Best chances at the NBA title? Rockets make it a threesome
“Everyone says it’s a 2-team race for the NBA championship – Lakers and Clippers. But I think it’s a 3-team race. The Rockets are in it. There’s never gonna be a basketball game where James Harden isn’t the best player at his position. There’s never gonna be a game where Russell Westbrook isn’t 1, 2 or 3 at his position.”
Kenny Smith, TNT Inside the NBA
“Kudos to James Harden for saying, ‘Russ, this is your game, they’re gonna double-cover me.’”
Shaq O’Neal, Inside the NBA, after Westbrook’s 40-point game Thursday against the LA Clippers
Giannis shooting lights-out
“Giannis (Antetokounmpo) has been working with Kyle Korver who’s one of the greatest shooters ever. Giannis plays hard and he plays with joy. We’re so lucky he’s going to be the face of the NBA for the next 10 years. The rumors have started about when he’s going to be a free agent. I hate when that stuff happens. Let him enjoy Milwaukee, which is a great city.”
Charles Barkley, Inside the NBA
Lonzo is ‘a bust’
“Lonzo Ball is not a superstar and he’s not a star. He was the No. 2 overall pick with high expectations from his father and everybody else. He’s a bust. He’s not having the production you should get from the No. 2 pick.”
Kendrick Perkins, ESPN The Jump
Trae Young is too selfish
“Trae Young needs to learn how to make other players better. From the point guard position you can’t just get your numbers.”
Charles Barkley
Jameis turns his career around despite turnovers
“In the last week the narrative has changed completely on Jameis Winston. It went from ‘What do the Bucs do with him next year?’ to ‘How in the world do they not bring him back?’ He’s the first ever with back to back 450-yard passing games in the regular season.”
Mike Florio, NBCS Pro Football Talk
Wade Phillips deserves some blame
“The Rams defense was so bad in Dallas and has had some other clunkers this year. But Wade Phillips is such a beloved figure in NFL circles that he never gets criticized when his defense is hot garbage. When they do well, it’s because Wade Phillips is a genius. When they don’t do well, it’s ‘the offense didn’t show up today.’”
Mike Florio
Previously Posted
“Tom Coughlin was planning to leave the Jaguars after the season, with the grievance rulings against him this week and all these former players and current players piling on him. I was told he would make an announcement next week. But they wouldn’t let him walk away. They ran him out the door, showed no respect for what he’s done over the course of his career.”
Mike Florio
“We saw with Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren and now with Tom Coughlin that you can’t take a guy who’s a football coach for decades and tell him to be an executive for a team and expect him not to be a football coach. There was no way a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach was going to put that bag down. They should have made him the coach because he’s going to act like the coach anyway, and after three years everything is going to be turned upside-down.”
Mike Florio
“From what I heard at the time about Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren is that they wanted to add their two cents with the coaching staffs that were working for them: ‘I would have done this’ or ‘You might think about doing this.’ They weren’t letting the coach feel comfortable about putting his own stamp on the team. Too many cooks in the kitchen.”
Chris Simms, Pro Footballl Talk
Cole facing pressures Clemens couldn’t handle
“I don’t think there’s another free-agent pitcher the Yankees have brought in who’s facing the pressure Gerrit Cole is, simply because the predominant narrative has been that we’re not qualifying the success of this signing by one championship but by multiple championships. Roger Clemens came here after back to back 20-wins in Toronto, and it was too much for him.”
Bruce Schein, MLB Network’s High Heat, referring to Clemens’ 4.60 ERA in his first year as a Yankee
“The commute across the country is a bit challenging, but my family in California is excited and supportive. They’re looking forward to spending time in Manhattan and going to some World Series games, hopefully. . . . I’ve dealt with great expectations. I came out of college as the overall No. 1 pick, and that’s pressure you never shed. I’m living a dream right now.”
Gerrit Cole, interviewed on High Heat
Rays of hope
“The Tampa Bay Rays are pesky and very underrated. The Yankees to me have the best pitching 1 to 13, but the Rays are a close second. They had some injuries in their rotation and still took the Astros to Game 5.”
John Smoltz, on High Heat
No passing the Bucks in the East
“Milwaukee has separated itself from the rest of the Eastern Conference. Giannis is the MVP so far. He’s improved. He’s making 3’s. He’s more aggressive than he was last year. But to beat the Lakers or the Clippers the Bucks are probably going to have to make another trade.”
Charles Barkley, on ESPN Pardon the Interruption
Snubbing the Pro Bowl
“Here’s what I think of Pro Bowl snubs: The Pro Bowl is a joke of a sports event. Nobody wants to play in it. Tom Brady has been voted to the Pro Bowl 14 times. You know how many times he’s gone? Twice. As he said last year, ‘Do you think I do all this bleep to make Pro Bowls?’”
Peter King, Pro Football Talk
“Tyler Eifert went to the Pro Bowl, broke his ankle and has never been the same. It cost him millions of dollars.”
Chris Simms
Wentz making MVP plays on his own
“I think public perception about Carson Wentz has changed in the last couple of weeks. People realize his supporting cast is so underwhelming, but he makes drives happen when they’re needed. He has MVP capabilities; they just need to get a weapon or two for him.”
Chris Simms
