Author: RJ Garcia

Follow me at @_RJ_Garcia ‏

To Play or Not To Play: the Anthony Davis Question

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Currently in the NBA discourse, there has been some significant talk about Anthony Davis and what exactly to do about the remaining games until the New Orleans Pelicans are able to trade, or run out, his contract. Scott Kushner of the The New Orleans Advocate published a charged column today suggesting that the Pelicans need to sit Anthony Davis and take a stand in favor of the Pelicans’ fans, who would otherwise spend their money elsewhere if the New Orleans Pelicans continued to play Anthony Davis.

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The Process Is Over

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball, Uncategorized

During Sam Hinkie’s introductory press conference as President of Basketball Operations for the Sixers in 2013, owner Josh Harris said that the previous regime had made decisions without “good process. They weren’t good decisions.” Now, in 2019, the two leadership teams’ processes since Hinkie departed, led by Brian Colangelo and Elton Brand, have culminated in today, where the Sixers are stuck with decisions that – weren’t good.

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John Wall’s Offensive Defensive Rebounding

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

 

On November 8th, the Wizards found themselves 2-8 on the season, and it has felt like the team’s record is even worse than it is. How did they get here? Most of the fingers are pointing to both John Wall and Scott Brooks. Brooks has been accused of mishandling the lineups and failing on defensive scheme, and Wall has just not looked himself this year. Surely some will find a way to blame Dwight Howard.

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Who Hurt the NBA more: DeMarcus Cousins or Tilman Fertitta?

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

On July 2nd, the NBA world was shaken by the addition of DeMarcus Cousins to the Warriors for the taxpayer mid-level exception, $5.3 million. Fans of the league were  rattled by the idea that the player some deem to be the best center in the league is joining what is already a dynasty in Golden State. Cousins told Marc Spears of The Undefeated that no other teams had made him an offer – this statement was disputed by some members of the Pelicans’ media, but it seems that regardless of where in the middle the truth lies, there was no big offer out there for Boogie. So instead of taking the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, or some other deal that he deemed to be below his true value, Cousins decided to give up money to join the best team in the league.

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The Russell Westbrook Debate Isn’t What It Should Be

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Russell Westbrook will never win an NBA title.

As takes go, this might be more mild than you first think. Westbrook is going to be 30 years old this season and the Golden State Warriors’ juggernaut continues to power on, in another Conference Finals, and with rumors of a Klay Thompson extension, showing they are prepared to plow into the luxury tax. Westbrook, though, will likely be in the top five of MVP voting once again, and is one of two players to ever average a triple double in a season (he’s now done it twice). He is a fascinating, polarizing character who challenges what the goals and expectations for an NBA team are supposed to be, and whether fans and front offices have prioritized their values in the “correct” way. What is the correct way?

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The Rise of the Northwestern Wildcats

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NCAA Basketball

In the past two weeks, there has been a remarkable change in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern’s basketball team, for the majority of the season, has been a walk-over for the rest of the Big Ten conference. To start 2015, the Wildcats went on a 10-game Big Ten losing streak, and going into their game vs Iowa at home, they were ranked #154 in KenPom’s rankings and were completely irrelevant. However, Northwestern has now won four games in a row, beating Iowa at home, Minnesota on the road, then Penn State and Indiana at home. Beating two probable tournament teams in Minnesota and Indiana would be impressive for any low-ranked team, but looking deeper into these four wins shows that the Northwestern squad has done something more incredible.

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Does Tanking Really Work?

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Since the race for once-in-a-lifetime prospect Anthony Davis, tanking has been one of the most controversial topics in NBA conversation. The then-Bobcats aggressively lost games to put themselves in position to get the Brow, leading them to the worst winning percentage in the history of the league.

The biggest argument about tanking is usually regarding its morality, and whether a team and its fans should root for failure in order to find long term success. The league is also split on whether tanking is good for the NBA and its franchises, as shown by the failed “anti-tanking” vote that would’ve revolutionized the lottery system. However, for most NBA fans, there is little doubt that tanking is a “smart” plan. But is tanking really smart? Does it often work?

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Who has the Best Backcourt in the NBA?

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Recently there has been a lot of talk about which team has the best backcourt in the league. This began with Dion Waiters stating that he and Kyrie Irving own the title. Next, John Wall stepped up and said that he and Bradley Beal gave the Wizards the best backcourt in the league.  In preparation for the Corner Three Positional Rankings and the Corner Three Top 100, we decided to tackle the backcourt argument using stats.

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Geno Smith’s 2nd Year and the Future of the Jets

by RJ Garcia, posted in Football, NFL Football

The Jets continue the second year of the Geno Smith era at 1-2, with plenty of highs and lows already in a small sample. I’m here to tell you this year will be a significant turning point for the franchise.

The Jets have been extremely fortunate to have Rex Ryan as a coach for the last few years. Ryan is a polarizing individual who has his fair share of supporters, but far more detractors who don’t like his loud, boisterous style (which hasn’t been as loud and boisterous over the last two years). Regardless, he represents a complete statistical anomaly, and in a good way.

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Manchester United: Sleeping Giants

by RJ Garcia, posted in Premier League, Soccer

The most popular sports league in the world starts back up this weekend, and with Manchester United playing Swansea City, it will sprint to a start this Saturday. Looking to the Sports Books for a look at how the bettors believe the league will end, Chelsea is the favorite at 15-8 (giving them around a 34.78% chance of winning the title), Man City is a close 2nd at 9-4 (30.77%), Manchester United is 3rd – decently far behind the Blues and City – at 9-2 (18.18%), and Arsenal rounds out the top 4 at 6-1 (14.29%).

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