
The Lakers are toast. After a miserable weekend in Minnesota, they are down 3-1 against the Wolves, heading back to LA for Game 5. Game 3 and 4 were there for the taking, but the Lakers kept shooting themselves in the foot. Turnovers, stupid fouls, and ultimately, getting dominated in the paint and on the boards. The lack of a big man in this series is really hurting them against the likes of Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert. This is where the decision to keep Trey Jemision of the playoff roster is a killer. If the Lakers didn’t want to give up Dalton Knecht, then you would hope they would make him a useful playoff contributor. The Lakers played all 5 players the entire 2nd half, and it caught up with Lebron, who didn’t score in the 4th quarter. I think this team can win Game 5, but let’s be honest, winning two more games after that, even if one is at home will be too tall of a task for this group.
Then there’s the Clippers, who suffered a devastating loss to the Nuggets in Game 4. The Clips looked like they were on the verge of taking a commanding 3-1 lead. I still like their chances to win the series in 7 games, for two reasons. First, Kawhi has reminded everyone that he can still ball out, and be one of the best players in basketball. Then there’s James Harden, who has also reminded us that he still has some very good basketball left in him. The Nuggets might have the best player in The Joker, but Jamaal Murray and Michael Porter have shown me that they have their inconsistent moments. For that reason, I would ever so slightly favor the Clips in this one.
What a disastrous weekend for the Kings in Edmonton. Their best of seven series with the Oilers is now tied at 2-2. However, never has a 2-2 series felt like it was more 3-2. The Kings should be up 3-0, or at least 3-1 going back home, but they made some very foolish coaching decision all weekend. On Friday, it was very foolish to challenge that tying goal in the 3rd period, which resulted in them giving up the game-winning goal on a power-play, when they lost the challenge, about 20 seconds later. They also foolishly went into a 1-3-1 prevent defense to protect the lead instead of continuing to attack. They did the same thing last night in the 3rd period, and that cost them the lead. You can’t do that against a team as skilled as Edmonton. You have to keep the pressure on, and if they did, they would have kept scoring. Sure you can argue if Kevin Fiala doesn’t hit the goal post the Kings probably win that game, or if Quinton Byfield clears the puck in the last minute. However, this is about poor strategy. When you shorten your bench to 3 lines and 4 defenseman, you are going to be fatigued playing that way, and the Kings essentially neutralized their depth advantage against the Oilers. I don’t know if the Kings or their fans have more PTSD after that game. Let’s hope it’s just the fans, because I don’t know how the Kings can mentally overcome those two games and still win this series.
I am both surprised, but pleased at the Rams big move on the draft day a few nights ago. The Rams traded their 1st round pick in this years draft, and will have an extra 1st rounder next year. That will give them a great chance to draft a successor to Matthew Stafford in a year where there are a lot of great quarterback draft prospects. They really did approach this draft with house money though, because there weren’t any major needs. Josiah Stewart is a nice addition to an already loaded defensive line. Sean McVay clearly has a vision for a player like Terrance Ferguson in his offense, and Jarquez Hunter is like the second coming up Kyren Williams, so the Rams have even more offensive depth now too. It took the NFL’s help to finally get Chris Paul to a good LA team, but it finally happened. They didn’t draft a cornerback though, which is surprising, but that could mean Jalen Ramsey could be headed back to LA in a trade. That would be a great thing.

As for the Chargers, they did a nice job of getting Justin Herbert some weapons around him. Omarion Hampton gives them a nice running back, and Tre Harrison might finally give them someone who can catch the football. They also did a nice job adding to the defense on the line, and in their secondary. I could easily see the first 5 picks being starters. The Bolts obviously didn’t do a lot in free agency which wasn’t great, but the draft might have actually made up for that if these guys end up being as good as we think they will be. Going from Tom Telesco to Joe Hortiz is like going from a Honda Accord to a Maserati.
Obviously, the talk of the draft was Shadeur Sanders. However, I think the moral of the story here is when he didn’t work out for teams, he was viewed as not good enough to compensate for the headache and drama that he could bring to the table. Plus the worst part about all this for him is that he is now going to an absolutely horrible situation. A very crowded QB room in Cleveland, in a city with terrible weather, and in a division where he has to compete against 2 of the best quarterbacks in the league. He’s also now going to make less money next year than he would have by staying in college. At one point I thought a new Pope was going to get selected before Shadeur was drafted.
The Dodgers took 2 out of 3 from the Pirates over the weekend, which was much needed to keep pace with the Giants in the NL West. Except the bad news is that they lost Tyler Glasnow to a shoulder injury, which at this point is basically a scheduled injury. The odds of this guy getting injured are about as good as the sun rising tomorrow. That means the Boys in Blue are down to three healthy and effective starting pitchers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, and Dustin May. Dustin May and Clayton Kershaw can’t get back soon enough. Separately, the Dodgers need to keep an eye on Max Muncy’s production, or lack therof, and Andy Pages’ defense. Pages is hitting, but he needs a GPS just to track down routine fly balls. Suddenly a Nolan Arenado trade might not be that unrealistic if Muncy doesn’t start hitting soon. In the meantime, the Dodgers should really consider bringing up Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing if the bottom of the order can’t be more consistent.

Finally, the Angels have really regressed to being “The Angels” over the last two weeks. They have one guy in their lineup that is hitting over .250 and Tyler Anderson is the only reliable starting pitcher. I have no idea why Reid Detmers is in the bullpen. He’s been one of their best pitchers, and for a team that is desperate for starters, they really need him in their rotation. Mike “Mendoza” Trout still has some pop, but can’t seem to stop striking out. Did you know the Halos have a quality assurance coach? I’ve never felt less assured of quality I’m watching in my life. The Halos are already at the bottom of the AL West.