Sports with Sava

By Sava Savkovic

2017 Year in Review

As we near the end of 2017, sports fans can be quite satisfied with how this year has turned out. We witnessed the greatest comeback of all time in the Superbowl accomplished by the New England Patriots, an intense NBA Finals once again between the Cavs and Warriors, and quite the intriguing CFL season this year, including a snow-covered finale in Ottawa. This year has brought us outstanding rookies in all sports, some incredible down-to-the-wire moments, and of course, the one and only Lavar Ball who was more of a hindrance and annoyance to the world of sports rather than a positive influence. The only negative aspect of this year of sports would be the preposterous amount of injuries, which have certainly tainted the season of many franchises, and deprived fans of having the greatest possible experience. Despite that, 2018 looks to be even better with all the young talent in the sports leagues today.  

NBA

After an eventful start to 2017-18 season of the National Basketball Association, the race, or should I say marathon, for the playoffs have just begun to takeoff. Many clutch shots, gruesome injuries, and overpowering dominance on the parts of star players have brought the playoff marathon to where it is now. If you needed to get caught up on the past couple of months of NBA action, here it is:
 
Injuries. The one thing we all wish could somehow magically disappear with the snap of two fingers. Unfortunately, injuries are human nature and provide players with a whole new level of adversity to overcome. Gordon Hayward, for example, faced one of the most grotesque-looking injury the NBA has ever seen, and no, I do not recommend you search up “Gordon Hayward Injury” on YouTube. Trust me, you’ll regret it. This injury seemed to cover the NBA with somewhat of a cloud that hadn’t gone away for while. Players seemed off, especially those on the team of Hayward, the Boston Celtics. On the other hand, it was possibly a blessing in disguise as it gave the fans an opportunity to observe Kyrie Irving run the show on his own, and boy did he ever deliver. Kyrie led the Celtics to a 16-game winning streak, including impressive wins against the Warriors and Spurs. Another player who has shown sheer excellence has been LeBron James. This comes at no surprise at all. He’s been doing it his whole career, but what has been the most impressive was that LeBron has been doing this with little to no help at all.

Other honourable mentions of dominant players who have stood out to my eye as of late are: Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Andre Drummond, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With that said, which of these players will produce the biggest impact to push their teams into a playoff berth? Here are my NBA Playoff Predictions, including my predicted Conference Champions who are represented with bolded letters. 
 
Western Conference:

1. Golden State Warriors: The Warriors are a lock for one of the top two seeds and are guaranteed to make the NBA finals although the path won’t be as easy this year.
2. Houston Rockets: James Harden is playing at an MVP level and Harden paired with Chris Paul is a duo to fear, especially for the Warriors.
3. San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs have been playing excellent and crisp basketball as of late. The upside of the Spurs is that their best player, Kawhi Leonard, has not even touched the floor yet with a thigh injury.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: This young and talented team lead by the experienced Jimmy Butler is making noise and will surely make the playoffs for the first time after their 14 year playoff drought, considering their young talent.
5. Portland Trail Blazers: This young team, lead by Damian Lillard, will have an opportunity to defeat a superior lineup in this stacked Western conference, but it will be a tough task.
6. New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans lead by Davis and Cousins have the best big-man duo in the league and could be the black horse team that knocks out a favoured team.
7. Denver Nuggets: Lead by the sensational Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets will barely squeeze by for a playoff berth.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder: The eighth seed in the West is probably the toughest decision to make, but with all the talent Oklahoma has, including Westbrook, George, and Anthony, I simply cannot see them out of the playoff picture. The three will find a way to gut out a playoff berth.

Eastern Conference:
 

1. Boston Celtics: Kyrie Irving is all I have to say about this team. Their young talent paired with their veterans are a great combination to secure the 1st seed in the East
2. Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavaliers are my pick to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, once again taking on the Golden State Warriors. The Celtics will be the superior regular season team, but once The King (LeBron James) flips the switch, the “Zero-Dark-Thirty-23” playoff switch as he calls it, it will be undeniably over for the Celtics.
3. Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo has been on a tear as of late and should be able to lead his team to a third seed playoff berth.
4. Toronto Raptors: The Raptors are always a solid, middle of the pack type of team, that will never make any noise in the playoffs unless they draft the next coming of LeBron. We’ve all been there. Home alone. Doing chores, homework, or wasting precious minutes on our phones when suddenly, a creak, crash, or slight noise of something hitting the floor offsets this silence. Panicking in fear for your life as you feel the intruder slowly inching closer towards you. But no, it was just the ice maker, or your dog knocking something down. This feeling is equivalent to the Raptors, in a nutshell. A false sense of something about to take place, and to then find that this noise was nothing; it never had a chance of being a threat. Of course, I can’t single out only the Raptors for being an offender of this crime, as many other teams suffer from this mediocrity, but for the  Raptors it seems as if it’s a never-ending cycle of this.
5. Washington Wizards: The Wizards lead by John Wall should have a solid spot in the playoffs, solely due to the veteran presence in their locker room.
6. Indiana Pacers: Victor Oladipo is indubitably the most improved player and will win that award (MIP). He has become one of the top guards in the NBA, serving up 24.5 points a game on an efficient 49 percent shooting from the floor. His ability to lead his team should secure the Pacers a spot in the playoffs.
7. Philadelphia 76ers: The 6ers are one of the most talented young teams in the NBA. Ben Simmons is way ahead of his age, and Joel Embiid is one of, if not the best big-man in the NBA. I believe the 6ers are locked for the playoffs.
8. Miami Heat: There are many teams in contention for the eighth seed, but I believe the Heat are simply the best team fighting for this spot. They have a great defender in Whiteside, and big shot taker and big shot maker, Dion Waiters.

NFL Playoff Predictions
Many variables have made this NFL season close to unpredictable. Many injuries have changed the face of the playoff picture including injuries to some of the league’s biggest stars such as Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham Jr., Carson Wentz, Deshaun Watson, and many more. These injuries have left some windows wide open for other teams to snatch a playoff spot, but which will those be?

NFC
First round bye:
Minnesota Vikings
Philadelphia Eagles

3rd and 4th seed:
New Orleans Saints 
Los Angeles Rams

Wild Card: 
Carolina Panthers
Dallas Cowboys


AFC
First round bye:
New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers

3rd and 4th seed:
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers

Wild Card: 
Tennessee Titans
Baltimore Ravens

Some may be perplexed at how I put the Cowboys and the Ravens as the last seed in their respective conferences, or why in the world the Chargers are in the 4th seed. Hear me out before you write these theories off. The Ravens are only a single game behind the Buffalo Bills who are currently in the 6th seed of the Wild Card. The Baltimore Ravens have a petrifying defence that no one wants to face, and they recently put up a valiant effort against the current 1st seed, the Pittsburgh Steelers with their 39-38 loss. You better believe the Ravens are a team no one wants to see in the playoffs. 

Next up are the Cowboys, who have had quite a roller coaster of a season which is, fortunately for Dallas, just about to embark on their next uphill slope. With Ezekiel Elliot coming back to aid the Cowboys in their final playoff push, they have a decent chance to squeeze in, depending on how the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers fare in their games. Considering it is crunch time at the end of the season, we can expect the Falcons to pull together and complete another one of their famous - or should I say infamous - choking acts, and allow the Cowboys to steal their playoff spot. 

Lastly are the Chargers who I believe have the greatest shot at taking out the Patriots in a playoff matchup, along with Jacksonville. The Chargers have a veteran quarterback who knows everything to match up with Tom Brady. Secondly, both teams have a defence that are full of young talent and able to get after the quarterback. What we know about Tom Brady is that he has struggled when he has faced a superior defensive line that will lay a hit on him every single time. Just look back at Tom Brady’s two Super Bowl losses against the Giants and the Denver Broncos from the 2016 Season. What did these teams have in common? They all had dominant defensive lines who punished any quarterback standing in their way, similarly to the Chargers and Jacksonville this year; they are called “Sacksonville” for a reason. ​