Thomas Lagrone – Page 3 – Southside Sports Talk

Will Lou Williams Leaving the NBA Bubble Impact the Clippers?

About a week ago, Lou Williams was given an excused absence from the NBA’s Orlando Campus to attend a wake for his friend’s father. However, Williams also met up with Jack Harlow at an Atlanta strip club during his excused absence.

Despite Harlow erasing the picture he posted with Williams, the NBA began investigating where Williams had gone during his absence. The NBA recently decided to quarantine Williams for 10 days to ensure the safety of the season.

This is an intelligent move by the league because it will prevent any concern about COVID-19 within the bubble, and will allow the season to continue as planned. With the official NBA season finally set to come back tonight, the Los Angeles Clippers will be forced to play without Lou Williams for their first two games.

Williams is currently averaging 18.7 points per game off the bench and has had five games with at least 30 points. He is also boasting an 86.3% free throw percentage, which will come in handy during close games. Alongside this, he has proven his massive impact as a bench player by winning the last two Sixth Man of the Year awards.

Since there are only eight more games for this NBA regular season, Williams being forced to miss two games is a heavy loss for the Clippers. They will be playing the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, who are the first place team in the Western Conference. Although the Clippers have won two out of their three games against the Lakers, not having Lou Williams should allow the Lakers to win handily.

Their second game is against the 10th place New Orleans Pelicans, which should be an easy victory. Even though Williams will only miss two games, it will probably take an extra few games for him to smoothly fit into the rotation of the lineup.

The Clippers are good enough to overcome this obstacle, but it will more than likely lower their seeding from second place. We are still likely to have a Lakers vs. Clippers matchup in the Western Conference Finals, but this certainly makes the Western Conference even more interesting than it already was.

Will the MLB Season Withstand COVID-19

The MLB season kicked off less than a week ago, but COVID-19 cases are already being spotted over quite a few teams. Currently, there are already 4 teams that have at least one player with the virus.

There is already immense concern surrounding the MLB season because the Miami Marlins have a total of 17 reported cases within the team. Their number of cases is jarring and has required them to postpone multiple games. Not only does this jeopardize Miami’s season, but it also makes you wonder if the MLB season will have to be canceled because of the outbreak among teams.

The Marlins have played a total of five games within the past week, and they have used the visitor locker rooms of the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. Their series against the Phillies ended three days ago, but the Marlins players cannot fly out of Philadelphia because they tested positive for COVID-19. This puts the Phillies in a predicament because they may be subject to an outbreak within the team, much like the Marlins.

In light of this, the MLB has opted to force the Phillies to also postpone their next few games in order to receive additional testing. Despite playing the Marlins during Spring Training one week ago, the Braves are continuing to play their schedule. This is worrisome because the Braves could be under similar circumstances to the Phillies and be unintentionally plaguing other teams.

Ultimately, we are not even a full week into this MLB season and it is already beginning to spiral out of control. With the season progressing like this, the MLB season may have to be canceled within the next few weeks because the virus can easily spread to every team.

While it has been exciting to watch sports again, the MLB may have underestimated the sheer difficulty of safely traveling from one COVID-19 hot spot to another so frequently. If you look at how the NBA is handling their season and compare it to how the MLB has handled its season, you will see a drastic difference in rules and precautions.

For example, the NBA chose one location that will be the setting for all its games and forced all teams to quarantine around that location. This seems to be the best way to play a season during the pandemic because it lowers the risk of a team dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the MLB has chosen to force teams to travel nonstop and expose their players to the virus.

Reviewing Derrick Henry’s Career and New Contract

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Derrick Henry has always been known for his raw strength when running the football, but many people underestimate his acceleration when he reaches the open field. He has showcased both of these traits throughout his collegiate and professional career, and he ultimately won the 2015 Heisman Award because of his potent running ability.

During his 2015 season with Alabama, he ran for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns within 15 games. These astronomical numbers guided Alabama to a National Championship victory and let Henry confidently declare for the upcoming NFL Draft.

Surprisingly, Henry was not drafted until the middle of the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was picked 45th overall by the Tennessee Titans, where he would share the backfield with DeMarco Murray for his first couple of seasons.

Murray was a notable running back for the Dallas Cowboys and had a breakout season in 2014, as he rushed for nearly 2,000 yards. While Henry was able to average over 4 yards per game while sharing carries with Murray, he was never able to tire out defenses and punish them later in the game like he was able to do at Alabama.

However, Murray could not play due to injury heading into the 2017 NFL playoffs which allowed Henry to be the feature back. Henry took advantage of the spotlight by running for 156 yards and a touchdown, which helped spark an 18 point comeback victory for the Titans.

Even though they lost to the Patriots in the next round of the playoffs, Henry had already proven why he deserved to be the primary running back for the Titans.

During the next season, he started 12 out of 16 games and rushed for 1,059 yards along with 12 touchdowns. They missed the playoffs by one game, but Henry was establishing himself as one of the more talented running backs in the NFL.

Finally, he took an enormous step forward in his 2019 campaign by starting all 15 games he played and leading the league in rushing. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry, ran for 1,540 yards, and 16 touchdowns. This was good enough to lead the Titans to the playoffs, and Henry was able to carry the Titans to the AFC Conference Championship game.

They were able to pull off upsets against the #3 seeded Patriots and the #1 seeded Ravens behind Henry’s stellar performances. He ran for nearly 200 yards in both games and averaged 5.3 yards per carry through all three playoff games.

The Titans received lots of scrutiny for signing their quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a major $118 million four-year extension before signing Henry to a long-term deal. However, the Titans were able to sign Henry within the last couple of weeks by offering him $50 million over four years. That contract makes Henry one of the highest paid running backs in the NFL, and his last couple of seasons were proof that he deserved the payday.

The Houston Astros Scandal and Its Effect on the MLB

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Baseball has been surrounded by numerous scandals throughout its history. Unfortunately, the scandals continue to accumulate and are making the sport difficult to appreciate.

The Astros cheating scandal is not only discouraging, but it is also disappointing. For the majority of my life, the Astros have been a team that has seen little to no success. However, they finally attained deep runs in the playoffs the past few years and had many baseball fans supporting them.

Hurricane Harvey was a major reason for the massive support from the baseball community, and it felt like a fairy tale ending when the Astros found a way to win the championship in 2017. Although, the fairy tale turned into a nightmare eight months ago when it was reported that they had been cheating during the 2017 season.

Furthermore, there has been speculation that they have also been cheating throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Thankfully, the Washington Nationals were able to defeat the Astros during the 2019 World Series and acquired their first Championship in franchise history.

This situation has deservedly turned the Houston Astros into the most hated organization of the MLB. One of the major issues is that the past three MLB seasons have been stolen from other teams in the league.

If the Astros did not cheat, would they have still made it to the World Series? The answer to that question will never be answered, but I would argue that they might not have even passed the Divisional Round without cheating.

Not only did they steal another team’s chance at a World Series, but they also stole awards from other players in the league. One of their star players, Jose Altuve, won the 2017 American League MVP award over Aaron Judge. Judge was having an incredible rookie season with 52 home runs, 114 RBI, and an impressive .422 on-base percentage.

Ultimately, the Astros were fined $5 million and had their first and second-round picks over the next two seasons taken away. However, they were able to retain their 2017 World Series win. By allowing the Astros to keep their World Series, it is sending the message to the rest of the league that cheating is worthwhile.

Baseball is in an awful position from this scandal, and I do not know if the Astros will ever be able to regain their credibility. However, since sports have been gone for so long, this next season is the sport’s best chance to bounce back from the controversy.

NBA Playoff Preview and Predictions

Everyone has been eager for sports to come back, and we are finally just nine days away from the continuation of the NBA season. This season is definitely going to be one for the history books since fans are not able to attend any of the games. Even without the playoff atmosphere provided by the fans, these playoffs might be the most interesting in recent memory. The Eastern Conference seems to be heavily favored toward the first-place Milwaukee Bucks, but the third-place Boston Celtics have gone 1-1 against the Bucks this season. The Celtics win occurred within the first 5 games of the season, which makes it a little less convincing of a statistic. However, Kemba Walker has torched the Bucks in both games by scoring 32 points in their win and 40 points in their narrow defeat. Even if the Bucks might struggle against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, they should have a much easier path to the NBA Finals than any team from the Western Conference. This is because the Eastern Conference contains four teams with 40+ wins, the Western Conference has a staggering seven teams with 40+ wins. The favorites to win the Western Conference are the Los Angeles Lakers, but their road to the NBA Finals will be grueling. They have lost two out of three games to the second-place Los Angeles Clippers, and the sixth place Houston Rockets have gone 1-1 against the Lakers this season. The Rockets have also won three out of four against the Clippers, which is a testament to how unpredictable the Western conference Playoffs could be. The safe bet is to say that the Lakers will make it through the gauntlet behind their two legendary players, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but many teams they will face have their fair share of star power as well. Ultimately, I believe that LeBron James and Anthony Davis will find a way to get through the Western Conference, and Giannis Antetokounmpo will handily guide the Bucks through the Eastern Conference. Although the Lakers will be exhausted from the demanding games in the West, I believe that they will be more prepared for clutch moments than the Bucks. Since it will be an extremely close series, I think the more competitive nature of the West will ultimately help the Lakers defeat the Bucks in a six or seven-game series.

Is Cam Newton Going to Revive His Career at New England?

CHARLOTTE, NC – JANUARY 03: Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers takes the field against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium on January 3, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Cam Newton has always been a solid quarterback in the NFL, but many people seem to think that his injuries have robbed him of his true peak. The injury concerns for Cam are definitely warranted, but I think he is undoubtedly going to be in the MVP conversation during the upcoming NFL season. Everyone remembers his stellar 2015 MVP season that ended in a tragic Super Bowl loss to the Denver Broncos. However, his 2018 season is one that is comparable to his 2015 campaign. For example, his 2018 season showcased better accuracy throwing the ball with his best completion percentage of his entire career at 67.94%. This is a major improvement from his 2015 completion percentage, which was 59.8%. Cam threw for 500 fewer yards during his 2018 season, but he also threw 24 fewer passes that year. He had 24 passing touchdowns, which is second to his career-high of 35 touchdowns in 2015. His interceptions were similar in both years, although he did throw three more in 2018. His rushing statistics are also very comparable, as he averaged 4.8 yards per carry in both 2015 and 2018. Additionally, he only played 14 games in his 2018 season, whereas he played all 16 games in 2015. These statistics speak volumes to how much he was progressing as a quarterback and showcase that he can still be a top tier quarterback in the NFL. Sadly, his 2019 campaign was doomed in the preseason when he injured his foot. He attempted to play the first two games of the regular season, but it was obvious that he was playing far from 100%. The fact that Cam was not signed to anyone until this past month shows how much the 2019 season damaged his reputation as a quarterback. The New England Patriots have opted to take a shot on Cam for the upcoming season, although he will compete with fellow Auburn alumni Jarrett Stidham for the starting job. Cam will most likely win the job within the first few weeks of the regular season, if not even earlier. He has a lot to prove to all the teams that doubted him, especially the Carolina Panthers. They got rid of their quarterback for the past nine years without a second thought. It would not surprise me if he takes the Patriots to yet another Super Bowl and proves to the league that he still has what it takes to be a top tier quarterback.