David Blatt Fired, What's Next?

It was reported by Yahoo Sports! Friday afternoon that Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, David Blatt had been fired and assistant coach Tyronn Lue would be promoted, replacing him [Blatt], after signing a new multi-year deal for the position to make it official.

This firing was a shock because it's coming after a win against a very good Los Angeles Clippers team 115-102

It was reported that all-pro forward LeBron James was uninformed about the teams decision to fire Blatt. 

Do I buy it, personally? No.

LeBron is the teams leader and when he returned to Cleveland, last season, I'm sure that he came with some personal demands. I would have and anyone in that position, for that matter. I'm sure LeBron is a player that cares who his coach is. And it's not really a secret, he clearly has a pretty good relationship with coach Lue. This move makes sense for the organization moving forward, they'll still be the best team in the eastern conference.

Let's be honest, LeBron has really been calling majority of the shots. It didn't matter if David Blatt was the head coach or if LeBron had former Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown. The sidelines needed a face and Blatt just so happened to be the guy. I do believe the Lue could have a different type of impact. Being a former player and NBA champion (with the Lakers), LeBron could respect his opinion more. Coming from a Doc Rivers coaching staff (Clippers and Celtics), the team, as a whole, may play a different type of basketball. A style of basketball that could help them get to a level to help them compete with teams like the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.

However, let's think about this. Could this move be putting more pressure on Lue? James? How about the entire team? Is it now championship or bust? NBA analyst and Former coach Doug Collins said he believes that it does after firing your head coach halfway through the season.

The Cavaliers were 83-40 with Blatt as the head coach and had a finals appearance in his first year as head coach, losing in the finals to the Golden State Warriors.

The Cavaliers currently sit at 30-11, first place in the eastern conference, and their next game is scheduled for Saturday against the Chicago Bulls (24-17).

Kawhi Leonard: Old Fashion and Effective

  The San Antonio Spurs are the second best team in the western conference as well as the NBA by record standings (36-8). It shouldn't be much of a surprise to basketball fans. The Spurs have a history of being a winning organization for nearly the past two decades. Coach Gregg Popovich is one of the most respected head coaches in professional sports. Not because of his dry interviews that he does with the media or because he's known for sitting his star players during big games. None of those things are what makes him so well respected. Coach Popovich has a history of drafting or acquiring very good talent and making them great in his system or he'll get great players and get them to buy-in to his system even if it means hurting their own personal numbers... i.e. Laacmarcus Aldridge... and  he makes his team a contender year-after-year. And four years ago, coach Popovich did it again...

Kawhi Leonard was drafted in 2011, with the no.15 overall pick, by the Indiana Pacers. Soon after they would trade Leonard to the Spurs for the young, long guard  George Hill. This trade happened because reportedly the Pacers wanted a scoring guard and couldn't get the player they wanted in the draft, originally.


Looking back at the 2011 draft, there are four players drafted before Leonard that have now played for more than two teams in just five years. Those players are:

• Derrick Williams - Drafted no.2 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. After a slow start to his career in Minnesota he would be traded to Sacramento and he was recently signed this offseason to the New York Knicks. 
• Jan Vesely - Vesely was drafted with the no.6 overall pick to the Washington Wizards and after a very lack luster two-year stint with the Wizards, Vesely was traded during the 2013-14 season to the Denver Nuggets. Vesely is no longer in the NBA after only four years.
• Jimmer Fredette - Drafted no.10 by the Milwaukee Bucks and traded to the Sacramento Kings soon after, Fredette was suppose to be the next big scoring guard in the league. He was known for his incredible ability to shoot the ball in college. I guess this didn't translate very well to the NBA level. Fredette was only in Sacramento until the middle of the 2013-14 season, he found himself on the Bulls' roster by that seasons end. Currently, he is on the Pelicans roster, and has now appeared in 54 games for them in the past two seasons. 
• Marcus Morris - After such a good college run alongside his twin brother Markieff, at Kansas, Morris would be drafted no.14 to the Houston Rockets - one selection before Leonard - and things in H-Town weren't so great for him. It was reported that he didn't get along with the coaching staff, he was an inconsistent player and his minutes and numbers reflect that. Morris was traded after just two years with the Rockets to Phoenix and would, once again, be reunited with his brother and he would spend three years there. His numbers in Phoenix had improved from Houston but he still found himself coming off the bench. Morris was traded before the start of the season to the Detroit Pistons and he looks like he's found a team that could stick. Morris has started all 40 games for the Pistons this season and all of his averages have improved.  

Leonard is currently 20th in the league in scoring and first on the Spurs, Averaging 20.1 ppg (career high) and averages over 13 for his career, thus far. None of the four players listed above average above 10 ppg for their careers.

In four years he [Leonard] has seen an improvement in most of his averages. In 2011 he averaged 7.9 ppg and in five years he's seen averaging 20 ppg, that's an increase of 12 in just five years. And what I find most impressive is how he's been scoring over the years. Coming out of San Diego State he wasn't known for being a dominant scorer but for his hustle, strong basketball knowledge, long frame and freakishly large hands that made him a good defender.Since being in the league, he has been a very consistent scorer and improved shooter. Sounds funny, right? Well. Through his career, thus far, Leonard has averaged just around 50 percent from the field ... His averages from the three-point line have been much lower. His first three seasons he averaged just around 38 percent, last season (2014) he saw that average drop to 35 percent, and this season he's averaging 48 percent ... this tells me a lot about both Leonard and the team. 1) He has very good shot selection and if you factor out the three-point shooting of his first three season's he would be shooting nearly 55 percent overall. 2) Obviously, over the years, his shot attempts have grown. With a team that has three future hall of fame players, maybe four, they allow Kawhi to be the key/main   piece to the offense. That speaks volumes of what the coach thinks of him and the other players on the team as well.

He is such a special player because he's a great player on both ends of the court. He's the reigning defensive player of the year. He's the first player to win that award that wasn't a center or Power Foward since 2004 when Ron Artest now known as Metta World Peace.  Leonard currently leads the team in scoring and steals.

Kawhi Leonard was built to play with the Spurs. He isn't a flashy player, not outspoken, he's willing to play any role on the team, and he has a reputation of being a gym rat. People first started to talk about him after doing a great job of defending LeBron James, the leagues best player, in the 2014 NBA finals. Now, LeBron still performed well but it was clear that Leonard would give him a lot of problems with his defense. Also, Leonard would help the Spurs defeat James and the Miami Heat in just five games to be crowned the NBA Champions, while walking away with the finals MVP as well.

Leonard has shown a lot of growth through four full years in the NBA and has been playing great, so far this season. And I believe this season, we are seeing the changing of powers on the Spurs. Forward, Tim Duncan has been the team leader for nearly two decades. And now I think he's finally ready to pass the torch.

The Spurs and Leonard aren't getting as much recognition as the Golden State Warriors, who hold the leagues best record currently. But, I think they prefer it that way.

stats c/o ESPN & NBA.com

Chip Kelly, Good Hire for the Niners?

  It was made official today that former Philadelphia Eagles head coach, Chip Kelly would be the next coach for the 49ers organization. After a season of 5-11 the 49ers decided to part ways with coach Jim Tomsula after just one season.

In his first three seasons, Kelly is 26-21 as a head coach.

The 49ers had been interviewing several candidates over the past few weeks. Names like Mike Shanahan and Hue Jackson were at the top of their lists alongside Kelly. Yesterday, Jan. 13, Hue Jackson had officially been ruled out because he had accepted a job as the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns. It was reported that San Francisco really wanted Jackson as a head coach before he agreed to terms with Cleveland.

Now, I don't see a problem with the hire. I believe that Kelly is a good head coach. I'm not saying he's Belichick, Tomlin or anything along those lines. But I believe that when he focuses on just coaching football, good things tend to happen. Despite what roster he had and the way the rest of the division looked, Kelly did a pretty solid job as just the coach with the Eagles. In his first season, 2012, Kelly took a team that was 4-12 to 10-6 with a playoff birth. Think it was a fluke? He led the Eagles to another 10-6 season, this time failing to make the playoffs. After "blowing up" the team: Getting rid of players like Lesean McCoy, Brandon Boykin, DeSean Jackson and Trent Cole, just to name a few, and inserting in players he felt would fit his system better. Players he brought in: Kiko Alonso, DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews and Byron Maxwell, just to name a few. In 2015 Kelly had the Eagles, like the rest of the NFC east, on a roller coaster of a season. There were a few games that Kelly lost at the last minute, that could've saved him his job, in reality. A last second interception by the Dolphins killed them; The down-to-the-wire touchdown pass by Kirk Cousins in week four had people saying "you like that" all year. And if you just take into account those two games, we could be talking about a possible 8-win season for Kelly and maybe he'd still have a job.

However, it didn't work like that. Kelly would end up losing badly in back-to-back weeks to the Arizona Cardinals and the Washington Redskins, officially eliminating them from the playoffs in the NFC with a record of 6-9. Not too long after the game against Washington in week 16 the News broke that he [Kelly] was out as the Eagles head coach, immediately.

Did Kelly it on himself? in a way, yes. He started focusing on too many things that weren't coaching. He asked for more power from ownership over the players. His first two years all he did was coach. It was effective, look at the results.

Now, Kelly being the head coach of the 49ers could be a good look. Sometimes your first stop as a head coach isn't the best, but it's about how you rebound from that bad experience - Just ask Belichick.

I am not saying that the 49ers are going to be a powerhouse in 2016. But, I do believe that with a quarterback like Colin Kaepernick it puts Kelly in a good position to implement his system day one. And the Chip Kelly offense could also help Kaepernick get back to pro bowl form, after having a very mediocre season in 2015.

I do believe there are two lingering factors that could potentially make this Kelly signing look bad:

1. Strong division with a struggling roster - The 49ers have a roster that is lacking what it had compared to a few years ago. Due to players retiring and leaving in free agency, on both offense and defense.

2. They might not be fully invested - Was Chip Kelly "their guy"?  I don't think anyone really knows. It was reports that they really wanted Jackson and that leads me to believe that they might have named Kelly the coach, the day after Jackson agreed to terms with the Browns, as a reaction to not getting their first option.

If they aren't fully invested in Kelly, how short is his leash? I think the length will let us know how invested the 49ers were when naming Kelly as their head coach.

I just hope they don't think that Kelly will do for this team what he did for the Eagles in his first two season. It'll be a longer process to see that type of progress, realistically. Could it happen? Yes. Do I see it happening? No. I see a team that is in need of a coach who can get this organization back into playoff contention. Do I think Kelly is capable of doing that, absolutely. I just think he needs time and to only focus on coaching football.

Playoffs? Playoffs! Oh Yeah, They Were Great

I give my take on the NFL playoff weekend. I talk about the one ingredient that all the winning teams had that helped them advance. I'll give my take on the entire Bengals situation. People want Marvin Lewis gone, I explain why he should stay and why you should want him coaching the Bengals. Also, I talk about the best move for Hue Jackson...

Bengals-Steelers Key Notes for the Playoffs

  The 2015 NFL regular season has come to an end. Now, it's time to get ready for the playoffs. The first round or wild card round of the playoffs is sometimes the most intriguing round of the playoffs. There  could be a team in that round with a record as good as 12-3, or as bad as 7-9. And this year in the first round, maybe the most compelling game is a rivalry game from the AFC north division, the Bengals-Steelers is sure to be a treat for all football fans.

The Cincinnati Bengals (12-4) will be without their starting quarterback, Andy Dalton, and backup AJ McCarron will be starting his fourth consecutive game this season, as they ready to face the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) for the third time this season. Dalton was injured playing against the Steelers on Dec.12 trying to make a tackle after throwing an interception to early in the first quarter to Steelers defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt.  The Steelers won that game with a score of 33-20.

AJ McCarron is 2-1 in his first three starts as the Bengals quarterback.

Why This Game Should be more Interesting to Viewers... 

The past few years the Bengals have come up short in the playoffs. It's been a point of emphasis around the media that the Bengals haven't won a playoff game in 25 years, 1990 being the last time they've won a postseason game. And with the lack of postseason success by Dalton aka "the Red Rifle" frustration has grown throughout their fan base. Dalton has had regular season success, no doubt; making the playoffs four consecutive years is a major accomplishment. Especially if you know the history of the Bengals organization in the past 20 years. But, with any type of success, people only seem to be content for so long. After four years of mediocre numbers and poor playoff play by Dalton, there were some Bengals fans that had been calling for Dalton to be replaced by McCarron in hopes that he could lead this team to the next level - a playoff victory. The thing that gives this story any life, is Dalton was having/had the best season of his career, until this point. Now, the Bengals have to trust that their second-year quarterback can go and get them over this 25-year playoff drought.

Things aren't so sunny for the Steelers either. They had a very slow start to their season. Being with no Le'veon Bell for their first two game and no Martavis Bryant the first four. However, they got back on track and started making a push for the post season as the weeks progressed.  When they played the Bengals the first time this season the entire Steelers sideline had been shook up after watching all-pro running back Le'veon Bell's season ended, once again, by a Cincinnati team that put an end to Bell's season last year, right before the Steelers entered the playoffs - when it appeared that Safety, Reggie Nelson lunged at Bell's knee while making a tackle. However, this time it was linebacker, Vontez Burfict that tackled Bell as he running along the sideline... Now, no Bell again for the playoffs. Veteran, second-string running back DeAngelo Williams had officially taken over as the starter and had been performing well. He was almost as good as his early days in Carolina. Until he would be carted off last weekend in the season finale against the Cleveland Browns.  But the Steelers don't necessarily have a need to be concerned. They do have one of the best quarterback-receiving duo's in the league in "Big" Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. Now they Steelers might have to rely on passing the ball at least 35-40 times to pull out a win in Cincinnati where the cold and windy weather could potentially be a factor.

This Game Might Have a Massive Aerial Attack

The Bengals are ranked first in scoring defense, yes. However they finished 20th in the league in passing yards allowed (249/g); the Steelers have it even worse, as they finished 30th (272/g).

• In his last four games, Antonio Brown has 43 receptions, 524 yards and 3 touchdowns. 
• The Steelers are 4-1 in their last five games. This was also his third consecutive season with at least 110 receptions.
• Roethlisberger has had at least 30 attempts his last nine games played
• AJ McCarron is averaging 27 pass attempts in his first three starts. and he has at least one passing touchdowns in each game.
•  Tight end and touchdown-machine Tyler Eifert is scheduled to return for the game after being out due to injury. 
• AJ Green has a receiving touchdown in three-of-the-last-four games. He also has double-digit receiving touchdowns for the third time in his career. 
• Hue Jackson has had that offense playing well, all season. I don't see the Bengals changing up their game plan and going very conservative. 

One Major Key for Both Teams

Bengals:  They have to control the clock and have an effective running game - at least 120 yards on the ground.

Steelers: They have to get Antonio Brown involved early and make the Bengals play from behind.

Stats c/o ESPN.com and NFL.com

NFL: No Time To Improve in Tampa Bay

  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that they have fired head coach Lovie Smith, Jan. 7. No one really saw this coming. The team was making progress and seemed to be headed in the right direction. On the podcast I talk about why I'm outraged by this firing. Also, find out why I dislike the Rooney rule. I understand it. don't like it.

Should Todd Haley Get Another Shot?

There are currently six head-coaching positions open in the NFL. They've been throwing around a lot of names to fill the positions. Coaches from Mike Shanahan to Hue Jackson. However, one name that isn't really being put out there is Steelers offensive coordinator, Todd Haley.

  The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for a playoff showdown with their division foes, the Cincinnati Bengals for the wild card round of the playoffs. They [the Steelers] have the third ranked offense in the NFL for 2015 and had the second ranked offense in 2014. I know that a lot of people will give a lot of that credit to one of the most explosive players in the league, wide receiver Antonio Brown. However, I believe that Haley creates a lot of packages and plays that help Brown a lot.

Haley was a head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-2011. In his stint in Kansas City, he managed to get a mediocre record of 21-28. He made the playoffs once in his time their - 2010 after the Chiefs went 10-6 - however, it was short lived as they were blown out by the Ravens 30-7.

Haley has proven that he's a very creative offensive minded coach. He's also known for getting the most out of his players. And no, things didn't go well the first time around for Haley as a head coach but hopefully he's learned more as a coordinator in Pittsburgh - one of the more successful organizations in the NFL - on what it takes to become one of the great coaches in the NFL.

Teams that would be the best fit for Haley: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins

The San Francisco Struggle

Less than 4 hours after defeating the St.Louis Rams, the San Francisco 49ers announced that they had relieved first-year head coach Jim Tomsula of his coaching duties, late Sunday evening, after finishing the season with a record of 5-11 - their worst record since the 2007 season.

Jim Tomsula was promoted from defensive line coach to the head coach this past off season, replacing current Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Harbaugh seemed to have issues with the front office in San Francisco and when the Michigan job came available it seemed to make his [Harbaugh's] decision a little easier. And after the 49ers made the announcement on Sunday, Harbaugh sent out a tweet that appeared to have been targeting the 49ers organization.

Do not be deceived. You will reap what you sow.

— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) January 4, 2016

I don't know if that's true or not, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if it is.

Tomsula was put in a bad situation and was given no chance to make it better. The team had lost numerous key players after last season, the offense, outside of quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running back Carlos Hyde, is either inexperienced or ancient. After trading former pro bowl tight end Vernon Davis, I couldn't name one other legitimate target that is dependable on the San Francisco roster not named Anquan Boldin. I think there is some young talent on the team but experience is key and that's where they seem to lack.

In all fairness to the organization, coach Tomsula had failed to lead this team to two consecutive wins all season after starting the season 1-0, defeating the Minnesota Vikings with a dominating performance on Monday Night Football. However, they would go on to lose their next four games.

The NFL has been known to stand for not for long. However, a quick turnover like this is usually seen by teams that struggle with management and front office issues like the Cleveland Browns. The programs that are usually successful don't have a quick turnover in their coaching staff. Teams such as the Patriots, Bengals, Steelers, Giants, and Ravens have all had some success over the past eight years or so. It's mostly due to stability on the sideline and in the front office. Teams have to allow coaches to implement their systems and values into the locker room and in the players. Maybe the owners didn't like the coaching philosophy of Tomsula. Or maybe they rushed to hire Tomsula after the departure of Harbaugh.

It has been rumored that former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly is interested in the coaching vacancy in San Francisco.

The San Francisco 49ers will have a top 10 selection in the 2016 NFL draft. And so the "rebuilding" process continues...