Top NBA Western Conference teams heading into the 2019-20 season

NBA Western Conference Team Rankings James DeVellis

With Golden State’s sweet and dynastic run of the past five years essentially over after Durant and Thompson’s Achilles injuries (which would sideline both for most if not all of next season), it’s time to think about which team in the West will take the opportunity to rise to the top. Hereunder is our list.

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Houston Rockets

Assuming that the team manages to bring back its core of Chris Paul, James Harden, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, and P.J. Tucker, this coming season may just be the opportunity the Rockets are waiting for to get that coveted title.

Portland Trailblazers

This past year’s other Western Conference finalist were lacking the services of Jusuf Nurkic when it battled the Warriors, which proved to be its downfall, as nobody could contain Green, Looney, and Cousins in the middle. A healthy lineup next season will make the Blazers the team a favorite.

Denver Nuggets

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Having finally had solid playoffs experience, the only way is up for the young Nuggets team. Expect Nikola Jokic to further improve his game, dominate, and possibly even win the MVP this 2019-2o season.
OKC Thunder
As with the other teams above, an intact roster should get Westbrook and George back as playoffs favorites. Adding one or two solid two-way players this free agency should take the team over the top.

L.A. Lakers

The Lakers are committed to taking it all this season despite missing the playoffs last year. The tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis certainly is a winning formula. The team just needs to find a way to surround them with the right players.

L.A. Clippers

If the Clippers manage to snatch Kawhi Leonard away from Toronto this offseason, then it will instantly be a contender. After all, it already has a solid, playoffs-tested roster to complement him.

Dallas Mavericks

We also cannot take for granted the Mavs, which will be bringing the European duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis this coming season. It will surely be an exciting time for Mavs fans, even with the retirement of Nowitzki.

Remembering America’s greatest cyclist, Greg LeMond

The gold standard in American cycling-- James DeVellis

Image source: Wikipedia.com

Greg LeMond is an American legend, and the greatest cyclist the United States has ever produced. With two Road Race World Championship titles under his belt and three Tour de France wins, LeMond is the gold standard in American cycling. He is also fiercely opposed to doping in all of sports and spends a lot of his time and effort on worthy causes.

In 1986, Greg LeMond who was then a non-pro cyclist, won the prestigious Tour de France for the first time. James DeVellis.

LeMond was unable to defend his title the following year after he was a victim of a hunting accident where he was unintentionally shot by hunting pellets. His most legendary moment in sports, however, came in 1989 at the Tour de France when he achieved the impossible, a come-from- behind victory. He would defend that title a year later. Only seven other cyclists in history have won the Tour thrice. James DeVellis.

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Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace allowed for officials to change the records, which now states LeMond as the sole American winner to win in the tour.

LeMond retired in 1994 and joined other famed American cyclists in the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1996. He was the first ever pro cyclist to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and the first cyclist to receive a million-dollar contract. James DeVellis.

The drama surrounding the Warriors-Rockets playoffs match

The ongoing Western Conference Semifinal match between the Houston Rockets and the defending champ Golden State Warriors is being dictated more by the officiating that it should, says sports enthusiast James DeVellis. On the eve of the second game, the Rockets issued a statement on their audited tape of 2018’s battle with the Warriors, claiming that the officials had made 81 missed calls.

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Game One already featured a variety of non-calls and hotly debated ones, with the NBA saying
afterward that there were two missed calls on Warriors star Steph Curry in the last two minutes, and with the final possession in which the Rockets’ James Harden had thought he had been fouled being a correct non-call. That game had also seen Chris Paul getting thrown out.

Harden has made public announcements that his Rockets team is not getting its fair share of calls. And in past games, Harden and Paul called out veteran referee Scott Foster as someone who should not even be allowed by the league to officiate Rockets games. Ironically, it is Scott Foster refereeing the second game of the Warriors-Rockets match.

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NBA fans lament these developments, as games should be placed in the hands of the players, not the officials. After all, this match is already seen by many as a preview of who gets to the NBA Finals.

Then again, it could all just be in the mind. Both Golden State and Houston are clearly being affected by the officiating, preventing them from fully focusing on their games. Let’s hope the bad blood both teams have been harboring get more directed to each other instead, offers James DeVellis.

James DeVellis is a sports business major from Arizona. A voracious reader, the twenty-something student hopes to become a writer someday. To bring his two interests together, he is doing blogs and discussing the latest happenings in sports. For related posts, visit this blog.

Getting to know the wonderful Wendell Carter, Jr.

I’m James DeVellis, sports writer. For this blog, I’d like to put the spotlight on one of the rookies who I believe deserves some recognition – the Bulls’ Wendell Carter, Jr.

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There are a few things for Chicago Bulls fans to rejoice about from such a dismal season. There’s Zach Levine coming into his own (although he still needs to improve his D). There’s also the fact that the Bulls have a high pick in the draft. And then there’s Wendell Carter, Jr.

Carter is one of the cornerstones of this young Bulls team. Chosen seventh overall in the 2018 draft, he wasn’t as talked about as Luka Doncic, Trae Young, DeAndre Ayton, or Collin Sexton. But Carter did prove to be worthy of the seventh pick – at least before his unfortunate injury.

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In the 44 games he played, Carter displayed his offensive prowess, passing game, and defense capability. He didn’t put up superstar numbers, but he got the job done, scoring 10 PPG, taking in 7 RPG, dishing 2 APG, with 1 BPG for good measure. He also had seven triple doubles which was astounding for a rookie.

I, James DeVellis believe that this kid has a bright future ahead of him. And if he decides to stay in the Windy City for the haul, so do the Bulls.

Hello, my name’s James DeVellis, a sports business student from Arizona. I’m hoping to be a successful writer someday, and I’m starting the journey by writing about sports. More of my writings here.

Can the Lakers still make it to the playoffs this season?

As of this writing, the Lakers are hanging by a thread in its campaign to get to the postseason. It the Los Angeles team fails to make it, it will be the first time in 14 years that LeBron James will miss the playoffs. Moreover, even if the Lakers make it, they’d likely have to content with the Warriors in the first round, explains sports enthusiast James DeVellis.

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The Lakers are sporting a below-.500 record of 28-29 after the All-Star break. This puts them three games below the eighth spot (currently held by the Clippers) and two wins behind Sacramento. There are just 25 games left in the team’s schedule, and chances of avoiding a battle with Golden State in the first round is unlikely, as the seventh spot are being fought for by the Rockets, Spurs, and Jazz.

It’s a precarious situation for the Lakers which wasn’t helped by low morale among the team’s younger crop of players, coming from a failed trade for Anthony Davis early last February. Kuzma, Ball, Ingram, and Hart need to step up and forget that their stint in L.A. had been put on the line for the AD trade.

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LeBron James surely wants to maintain his streak of playoffs appearances, but if it will come with a drubbing by the Warriors, it might make better sense to just let this year go and focus on acquiring AD in the summer, adds James DeVellis. It also doesn’t help that the Lakers have a difficult schedule ahead, including home matches against contenders Bucks, Celtics, and Nuggets, and away games versus OKC, Utah, and Toronto.

James DeVellis is a sports business major based in Arizona. He is a voracious reader who’s into sports writing. Visit this blog for more NBA-related posts.

Quo Vadis, Anthony Davis? Will AD get to join forces with LeBron?

The hot topic nearing the NBA’s trade deadline this early February is the trade request of Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis. It’s easily a development that the entire league is interested in, as Davis is one of top five NBA players on many experts’ lists. Where he eventually goes will greatly affect that franchise’s future, says sports enthusiast and blogger James DeVellis.

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The move seems to make it clear that Davis is intent on playing with LeBron James in Lakerland. This is because Davis shares the same manager as James in Rich Paul. As of this writing, Lakers management is scampering to find a workable deal with New Orleans, with many thinking that this would involve unloading all the Lakers’ young stars which include Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and even center Ivica Zubac.

But NBA pundits are one in saying that Boston may be the better destination for Davis, as it has a better roster of talents in the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier, along with a ton of first-round picks. However, because of an existing NBA rule, the Celtics cannot make an offer for Davis until free agency in July. In other words, if Pelicans management cave in to the Lakers’ offer, a Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis pairing up is not going to happen.

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In any case, whether Davis ends up with Los Angeles or Boston (the top two markets with the salary cap space and talent to accommodate Davis) remains to be seen. But it would surely make that team an instant contender. And Lakers president for basketball operations Magic Johnson knows that he is given a small window as leverage. It doesn’t matter if this trade depletes the Lakers’ current lineup as a LeBron-AD tandem is definitely formidable and worth rebuilding the team around, adds James DeVellis.


James DeVellisis a college student from Arizona, majoring in Sports Business. He wants to be a writer someday, so in the meantime, he is starting his own blog and social media platform focused on sports. More NBA-related reads here.

Our tribute to he who would be king of Bears

In American football, as far as running backs are concerned, very few names and even fewer legacies stand as tall as that of Walter Payton’s.  Payton has topped many of American football’s greatest running back lists for good reason.  He was also known to be quite the gentle soul in real life, and beloved by everyone who knew him.

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But Walter Payton didn’t start out as popular as he was.  His youth saw the foundations poured on his solid character, which was where all his other strengths branched out from.

Walter Payton was born on July 25, 1954.  He always loved football, but didn’t join his high school team so as not to take the spotlight away from his older brother Eddie.  Instead Payton ran for the track team.  Young Walter then joined the team right after Eddie graduated, and almost instantly became its driving force.  He was simply faster and stronger than everyone else.

Walter Payton went on to achieve more in college playing for Jackson State University.  Along with future greats Jerome Barkum and Jackie Slater, Payton wreaked havoc on opposing team’s defenses.  This was the most successful Tigers line-up in history.

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With all his achievements, the one that truly foretold of Payton’s future magnificence was his seven touchdowns in a single game in 1972.

Hey, there. I’m James DeVellis, a student from Arizona majoring in Sports Business. I’m interested in sharing my musings and insights on professional sports. For more of my posts, visit this blog.