Nets Fans: LeVert is Finally Here

For Nets fans it has been a long season. And we are only one month into the season. The Nets have been hard to watch this year just due to the talent alone. Their best player is Brook Lopez and he is not exactly the most exciting player to watch. If you're a Nets fan he's great and we have all come to love him, but to NBA fans he is a bore. It is understandable considering the NBA is a guard driven league. The rest of the Nets roster is nothing to gloat about either. The Nets have nice pieces who would compliment playoff teams, but overall the team lacks talent.

But one of the few bright spots on this roster are the younger guys. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has been getting better and better each game. Plus he is only 21. Isaiah Whitehead has played fairly well, but he is a 21-year-old rookie still trying to transition to the NBA as well as learn the point guard position. And then there is the Nets 20th overall pick Caris LeVert.

LeVert has yet to play this season due to a foot injury that he suffered his last year in college. He has been recovering from his injury, but he has finally been listed as available for the Nets tonight. This is probably the most exciting news all year if you are a Nets fan. LeVert was considered a lottery pick in past years, but his injury history scared away a lot of teams. The Nets, however, need to take chances considering they have a swap pick this off-season with Boston and no pick in 2018. With no tradeable assets either the Nets have no choice, but to give guys a shot.

This mentality has lead to the signings of Anthony Bennett and now Donatas Motiejunas. It is the reason the Nets drafted Whitehead and LeVert. The Nets are trying to find the diamond in the rough. There is no guarantee that any of these guys are that, but the Nets are hoping that at least one of them is that diamond.

The Nets play the Wizards tonight at 7:30. Expect LeVert to play but in limited minutes. I'm sure the Nets do not want to take a risk of LeVert having any set backs. It is likely they will slowly work LeVert into the rotation as the season continues on. Hopefully LeVert proves himself worthy of the Nets trading Thaddeus Young for or else this will become another in a long line of bad trades for the Nets.

Can the Clippers Contend this Year?

Philip Dengler

Every year the Clippers start off hot, but at some point, they hit a low during the season. The Clippers may have hit that low sooner than later this season. 

The Clippers are now 14-5 after losing three in a row to the Pistons, Pacers, and Nets. All these teams are well below the level of talent that the Clippers have. With that said the Clippers may have hit a wall early this season and will have to try to figure out what they are doing wrong. It is still early and a 14-5 start is great for any team through the first 19 games. This team should really pick it up after last night's loss and will be well on their way to winning 50 to 60 games this year.

However, every season the Clippers make the playoffs but can't advance past the first or second round. They have done this countless times now and the team's best player has never made a conference finals appearance. And it will not be any different this year. The Spurs and Warriors are much better teams that look as if they are a tier higher than the Clippers. The Clippers are that team will make the playoffs every season, but fans know that they do not have a chance of reaching the finals or winning it all. Even with the Thunder being one less team in the way the Clippers still have a mountain to climb.

It would really take everything to go right for the Clippers in order to make a deep playoff run and have a shot at winning the finals. That means staying healthy, showing up in big moments, and playing well as a unit. Until then they have proven to fans and the media they will never be the favorite to advance deep into the playoffs. This year I, and many others, expect much the same. They will make the playoffs as a 3 or 4 seed. Then they will most likely advance to the second round where they will fall to either the Spurs or Warriors.

Top 5 Worst NBA Jerseys

I was going back and forth with a friend about what NBA jerseys were great and which ones were awful. It sparked a huge interest with us and it should with fans around the globe. Jerseys are worn on a nightly basis and it is important that people have something nice to look at that is not too distracting. That leads me to a list of top 5 most critiqued jerseys in NBA history.

5. Memphis Grizzlies Alternate 2013

Noah Graham/NBAE

To kick things off we have the 2013 Memphis Grizzlies Alternate jersey. It is not the worst jersey ever, but I do not understand it and I'm sure I'm not alone. What do the green and yellow colors have to do with Grizzlies basketball? Neither color has ever been a dominate color in the Grizzlies franchise past or present. After doing some research this jersey was made to represent a former American Basketball Association (ABA) team called the Memphis Tams. The owner at the time, Charlie Finley, bought the Memphis Pros and changed their name to the Tams. The name was a acronym for Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Finley was more know for his ownership of the Oakland A's at the time and had the Tams adopt the same color scheme as his MLB counterpart. The Tams logo was also patched on the left side of the shorts for these throwback jerseys. The logo is a tam o' shanter which is a goofy golf hat that is only popular in Scotland. To top it all off it is said that Rudy Gay played a major role in designing these jerseys. When you mix all this information together you end up with the jersey above. The jersey and the shorts themselves look fine, but when combined it is not the most appealing jersey assembled. Luckily for fans the Grizzlies did a much better job on their ABA Memphis Sounds throwback jersey.

4. Los Angeles Clippers Alternate 2013

Another team, another ABA throwback fail. In 2013 the NBA was celebrating the 45th anniversary of the American Basketball Association. That is why the Grizzlies and Clippers both have ABA throwback jerseys in the same year. The best part is that they played each other wearing these abominations. The Clippers jersey is a throwback representing the ABA team Los Angeles Stars. This jersey is not as bad as the Memphis ones because they actually match and have a nice color scheme. The major problem with this jersey though is the font on the front. For those who couldn't tell that says "Los Angeles". The problem is it looks like a fifth grader spelled Los Angeles and forgot to include the letters "o" and "e". And as any kid would do to fix this, he or she would go back and squeeze the letters in. It looks really bad and for that reason it made this list.

3. Philadelphia Home and Away Jerseys 1991-94

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE

Look at these things! No wonder they only lasted 3 seasons. I have no idea what the Sixers were thinking when they designed these jerseys. In fact it is hard to imagine that these actually saw the court all 82 games of the season for 3 years. Thankfully the Sixers went back to the original color scheme before re-branding the Sixers in 1997.

2. Washington Wizards Gold and Black Alternate

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Personally this is one of my favorite jerseys of all time. I really like the gold and black, but that is a very unpopular opinion. Most fans think this is the ugliest uniform ever made and it is easy to understand why. When a uniforms shorts don't match the jersey itself it usually comes under fire. That was the case with number 5 on this list and the same thing happened here. Another problem with this jersey is it has nothing to do with the wizards color scheme. The color scheme for the franchise has always been red, white, and blue. But this was during the time in which the Wizards main colors were blue, bronze and black. The Bullets changing their name to the Wizards is a whole debacle itself, but nevertheless these jerseys were a product. It is unknown why the Wizards made these jerseys because they have nothing to do with their color scheme past or present. They were just made to look cool and they dropped the ball when it comes to the general public's opinion of these jerseys.

1. Dallas Mavericks Black/Silver Alternate

Just take a second and soak these bad boys in. These are the most hideous jerseys I've ever seen and I did not even know they existed until I did this article. They look like a space suit or a trash bag. If you have ever seen Better Call Saul you know his brother has a space blanket to protect himself from electric radiation. If you took that blanket and made it a jersey this is the result. The jokes for these jerseys are never ending and that is why they made the top spot on this list.

All 30 Teams in Action Tonight

With one early game already finished 28 other teams are set to face off tonight. The NBA has tried doing this at least once a year for a couple years now. It is an exciting night for fans, especially if you have league pass. The five most anticipated games tonight have to be Raptors at Bucks, Hawks at Jazz, Clippers at Pistons, Warriors at Lakers, and Rockets at Kings. Unfortunately non of these games are nationally televised so fans will only be able to watch their local team. If you do have league pass those are the five games to watch.

As mentioned before today's first game has already finished. The Spurs beat the Celtics 109 to 103. This win put the Spurs at 13-3 on the season and 9-0 on the road so far. Kawhi Leonard was the high man for the game with 25 points and added 10 rebounds to his stat line. For the Celtics Isaiah Thomas lead the way with 24 points and 8 assists. Hopefully the rest of tonight's match ups are as closely contested as this game.

Utah Jazz on a Four Game Slide

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The Utah Jazz are expected to finally make it over the hump this year. Last season the the Jazz missed the playoffs by one game and looked poised to make a run at the playoffs this year. After reloading their roster with some veterans and retaining their best players, it is easy to say that they should make the playoffs. The Jazz started off the season 7-4 and were proving doubters wrong early. Even with Gordon Hayward out to start the season the Jazz were able to go 3-3. Once Hayward came back the team went 4-1 in their next five games. But after the 7-4 start the Jazz have been on a four game losing streak. What went wrong?

Injuries are a big part of this teams struggles. The Jazz brought in point guard George Hill this summer to be the veteran presence on and off the court. Hill was a steal for the Jazz because he is still a highly productive player and he knows the point guard position very well. The problem is he has played only 7 of Utah's 15 games. Another injury that has impacted the Jazz is Derrick Favors knee injury. There is no timetable for his return currently, but it is expected he will miss an extended period of time. Favors is one of Utah's best players. With him out it will be harder for Utah to win games. The final injury to the roster is Alec Burks ankle and knee surgery over the summer. He had a ankle surgery done to his left ankle and is also expected to miss an extended period of time. Add that to Hayward missing a portion of the season early on and this team has not had a complete roster this season. Even excluding Alec Burks this team has only had a full roster for one game this season.

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Not only have injuries been a factor in their current down fall, but their schedule has not been friendly either. The Jazz's last four games came against the Grizzlies, Bulls, Rockets, and Nuggets in that order. Three of those four teams have winning records and Denver has a front court advantage with Derrick Favors out. This was a huge change from their 4-1 stretch where they beat the Knicks, 76ers, Magic, and Heat. All those teams teams at the time had losing records and were easy wins for the Jazz. The Jazz harder schedule couldn't have come at a worse time.

In the next week and a half the Jazz face the Nuggets twice, the Hawks, the Timberwolves, the Rockets, and the Heat. They could beat the Nuggets one of those two times and have a chance at beating the Wolves and the Heat. But this schedule does not sound to favorable for a team currently in a rut with two of their key players.

The Jazz take on the Nuggets tonight at home after losing their last game on the road in Denver. Luckily the Jazz had two days of rest while the the Nuggets are traveling to Utah for a second night of a back to back. Joe Johnson and George Hill are both questionable for tonight's game, but the Jazz should be the favorite to come out with a win.

Packers in the Hot Seat

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The Green Bay Packer have been a competitive football team for quite some time now. They have not missed the playoffs since 2008. Coming into this season they were considered a top team in the NFL like they have been ever year since Aaron Rodgers emerged as a star quarterback. Even this season the team had success early starting off 4-2. They even went 3-1 in preseason for what it is worth. But recent turmoil has this team and organization in the hot seat. The Packers are on a 4 game losing streak right now and more and more negative talk continues to surround the team.

A few weeks ago the talk was about head coach Mike McCarthy. Many people in the media speculated if his coaching style and system had become repetitive resulting in losses. Whether or not that is true remains to be seen. Clearly he had done a fine job with the team early in the season and had been very success with the Packers in the past. Why all of a sudden would the Packers start to have issues with McCarthy? It does not rule him out completely, but there seems to be another underlying factor.

Journal Sentinal

That brings up the most recent rumors surrounding the team. In the last week or so Aaron Rodgers has been catching a lot of heat from former teammates and the media about how he is hard to get along with. Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, and Jermichael Finley have all come out stating that Rodgers is a difficult teammate to get along with. Finley went as far as saying, "I just don't think he was a natural-born leader." Even current teammate Randall Cobb stated that no one on the team should be pointing fingers for the teams down fall. This was shortly after Rodgers said the team is currently lacking energy.

To make matters worse Rodgers own brother called him out. Rodgers brother, Jordan, talked about how he misses his brother. Jordan's brother, Luke, confirmed that Rodgers distances himself from his family. He said that the family has not had contact with him since December 2014. In fact he cut off his family to the point that they do not have his cell phone number and he no longer gives them tickets to the game. His family was told they are no longer welcome in Green Bay and in order for his father to attend the games he needs to buy tickets on stub hub or he receives tickets from other players on the team.

USA TODAY

It has been stated over and over again that Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre had a tough relationship with Rodgers. In Jeff Pearlman's book he discusses their relationship and says the first thing Rodgers said to Favre was good morning grandpa. Maybe it was just a joke, maybe that is Rodgers personality. Favre has never said anything particularly bad about Rodgers publicly so this could just be overreaction to the latest news surrounding Rodgers.

Things are starting to fall apart in Green Bay and it is starting to look more and more like Rodgers could be the source of it all. Judging by all the reports it is hard not to think of Rodgers as a cancer to the Packers locker room. With just about all these accusations being confirmed by other teammates and sources, Rodgers secrets are slowly unraveling. Just like any good team going through a rough patch, the noise around the team is really amplified. Even if the Packers turn things around this season expect some kind of moves to be made by the Packer organization this offseason.

Rise of Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Wiggins is a player that does not receive much attention around the league. With people so focused on the Timberwolves as a team and all the talk surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins sometimes gets a back seat. There is no doubt that Wiggins is part of the blossoming big three in Minnesota, but clearly Karl-Anthony Towns is their best player. Also with a sub par record of 4-7 the media does not talk much about the Timberwolves. The Wolves and the 76ers are teams of the future and are expected to have a couple more years of growing pains before reaching the playoffs. The media will focus more on elite teams that have proven themselves contenders. With Minnesota in a smaller market and not contending they will not receive much coverage.

For all the reasons above this is why Wiggins is not receiving the attention he deserves. It was expected that Wiggins would soon become one of the top players in this league. He was the number 1 draft pick in 2014 and he won the 2014-15 rookie of the year. And with a jump from 16.9 points per game his rookie season to 20.7 his second season it was obvious that he is on an upward trend. But this year he has taken an even bigger leap early on. 

 Andrew Wiggins put up 35 points against the Philadelphia 76ers last night. It is his sixth straight game with 20 or more points. During that span he had a 47 point game against the Los Angles Lakers. His 27.7 points per game ranks him 8th in the league behind DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. That is some pretty good company to be with. Not only has he improved his scoring average, but he has also improved his field goal percentage and three point percentage from a year ago. This could be the year that we see Wiggins transform into an elite player or at least an elite scorer. Considering there are 71 games left for the Timberwolves and the fact that only 5 of their 11 games were against winning teams, it is still too early to tell.