he outscored Wall 29-5 in the fourth quarter and overtime period. Thomas was brilliant in the fourth, scoring 11 points in the first 5 minutes of the period. Wall started the game off hot, scoring 19 points in the first half, accounting for 33 of the Wizards' 42 points. He also added 13 assists to his final stat line. IT finished with a Celtics playoffs franchise record of 53 points.
*Mike Conley vs Kawhi Leonard
(Round 1, Game 4, Memphis vs San Antonio)
-Mike Conley has long been recognized as one of the league's most underrated players. The Grizzlies gave him the richest deal in NBA History this past offseason and people went nuts. Regardless of your feelings on the deal, Conley showed his worth that night as he put up 35 points on 56% shooting to go with 9 rebounds and 8 assists all while trading buckets with Kawhi Leonard, who finished with 43 and kept the Spurs in the game. Marc Gasol's tip in game winner also over shadowed Conley's big performance for many who had not watched the entire game, but Conley went off to help keep the Grizzlies in the series.
*Kevin Durant
(Western Conference Semifinals, Game 3 at Utah)
-The atmosphere in this game was electric. The Jazz started this game off slow but went into halftime with a 50-49 lead. Stephen Curry was pretty much held in check, only scoring 23 points on 6/20 shooting. The Jazz took a brief 75-74 lead with the crowd going bat shit insane and then Kevin Durant demanded the ball. Durant had already put up an impressive 22 in the first half, but he was far from finished. Durant and Curry hit back to back 3's to give the Dubs the lead they never let go of. The Jazz, who put up their best game of the series, were simply not enough to stop an aggressive, attacking Durant who finished the game with 38 points and 13 rebounds. This game further proved why the Warriors were simply unfair with Durant as the Splash Bros combined to go 7/29 from the field.
*Kyrie Irving
(Eastern Conference Finals, Game 4 vs Boston)
-Oddly, the Celtics were playing much better without star point guard Isaiah Thomas and were even able to steal Game 3 on the Cavaliers home court. In Game 4, it seemed like the Celtics were on their way to stealing another one, holding a 10 point lead at the half. But that bad, bad man affectionately known as Uncle Drew, would not allow it. Playing on a tender ankle with LeBron James on the bench in foul trouble sounds like a recipe for disaster right? Wrong. Irving caught instant fire, scoring 21 points in the third quarter. This included a 19 point stretch in less than 5 minutes and 33 in 19 minutes. He made 6 straight lay ups, two 3's and a free throw in a span of 4:48 then came down and hit another 3 pointer in the closing second of the quarter. Overall he finished with 42 points on 68% shooting.
-Ameen
Tagged under: Brock Lesnar, Great Balls Of Fire, Paul Heyman, Samoa Joe, Samoa Joe vs Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins, WWE, WWE Universal Title
By @TrueGodImmortal
Samoa Joe. The Samoan Destruction Machine. Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate. We've got a dream match happening soon, and it's been years in the making it feels like. Brock Lesnar, one of the biggest names in the WWE right now, is the Universal Champion, though you might not even realize it (he's never around). Samoa Joe is one of the most dangerous names in wrestling period and a top tier performer. Together, they are essentially two trains ready to crash into each other head on. There's a lot of great matches that Brock could have with his limited yet more frequent schedule this year, but the name that has always stuck out to me was Samoa Joe. That was the most realistic dream match for him in terms of a matchup. While Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and others are a bit too small, and guys like Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns aren't the best performers overall, it is fitting that a dangerous wrestler like Joe matches up with an equally dangerous competitor in Brock. It's the perfect storm.
I remember when WWE was trying to sell Brock vs Reigns, this is the match they were wishing for it to be. As the odds were given for the fatal 5 way contest at Extreme Rules, many suspected another Reigns victory unnecessarily, or maybe even a Finn Balor win as Heyman had put him over in a promo weeks prior to the event. However, as I mentioned on my Extreme Rules preview, I preferred seeing Samoa Joe winning to give us a dream match we had wished for. As Samoa Joe locked in his choke hold on Finn Balor late in the match, I watched as Finn faded away and Joe won the match cleanly with no interference. This set Joe on a collision course with Brock, and the excitement was reaching the highest point possible. The build would begin this Monday on RAW and it was as exciting as any build I've witnessed in a while on RAW.
The build, with Joe as the clear cut heel is perfect and it's already kicked off the right way with the fallout on RAW. With Joe in the ring cutting a promo, he was interrupted by Paul Heyman, who was there to send what could essentially be seen as a warning. Joe stopped the promo halfway through and slowly walks up to Heyman and away the mic tells him exactly what he's about to do. Joe then chokes out Heyman to send a message to Brock and warn him of what is to come. This was executed perfectly, as Joe sending a message to Brock now makes him the aggressor and Heyman is rarely ever touched in this era, so it was special. Heyman would be seen making a call to Brock on his phone (Brock is saved in his phone as BROCK), and Brock was confirmed to be on RAW for next week, signaling a future confrontation in the works.
With Monday approaching again so fast, it's no wonder that the WWE Universe is abuzz about this potential classic main event. Brock hasn't been made to look vulnerable against an actual good competitor since he came back to WWE, and after odd feuds with John Cena, The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, and Goldberg, this is the exact challenge that Brock needs to revitalize himself going forward with the last year of his contract. Make no mistake about it, yes, Brock is a huge star, but he's been extremely lazy and Joe is not the guy that you want to be lazy against. He's a striker, a pure fighter, and he's believable with everything he does. If Brock can bring fear based on his size and strength, Joe can strike fear via his aggression and his menacing demeanor. These two are the perfect opponents for each other and this match is long overdue in a big way.
When Joe arrived in the WWE, the main opponent that I saw him going against was Brock. Two behemoths against each other, with suplexes, chokes, and pure aggression and strength. It was a match made in heaven (or hell). Now, as they get set for their match at the horribly titled PPV Great Balls Of Fire, we have to wonder what type of match we will see from these two. Will we see a brutal and bloody contest? We will see a glorified squash like most of Brock's matches? We will see a true classic, with mat holds, submissions, and actual skill? One has to wonder what these men have up their sleeve, but I only hope Brock takes this match seriously and shows up. As we've seen in the CM Punk match and the triple threat with Rollins and Cena, a focused Brock can put on some great matches. I'd like to see Joe win the title and become an actual wrecking force, but there's actually a chance that WWE still keeps the belt on Brock for absolutely no reason and allow him to hold it until Mania 34 where he will sadly drop it to Roman Reigns. Let's hope WWE realizes how stupid of a plan this is, and decides to shock the world by pulling the trigger on a Samoa Joe WWE Universal Title run. Brock can stand to take a loss in his final contract year, and Joe needs to momentum of a big win and a title reign allows us to have the Universal Champion around weekly again. Regardless of the outcome, Samoa Joe vs Brock Lesnar will be a huge match, and I'm just glad WWE is actually giving this long awaited match to us.
-True
