Why The Nets Just Can 't Get Right

When everyone thinks of the Chicago Bulls, they think of greatness. How could you not? The entire decade of the 1990s was all about the Chicago Bulls. Their star player Michael Jordan was easily the most popular athlete in the world, the franchise won 6 NBA championships in eight years, and they were easily recognized as the greatest team ever, owning a then-record 72-win season. They were at the peak of their fame as easily the most recognized team in the world. However, Michael Jordan called it quits after their sixth championship which began a long gradual decline for 20 years. In that time, they have not won any championships or even appeared in the Finals. Now, we have the newest edition of the team, the 2017-2018 Chicago Bulls. After trading three players with all-star experience before the season began, They left their team that is now a bunch of inexperienced players. Despite claims that they are a young team that will get better, I believe that the Chicago Bulls are the worst team in the NBA for now because of a lack of all-star caliber players and their terrible in-game performances.

They have a good rotation with a lot of polarity—Madison Bumgarner is one of the best pitchers in the world, and Johnny Cueto is not far behind. However, Jeff Samardzija is not nearly as good as he used to be, Matt Moore isn't good, and Matt Cain has been injured and horrendous as of late. Their bullpen was absolutely horrific last season, blowing 32 saves in the regular season and playoffs. Behind Melancon they are supremely deficient; Hunter Strickland and Derek Law are awful. Their lineup is solid, led by Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, and Brandon Crawford. Pence has been got progressively worse over the past few years and is well past his prime, on top of the fact that he carries an albatross injury concern, and the same is true for Denard Span. Their weakest point is the outfield; injuries to Span and Pence could be a killer. The Giants have the potential to make the playoffs, and they could catch the Dodgers if everything goes right, but they are the likeliest of the five teams I predict to make the playoffs to come up short.

They have really good people on their team that take home wins like Von Miller this person was a nobody until 2016 when he and other players on their defense like Chris Harris, Aqib Talib, Darian Stewart, TJ Ward, Derek Wolfe, Demarcus Ware, and our special middle backer Brandon Marshall helped us win a super bowl (50). They each have their strengths and weaknesses and that is the reason they are

Toronto's defensive woes culminated in a meltdown of epic proportions during the postseason, losing four-straight games in the opening

They have an elite defense, ranking in the top six of each statistical category for team defense. They have the best defensive line with Chris Long, Aaron Donald, and Robert Quinn. Their secondary is one of the best in the game, routinely shutting down opposing teams passing games.

The Kings finished the 2014/2015 regular season with a meager 29-53 record; no where near playoff contention in the fiercely competitive Western Conference. To put their under-achieving record in context, the Kings still would have finished as the lowly 13th seed in the far less competitive Eastern Conference. But they have visibly bolstered up their roster with a variety of talent.

Like I mentioned earlier they have 2 rings in another league, and 3 in the NBA. They have appeared in the NBA finals 6 times. The team has 9 conference finals, 7 division championships, and 21 playoff appearances. There best season occurred in 2015-16 going 73-9, and there worst being in 2000-01, going 17-65. In the 06-07 season, the Warriors team none as "We Believe" made a huge mark in history, coming in as the 8th seed in the playoffs, they beat the 1st seeded Mavericks in the first round. This was a huge accomplishment, seeing that the warriors hadn't made the playoffs in a very long time. They ended up losing in the second round to the Jazz, but they we're still noticed as a team that believed. Along with team success, they also have had individual success. GSW has 17 Hall of Famers. They have won coach of the year 3 times, Most Improved 2 times, R.O.Y 4 times, D.P.O.Y once, and MVP 2 times. (Both were Stephen Curry, 2 years in a row.) When winning the finals, their MVP's were Rick Barry in 75', Andre Igoudala in 15', and Kevin Durant in 17'. But to have great success, you need good staff and

Dodgers had a great season with 91-63 record; however, on the end of season they have a big slump, losing 20 of 25 of the last games. That makes a big difference

Yardage doesn't seem to be the issue, considering, they've surpassed 400 yards of total offense three games in a row, beating the 2012 record. They're averaging 9.2 points in the fourth quarter, which is 3rd in the NFL, but only 23.6 points per game, ranking them at 13.

When a team has this much success it leads people to wondering, what has the team been doing? Perhaps this years team was dedicated to getting better, or maybe practice has been tougher this year. It could be a number of things, to find out i asked Ty Gentry who said “ The team was all there to gget better and we all had a mindset to win no one wanted to lose and everybody was willing to do what it took to win.”

One reason Carolina Panthers are seen as mediocre in sports is because of the lack talented stars that they can build on. The Carolina Panthers had a couple of Pro-Bowl caliber players over the years, like Julius Peppers and Steve Smith, but over time the Panthers rid themselves of both players. When both players left, many fans turned against the franchise and became fans of other teams. For example, Charlotte now became a conglomerate of NFL teams. I, personally, have seen many Cowboys, Redskins and Steelers fans in this city alone than Panther fans, especially when Steve Smith fled the team in 2013 due to contract disputes.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were expected to make a playoff runs this year, but by the time Clayton Kershaw fell injured with a back problem, their chances looked grim, but somehow the Dodgers got all the way to Game 6 of the NLCS. Look, Dodger fans felt like they could have gotten to the World Series, but just getting to the NLCS was something incredible. This year in particular saw a record number of players on the DL, especially pitchers. Between August and October, pitchers like Julio Urias, Jose De Leon, Brock Stewart and Ross Stripling carried the load. The Dodgers had high expectations coming into this year with a number of star pitchers, but the season looked botched by the time the pitching rotation seem depleted and still got far in the

All they have to do is steal Game 5 or 7 in San Antonio. More than likely it would Game 5 because it's a difficult task to win a Game 7 on the road in the NBA. If the Grizz can keep that game close, then the pressure will be all on the San Antonio Spurs. Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph will have to play like they did Games 3 and 4. Conley needs to be aggressive scoring and creating chances for his teammates. Marc Gasol needs to show his leadership on both ends of the court. Z-Bo doing what Z-Bo does, getting buckets on the block and rebound the ball. But these three can't do it alone, their supporting cast will have to step up especially if they are trying to get a game in San Antonio. The role players have to come up with key plays. For example, in Game 4, an important defensive play that was overlooked was made by 2 year guard, Andrew Harrison. Grizzlies were down 2 points in overtime, Memphis turned the ball over and Spurs had a fastbreak for an open lay up. Harrison hustled back and ended up blocking the lay up attempt. If he doesn't do that, the Spurs more than likely win the game. Your superstars can only take you so far in the league. It will be up to the supporting cast to step their game up on the road if the Grizzlies are going to defeat the Spurs in what would be a bigger upset than the one they pulled against these same Spurs in

When Jones took the reigns of the program in April 2012, his arrival brought about a sense hope. Nearly four years later, a steady mix of mediocrity and underperformance has the head coach fixated on the hot seat.

The Raptors stayed true to a trend, they are now 1-11 all-time in playoff game ones. I know, you