Where will Kevin Durant end up next season

Hello. I haven't written in a while because I am a busy guy. Now, let's talk about Kevin Durant. Durant has an extremely good chance of leaving OKC because of this interview with the press after the game 7 loss in the quarter finals. He was asked about leaving OKC. He said "I mean, we just lost like 30 minutes ago, so I haven't even thought about it," And he also said "I'm just embracing my teammates and just reflecting on the season. I'll think about that stuff, I don't know when. But we just lost an hour ago, 30 minutes ago, so I don't know." After that he starts talking about how sad he is about the game even though he was asked about his future with the team not the game that he lost. Is he changing the subject to avoid the question and not have to tell everyone about his plans. So if he leaves, where would he go?
I'm not going to say this because I'm a Celtics fan, but I see him going to Boston. Isaiah Thomas has been persuading Durant to go to Boston. Thomas told him that if he goes, a super team will form. Isaiah and Kevin are great together but because of the gigantic cap space, they could get another star like Al Horford. Trade prospects and picks for Jimmy Butler and boom! They're unstoppable like the 2008 Celtics that also formed overnight. This Jimmy Butler trade isn't un realistic because the Bulls are making rebuilding deals already. A couple of days ago, the Bulls traded Derrick Rose for some young players to rebuild and could keep going with that to trade a star for future talent. Even if they don't get Al Horford that is still a great team. Let's look at the line up. Point guard Isaiah Thomas, shooting guard Jimmy Butler, small forward Kevin Durant, power forward Jared Sullenger, and center Al Horford. That is a dang good team.
The Celtics have something any player wants, MONEY!!!!!!!!!! The Celtics have up to $50 million dollars. KD doesn't need big bucks to sign, but he'll take the money any day of the week. On the Thunder last year, he got $20 million. The Celtics could give him $30 million and still get Horford because last year Horford got $12 million, and Jimmy Butler got $15 million. It's cutting it close but still might work. So the Celtics have money, champion chips, a good fan base, they're in the easy east, and letting KD be leader. OKC doesn't a big champion chip chance, Golden State don't have as much money. KD, you have found your place in the great city of Boston. So create a dynasty in Boston. Bring them they're 20th champion chip. Yes, do a three-peat.

NBA Playoffs

Hello, today I will write about my NBA playoff predictions.  I'll start with the west, then the east. I will explain what choice I made and then why. Let's get started.
So first off we have the Golden State Warriors Facing off against the Huston Rockets. I think the Warriors will win all games because the Rockets have no guard defense at all! With the splash bros in their way, I see it nearly impossible for them to take a game away. Next is The Portland Trailblazers and the Las Aneles Clippers.  I see the Blazers pulling away with the upset because I think Damien Lillard can out play Chris Paul. Also, the Clippers have had chemistry issues. Blake Griffen and the Clippers coach ever sense Blake Griffen broke his hand by punching the coach in the face, they have not been happy at all. DeAndre Jordan has had drama with the Mark Cuban thing that Joseph posted. Now the San Antonio Spurs vs the Memphis Grizzlies. I see the Spurs winning. Tim Duncan and Lamarcus  Aldrich can out play  Zach Randolph and Mark Gasol. Mike Conley and Tony Parker tie. But Kawhi Leonard will destroy Jeff Green. Now the Oklahoma city Thunder vs the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are out of stars. Dirk Noviski is old. The Thunder have Russel Westbrook and Kevin Durant that are MVP candidates. Thunder Destroy. West 2nd round. I have the Golden state Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers. Stephen Curry will dominate Lillard. After that, who else do the Blazers have because the Warriors have Dremond Green, Klay Thompson, and more. Warriors win. Now the 2 seed Spurs and 3 seed Thunder. Kevin Durant will show Kawhi Leonard who's boss. Westbrook will take control of Tony Parker. Aldrich and Duncan aren't true stars anymore. Thunder upset. Now, the Western conference champion chip. I see, the Warriors! The Thunder are Russel Westbrook, KD, and a bunch of losers.  The Warriors are all around great, even their bench is great like Andre Igudala.
Now, the East. We start off with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons don't have any great player unlike the Cavs, the Cavs have a big 3 going. Cavs win. We got the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks. First off, I don't think the Celtics are for real as said in a different post. The Celtics live mostly on Isea Thomas, the Hawks have their big man game and Jeff Teuge. Hawks win. Now the Toronto Raptors vs the Indiana Pacers.  The Pacers live off of Paul George, the Toronto Raptors have a whole team like Jonas Valanciunas to DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. Raptors win. Now the Heat and the Hornets. The Heat lost LeBron James  but they still have Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh plus Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside. Heat win. 2nd round. I have Cavs and Hawks. The Hawks don't have real stars. Cavs have 3, Cavs win. I have Raptors and the Heat. I think the Heat are more than people put them with 2 stars and Hassan Whiteside. I see the Heat making the upset. Now Eastern conference finals.  I see the Heat and the Cavs as the exact same team, but one thing, one team has LeBron and one doesn't. If LeBron wasn't on the Cavs or Heat then the Cavs and Heat would be tied. But one does have LeBron. Cavs win. Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, who will win the the NBA PLAYOFFS?? The Cavs have better players, but the Warriors have better all around players. The Warriors have better backups. The Warriors have great everything, but the Cavs have better stars. I see, I see ... The Golden State Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are the Boston Celtics for real?

Hey guys. I have been accepted by a website and will be posting my blogs, articles, and more on a new website! (The Bench Talk). However, my younger brother will be taking over this blog and will talk on the NBA and nothing else. So without further ado, here is the first blog post with the brand new NBA writer for Jo5ephJ3 Sports!


Hello, for my first post I will talk about my favorite team, the Boston Celtics. Now unfortunately I'm talking bad about them but you get the point. They are a 3 seed in the east which means the chances of them going far is pretty good. However, I believe that this is not a playoff team to go far. First of, they are not an experienced team in the playoffs. So the Celtics love the rebuilding process,  for those of you who don't know. They did that around 2013-2014 I believe. You know they traded Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and midway through the season, Rajon Rondo, Or in better words traded all of their experienced players, and they traded them for good Nets picks (and a million of them).  That happened 2 years ago.  All of there stars jest gone for youth. Their youth are still like, rooks. Most of the things they got in the trades were picks that even now are future picks. Also, lately their rebuilds have taken too long. one of their rebuilds took them over 20 years to finish and then they got one, lousy champion chip and then more of a drought came. The rebuild before that was the second longest rebuild. And the rebuild before that rebuild was the 3rd longest and so on. This may be a pattern. This rebuild may take longer. Also, their roster is all about Isaiah Thomas, and without him there would not be a 3 seed of the Celtics. The point of this giant paragraph is, their rebuild start jest got put to effect and part of the trades haven't taken effect yet. Also, because the rebuild jest got started all of the main players are still inexperienced (I've said rebuild 10 times now, holy crap!). Yep, their not ready.


So, if their not ready, I've made that very clear, so how can they break the rebuild (11) pattern and be a champion faster. Now you can't directly trade for a champion chip because then you are only a little better because the chances you get the extremely better part of the deal is slim. Everyone loves the Celtics because they have won the most champion chips (17 champion chips) and they think that they will be good again. Use that and sign people in free agency this offseason. Their are awesome free gents that NBA peoples say might sign with Boston like Kevin Durant or Dwight Howard. Get these guys into the roster. But, this plan has a flaw. The all star point guard Isaiah Thomas love Boston, because he is the clearcut leader and star on the roster. If you add a new star he will feel like he is not the leader and leave. Trade him for a star passing point guard that could go along with the newly signed guy. Or ,what the heck, you got a good, young backup point guard in Marcus Smart. Start Smart and trade Thomas for a big man to post up depending if you didn't sign a big man. Or sign a three point, scoring shooting guard/ small forward. Then let your talented picks grow in like this top 5 Nets pick this off season. After making these adjustments, to get the team chemistry back in shape, it will take a few years for these guys to blend together I predict this will take 3-5 years of everything runs smoothly. And that is my first post of my blog stuff.

Super Bowl Predictions

It was a journey that began 21 weeks ago. Two teams, each with different expectations. Both not necessarily in the conversation for the super bowl, but both of them exceeded expectations and are here this week at an opportunity to win super bowl 50. If you haven't figured out who I'm talking about yet, you need to reprioritize the NFL in your daily lives. Yes, I'm talking about the two finalists this season, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. I'm going to be reviewing there seasons as well as state my predictions for super bowl 50. So let's begin.

Let's start out with the clear underdogs going in this season, the Denver Broncos. Thought I'd disappoint Broncos fans right off the bat to get it over with. Now, the Broncos for the past couple of seasons have been a clearly offensive team. That was clearly not going to be their motor, and we saw that right from week 1. It was also clear Peyton Manning wasn't going to be relied on as an asset this season, after proving age plays a major factor in football. For many Broncos fans, this was a sign that Denver might leave this dynasty without a super bowl ring (which would be very sad). That was the thought, until the defense stepped up. And when I mean stepped up, I mean they really became the reasons they were winning. The Broncos became one of the ugliest 7-0 teams in NFL history. (That's up for debate for me though. Sure, the offense was miserable, but just because the defense is great doesn't make it an "ugly" game) They still were pretty low on believers, though. Although they were able to knock of the 6-0 Packers, many still questioned if a team with such a struggling QB could go very far. Things weren't looking awful, until the game vs the Kansas City Chiefs. They had fallen for the first time in the hands of the Colts, and were coming in at 7-1. The Broncos had previously beaten the Chiefs 31-24 after a fumble forced and then a quick touchdown to save the game. Peyton Manning made history, breaking the all time passing yards record, but only got around 30 yards. He was subbed out in the second half, where he recorded the worst QB rating in his entire career. Brock Osweiler really only kept salt from getting in the wound as the Broncos fell again 29-13. The Chiefs were in the middle of what would be an 11 game winning streak, but this was an unacceptable loss that made many think they wouldn't do much this season. Peyton Manning had an "injury", which was mostly just an excuse to start Brock Osweiler over Peyton. From here they had one of the most up and down seasons the NFL has ever seen. They Muscled out a win against the Patriots, but then only scored 12 as they lost to Oakland at home. With the Patriots losing to the Dolphins in week 17, the Broncos miraculously latched on to the #1 seed. They beat a Steelers team that was without Antonio Brown and an injured Ben Roethlisberger. They then went on to beat the New England Patriots in a game where the pass rush did absolutely everything. After an interception by Chris Harris Jr. with the Pats going for two, the Broncos sealed a win 20-18. They are now in the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning has a shot to retire on the highest note possible. That is if Peyton chooses to retire, which he probably will considering Gary Kubiak has announced Brock will start next season regardless of Peyton's decision.

Now on to the Carolina Panthers. This team wasn't exactly anyone's favorites to win the super bowl by any stretch of the imagination, but this season something just clicked. I credit Cam Newton and Luke Keuchly for leading the offense and defense this far. Still, no one took them very seriously entering this season. Heck, I wasn't planning on seeing them in the playoffs. After week 4, they were still undefeated, but those were to Jacksonville, Houston, New Orleans, and Tampa Bay. Houston ended up being pretty good, but they started miserably bad. Week 5 was one of their chances to prove they could dominate. They were playing the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle wasn't playing very well though, so only beating them by 4 wasn't all that impressive. Next chance to prove themselves was against the Green Bay Packers. They pulled out a victory, but only by 8 at home. The Packers also had a struggling Aaron Rodgers and a struggling offense since they were coming off a loss to none other than the Broncos. So many excused that win as a fluke. Now at 12-0, they were going up against the Atlanta Falcons. And finally, they won big. they took a 38-0 victory, and advanced to   13-0 on the season, as they became the final team to be unbeaten. Many said this made them a possible team to compete for the super bowl, but with the schedule they had, 13-0 wasn't too hard to accomplish. Although people weren't taking the Carolina Panthers, there was definitely a quick rise in believers of former Auburn Heisman winner Cam Newton. In fact, I think it was around this point when the love and hate groups started forming. The main reason for the love was because he was seemingly leading a decent to mediocre team to the best record in the entire league. The hate group was also understandable, since his celebrations were very annoying. I don't think I fit in with either group. Cam is a great person, and loves children so how could you hate someone like that? Still though, he treats a 1st down like he just won the super bowl. Like, calm down, there's like 30 first downs avery game! Anyway, they ended up finishing the season 15-1, with their only loss being a 20-13 nail biter type defeat via the Atlanta Falcons. They whooped absolute butt against the Seattle Seahawks, or at least for a half of football. Despite winning 31-24, it showed serious weakness during the second half of play. STILL, no one taking this team seriously entering the NFC championship against Arizona. Now, this is when the Carolina Panthers proved their worth. They hit the ground running with an early 14-0 lead, and kept cruising as they finished off the game with a 49-15 victory. And just like that, in the matter of 60 minutes, Carolina became the team with the least chance of winning the super bowl out of the 4 left to the big time favorites.

I'm not going to sit here at my compute desk and tell you the Broncos will win. I'm not going to say their the  favorites. I sure as heck am not going to say the Broncos will score very efficiently. In fact, the Panthers are my pick for the super bowl. I WILL say to take them seriously, because no one is right now. I have listened to every ESPN podcast on the planet and likely the universe. I've watched countless preview videos and read countless articles. How many have I seen favor the Broncos r even say they have a chance? 1. That's it. Did you see what they did against the Patriots? It was phenominal. Their pass rush won't be as good due to not having the crowd factor and having the guy holding the ball can run, but that won't take away from their defense, which is absolutely stellar. People said they wouldn't beat the 6-0 Packers. They said they wouldn't beat the 7-0 Patriots. They said they wouldn't beat the 12-2 Bengals. They said they wouldn't get the #1 seed. They said Denver wouldn't beat the Patriots in the playoffs and people say they still can't beat Carolina? Beating a good team can be a fluke, but doing it over and over again is most certainly not. I think the debate over this super bowl should be much more than what I hear. I'm still going to take the Panthers, but the Broncos shot is still outstanding

What's happened to the Houston Rockets?

Recently, the Houston Rockets once again lost. They fell victim on the road against San Antonio. Sure, you can't blame them. The Spurs still haven't lost at home. The problem is that this is a reoccurring thing. Houston is now 16-19 this season, and they might not even make the playoffs. Before the season, I thought they'd cash in as the 2 seed or the 2nd consecutive year, but so far, they've been very mediocre. This is no longer a cold streak, or a couple of flukes. We need to find out what's happening to the Houston Rockets. Luckily for you, I've found a couple key points explaining this sudden drop in success.

Let's start off at the point guard position, currently occupied by Ty Lawson. When the Rockets acquired Lawson, I personally saw it as a decent fit. I thought they'd do better off with a point guard that can pass a little more, which leads me into this problem. Ty doesn't share the rock as much as he needs to. When you have James Harden and Dwight Howard down low, you need a point guard who can control the tempo of the game and effectively get the ball to those players. Ty just isn't that player. And I'm not even saying he's not good. I like his game, and I think, with a better fitted team, Ty is a pretty good player. I do think he could've been an all star had he worked a little harder. The only problem is he is a scorer, which doesn't fit in with Houston's game plan, and because of that, he's really struggled.

I didn't put this picture on here to show James Harden. I have this picture to represent there defense. It's horrific. This team never plays that side of the ball, period. In my mind, defense still wins championships. It doesn't get the fans excited, but it's what wins games,and the Rockets have zip defense. Just last night against the Spurs, who're one of the best defensive teams in the league, you can see a true difference. The Spurs look so much more elite, and the Rockets don't have that same heart or desire defensively to get the job done on that side of the court.

Next issue, Dwight Howard. Let's be honest. Dwight is an excellent player, but a very overrated player for sure. Ever since leaving the Magic he just hasn't looked the same, even with Houston. And then, shockingly enough, he's unhappy in Houston. the Rockets have put him on the trade block, and they've had some pretty good offers, which I'll get to in a minute. But if Dwight Howard keeps going this route, it's going to be very ugly for the Rockets. Honestly, if I'm Houston, I grant his wish. I deal him for a potential star, and then build around Harden. This way, they won't have to necessarily "rebuild" from the ground up. They can then just add a couple of pieces and be back in contention by next year. The deal I would go with would be Dwight Howard to the Heat for Hassan Whiteside and Justice Winslow. The Heat want Howard so they can have a dominating post game and still have outside shooting in Dwayne Wade and Luol Deng. For the Rockets, they then get Hassan Whiteside, who I think is one of the best rebounders today, and Justice Winslow. Then you have a team Ty Lawson will fit in with better, have a better outside game, have more of a future, and finally, retain the rebounding. Plus, Hassan gives the Rockets great defense down low, which they desperately. Regardless, they need to find an answer, because firing their coach clearly wasn't the move they needed.

The Golden State Warriors Magical 23-0 Start

Well, believe it or not, the Warriors still haven't lost. In fact, I'm not sure if they'll ever lose again. I literally just finished watching the Warriors versus Pacers game, and I have to say, they looked pretty dang outstanding. This is actually the first time I sat down and watched a Golden State game start to finish, and watching this win was very satisfying. Watching this team's teamwork looks so outstanding you can't take your eyes off the screen. Many are accepting it as a possibility that the Warriors break the supposedly unbreakable record set by the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls.

First of all, I don't think it's ever right to predict a team to break a record. Records are there for a reason, and that's because that only 1 team or player has ever gotten that much. Considering we've seen thousands of teams come through this league, a 72-10 record is remarkable. The chances of it all happening are very slim, but that doesn't mean their chances aren't too limited. At this point, the Warriors would need a 50-9 record the rest of the season to break the record. That seems more than possible at this point in the season.

When someone mentions the Golden State Warriors, the first thing I'm guessing you think of is Stephen Curry. He is the best player right now and is having one of the best seasons of all time. More on the Chef, I don't think we've ever seen a player as uniquely talented as Stephen Curry in NBA history. When you look at his small, slim, non athletic build, you can't call him the most naturally gifted player in the NBA. that award goes to LeBron, no doubt. But the kid is yet still the best shooter ever, at least as of this season, and can also get to the rack and score down low with ease as well. Even when you look at a player like Larry Bird, who couldn't jump over a dime, at least he had size going for him. Steph has nothing too natural about him and yet, he's the best player this year.

This team is not just Chef Curry, though. When you look at the best teams of all time, the 60's Celtics, the 80's Lakers, or the 90's Bulls, you see them loaded with talent. Take away Stephen Curry, and this team wouldn't be that great. Compared to the best dynasties of all time, Golden State isn't quite there in there talent. But there ball movement and outside scoring ability, they look way more talented then what I or others give them. The team's offense is so fast and effective it looks slim that they ever lose again (They will eventually lose...right?).

One of the scariest things about this team (and yes, I know I use "scary" as a good and bad thing in the world of sports) is the fact that they can go on a run and completely, 1000% change a game in an instant. Take the game against the Clippers. They got down by TWENTY POINTS relatively early. Then, somehow, someway, they won. Now take the game we just barely saw. The Warriors go down 21-16, then they score TWENTY TWO unanswered points and end the quarter up 44-18.

Will the Warriors ever lose again? Of course they will. No one will ever break the 88 game record set by UCLA. Will they break the record? It's never likely, but every game it looks more and  more likely. Will they win the championship? I don't know. It's hard to tell what teams will  be like when the playoffs are so far away. They have to stay extremely consistent. But for maybe the first time in my life (besides Kentucky last season) I'm going to say their chances will be better than 50% this season. Regardless, we need to realize we are in the middle of a Warriors dynasty.

East vs. West

Well, the NBA season is in full swing, and I have laid down my expectations. Usually in the NBA, and for a long time, the west was clearly the more dominant conference. It was an absolute bloodbath, where 48 wins were needed just to be in the playoffs. In the west, the top 7 teams are all hoping for a title. Typically, in the Eastern Conference, it's a whole lot easier. Last year there was really only Cleveland, Atlanta, and Chicago all with realistic hopes of winning a title. We also saw the Brooklyn Nets find there way into the playoffs after winning only 38 games. That, was last season, though. With all the surprises and disappointments in the league, (and a video I watched, which will be at the bottom) I'm starting to speculate. Could the east possibly be better than the west?

I'm not going to come out and say who I think is better until the end, but I will name the good's of the east and the bad's of the west. I want you to see it the other way around since many probably believe the west is still better. I believe that, too, but that doesn't mean it isn't cause for debate.

First, let's talk about the east. We knew Cleveland would be one of the best teams this year. We also were planning on the Atlanta Hawks being one of the best teams this season. Many immediately cap of those two teams as the only title contenders. Many are forgetting about the surprise team this year, the Indiana Pacers. Paul George is easily a top five player as of right now, and this team still looks like the team that put up a fight against the 2013 Miami Heat team. Speaking of South Beach, the Miami Heat are playing well also. When a team loses a player as good as LeBron James, it's not easy, and we saw that last year. But they still have a dynamic duo in Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. You also cannot forget about Goran Dragic and also Luol Deng, who I think are both severely underrated. Another team worth mentioning is the Toronto Raptors. DeMar Derozan is an absolute beast, and I also really like the games from Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas (hopefully I spelled that right). Finally, you can't mention the east without mentioning the Chicago Bulls. Derrick isn't exactly himself, but that doesn't mean they can't compete. Jimmy Butler is great, and when you pair him up with a post game featuring Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah, you've got a decent team. When you really expand and look at the east deeper, there is a lot of respectable teams.

Let's get into the Western Conference. Of course, the west has the best team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry also will bring the MVP award to the west, which gives them another advantage. I'd even go as far as to say the San Antonio Spurs are second in the league, and the Cavs are sitting in the third spot. The problem in the west is they have had a lot of teams be disappointing up to this point. The Houston Rockets went downhill, and FAST. With a brand new head coach now in the mix, I think it'll take even longer than it should for them to be top class again. Another disappointment is the Los Angeles Clippers. I mean, they are loaded to the top with talent, but have only managed about a .500 record. I really was putting my faith into them thinking they would be great, but I'm still waiting for them to really start dominating. I'm starting to wonder if they'll get back to top class this season. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been absolutely garbage, which was totally out of nowhere. I thought they'd be in the playoffs this year, but that hasn't happened and I doubt it will. So now we have teams like the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs, which makes them look a ton weaker. I love the Jazz, and I think they're alright, maybe a playoff team. Heck, I'd say they're only a couple years away from being contenders. but if they're a five seed this season, that right there might not say the east is better, but it does show the west has gone down from last year.

Is the east better than the west? I don't know. I don't think so. But many need to realize this isn't the bloodbath in the west and kiddie ride in the west. they've become pretty even. Although it may not be probable, it is possible we may see the east take control in the NBA.

Here is the video that i guess you could say inspired me to start looking deeper in the east vs west battle.