The Knicks are the #2 Seed!

 

For the first time since the 2012-2013 season, the Knicks have achieved the 50 win total and lock up the number 2 seed in the Eastern Conference! A total rollercoaster ride of a season for New York with tons of devastating injuries and obstacles overcame each and every game day. 

The Knicks came into the season with a very similar team from their 2nd round exit team just a season ago with a couple of minor additions. Then about 30 games into the season the Knicks totally changed the dynamic of their season by trading away two cornerstone pieces, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. OG Anunoby and Precious Achiwua was the return and they have made their impact well known. 

Anunoby has not been as healthy as the Knicks imagined he would be, but in the 23 games he played the Knicks won 20 of them. Having him healthy in the playoffs as the defensive catalyst and the dominant offensive player he is, is vital towards this team's success. 

The offseason add, that seemed small at the time, of Donte DiVincenzo now looks like one of the biggest steals of this past free agency. DiVincenzo ended the season top 3 in the league for the most three pointers made and average around 16 points per game as the team's starting shooting guard. Nicknamed Divo, Donte has turned into one of my favorite players as well on this year's Knickerbockers. 

The Knicks also made a trade deadline deal to acquire Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic. At the time I was very excited to land two veterans that would give this team very good minutes and shoot the ball very well, but my expectations were wrong. Bogdanovic has come on to play efficiently as of late, but Burks has been a total disappointment to the point where he has been benched. Bogdanovic playing good minutes will be key towards this team's success. 

As the #2 seed, the Knicks will take on the #7 seed, the Philadelphia 76ers. This is a bit of a tough matchup for the Knicks because of the stars which the Sixers have. The Sixers could have been a much higher seed, but the long-term injury to Embiid dropped them very far in the East. Luckily for the Knicks, after watching the Sixers play-in game, Embiid still does not look 100 percent healthy. 

If the Knicks can attack Embiid's vulnerability and capitalize, then they can easily win this series. The Sixers without Embiid have been horrific and having him off the court on the bench will be key. Ultimately, I think the Knicks have a good shot to win this series. Many people are portraying them as the underdog although they are the 2 seed. The series starts tomorrow at the World's Most Famous Arena. 

The Best Time of the Year!

 

The best time of the year is upon us as the madness is beginning as we enter mid-March with all of the power 5 conference tournaments about to get underway. The craziness will continue until the end of March and I am all here for it. 

It is going to be another year where the number next to each team's name DOES NOT matter. The regular season and the NCAA tournament are two completely different seasons from one another. Once your team makes the tournament, they start off fresh and have the same record as everyone else, 0-0. 

We saw it last year with the record amount of upsets taking place and I believe that trend will continue into 2024. In 2023 we had a 4 seed, two 5 seeds, and a 9 seed in the Final Four. Now it might not get as crazy as that, but expect there to be some chaos because there is always chaos in March. 

I believe it is going to come down to the team that is able to knock down the three pointer at a high percentage and play above average defense as well. Being able to combine these factors is what it is going to take to survive in this tournament and if you can do one but not the other then your stay in March will be short lived. 

We saw a #16 seed upset a #1 seed and a #15 get all the way to the Sweet Sixteen last year along with many other surprises. If this tournament is anything like last year's, buckle up because the madness is about to ensue. 

Deadline Wishlist for the Knicks

The NBA Trade Deadline is just days away and many teams are in need of making a move including the New York Knicks. The Knicks have been one of the hottest teams of late, being 9-1 in their last 10 games, but they are not anywhere near perfect as a roster just yet. 

The Knicks already made one of the biggest trades in the NBA this season when they acquired OG Anunoby from Toronto, but their next move needs to be centered around acquiring another shooter that can play valuable minutes off the bench. 

Once the Knicks are fully healthy again, they have a tremendous starting lineup, but ever since they traded away RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, and also with multiple injuries, their depth has been tested. The only way you can be successful as a team in the NBA is to be able to knock down 3's at a highly consistent rate. 

The perfect guy that comes to mind for the Knicks, who fits Tom Thibodeau's wishlist, is Bruce Brown. Bruce Brown has emerged as a great player throughout his brief time in the NBA and is not only a great defender but is also a decent shooter. Brown was just traded to the Raptors and is currently on a $22.5 million contract so it would take at least a guy like Evan Fournier, who the Knicks are more than willing to give up, to get him. 

Another guy that I have missed since he departed the Knicks a couple of years ago is Alec Burks. Burks is currently on the Pistons and is a lights out shooter. One of the most important things to have as a team besides good three-point shooting is chemistry. Burks is very familiar with a handful of the current Knicks on the team and would make the team chemistry even better than what it is now. Thibs loves bringing in his former guys so maybe we will see Alec back in the orange and blue. 

My third option who I believe would also be great for the Knicks is Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon is currently on a struggling and young Blazers team that is pretty likely to move him at the trade deadline. Brogdon is not only a great shooter, but a former Boston Celtic until recently when he was traded in the Jrue Holiday deal. His knowledge on the game plan of the Celtics would be an underrated aspect of what he could contribute to the Knicks. 

There have been many rumors circling around the Knicks and LeBron James and while I don't think anything is going to happen here, I would be disappointed if the Knicks went out and landed him. Sure he is one of the best players of all time and is still thriving at age 39, but he totally changes the dynamic of what this team really is. 

This team is built around young guys who love to hustle and fit the Thibs game plan and LeBron would alter that. The other guys that I mentioned don't really change the dynamic of the team too much because they are exactly the types of pieces Tom Thibodeau desires. The time to go after a superstar is in the offseason, not while you are currently one of the hottest teams in the NBA. 

I would consider it a successful trade deadline if the Knicks go out and get a guy like those three that I mentioned that can both shoot the ball at a good percentage and hustle back on defense. I would prefer one of those three guys compared to others, but any move could be beneficial. While I believe it would be vital for the Knicks to make a trade, I would not be surprised if they stand pat come Thursday evening. 

Only Four Teams Remain

The NFC and AFC Championships have been determined and we are down to the final four teams in the NFL Playoffs for a chance at the Super Bowl. Both championships feature the #3 seeds taking on the #1 seeds. 

In the NFC, the Lions after beating the Buccaneers at home head to Santa Clara to face the 49ers who just narrowly defeated the Packers in the divisional round. The Lions have had their best season in over three decades and they are looking to reach their first ever Super Bowl in the history of the franchise. 

The 49ers have been dominant all season on their way to the number 1 seed, but stumbled a bit in the divisional round against the Packers. Early in the game, Deebo Samuel went down with an injury and after the Niners lost him they did not look like their normal selves. Whether Deebo can play or not will have a huge impact in determining the outcome of this one. 

In the AFC, the Chiefs after just escaping Buffalo with a thrilling victory will head to Baltimore to take on the #1 seeded Ravens. The Ravens trounced the Texans in the Divisional Round and people across the NFL are continuing to say that it is the Ravens year. But they will have to face Patrick Mahomes for a chance to go to Vegas for the Super Bowl. 

Mahomes, who just played in his first true road playoff game, will play in his first road AFC Championship game after making it for the sixth consecutive year. The Chiefs have not looked like their dominant teams of the past this season, but they looked scary in their win in Buffalo. There are many people that you can never doubt or bet against in the sport and Patrick Mahomes is definitely one of those guys. 

Both of these games should be great with major storylines coming into them. I think that the Ravens will put an end to the Chiefs run and advance to the Super Bowl and if everyone is healthy for the 49ers, I predict them to advance as well. If my predictions are correct, we will have a rematch of Super Bowl 47 in which the Ravens took down the 49ers in New Orleans. Will history repeat itself? We will see this weekend. 

A Rematch of Chiefs vs Bills

 

For the third time in the past four seasons, the Chiefs will take on the Bills in the playoffs, but this time in Buffalo. This will be Patrick Mahomes' first ever road playoff game and it will take place in front of Bills Mafia in upstate New York. 

The Chiefs took the first two playoff matchups in both 2020 and 2022 at Arrowhead. We will once again get to see a rematch between two of the best quarterbacks in the sport: Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. 

These two teams faced off earlier in the season in one of the most highly criticized games the entire year. It resulted in a Bills victory in Arrowhead, but only due to an offsides call on Chiefs that negated a game-winning touchdown for them. The Chiefs were furious because it had nothing to do with the play on the field, but the referees made the right call. 

That win for the Bills allowed them not only to just make the playoffs, but also get the #2 seed and home-field advantage in this matchup as well. The ripple effect that the outcome of that game played was humongous for the Bills. 

The Bills will be riding a 7-game winning streak into this highly-contested matchup, being arguably the hottest team in the NFL. The Chiefs, on the other hand, have not looked like their normal selves on the offensive side of the ball all season, but in their wild card matchup against the Dolphins, they seemed to have flipped a switch. 

The rivalry between Mahomes and Allen has been compared and very similar to the rivalry that used to be between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Always meeting in the later rounds of the AFC Playoffs and Brady like Mahomes usually came out with the victory. Josh Allen has the chance to flip this script on Sunday with a massive win at Orchard Park. 

The Bills have been fun to watch and are my favorite to win this game, but there is just something about Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs where you just can't ever count him out. Will Allen get his first playoff win over the Chiefs on Sunday, or will Mahomes continue to dominate this so far one-sided rivalry?

Packers Move Onto San Francisco

 

Just a couple of days ago, the Packers stormed into AT&T Stadium and demolished the Dallas Cowboys in a huge upset. They now move onto San Francisco to take on the 49ers in the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs. 

Everyone had very low expectations for the Packers coming into this season as it would be their first year in over a decade and a half without Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback. It would be Jordan Love taking over the helm and that came with a bunch of critics. 

Love has taken over the job with ease, leading the Packers to a postseason appearance and a huge upset over Dallas in the first round. Love has shown that he has the potential to be the next great Packers quarterback like the ones before him. 

This year was supposed to be a "rebuild" for the Packers after losing Aaron Rodgers and also being the youngest team in the league. In fact, the Packers are one of the youngest teams of all time to ever make the playoffs. They also made history as the first ever #7 seed to win a playoff game in the NFL Playoffs. 

Jordan Love has been proving his doubters wrong left and right but he also has developed a really good supporting staff as well, most notably Aaron Jones. Jones returned to his home state of Texas and put up three touchdowns against the Cowboys to propel the Pack to a huge victory. 

Outside of Jones, there are really no other household names on this young Packers offense and most of the guys that are surrounding Jordan Love are either rookies or second year players. The way that the Packers have been built and what competition they have been faced with makes their achievements even better. 

They will have a tough task of heading to Santa Clara this weekend to take on the 49ers, but they just marched into Dallas and shocked a lot of people, so what's stopping them from doing it again? As their star cornerback, Jaire Alexander, said, "the Pack is back."

Preview of Dolphins vs Chiefs

The Miami Dolphins head over to Kansas City this weekend to take on the Chiefs in what might be one of the coldest games in NFL history. The Dolphins are used to playing in warm, sunny weather down in South Florida, so this may play a huge factor in determining the outcome of this game. 

Adding onto the weather conditions, the Dolphins are 0-10 in the last 10 games they have played where the weather is 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less, once again not doing them any favors. 

This game is a rematch from earlier in the season when these two teams matched up across the pond in Germany. The Chiefs took down the Dolphins by a score of 21-14 in Tyreek Hill's first game taking on his former team. He will have another chance to face them Saturday Night, but this time its in Arrowhead. 

The Dolphins finished the season in horrible fashion after losing the division to the Buffalo Bills. With just five weeks left in the regular season, the Dolphins lead the division by three games and controlled their own destiny to the #2 seed. 

But with some brutal losses down the stretch, they were unable to wrap up their first division title since 2008 and now have to head to one of the worst environments to play in as a road team in sports. And to add onto all of this, they will have to face Patrick Mahomes as well. 

This will be the first time in the playoffs where Mahomes and the Chiefs did not secure home-field advantage throughout the entire playoffs. The Chiefs had a bit of a down year with their offense taking a huge plummet from their Super Bowl season a year ago, but it was their defense that was very impressive. 

The defense lead by Chris Jones put up some phenomenal numbers this season and bailed out the struggling offense at some critical points. The Chiefs defense will have the tough job of trying to contain Tyreek Hill, but at the same time the rest of the Dolphins offense is far from healthy. 

There are still question marks on the status of Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Waddle for Saturday, and Tyreek Hill himself is not even 100 percent healthy it seems like as well. Miami is very banged up on both sides of the ball, losing a lot of key players on the defense to season-ending injuries. 

It seems like all signs are pointing to the Chiefs advancing to the next round in this one. I believe they will come out of this tundra of a game with the victory but in close fashion. I don't understand how these players will be able to sustain themselves in this weather but I'm looking forward to seeing how this game turns out come Saturday Night.