It’s hard to look at this team with all of these close wins to inferior opponents and come away looking at the Hoosiers as a national title contender. With that on the table, there is something to be said about winning the game you’re playing that week. Playing the game in front of you and being able to win consistently is the mark of a great team, and contrary to what the SEC media mafia wants you to believe the Big Ten isn’t a conference of gimme games. Northwestern, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Michigan are all tough football teams with quality defenses- the idea that Indiana should be covering 20 point spreads against these teams or else there are major questions about the program is as absurd as any of the discourse to come out of the football program since Coach Cignetti touched down in Bloomington.

         This year’s Hoosiers are nothing if not clutch. Most football teams simply aren’t scoring again down three with 19 seconds to go. That being said, most teams also don’t have Charlie Becker. I believe that Charlie Becker is going to make both an NFL General Manager and starting quarterback very happy. On Saturday, Becker put on a superhuman performance that included two key catches down the stretch- catches that were not only incredibly clutch but demonstrated a high level of skill that should be quickly turning the heads of NFL General managers. The first catch was about as clutch of a play as you can see from a wide receiver (the next play Becker made is the most clutch you can be at the position). Becker ran a vertical route up the left sideline before contorting his body and keeping his eye on the ball all while positioning himself perfectly behind the defensive back to get just enough space to catch the football. This was a catch straight out of a Julio Jones highlight tape and gave the Hoosiers just enough room for Paddy McAteer to drill a 60 yard field goal, breaking the program record for longest made kick.

         Becker’s second clutch play down the stretch was on the first play of overtime. Becker runs a sluggo route, creating about a yard of separation on the break, and strolling into the end zone to catch a beautiful ball from Grant Wilson. Speaking of Grant Wilson, he came in in relief of Josh Hoover in the second half, creating a potential quarterback controversy for the Indiana Football coaching staff to sort through during the bye week. Hoover’s looked off this year, but has been particularly bad since a shoulder injury he sustained in the Ohio State game. Curt Cignetti finally had enough after a first half that included an interception and 42% completion percentage from Hoover and opted to start Grant Wilson for the second half of the game. The Hoosiers have a bye week to work out who will be starting in the USC game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Wilson is named the starter for the rest of the season if Hoover’s injury continues to nag him.

       Indiana’s special teams were the real mark of this game, both the peak and the valley for the Hoosiers. The valley of course came with the performance when Nico Radicic was on the field- I don’t want to put it all on him, as there was a bumbled hold that led to a turnover on one of his kicks, but independent of that kick he was still 2/4 with both a miss and a blocked kick. With a sixty yard kick necessary to force overtime, Curt Cignetti opted to send out Paddy McAteer to try the sixty yarder. McAteer is a kickoff specialist and is supposed to be the guy Indiana puts in on longer range field goals. Going into the biggest kick of his life, McAteer was 0-2 from 50+ so far this season, a fact that no longer matters when you see the replay of the kick going through the uprights.

        Regardless of how anxious they make their fanbase, the Indiana Hoosiers are once again competing for a spot in the college football playoff. Beating the snot out of everybody is simply lower on the importance ladder than “winning the football game” and it appears that that will be the mentality of Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Hoosiers for the rest of this season.

       There are very few basketball games I’ve been more excited for than Tyrese Haliburton’s return. Tyrese made it fun to be a Pacers fan in a way no other player in my lifetime even really comes close to. Being born in 2002 I missed Reggie. The Pacers I grew up rooting for were a mix of extraordinarily compelling and maddeningly consistent year over year. Players like Danny Granger and Paul George were legitimate stars who along with supporting casts with players like David West, George Hill, Roy Hibbert, and Lance Stephenson went to back to back Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014. These Pacers teams were fun, but ultimately had a ceiling named LeBron James, who at the time was at the absolute peak of his powers.

        They followed this with a decade either exiting in the first round or missing the playoffs entirely. There are two high points of these years as a Pacers fan to me. The first is the 2017-18 season. The summer before the Pacers had traded Paul George away after he had expressed a desire to test free agency the following season. With this leverage the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to negotiate a seemingly paltry return for George, sending the Pacers Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in return for their star.

       Going into the 2017-18 season there wasn’t a whole lot of optimism. The team had performed poorly with George and their seemingly-paltry return for their star wasn’t going to put butts in seats. The fact that Oladipo was an Indiana Basketball alumni was a nice story, but nobody expected the actual product on the floor to be anything more than kinda fun. The Pacers that year were more than kinda fun. Indiana was good enough to nab the five seed in the Eastern conference that year, with players like Bojan Bogdanovic, Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, and Darren Collison rounding out the supporting cast for first time all-star Victor Oladipo. This team went toe to toe with LeBron James in the first round that season, it was really fun. This was maybe the best example of the Pacers overperforming relative to their high end talent, something that had become a feature of Pacers basketball over last few seasons prior to 2017-18, and would continue until the trade deadline of the 2022 season.

       The 2018-19 season was looking pretty good too- the Pacers had a new core in place with Domantas Sabonis taking a step towards the player he would eventually become, and Victor Oladipo was voted into his second allstar game that year. In January of this season, just weeks before the All Star break, Oladipo went down with a tear of the right quadriceps tendon, and just like that his era of Pacers basketball was finished. Over the following two seasons, Oladipo would appear in only 28 games for Indiana, before being unceremoniously shipped to Houston.

       With the snap of a finger two Pacers that the state had embraced fully were gone, both after gruesome leg injuries, both after embracing the city, and both after reneging on that original embrace for greener pastures. They missed the playoffs in 2021, and used that offseason as an opportunity to bring back former head coach Rick Carlisle who had grown tired of babysitting Luka Doncic.

       The 21-22 Pacers were bad- like really bad for the first time in my fan-life. Although terrible, the 21-22 Pacers had finally picked the “rebuilding” option as opposed to maximizing whatever assets they had to compete for a first round playoff exit. At the deadline that year they traded Allstar Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, and Justin Holiday to Sacramento for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson.

        I got this news in a college lecture hall. I’ll always remember looking down at my phone and realizing MY Indiana Pacers had committed highway robbery. At the time DeAaron Fox was the lead guard in Sacramento and seemed like a better “win now” trade candidate for most teams. The Pacers, who were finally more interested in taking some time to build a contender jumped at the opportunity to swap Sabonis for Tyrese Haliburton as opposed to Fox. Sabonis, while an excellent player and one of my favorite Pacers of all time, had hit his ceiling as a number one option in Indiana. Tyrese Haliburton was still weeks away from his 22nd birthday but had showcased an interesting scoring and playmaking skillset that if built around properly could be the catalyst of a high intensity offense year in and year out for the next decade and beyond.

           The Pacers finished that season 25-57 and took Benedict Mathurin with their first single-digit first round pick since selecting George McCloud seventh overall in the 1989 draft. The Pacers were bad, but they were building. 2022-23 was a similar story- a young building team working out their identity for the future. The Pacers won ten more games this season finishing 35-47 and with the seventh overall pick.

         The following year the Pacers had finally arrived to compete with Tyrese Haliburton leading the charge. Midway through this season the Pacers made a deal for Pascal Siakam, upgrading the quality of Haliburton’s offensive arsenal. This team had my second favorite Pacers playoff run ever, only being surpassed by the team’s performance the following year.

         I take a special joy in watching the teams I love beat New York. New Yorkers, due to their ubiquity in all other aspects of American culture (their fucking mayoral election got national media coverage last year), genuinely believe that their sports fandom is more important than the rest of the country- their minds cannot understand that sports culture exists across the entire planet and isn’t specific to just their city. The mind of a New Yorker cannot possibly comprehend why they should believe a team from an unimportant place like Indiana could equal their mighty Knicks- after all there’s no Wall Street in Indiana, no place to get a breakfast sandwich, Annie Hall doesn’t take place there, and Andy Warhol was shot in Manhattan not Westfield. Watching their brains break when a bunch of lowdown hicks (that make the same tens of millions as their players do just in the Midwest) dog walk their Knicks is one of my greatest joys as a sports fan, and there’s nothing Tyrese Haliburton enjoys more than beating the Knicks.

         The Pacers sent the Bucks and Knicks packing, before being swept out of the playoffs by the eventual champs in Boston. A fluke? Maybe, but the bones of a really good basketball team were there and the pacers were happy to prove their doubters wrong the next year.

        The 2025 playoffs featured one of the single greatest playoff runs I’ve ever seen by an individual player. Tyrese Haliburton decided multiple times throughout this run that the Pacers simply wouldn’t be losing that night. Haliburton had four clutch shots fall for him in this run, the most iconic being his step back to tie the game and send it to overtime in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers would win that game and the series, putting Haliburton at 5-1 for his career in playoff series entering the 2025 NBA Finals.

         To be totally honest I should’ve had more faith going into the 2025 Finals. I thought that while great and clearly playing with hot hands, the Pacers would likely lose in five or six against an Oklahoma City team whose only real test in the playoffs that year up to that point was a Nikola Jokic Denver team. They were making good basketball teams look pedestrian, and I wasn’t sure what the Pacers could do with them.

          I’ve never been more glad to be wrong. The Pacers went up 2-1 on OKC, including a game one victory that featured the fourth clutch shot of the playoff run from Haliburton. Although the Thunder responded in games four and five to take a 3-2 lead, there was no quit in the Pacers. The Pacers tied it up in game six and before I get into game seven I have to take an aside.

        Game seven coincided with the last day of a Bachelor party I was on. We had rented the Airbnb through the 23rd but had originally planned to depart the 22nd. Being that we were all big Pacers fans and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch our team win a championship together we decided to stick around and leave in the morning. Before the game we walked over to get ice cream, and having mistimed it slightly we were missing the tipoff. No big deal, it would be a close game and we’d be back before the first quarter had ended. Somebody pulled up YouTube tv on their phone and my closest friends and I watched in horror as our franchise’s savior and the man who appeared to be the luckiest person alive went down with a non-contact injury. We all knew it was a torn Achilles immediately- we knew he was playing with a calf strain he had sustained in game five, and being big basketball fans across the board we all remembered Kevin Durant tearing his Achilles in the 2019 finals while playing through a very similar injury.

       It was heartbreaking. We had all watched as Tyrese Haliburton had elevated himself into all-time playoff performer conversations, only for it to end like that?? It wasn’t fair to him and we all knew it. He deserved to hoist the Larry that year, or at the very least go down fighting. Instead he had to watch from the locker room as the ship he had been steering careened into an iceberg.

       But he’s back now. Through three games this year he’s averaging just under 22 points and 10 assists per game. There’s a lot to be said about a “get right game” and that’s what game one against the Pelicans this year was for Tyrese. Haliburton dropped 13 in the fourth quarter including a teardrop go ahead shot with just over a minute to go that gave the Pacers the lead. Just like his shot in the Eastern Conference Finals two seasons ago, this one also bounced off the back iron before falling in. It felt almost like a way for a higher power to say “Welcome back Tyrese,” and it’s the most genuinely excited I’ve been for regular-season NBA basketball in years.

         Game one he was back like he never left. Yesterday he bounced a lob to himself for a dunk. On Wednesday he might have fifteen assists. There’s a lot to be said about how bad last year was, but having Tyrese back makes it feel like it almost doesn’t matter. Tyrese loves Indiana and Indiana loves Tyrese- welcome back 0

        Although it initially appeared to be an unfortunate freak injury, several reports have come out indicating a harrowing level of medical malpractice from the Philadelphia Eagles, that could lead to legitimate legal consequences for them, and legitimate career consequences for Jalen Hurts.

         Following the timeline that NFL insider Ari Meirov released on Monday, there were quite a few issues with the way Philadelphia handled Jalen Hurts’ availability over the last several weeks. First off, Jalen Hurts was cleated in the leg during Philadelphia’s week four loss to the Rams. This is the inflection point of the whole mess- Jalen Hurts catching that cleat was the likely cause of the superficial blood clot that was found a few days later before the Eagles were set to take on the Jaguars in London.

       The “Superficial” diagnosis is important here, as it describes clotting that happens in “superficial” veins, or the veins directly under the skin. While treatable with blood thinners, that would’ve required Philadelphia to catch this condition early, or not do any of the following things I’m about to describe.

       First off Jalen Hurts should’ve been benched against Jacksonville. Having already flown from Philadelphia to London, the Eagles had already put Jalen Hurts at risk according to the “Athlete-Specific Risk Factors” listed on the National Blood Clot Alliance’s website. Hurts was also told to avoid sleeping in the lead up to the game with some reports indicating he was up for approximately 36 straight hours before playing in the Eagle’s 19-17 loss to Jacksonville.

       According to Meirov’s timeline of events the Eagles then took an eight hour flight back to Philadelphia, again putting their franchise quarterback at risk. Hurts was a full participant in practice that week before a follow-up ultrasound showed that the clot had moved. Further testing diagnosed Hurts with deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in BOTH of his lungs.

       And I’m sure more information will come out. So far with what we do know I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned into a real deal lawsuit. There’s a chance Hurts is never able to play football again- blood clots are no joke, and the Eagle’s handling of the situation may prove to be litigation-worthy. The idea of allowing your quarterback to play with a superficial clotting diagnosis, and then allowing him to fly after that seems flagrantly wrong and like something that could come up in future litigation. Jalen Hurts is 28 years old and has earned over $160 million through his NFL career. He could retire tomorrow and be set for life, but he almost certainly doesn’t want that. He’d be leaving hundreds of millions in future earnings on the table by doing that, and that’s where a potential lawsuit comes in. If Jalen Hurts could prove that Philadelphia was liable for their handling of his condition turning a superficial blood clot into deep vein thrombosis, he’d have a major case to take the Eagles for a lot of money.

      There’s a lot to say about Chris Ballard’s time in Indianapolis, and contrary to what the last few years would have you believing he was actually pretty solid for a lot of that tenure. Ballard’s greatest asset as a general manager was his talent for scouting, which in my opinion is the reason he lasted as long as he did. Players like Braden Smith, Bobby Okereke, Julian Blackmon, Isaiah Rodgers, Michael Pittman Jr, Jonathan Taylor, Dayo Odeyingbo, Nick Cross, and Bernard Raimann were all taken outside of the first round and contributed heavily for Indianapolis in their time with the team. Being able to grab a starting left tackle in the third round, or rebuild position groups to a league average level through mid-round draft picks is legitimately impressive and Chris Ballard was great at that. The problem is when that’s the thing you’re best at.

       Talent evaluation and acquisition are important for a general manager for sure, but it’s something that can also be replicated with a smart and resourceful scouting department. It is nearly impossible to build from the ground up just through the draft- you eventually have to take some swings in free agency, or trade future assets to acquire talent, and Ballard always had some issues with that.

       The Buckner trade was probably the best move Chris Ballard made through a trade- he sent Indy’s 2020 13th overall pick to San Francisco for Buckner, and the Colts have gotten consistently excellent play from him. Buckner has anchored the Colts defensive line for the last seven seasons, and been one of a few players (Jonathan Taylor and Quenton Nelson are also in this group) that have managed to make Colts fans believe in the potential of some real mediocre Colts rosters in that span. Outside of the Buckner trade though, Ballard’s trade instincts have been disastrous for the Colts asset pool. In 2021 the Colts sent a 2021 third rounder and a 2022 first rounder to Philadelphia in exchange for Carson Wentz. This pick turned into the sixteenth overall pick which could’ve been used on All-Pro level talents like Tyler Smith or Devon Lloyd, but instead was used to acquire a quarterback who was traded in shame the next offseason.

        The other major swing and miss in the trade department is of course the acquisition of Sauce Gardner last season. Gardner had been one of the best corners in football since coming into the league, but on a rebuilding Jets team his services were no longer needed. Gardner was acquired for wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, the Colts’ 2026 first round pick, and the Colts’ 2027 first round pick. The Colts were 7-2 when they made this trade and proceeded to lose go 1-7 and miss the playoffs, losing two first round picks in the process. Honestly, despite the fact that a lot of this fall had to do with injuries, I thought that this trade would ultimately be the nail in the coffin for Chris Ballard. Finishing as poorly as they did last year and not having a first round pick to use, in combination with not having a first round pick this season was going to be a disaster, and it was only a matter of time before the debt needed to be paid.

       So why did Chris Ballard get such a long leash? Well outside of talent acquisition, his job was always a bit different than the majority of NFL general managers. When he took over the Colts, the team had been as close to run into the ground as a team starting Andrew Luck could be, through Ryan Grigson’s managerial malpractice. For as much as Ballard screwed up, Ryan Grigson did almost nothing correct in his tenure, outside of taking the obvious first overall choice in the 2012 draft. Ballard was playing from behind the second he got to Indianapolis, trying to build infrastructure that hadn’t been built around a player that had been beaten and battered by that lack of care.

          Ballard’s first season at the helm was 2018, one of my favorite seasons to remember as a Colts fan. The team started off 1-5 before rallying to a 10-6 record, winning a playoff game in Houston, and ultimately falling in Kansas City to the first of many excellent Patrick Mahomes teams in the divisional round. Going into 2019, the Colts were legitimate contenders. Ballard had nailed the 2018 draft, drafting defensive rookie of the year Shaquille Leonard, 2018 first team All-Pro Quenton Nelson, and PFWA All-rookie member Braden Smith with his first three picks in that draft. These players represented a foundation that was quickly being built by Chris Ballard for Andrew Luck, who had won Comeback Player of the Year for his performance in 2018.

       Of course this foundation never got a chance to grow, at least around Andrew Luck. Luck opted to retire just weeks before the 2019 season was set to kick off, a devastating blow to a colts team that was +1200 to win the Super Bowl going into that season. People can and have blamed Andrew Luck for this situation, but the fact of the matter is Jim Irsay was just too complacent. He was too late in making a change at General Manager and ultimately sacrificed Andrew Luck’s health to give Ryan Grigson time to right the ship. By the time he brought somebody competent in to build around Luck, his body was simply too beat up to justify playing football for much longer.

        Chris Ballard’s Colts never recovered. You can’t spackle mid round picks into the quarterback room the same way you can with linebackers or offensive guards. You can’t sign veterans or trade for castoffs and expect success at the quarterback position the same way you can with other position groups, and Ballard simply understood that too late. The only real swing he took on a quarterback was Anthony Richardson, who was frequently yanked in and out of the lineup and never got a real chance to develop. Choosing a quarterback that only started 13 college football games and pulling the plug before he even plays his 20th NFL game is developmental malpractice and something that Shane Steichen should be facing equal ridicule for, even though the draft pick ultimately falls on Ballard.

     To me the mark of Chris Ballard’s time in Indianapolis was poor timing. He should’ve gotten more time with Andrew Luck, he should’ve been more aggressive in making a move for Matthew Stafford in the 2021 offseason, he should've been more open to developing a quarterback and not so focused on maximizing a roster that couldn’t succeed without one. I don’t think Chris Ballard is a bad GM- bad GM’s don’t get ten seasons to do their job. I genuinely believe if the timing was a little bit different Chris Ballard’s vision could’ve worked in Indianapolis- unfortunately for him, it’s not in this life.

      Marsh finished the game with six catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns, a performance that not only lights up the box score, but legitimately saved Indiana from being upset in Lincoln. Marsh accounted for the entirety of the late 14 point swing that brought the Hoosiers back from an 11 point deficit with 12 minutes to go. Following an Anthony Colandrea touchdown that put the Huskers up two scores early in the fourth quarter, Josh Hoover hit Nick Marsh over the middle on a slant that Marsh took to the house with some urgency to bring the Cornhusker lead back down to four.

      This play reminded me of something, but it wasn’t until I watched it a few more times and waited a couple days did I put it together- this was an Odell Beckham Junior touchdown. It‘s been a bit overshadowed in the public memory of Odell, who is rightfully more associated with with his all time great ball skills, but there was a time when Odell was the premiere slant runner across the entire NFL. I can’t think of a whole lot of guys that could catch the ball seven or eight yards off the line of scrimmage and then outrun not only the corners playing man, but the safeties playing zone to go 50+ yards for a touchdown. Odell was one of these rare guys, and for the first few seasons of his career he was the best in the league at it.

       The specific play I was thinking of came from a week 14 game from the 2016 season. Late in the third quarter in a 7-3 stalemate with Dallas, New York forced a turnover to put the ball back into Eli Manning’s hands. Manning hits Beckham over the middle and Beckham proceeds to outrun a pack of five Cowboys defenders for the 61 yard touchdown in what ended up being a 10-7 Giants victory.

         Marsh’s first touchdown required a similar level of aggression at the catch point in order to even get hands on the ball, flipped into an immediate acceleration that allowed him to outrun multiple Husker defenders who simply couldn’t keep up. This was an NFL touchdown and a perfect example of how one of the simplest routes in football can be one of the most exciting plays in the sport if you have the right guys executing it.

        Marsh’s second touchdown came off of maybe my favorite play call of the last few years at Indiana. Cignetti broke it down in the press conference describing it as a play that relies on utilizing a tight format in order to misdirect the defenses trying to defend a short yardage run, only to hit a receiver running a downfield route. Indiana had both Nick Marsh and other standout wide receiver Charlie Becker free on this play, with Hoover ultimately hitting Marsh for his second touchdown in less than five minutes of game time. Just like that Indiana went from dangerous upset territory to controlling the game, maintaining that control until the clock hit zeroes for the tough win in Lincoln.

        To be totally honest with you Nick Marsh is the most excited I’ve ever been for an incoming IU football player. Marsh was a fun watch at Michigan State last year and actually scored on Indiana leading to one of my favorite Cignetti broadcast moments ever (see below).

        More than just being good at Michigan state, Nick Marsh hitting the transfer portal and choosing Indiana will to me likely end up being a watershed moment for Indiana’s long term recruiting outlook under Curt Cignetti. Marsh was a standout receiver in the Big Ten who realistically could’ve gone anywhere he wanted- that he chose the Hoosiers was a testament to the turning tides of perception of the program.

       So far I’d say it’s worked out for Nick Marsh. Through six games he’s notched six touchdowns- matching his previous career high in half the games played. He’s legitimately contributed in every single game the Hoosiers have played this season, scoring touchdowns in all but the Western Kentucky game, where he finished with seven receptions for 81 yards. Marsh has been a problem for Big Ten defenses, with he and Charlie Becker being able to draw defenses away from each other to open up looks. Honestly the main issue with Nick Marsh this season hasn’t even been Nick Marsh related- Josh Hoover’s had a lot of misses to start the season, many of which Marsh was the intended target on. Although I do believe it looked a bit better in the second half of the Nebraska game (hence the Marsh Production) until Hoover starts hitting both Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker consistently the Hoosiers will be leaving points on the table.

          Nick Marsh should be one of the first receivers off the board during the 2027 NFL draft, and in a year where it wasn’t an obvious one man race would probably be attracting some attention for the Biletnikoff award. Marsh has fit right in under Cignetti, who ripped him in Spring practice for showing up in gold cleats. Clearly he responds well to environments with high expectations, a trait I’m sure the NFL has taken note of.

           He’ll likely be a mid-late first round addition for whoever selects him, but if I’m a team like Kansas City or Baltimore, I’m doing everything in my power to get my hands on this dude. Marsh is a special player whose NFL-level traits are obvious- he’s going to do very well for himself in the League.

          It isn’t an understatement to say this is perhaps the most import signing Kansas City has made since drafting Mahomes in 2018. Right now Kansas City is unlocking a dimension of offense they have never had in the Patrick Mahomes era. Andy Reid knows how to scheme for a good halfback (see Brian Westbrook and Jamaal Charles), and he knows how to scheme for Patrick Mahomes- it just wasn’t until this season that he’s gotten the opportunity to marry those two things. Sure he can put guys like Isaiah Pacheco and 2025 Kareem Hunt in positions to succeed, but having a guy like Kenneth Walker is a different story entirely.

       Take Walker’s carry at 0:03 as an example- most running backs probably lose their balance after the first tackler and go down. A good running back keeps their balance but is likely brought down from behind by Quay Walker or pushed out of bounds by Nakobe Dean. A great running back jukes Dean to cut back inside but is ultimately unable to overcome the pile of Raiders that swarm when he cuts back inside. Kenneth Walker does everything I just mentioned AND finds a way through the first few tacklers before ultimately being brought down after enough Raiders get enough hands on him to slow him down. It’s like watching somebody try to stop a train with a bunch of Miata’s- sure eventually you’ll probably be able to derail the train, but you’re gonna waste a lot of Miata’s doing it.

        To me these types of plays are why you go out and get Kenneth Walker- most running backs simply aren’t getting more than five or six yards here- Walker got 22. There’s also something demoralizing about it in a way that passing plays almost never are. Sure it’s embarrassing to get burned, but take Josh Norman for example- the play that comes to mind now when most people think of Norman isn’t him getting burned or Mossed- it’s this one. A running play that was offset by flags in the first half of a regular season game is memorable because we saw a dude getting worked one on one by another grown man. Seeing a grown man get worked is one thing, but being the grown man getting worked is another thing entirely. These guys hate missing tackles, they’re professionals! Imagine screwing up at your job in a way that is both professionally and personally embarrassing, and you can’t do a thing about it. Now compound that frustration across an entire defense and that’s just one of the elements of effectiveness Walker brings to the table.

      Right now I think Kenneth Walker is one of several legitimate MVP candidates at his position, and a sure-fire all pro. I’m interested to see just how much better Walker will be able to make Kansas City, but I have a feeling that the ceiling on this team is very high.

      Well on Saturday I think I figured it out. After a brutal late hit on quarterback Dante Moore left him needing to be carted off the field, Dylan Raiola got some unexpected reps in. Raiola has already played some this season, going 11/11 for 124 yards and three passing touchdowns in the Portland State game, coming into the second half after Oregon had already put up seven touchdowns with Dante Moore starting. While he looked excellent, so did everybody else wearing green that day, so I didn’t really put a whole lot of stock into it.

        Saturday afternoon though? I put a lot of stock into that performance. What I saw out of Dylan Raiola Saturday proved to me that heading up north and taking the playing time sacrifice was the right decision for him. First off and most obviously, the infrastructure around Raiola is light years ahead of what he had around him at Nebraska. Going from Matt Rhule to Dan Lanning alone is a major upgrade, but when you factor in the quality of player around him, it’s clear that this factor in his decision was an easy point in Oregon’s favor. Additionally, I think there’s a lot to be said about Raiola knowingly going into a situation where he’s probably not top dog- although Dante Moore was going through the draft process when Raiola committed, he ultimately decided to return to Oregon, and Raiola stayed pat with the ducks. A part of this is advantageous to Raiola. He’s set up nicely to be the starter next season, but it is a double edged sword. To get there he has to first get through a season playing backup, something he has yet to do in his college career. This required him to recognize the value in playing behind somebody for a year, which is a lot for somebody that’s been a heavily touted prospect for years. This is a humbling realization to have for somebody like Raiola, but the fact that he embraced it as opposed to rejecting it and doing what is right for his football career, even if uncomfortable, shows a lot of maturity to me.

     I think that maturity showed through on Saturday. Raiola likely wasn’t expecting to play outside of blowouts this year, and instead he’s thrust into Oregon’s fourth game of the season against the twelfth-ranked team in the country. Raiola came into the second quarter after Dante Moore was carted off. From there Raiola was about as good as a relief quarterback can be- he went 19/25 with 289 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and zero turnovers, and the Ducks handled business with their backup quarterback.

     Early reports updating the public on Dante Moore indicate that he sustained a concussion but avoided anything more major- with Oregon on a bye in week five, Moore could be back to play UCLA on October 10th. With that being said, if his outlook is more concerning and he needs to miss more time than that, Oregon has a poised backup ready to come in and shake things up in the Big 10.

       This game showed me a lot about what Dylan Raiola’s future looks like. If he continues on this trajectory, I think he’ll be a likely Heisman candidate this time next year, and a first round pick in the NFL draft the following spring. Dylan Raiola made a hard decision, but ultimately after seeing his performance in relief of Dante Moore, I think it was the right one.

        I was in a hospital room when I got the news Andrew Luck had retired. My grandmother had recently had a stroke and we were visiting her during recovery. The television was set to the Colts vs Bears preseason game that would later become infamous in Colts history as “the time Adam Shefter scooped Andrew Luck on his own retirement” leading to one of the worst, most awkward press conferences in the history of the league.

        My grandmother moved back into her house weeks after that, but the Colts were never really the same. That season, two quarterbacks started but three guys played- those three guys were Jacoby Brissett (Good), Brian Hoyer, and Jacoby Brissett again (evil this time). They went 7-9 to finish a year that in light of everything left me with some hope.

        They were better than they should’ve been with the quarterback retiring just weeks before the season started, so if the quarterback situation is fixed the colts will surely be back to winning in no time! As I was saying that, somewhere a monkey’s paw curled. That offseason the Colts went out and got Chargers legend Phillip Rivers. Rivers was the perfect reset for the Colts. An older and wiser quarterback, with a borderline Hall of Fame resume was the perfect plug and play guy for the colts that year, and they even made the playoffs before losing a close heartbreaker in Buffalo. There were rumblings that Phil may come back for one more year, but he ultimately retired at seasons end paving the way for my least favorite season I’ve ever watched as a fan of any team.

        By the numbers Carson Wentz wasn’t all that bad in 2021- a little over 3500 passing yards 27 touchdowns and 7 interceptions is the best statistical season of a lot of quarterback’s careers. The problem wasn’t the statistical output of Wentz rather his demeanor as the starting quarterback. The guy was squirrelly- a great trait for a runningback, but not so much for a quarterback. His propensity for panicking in the pocket is like nothing I’ve seen from a guy with the resources invested into him that the colts did. While he didn’t turn the ball over much through the air, he lost five fumbles on the ground that season. For comparison, over the course of five full seasons since 2021 Patrick Mahomes has lost seven total fumbles. It wasn’t just the turnovers though, it was the way they happened.

        Oftentimes Wentz would panic when the play broke down or when he saw a defense he didn’t like. These plays would often result in the spirit of Homer Simpson invading his body and making a play one could only describe with a hearty “D’oh!” I have linked a compilation of times throughout this season where Carson Wentz threw passes with his left hand. Carson Wentz is, of course, a right handed quarterback and these plays were seemingly the result of his brain short circuiting from panic. The most egregious one straight up lost the Colts a divisional game. The score was tied at 24 with a minute and a half to go. The Colts have the ball and are driving from their own eight yard line and getting in field goal range is all that really matters here. Carson Wentz snaps the ball and his pass blocking collapses. He rolls to the left chased by three Titans, and realizing he’ll take a safety if he’s sacked decided to lob the ball straight up with his left hand. This pass is of course intercepted easily and walked into the end zone by Tennessee for the game winner. This was the eighth game of the season, but it was here I knew Wentz wasn’t the answer long term. It’s not his fault his line got beat on that play, but as the quarterback it is absolutely his fault the ball ended up in the hands of the opposing team.

        Despite the disappointment of the 2021 season it is still an important watermark for the Colts post-Luck, as it marks the last time the colts had the same starter for an entire season. Since then the colts have started NINE different quarterbacks- Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, Nick Foles, Gardner Minshew, Joe Flacco, Anthony Richardson, Riley Leonard, Daniel Jones, and a three game comeback from a 44 year old Philip Rivers during the 2025 season. That’s an entire batting lineup worth of starting quarterback that the colts have gone through in four seasons worth of football.

         Richardson was supposed to be the savior, but a combination of injuries and bad PR led to him never getting much of a shot to really learn the offense or learn how to lead a locker room. He’s still on the roster but it seems unlikely he’ll ever get the starting nod independent of an injury to Daniel Jones.

        Speaking of Daniel Jones he’s what really made me start believing in the potential that a curse may be abound in Lucas Oil Stadium. After a tumultuous stint with the New York Giants and a stint as Sam Darnold’s backup in Minnesota, the Colts signed Daniel Jones in the 2025 offseason. Jones was a reclamation project For Indianapolis- a supremely talented quarterback who dispute that talent, was always cancelled out by what I would describe as a real “Wentz gene.” Jones was good last year, and midway through the season at 7-1 things were finally going the right direction in Indy- but injuries began to derail the season about midway through the year. During this free fall, Jones too became a part of the injured reserve with a torn Achilles, necessitating the colts reaching out to Philip Rivers to finish the season.

        I’m not sure what it is. Maybe it has something to do with moving off of Peyton for the younger guy when he still had gas in the tank. Maybe it’s a result of the cursed energy that leaked from Andrew Luck during his time with the Colts morphing into a malevolent cursed spirit that feeds off of quarterbacks. Maybe Lucas Oil Stadium is built on top of a sacred religious site that nobody was aware of. Regardless of what it actually is, I’m at the point now where the colts have made me believe in the supernatural, and I don’t think that’s good.

      After a Lee Beebe Jr. return that placed the Hoosiers in the red zone for their first drive from scrimmage Josh Hoover connected with Nick Marsh on third and five for the first touchdown of the Hoosier’s season. This was a touchdown borne straight out of the transfer portal- Marsh and Hoover were both plucked from their respective schools in this last portal cycle- although hard to find official figures it’s likely these two players alone cost the Hoosiers’ NIL fund millions of dollars and so far it looks to be the right decision. The connection between the two already works to be well worth it- this wasn’t just some ball Hoover could’ve thrown with his eyes closed, or a routine catch for Marsh. There was one place Josh Hoover could’ve put that ball that allows that play to end in a touchdown and he put it there. Hoover puts it perfectly on the back shoulder while Marsh tracks the ball perfectly and snags it with one hand, all while tucking the ball to his chest in order to keep it secure. Outside of Omar Cooper’s circus catch to beat Penn State last year I think this might be the best catch I’ve seen a Hoosier make in the Cignetti era. He did everything in his power to make this play end in a touchdown and it happened. Marsh finished the day with two catches for 17 yards and a touchdown- a pretty light statline sure, but when you take into account the fact that one of those plays demonstrated every single skill that makes him a top tier receiving prospect it becomes clear that 17 yard games won’t be the standard for him.

       Charlie Becker- a returning player from last year’s National Championship roster- balled out on Saturday. Becker finished the day with four catches for 64 yards and two trips to the end zone. Each touchdown catch, much like Marsh’s touchdown on the first drive, helped to illustrate exactly why Charlie Becker is a star. Beckers first touchdown came in the second quarter off of a nine yard slant. The play came shortly after a facemask penalty that left Josh Hoover bleeding like a stuck pig. Becker runs the slant, gets separation, and high points a nearly perfect ball for the touchdown. Hoover led him into his spot perfectly, placing the ball away from both the player guarding Becker one on one, and away from the player coming over the top to help. It was about as well-placed as one can place a short slant, and Becker demonstrated the “go for it” ability to high point that football that made him one of Fernando Mendoza’s most important targets during last year’s run to the National Championship.

     Becker’s second touchdown came in the third quarter and was a much better demonstration of his skills independent of quarterback play. Josh Hoover sees Becker open on a vertical route and slightly underthrows the ball. Normally on a route like this the quarterback wants to drop it in over the receiver’s shoulder on the outside so that the receiver can both keep their stride and keep the ball away from the defender. This ball was slightly underthrown and on the inside, forcing Becker to jump back into contact with the defensive back in order to make the catch. Becker of course easily makes this play and was able to get the score despite the contact and the underthrown ball. This is by no means a dig at Hoover- there isn’t a quarterback that has ever lived that can place every ball perfectly every time- that being said having a guy like Charlie Becker can only be a positive for a quarterback as he can take plays that would otherwise be blown dead as incompletions, or plays that would end in turnovers, and turn them into wine.

       It’s far too early to place any sort of bets on the Hoosiers this season- what I will say is the passing offense looked juiced in a way I wasn’t expecting it to look juiced one game into the season. If we look up in December and Indiana is in the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row I’m pretty confident it will be because the passing offense keeps this up throughout the year.

I honestly was pretty close to not writing this at all. Lebron James is nearly impossible to have a public opinion about if for no other reason than everybody on all sides of the discussion is super annoying. There’s seemingly no grey area on Lebron, making proper discourse on his decision making in free agency (let alone his basketball skill at 41 years old) next to impossible. You’re either a jester kissing his feet or an assassin sent from an enemy faction to bring malice upon the king.

Me personally? I’ve been kinda tired of Lebron for a couple years now. It was always obvious to me that his decision to play in LA was more based in building out his personal brand for post-retirement business opportunities than actual basketball- if it was about basketball he would’ve signed with Philly, or Houston, or Miami, or somewhere with a competent front office. Instead he decided to gamble on the basketball aspect of his career in order to further his ventures in film, advertising, real estate, or whatever the hell else he wanted at the time. He still got a ring out of it too! That being said, the run in LA was pretty obviously over after that run in the bubble- the young core was stripped for parts to acquire AD to even make that run happen, and the Lakers were asset-poor for the rest of Lebron’s time there, making year-to-year retools increasingly more difficult.

Lebron had opportunities to leave- he could have asked out while his value was still high and been traded a few summers ago. He didn’t because he was content in LA, and increasingly over the last few years the NBA has responded to that contentment by removing eyes from Lebron. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of attention payed to the King, but it’s less about “Lebron the serious basketball player” to “Lebron the living legend who’s not quite the same.” That’s why I believe Lebron has taken his sweet sweet time in making this decision- Lebron knows his days of getting to be center of the basketball world are numbered, and he’s gonna enjoy the remaining ones he has.

To me this whole thing is just a bit sad. It reminds me of the attention seeking behavior some older siblings demonstrate when a new baby is born into the family. You’re over meeting somebody’s new baby and all of a sudden their older child has a really cool new dance they just have to show you, or wants to show you all of their toys in sequential order from biggest to smallest. Like those children, I think I’d tell Lebron there’s nothing wrong with feeling this way, but that life has phases and things change- holding a multibillion dollar sport hostage so you can feel like you’re 23 again is weird and not a good way to cope with aging.

This free agency has been a throwback to a time where Lebron James could keep people holding their breath, and he’s loving it. Just a few days ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver passive-aggressively asked Lebron to get his ducks in a row saying, “I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule.” The last domino that needs to fall is Lebron, but the domino is too busy soaking up it’s last days in the sun to notice.

Currently there are really only three places I’d like to see LeBron go- San Antonio, Philadelphia and Minnesota. I think each of these places provides LeBron with both the infrastructure to compete for one more championship, and one more new place to truly leave his mark.

Let’s start with Minnesota, likely the biggest longshot of the three. Minnesota recently made a move to acquire Lamelo Ball from Charlotte, setting them up long term with a young high-potential backcourt. Lamelo Ball and Anthony Edwards will be fun at least, even if that ends up being all they are. That being said, I do think this duo could be a real wrecking crew if the right pieces are placed around them, and I think Lebron could be one of those pieces. Lebron James turns 42 in December- if this isn’t his last season, he’s close to it. Lebron knows exactly what’s required to win at this point, and he won’t be putting up with any bullshit. That’s where it gets a bit tricky for Minnesota, who just traded for the king of bullshit.

Lamelo Ball was the engine for one of the NBA’s best offenses last year, but also seemingly has an inability to take things seriously. While undeniably talented, his penchant for reckless driving and general immaturity has lead to many questions about the long-term health of whatever NBA franchise has him running their offense. This isn’t even taking into account that his injury issues have only allowed him to cross the 65-game threshold twice, a statistic I’m sure had a lot to do with Charlotte’s decision to move forward on a trade. Minnesota made the gamble that with Ball not having to be the “main” guy his immaturity can take a backseat to what will hopefully be quality play next to Anthony Edwards, in addition to his injury issues hopefully not popping up- as consistently. And speaking of Anthony Edwards, what a fun player that would be to have next to Lebron. Edwards already has several high quality playoff series’ under his belt. We know how Ant looks when the lights get bright, and it’s pretty sweet. I think Lebron in the mix there would be fun, even if the infrastructure around Ball/Edwards/James may be a bit lacking in comparison to some of Lebron’s other potential destinations.

Let’s discuss Philly. In 2018, the Philadelphia 76ers were a young up and coming squad- players like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Markelle Fultz, dotted a team that had seemingly cured their roster woes through tanking. Coming off of a 52-30 season, Lebron was a heavy target for the 76ers in the 2018 offseason, hoping to plug an aging James into a roster that should’ve been an easy 60+ win squad. This of course didn’t happen. Lebron decided he would rather make bad movies than win as many championships as possible, which is totally fine! I’m totally not mad I had to watch him screw around with Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball instead of running the world’s most perfect pick n roll with Joel Embiid.

This offseason Lebron has an opportunity to rectify that. Philly has an opportunity to compete for a championship next year without Lebron James- just last week they acquired Jalen Brown from Boston in a move that really didn’t require them to give up all that much- sure losing Paul George in a vacuum would suck but swapping him for Brown is a clear upgrade, not just in terms of play, but also in terms of health. George has played 78 games in the last two seasons combined, it’s not hard to see how just having Jalen Brown for 65+ games will be huge for Philly. Tyrese Maxey and VG Edgecombe also provide good play at guard, with Edgecombe taking several nice leaps throughout his rookie season. There’s of course still Joel Embiid, whose athleticism has unfortunately taken a step back due to injury- that being said, when he’s on the court he’s still a top-25 player, and I think adding Lebron into the mix here could be what takes the new-look 76ers over the top.

Finally, the last team I’d like to see Lebron look at, the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are coming off of an ahead-of-schedule NBA Finals run that ended in heartbreak when they went up against the more experienced, physical, and calm New York Knicks. The NBA Finals featured several blown games and childish mistakes from San Antonio that were absolutely the difference in the series. It’s clear that veteran leadership was missing from this Spurs team in crunch time, and who better to dole out veteran leadership than Lebron James? I have a hard time believing that with Lebron there to slow down the pace that Victor Wembanyama throws the ball off Stephon Castle in transition, or that the Spurs blow a 29 point lead. The “panic gene” that was clearly present on this San Antonio team would be all but eliminated by the steady hand of Lebron James in crunch time, and that’s the main reason I’d like to see Lebron in San Antonio

I’m not expecting a decision very soon. Lebron clearly intends to bide his time and let the chips fall into place before making a true decision on where he’ll be next year. Lebron knows he can’t do it alone at this point- competing for one more ring will require Lebron to go somewhere with an established foundation, and I believe any of the teams I mentioned here would give him a good chance to compete in the short term.

         To me the prevailing theme of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era was how often he stood in defiance of the NBA’s media mafia. The NBA is the single most hostile league for small market franchises and it isn’t close. There’s truly nothing NBA media hates more than a good player in a small market, and for years Giannis Antetokounmpo was the target of this vitriol. There were constant rumors about Giannis’ hypothetical issues with the front office, and multiple offseason where a trade request seemed inevitable. The rumors were particularly strong in the offseason after his MVP wins, 2019 and 2020. Both seasons ended in disappointment for Milwaukee- Toronto went out there with a bunch of long wings and created one of the most effective single-player defensive strategies I have ever seen. 2020 ended in embarrassment, when the one seeded Bucks lost a quick five game series to the five seeded Heat.

 Credit- Paul Sancya/AP Photo

This loss triggered a lot of doubt over the Bucks future. Giannis had proven to be an excellent player, but was he good enough to play without a lead guard? The Bucks decided not to continue trying to answer that question and traded Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and three future firsts to New Orleans in exchange for Jrue Holiday. This revitalized Bucks roster went out and in a shortened season won 46 games and grabbed the three seed. A legendary playoff run from Giannis culminated in a ring and Finals MVP at just 26 years old. Throughout the ups and downs of the 2019-2021 stretch, Giannis stood strong in his commitment to the franchise that drafted him.

          Giannis will always have a special place in my heart for this. Don’t get me wrong, I think free agency and player movement is a positive for the league and the players at large. At the time though, my favorite team, the Indiana Pacers had just lost both Paul George and Victor Oladipo to “IdontwanttoplayinIndianaitis,” a rare disease that seemingly only effects professional basketball players who play for the Indiana Pacers. Seeing a small market franchise have some ups and downs with a superstar while he stayed committed really gave me a lot of hope for what a well-managed Pacers team could do if they got their own guy, and I’ll always have a soft spot for restoring some hope to a very cynical 19 year old basketball fan.

           So what does this trade mean for these teams? Well to be totally honest the Bucks were pretty bad last year even with Giannis. In 36 games with him they went 17-19- if he plays the full season maybe they sneak into the playin, but I think even that’s a stretch. The unfortunate part of this trade for Milwaukee that many have mentioned is there seemingly isn’t a “guy” they’re getting back for Giannis, but I’m not so cynical. Sure there’s no Shai Gilgeous Alexander or Tyrese Haliburton in this package, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t interested in Kel’el Ware’s long term development track. He’s a seven footer who shot 39.5% from three last year on three attempts a game, and has elite rim protecting skills. I think he will be a very important NBA player going forward, and whether or not Milwaukee keeps him or decides to flip him to a contender will be interesting to see. I think we all kinda know what Herro is at this point- a good not great scorer who can be really fun when he’s on but also a guy who’s probably more of the insulation for a championship team and less a part of the foundation. Jakucionas and Jaquez are both interesting pieces as well- Jakucionas shot 42% on just under three attempts a game in fairly limited minutes but I think his upside is pretty obvious, and Jaquez is a good scorer and rangy defender who should be a good piece for Milwaukee moving forward.

           Now to Miami- they got their centerpiece in Giannis, but there are still a lot of questions in the air. The Heat undeniably had to trade a lot of depth to get Giannis, and losing Norman Powell in free agency could be an issue as well. Miami’s always been good at seemingly finding quality professional basketball players under rocks so I could see Miami being pretty good this season, but have a hard time seeing them being in that top tier in the Eastern conference.

           Despite how it ended I will always remember Giannis Antetokounmpo as the guy that gave me my faith in the NBA back. That 2021 run was so fun, and I’ll always remember him fondly.

Lets talk about the Finals first. If I could have predicted any way for the Spurs to lose, I don’t think I would’ve predicted them blowing four games in the clutch. Game four was particularly egregious to me- at one point the Spurs held a 29 point lead, and ended up blowing the game in the final seconds off of poor play and mismanaged offensive possessions. That was really the story of this series for San Antonio- poor clock management, mismanaging the offensive game in the clutch, and silly “young guy” mistakes in games two and four were the difference between San Antonio being up 3-1 and down 3-1 after game four.

Victor Wembanyama was not exempt from the mistake-making. In game two he had one of the most boneheaded offense transition plays I have ever seen when he tried to make a lead pass for Stephon Castle in transition and accidentally threw it off his back. Late in game two tied at 104, Victor Wembanyama grabs a defensive rebound and then proceeds to throw the ball of Stephon Castle’s back- to me this was the defining play of the series to me. It was a microcosm of everything that went wrong for the Spurs in the Finals- this young team that seemed three steps ahead of everybody tripping over their feet when they go up against somebody that can catch up.

The fact of the matter is the Spurs turned into a pumpkin in the Finals. The lights were brighter than expected, they were too green, the moment was too big- however you want to describe it, the Spurs got outplayed and made more mistakes than the other team- bad combination.

So what about the run? I’m kinda burying the lede here, because despite the dog walking in the Finals, this Spurs team has been one of my favorite stories to come out of the NBA in the last few years. An upstart team whose best players are 20, 21, and 22 going up against the champions and winning a game seven away from home is storybook, and despite the big fat L they took in the Finals, it doesn’t make the Western Conference Finals win any less impressive. It was in this series that it became clear to me that the next 10-15 years of NBA basketball will rely on who has a guy that can run with Wembanyama. This is the worst he will be at basketball until he starts his post-prime decline, and there were like two or three players throughout this whole playoff run that could hang with him. The Knicks had one of those guys in Karl Anthony-Towns, and to me that was the key to their win in this series.

So where do the Spurs go from here? It’s obvious that Wembanyama needs to be in the lab this summer, and it would also probably benefit him to see a therapist for his impulse control issues. That sounds sarcastic but I truly mean it- Victor Wembanayama had a few unhinged moments in this playoffs- the elbow in the Wolves series and trying to manually give Jalen Brunson whiplash were his two worst moments and he’s going to need to get these outbursts under control. The NBA simply cannot be put in a position where the face of the league is at risk of missing playoff games because he has too many flagrant fouls in the playoffs. Additionally Victor Wembanyama should be hitting up every hall of fame big man that’s still able to move. Shaq, Hakeem, Patrick Ewing, Dirk. Hell he’s got three Spurs legends he can talk to- Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Lamarcus Aldridge can all help him improve some facet of his game, but particularly offensively. Imagine Wembanyama with Duncan’s footwork or a Aldridge’s consistent elbow jumper? He gets progressively more dangerous with every offensive skill he adds. Right now he’s a baby deer that can occasionally go for 40 if he hits his spots- but this is a guy that could easily drop 30 a night if he just had a couple more things in his bag.

I’m pretty confident San Antonio will be back. As I said before, their best players are 20, 21 and 22. Dylan Harper is the most polished 20 year old guard I’ve seen in my life- his development next to Wembanyama is something I’m watching closely. Frankly I’m also pretty confident Wembanayama will come back with a vengeance. I’m sure he’s in the lab doing all the stuff I want him to do, and honestly knowing what I know about his past offseason’s he’s probably getting up to some even wilder training than I could imagine. We’re talking hanging upside down on the monkey bars to get taller, free climbing the Empire State Building, going to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode- he could be doing anything this summer. I think long term this run, although ending in heartbreak, will be remembered as the year Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs put the league on notice for what’s to come.

       I always thought the Karl Anthony Towns situation was more complicated than that. KAT was, and is a special skillset but at the end of the day it’s an uncommon one. Players with Towns’ frame have historically been paint threats who use their size and strength to impose their will offensively, while also using their size on the other end to lock up the area closest to the basket. Karl Anthony-Towns doesn’t and has never played like that. There was this bizarre rug pull in the early portion of KAT’s career- he was undeniably the man on the 2015 Wildcats, one of the most absurd collections of talent ever assembled on a college basketball court. The narratives leading up to the 2015 draft praised KAT as a transformative big who would follow in the footsteps of Nowitzki and Ralph Sampson as the next evolution of the big man, only for him to be hated and made fun of mercilessly for actually playing like that.

     Credit- Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

The issues with his play style coupled with the already prevalent narrative that he was soft went on to combine for a few pretty brutal narratives around KAT throughout his career. Were some of the criticisms correct? Yeah duh, did you watch the Finals? Year 11 KAT just has a different mentality than say year four or five KAT. He’s more aggressive, more competitive, and most importantly more confident. I don’t really care that theres a second grader worth of age between KAT and Wembanyama, that guy is a tough cover for anybody, and Karl Anthony Towns played the best most consistent defense that anybody has played on him all year.

        So what did it for Karl? It wasn’t Jimmy Butler giving him the Whiplash treatment that’s for sure. I think ultimately having Anthony Edwards and Jalen Brunson as his costars back to back was the greatest thing that ever happened to Karl Anthony Towns. Edwards and Brunson, like Butler both possess a killer instinct that’s a bit more clear on the surface than Towns’. Unlike Butler, who attempted to beat and break KAT out of his shell, Edwards and Brunson provided Towns with costars who could bring more out of him specifically because they didn’t care to challenge his mentality. There are a lot of different ways to have that competitive instinct and bring it out of others. Jimmy Butler needs to be on a team with a bunch of other guys who think the same way as him- that’s why he was the perfect ideological match for Pat Riley and the Miami Heat. Brunson and Edwards don’t have to play with other killers- they’re content to be the ones going at the other team’s throat. Not having to be the guy made Towns able to be the guy, and he was in this series.

        The New York Knicks went all in and it payed off- With Towns playing like this, I think the Knicks title window is as long as they can keep him in New York.

So what if they got the greatest defensive tackle of all time back too? Aaron Donald was, no exaggeration the best defensive player in football basically his entire ten year career in the NFL.  The only reason I believe he retired at 32 was simply because he had nothing else left to do- there’s no reason to put wear and tear on a body that’s already played maybe the most contact-heavy position in a contact-heavy sport at the highest level anybody has ever played.

I have no doubt Aaron Donald is the greatest defensive player I’ve seen, and I think he’s in the pantheon with Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Deacon Jones, Ed Reed, and Ronnie Lott as some of the greatest defensive players to ever touch a football field. Aaron Donald retiring was well deserved, but also a five alarm fire for me- it’s the most I’ve been hurt to see a guy go since Andrew Luck retired if I’m being totally honest. There’s just something about Donald’s dominance that was different than just about everybody else’s- frankly the only defensive player I’ve seen that has a similar “I’m watching somebody very special right now” factor is Myles Garrett.

Credit- Nick Cammett/Diamond Images

And that’s why I want AD back. Right now football has a very unique opportunity to get two of the most special players to ever line up on the defensive line to line up on the same one at the same time. We’re talking Steel Curtain, Purple People Eater, 2015 Broncos level defensive line play here and frankly I want to see it. These are two players to have maybe the highest peak ever at their respective positions- Aaron Donald set an impossible standard for year-to-year defensive tackle play, and Myles Garrett just set the sack record last season after a career of high-level edge play. Imagine an opportunity to put Reggie White next to Alan Page, or Deacon Jones next to John Randle- this is the opportunity the NFL has in LA next year if Aaron Donald decides to suit up for one more ride.

If AD does come back I don’t see a lot of losses on the Rams schedule, and frankly swapping Jared Verse for Myles Garrett is probably already enough to get over the hump in Seattle. The NFC West should be a bloodbath at the top next year- the defending Suer Bowl champs in Seattle, a healthy and refreshed 49ers team, an upgraded super team in Los Angeles, and of course who could forget THE Arizona Cardinals- 3/4 of these squads are in the top ten odds to win the Super Bowl on Fanduel going into the season so I think it’s pretty fair to say every one of these divisional games will matter for seeding in a division that will likely send two wild card teams to the playoffs along with their division winner.

To me Aaron Donald would just be the cherry on top for LA. They’ve already upgraded a monstrous pass rush, so why not throw a little bit more on the pile and really wreak havoc?

This strategy was dubbed “The Jordan Rules” and became perhaps the most famous defensive strategy in the history of the NBA. The Bulls season was ended by Detroit in three straight playoffs- a 3-1 loss in 1988 was followed by a 4-2 loss in 1989 and a 4-3 loss in 1990. Everybody from Joe Dumars to Bill Laimbeer was getting their shots in on young Michael leading to losses and what I’m sure was an unfathomable level of frustration for the notoriously competitive Jordan. “The Last Dance” a retrospective documentary about Jordan’s career through the lens of his last championship run with Chicago covers this physical transformation extensively. In the documentary, Jordan speaks matter of factly about the situation, and recalls a drive to put on more muscle both so that he wouldn’t be in as much danger physically and so that he could come back and inflict the pain that was dealt to him.

This mentality change led to six championship rings for Jordan (including a 1991 ring he had to go through Detroit for) and a place on the NBA’s Mount Rushmore. Obviously the Jordan mentality is rare, but I think somebody’s going to have to find it in Oklahoma City. Game seven of the Western Conference Finals was one of the most embarrassing non-blowout losses I can remember watching. The Thunder, to put it lightly, were physically dominated by San Antonio to a degree that’s hard to fathom. The Thunder’s M.O. these last two playoffs has been exactly that- they’re supposed to be the ones imposing their physical will. Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace- all these dudes are sticky defensively and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. The problem this year is that they ran into a team that’s willing to get in the mud with them. Whether it’s Carter Bryan’t hard defense, Stephon Castle’s on-ball tenacity, or Victor Wembanyama straight up putting a hit out on Jared McCain (and having veterans that are willing to say “yes sir lil bro”) the Spurs were ready to increase their physicality and aggression to match Oklahoma City’s.

San Antonio figured out in a series what took Michael Jordan three years to commit to- if a team wants to play you in the mud you have to match them. There’s no way to finesse your way out of a rock fight- San Antonio adapted and overcame this year through a change in physicality and overall strategy, so how can the Thunder respond to that?

First things first, lets discuss Chet Holmgren. Before this series I mentioned in my Western Conference Finals preview how excited I was to watch the Holmgren v Wembanyama war in this series. I truly believed that we were going to be watching the first real playoff matchup in a legendary rivalry, and that’s the opposite of what we got. Victor Wembanyama was more akin to a schoolyard bully than a rival against the Chetster in this series, and Chet never really appeared to care about going back at him. There’s zero reason a man with his size and skill should be this much of a non-factor in a playoff series of this magnitude, and my only real answer is that he just doesn’t really care. Chet Holmgren, if this series is any indication, appears to be apathetic towards winning in a way that should scare Thunder fans. I look at Chet Holmgren and then I look over at Victor Wembanyama- on one side I see a guy who eats sleeps and breathes basketball and is psychotic about winning to a level previously only seen in the top 0.1% of competitors. Opposite him I see a guy who thinks basketball’s fun because he gets to be in commercials and hang out with his friends. Is it the worst thing? Absolutely not, but it does make me worried about the quality of this rivalry going forward.

The Thunder will undoubtedly be back- as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put it, they’ve got an all-time general manager already in charge in Sam Presti and I’m confident they’ll make moves to continue competing. That being said, I think it would behoove the Thunder to treat this offseason like they’ve already met their Pistons- no need to lose three straight years to figure out what’s obvious after that game seven.

        The Thunder have clearly figured something out in terms of game strategy these last few seasons. At the risk of sounding like a whiny fan, they have a better whistle than any team I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen players with the whistle Shai Gilgeous Alexander gets- James Harden immediately comes to mind but you could also reasonably argue Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, and Joel Embiid have gotten similar offensive leeway from officials- what’s so bizarre about the Thunder is the reckless abandon they seem to play with defensively and how rarely that whistle goes against them. While I can understand this is infuriating as an opposing fanbase, the basketball lover in me is sort of impressed at how an entire team has seemed to figure out some unknown loophole that allows them to reap all the benefits of a weak whistle on one end while somehow avoiding that weak whistle on the other end of the ball. It genuinely seemed that this strategy was unbeatable, until the Western Conference Finals started.

         The San Antonio Spurs are frustrated. Like most teams that play Oklahoma City, the physicality is getting to them and as Stephon Castle put it after game five, “We don’t get that same luxury to be able to play as physical on the other end at times.” And he’s right. I can appreciate Oklahoma City’s strategy while also recognizing the apparent discrepancy in the physicality:whistle ratio between them and whoever they’re playing in a given series. So how do you respond to that physicality?

         Well, if you’re the Spurs you decide to start getting your money’s worth. Towards the end of an already out of reach game five, Victor Wembanyama was seen whispering something to backup big men Bismack Biyombo and Mason Plumlee. Biyombo and Plumlee then both pick up hard fouls, and alternate angles seem to show Victor Wembanyama asking them to do exactly that. And I have to say, while I don’t love it, I do respect the strategy. Game six featured more physicality across the board from San Antonio, resulting in a wire to wire 27 point win to force a game seven. Carter Bryant had a few hard shots on Gilgeous-Alexander, including one that was nearly called a flagrant. Although I can understand the criticism from Thunder fans, I’m also not sure what else teams playing the Thunder are supposed to try at this point. If a team decides to build their offensive strategy around drawing contact it only makes sense that eventually there would be a team that decides hard contact+whistle is better defensively than no contact+whistle.

    (Credit- Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

    I’m not sure what to expect in game seven. The Thunder will be without both Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, a brutal blow to their playoff rotation and absences that will only require more from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren (who hasn’t scored more than 16 points in a game this series). I do know that the Thunder don't plan on going out sad at home, and despite San Antonio’s increased physicality I expect a close game. Really, this is the game that defines exactly the conversations we’ll need to have about the future in San Antonio after this season. If the Spurs pull this game out, even with a loss in the Finals they’ll be years ahead of schedule- Wembanyama’s 22, Castle’s 21, Harper’s 20- how many teams ever have had championship level cores that young?

        I expect a close game to cap off this close series, but that’s about the only thing I expect- regardless of the result tonight, I do believe this series has lived up to at least my excitement, and I love it as a pilot of the best rivalry of the next decade.

A disgusting horrific playoff performance by the Cleveland Cavaliers has come to a close with a 37-point home game four loss to the New York Knicks. Not a single one of these games was less than a double digit loss for Cleveland- even the first game that went to Overtime didn’t end without a Knicks run.

James Harden was of course a ghost in this series, and frankly I’m not sure what more I was expecting out of him. This is what he does- 5/28 from three FOR THE SERIES, 16 points per game, over four turnovers on average for the series- this was always him, the choke is just augmented even more because of his age. As he’s declined so too has his already lackluster defense- most of Jalen Brunson’s best plays from the Knicks comeback game one win came while being defended by James Harden, and these clowns have now put themselves in a position where they basically have to pay him if he doesn’t accept his player option, otherwise what are you trading Darius Garland for? A singlular bad performance in the conference finals? You see their dilemma here. Does resigning James Harden make you better next year? Absolutely not, but if you lose him then you traded Garland for a big pile of nothing, which also isn’t good for the contention window.

So where does Cleveland go from here? I haven’t even mentioned the guy that’s supposed to be their franchise player. Despite the good statistical output on the page, Donovan Mitchell wasn’t nearly the player Cleveland needed in this series. His 31 points in game four could be used as the textbook definition for “empty statistical output.” For as dynamic as he is, Mitchell is still a shorter guard who is supposed to be the number one option on a Finals team. Compare his playstyle with Jalen Brunson, another short guard whose team is in the finals. The Knicks are there because THEIR short guard is better at both shot creation and ball distribution than Mitchell. He gets people involved even when his shot isn’t falling, and when it is falling he’s one of the most skilled off the dribble scorers I’ve ever seen. Compare that to Mitchell, who frequently stagnates the offense for his own looks and it becomes clear what the more viable playoff playstyle is.

Evan Mobley should be the Eastern conference’s answer to the Victor Wembanyama/Chet Holmgren question. A huge defensively gifted center who has the ball handling and shooting ability of a guard should be the perfect counter to either of those guys, but for one reason or another he hasn’t quite taken that next step.

The bones of an excellent team are in Cleveland. I truly believe Donovan Mitchell could be an excellent second or third option on a championship team, but as the first guy I think he’s just too limited by the skillset required to be a true number one at his size. James Harden will almost certainly be on this team again next year, another year older and wiser, but still probably doing the exact same things he’s done his entire career. The hope long term for Cleveland lies in the continued development of Evan Mobley. Making the decision to build around Mobley will be tough, but I think an offseason trade package centered around Donovan Mitchell could put them in a good long term position to contend. If I’m being totally honest, even though I believe it’s the right move, a Cavs blowup this season is unlikely, and because of their lack of viable roster improving moves to make I think they’re stuck hoping Mobley takes another leap next season.

Will Wade has never been concerned with the ethics of winning. His first stint at LSU was marred by the FBI Wiretap scandal and ultimately ended after the NCAA accused him of five Level One NCAA violations at the end of there 2022 season. Although there’s no doubt Wade is a good coach, his skill in that regard has always been overshadowed by the organized crime approach he’s taken to college basketball.

Will Wade has decided to try something new at LSU this season, a novel concept that I’m sure nobody else has thought of before. Will Wade looked around at college basketball and said “you know what this amateur basketball league needs? More professionals.” Sure, Name Image and Likeness rules have blurred the lines between amateur and professional of late- that being said the roster Wade is attempting to put together is a clear next step up the ladder that could have major long term ramifications for NCAA team building.

Take for example RJ Luis. Luis was a four-year player at UMASS and St. John’s before declaring for the draft last year. Luis bounced around before signing with Boston’s G League team for this last season, and yet LSU is still attempting to get him back into college basketball by using the technicality that his last year of eligibility went unused. The idea is to sue the NCAA for eligibility and hope that a judge rules in your favor. The blueprint they’re attempting to follow is that of Trinidad Chambliss and the Ole Miss Rebels. Judge Robert Whitwell, a judge for the 18th Chancery District of Mississippi (who just so happened to get his JD from Ole Miss) ruled in favor of a sixth year of eligibility for Chambliss, citing his medical history as the reason for allowing another year.

It seems pretty clear Wade wants to run a similar playbook at Louisiana State. RJ Luis isn’t the only player with pro experience Wade is recruiting. Yam Madar, a 25 year old who was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, and who has spent the last five years playing in the Israeli League is a target for LSU, as well as 23 year old Marcio Santos, who if approved will come over from the Euroleague.

Will Wade is attempting an overhaul of college basketball recruiting, that if he’s successful in will change the way college athletics operates for the worse. It’s not crazy to think that this could open up a huge can of worms for the eligibility laws in the NCAA. If a guy like RJ Luis can get back into college basketball after four years and a G League contract, or if a 25 year old who has been pro since he was 18 like Yam Madar can get into college basketball where’s the line? It’s likely that at least some of these players will be approved to play for LSU next year and if they are? Get ready for some of the weirdest recruiting discourse you can imagine next year.

So far the Thunder have unsurprisingly been the best team in the playoffs. Two series in, and they’ve already swept two teams- so far their average margin of victory is 14.3 points. Ok I know what you’re thinking- “Oklahoma City’s out here covering two touchdown spreads every time they step on the court and you think that buzzsaw will just turn off.” Well sorta. Oklahoma City’s the best team in the playoffs until proven otherwise, but I think of San Antonio as just another less proven buzzsaw. Their postseason play hasn’t been nearly as dominant as that of Oklahoma City, but San Antonio has still thrown plenty of impressive stuff out there. This is the first playoff run with this core for San Antonio and they already look like a group of proven veterans. Dylan Harper isn’t even old enough to buy a beer and he looks like a ten year vet. Stephon Castle is my single favorite basketball player in the entire NBA when he has the ball in his hands- his explosion and quickness off the dribble are unbelievable. There are some guys that are so athletic that when they jump to dunk they seem to stay in the air longer- Michael Jordan, Zion Williamson, and Larry Johnson are a few guys that come to mind when I think about these types of players- Stephon Castle is one of them. He’s shooting 44% from three in a stretch of play most guards dream about- oh right and much like Dylan it’s Stephon Castle’s first playoff run too.

Deaaron Fox heading up the guard room is just an absurd luxury. Having Harper and Castle would be great on their own, but then San Antonio also has Fox and Devin Vassell to cycle in and out. Fox, acquired at the deadline last season has worked out pretty well- having a veteran player like Fox to head up the guard room is just different. This isn’t bringing in the corpse of some bygone star to tell the rookies they need to get an agent they can trust and should always wear condoms or whatever- this is a bonafide all-star smack in the middle of his prime who can show the younger guys everything he needs to on the floor as well as giving them whatever wisdom they need off the court.

Now to the big man. The tight lid Wembanyama keeps on the defense doesn’t allow for a whole lot of offensive flexibility- players and teams have to play a certain way when he’s on the floor, and that way is typically to avoid him like the plague. Offensively, he’s more graceful than any basketball player even close to his size (not named Ralph Sampson). He’s got the touch and handle of a guard, a clean jump shot, the flexibility to contort his body to make just about any rim-finish work, an all-time defensive IQ, AND HE’S SEVEN FOOT FIVE. If there was a single player every to be confident betting on it’s that guy.

This will be a long series- currently the Spurs have won four out of five games against the Thunder this season. There’s a chance that the Spurs are just built perfectly to counter anything Oklahoma City can throw at them and the regular season is the perfect predictor for this series. That being said, this Thunder squad is still an all-time group and I don’t expect them to go out sad. I’m expecting a minimum of six games for this bloodbath, and a game seven in Oklahoma City would be the cherry on top.

I’m probably most excited to watch Wembanyama v Chet. I remember in 2022 when Chet Holmgren was drafted, everybody knew Victor Wembanyama was coming down the pipe for the 2023 draft- I distinctly remember thinking that it would be cool to watch the new generation of NBA bigs go against each other in a playoff series at some point, and now four years later my wish has been granted.

I usually try to save predictions for stuff that would take years for me to be proven wrong on, but I’m gonna take a chance here and pick San Antonio. Despite being Vegas underdogs and not looking quite as great as Oklahoma City this playoffs I still think they are the best equipped team to prevent the repeat. I actually believe the recipe is out to beating Oklahoma City, and I think it’s guard play. The 2025 Finals featured the Thunder playing a heavy underdog Pacers team led by Tyrese Haliburton. A big part of the Pacers success against Oklahoma City was the competitive offensive firepower their guards could throw back at Oklahoma City. Players like Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Benedict Mathurin, and TJ McConnell gave the Thunder’s perimeter defenders fits and helped to pull defensive pressure off of Tyrese Haliburton. I believe San Antonio has a better version of that guard play, and the biggest gameplan wrecker in the NBA as their best player. There are a lot of Pacers fans (including myself) that believe the difference between winning the 2025 Finals and losing it was the center play (and the whole best player tearing his achilles in the first quarter of Game Seven thing). Imagine the guard play of last-years Pacers but turned up a notch, and then add Victor Wembanyama in there. That seems like the best possible Thunder-beating recipe to me.