2021-2022 NBA Season predictions

im6footLeave a comment

Here are my NBA awards and playoff bracket predictions

League MVP: There are many options for MVP such as Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. But my pick this year is none other than Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors. Curry lead the league in scoring last year along with averaging 5 boards and 5 assists. He should’ve taken home the award last year but the Warriors missed the playoffs by game which was the biggest knock on his 2020-2021 campaign. This year the Warriors will most likely have a high seed in the west due to incoming rookies Mose Moody and Johnathan Kuminga providing much needed help off the bench; and most importantly the return of all-star shooting guard, and co-splash bro Klay Thompson. Thompson will provide much needed assistance to the Warriors back court. Klay Thompson with bring out the best of Stephen Curry in this upcoming season.

Rookie of the Year: Rookie of the Year is an easy pick; Jalen Green out of Houston. Green will get to play both the 1 and 2 guard positions for the Rockets this year allowing him to have the ball in his hands for most of the game. Having the ball in his hands not only gives him the free range to create his own shot it also allows for him to be a playmaker. Houston with out a doubt will find themselves in the bottom of the western conference but at least they have a franchise player in Jalen Green.

Most Improved Player of the Year: The player who’s game that will elevate the most will be Michael Porter Jr. Porter Jr recently signed a 5 year max-extension worth up to $207 million; not only will he have to prove he is worth a two hundred million dollar contract he will also have to prove that he can be a leader on this Denver Nugget team. The Nuggets will be without point guard Jamal Murray this year so Porter Jr will have the opportunity to take more shots and elevate to an all-star wing he was projected to be coming out of the University of Missouri.

Defensive Player of the Year: This year’s DPOY will be Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis, or AD for short, should’ve taken home the award in the 2019-2020 season. Davis has a chip on his shoulder coming into the 2021-2022 season, AD missed most of last year due to injury and was given the nickname “Anthony Day-To-Day Davis” via the ruthless nba followers on Twitter. AD will not only remind everyone the type of player he is, he will surpass everyone’s expectations for him. I believe this year will be AD’s career year due to the fact that the Lakers added another Hall of Fame playmaker to their roster in Russell Westbrook, brought back legendary point guard Rajon Rondo, and have some guy named LeBron James as well. Davis’s defense will be a key part in the Lakers hunt for their 18th title.

6th Man of the Year: This award will go to Jordan Clarkson out of Utah. It’s his award to lose and nobody is as consistent as Clarkson when coming off the bench. There’s not much to say for JC as he knows his role on the Jazz; fucking score the basketball. And he does, he does it very well so he’ll find himself adding another 6th Man of the Year trophy to his award case.

Coach of the Year: What team/coach fits the NBA’s narrative for the 2021-2022 season. I like Nate McMillan from Atlanta.

1st Team All-NBA:

G: Stephen Curry

G: Luka Doncic

F: LeBron James

F: Kevin Durant

C: Anthony Davis

2nd Team All-NBA:

G: James Harden

G: Devin Booker

F: Paul George

F: Giannis Antetokounmpo

C: Joel Embiid

3rd Team All-NBA:

G: Damian Lillard

G: Russell Westbrook

F: Jimmy Butler

F: Jayson Tatum

C: Karl Anthony-Towns

1st Team All-Rookie

G: Cade Cunningham

G: Jalen Green

G: Jalen Suggs

F: Evan Mobley

F: Scottie Barnes

2nd Team All-Rookie

G: Josh Giddey

G: James Bouknight

G/F: Josh Christopher

F: Jalen Johnson

C: Luka Garza

1st Team All-Defense

G: Matisse Thybulle

G: Ben Simmons

F: Giannas Antetokounmpo

F: Anthony Davis

C: Rudy Gobert

2nd Team All-Defense

G: Lonzo Ball

G: Jrue Holiday

F: Paul George

F: Draymond Green

C: Myles Turner

Western Conference playoff seeding:

  1. Lakers
  2. Suns
  3. Nuggets
  4. Warriors
  5. Mavericks
  6. Jazz
  7. Trail Blazers
  8. Clippers
  9. Grizzlies
  10. Kings
  11. Pelicans
  12. Timberwolves
  13. Rockets
  14. Spurs
  15. Thunder

Eastern Conference playoff seeding:

  1. Nets
  2. Bucks
  3. Heat
  4. 76ers
  5. Hawks
  6. Bulls
  7. Celtics
  8. Knicks
  9. Hornets
  10. Raptors
  11. Wizards
  12. Pacers
  13. Cavaliers
  14. Pistons
  15. Magic

Western Conference Finals:

Lakers vs Suns; Lakers in 5

Eastern Conference Finals:

Nets vs Heat; Nets in 7

NBA Finals:

Lakers vs Nets; Lakers in 6

Finals MVP:

LeBron James

NBALogo
Photo from: theundefeated.com

My First Big Injury

bartholomulethegreatLeave a comment

This was a long time ago before I moved, around pre k time. I was having my first play date with this kid that I still know to this day. My house at the time had a little section in the center where we had put a hot tub. Once the kid that the playdate was with had arrived we went into the backyard to play for a little while. After we played for a little while we decided to go into the hot tub and relax. Me being the idiot that I am then decided to stand on the edge of the hot tub and jump into it, I did this a couple of times and my mom told me to stop. But I didn’t listen to her and I did it again and that was the stupidest thing that I could have done, not because my mom scolded me but because when I jumped in the full force of my body collided with the filter fixture on the hot tub. As I hit the filter I felt the impact in my chin and slam my jaw shut and the stinging feeling took action. I looked down at the water and saw the blood start to disperse throughout the hot tub. I grabbed my chin to stop the blood flow and contain it as my mom rushed me to the car and grabbed a towel on the way out the door. We went to the emergency room and I got my first ever bit of glue to put my chin back together. Now that may not sound like a big deal but I was three so it was to me. But anyway that’s how I got my first major injury.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is boy-was-injured-chin-s-got-big-bruise-lies-bed-tolerate-pain-66938073.jpg
Image Credit: DreamsTime.com

What college to go to?

udarsh318Leave a comment

I have no idea what college I’m going to. I mean I have another year to think about it but like I don’t even have a dream school. And tuition fees are just going up and up with a lot of schools charging 70-80,000 dollars a year. Everywhere is so expensive and its harder to get in to places. I dunno maybe I’m overthinking all this but I really have no idea where I wanna go. There’s so many cool places with awesome programs, but not all of them have good scholarships. My mom tells me I shouldn’t worry about the money side of things but we can’t pay for 80,000 a year without student loans and FRICK student loans. The wage and finance system is rigged against the working class and I am the working class. But I guess I’ll figure it out when I get to it.

I would rather die than pick one of the choices

ojaipizzaLeave a comment

There is no right or wrong answer for every decision in life except the test in school, and that’s the problem. Every time I need to decide between two things, it can really take me forever. I just have no idea what to pick. I am really worried about myself at this point. My friends give me some advice that is to analyze the details in the choices, and picking one is beneficial for me. This is interesting. I know drinking too much boba isn’t good for my health, at the same time I can’t live without boba. You might think if I can’t live without boba then why not just buy it? The only concern I have is money. I don’t want to spend too much money. Now, I have to decide whether I should spend money on boba or not. My head is running a political election every time this happens. I just need someone to guide me on what I should do. Why is life so hard for me!

Here is a list of what I hate when someone ask me:

  1. What do you want to eat for dinner?
  2. Is the answer B or C?
  3. Did you like your mom more or your dad?
  4. What should we do next?
  5. What college do you really want to go to?
  6. Do you like Dr. Pepper or Root Beer?
  7. What is your favorite subject?
  8. If me and your mom fall into the water, who would you save first?
  9. Do you want to hangout?
  10. How are you?

Nerdy Fun Fact of why you shouldn’t drink too much boba

The fructose in boba will be converted into “purines” during metabolism , and uric acid will be produced after decomposition. Under normal circumstances, uric acid will be excreted in urine. Once the drainage problem occurs, the crystallization will accumulate in the joints and bone tissue, causing inflammation, swelling pain. The more sugar intake and more , the level of uric acid can also be increased accordingly.

Photo Credit: The Good Place from Netflix

Some more cool space stuff

udarsh318Leave a comment

A “cavity” in the Milky Way Galaxy was discovered today. This essentially is a large area in which theres nothing, just the massive open void of space. It’s approximately 500 lightyears wide, and may hopefully help research into star development in the near future. NASA’s Insight mission, that put a lander on the surface of Mars to measure seismic activity on Mars, has detected three powerful “Marsquakes” of magnitudes up to 4.2. This may become a major factor in the eventual colonization of the red planet. SpaceX’s inspiration 4 crew landed safely back on earth after a 3 day mission to space that made the astronauts the first civilians in space. These milestones just make commercial space travel more and more tangible with every success. Finally, research into the near-constant gamma ray bursts coming into our atmosphere reveals that they may be caused by massive stellar explosions in space. This discovery boosts our research into star formation and destruction, and may give us some insights as to what goes on in the massive universe all around us.

Stunning Astronomy Photographs Look like They're Shot from Space - Scientific American

iPhone 13!

ojaipizzaLeave a comment

Recently iPhone 13 just came out. I have been using my iPhone XR for almost three years which means I’m thinking of buying a new phone. Furthermore, I have turned eighteen recently. In Taiwan age of eighteen means, you are an adult. I’m able to drive, go to clubs and do anything. In my family, we usually have a tradition that we celebrate, go to a fancy restaurant to congrats we have turned to an adult. Yet, I’m far from my family while I’m studying here in America. All I could do is celebrate with my friends. For me, I don’t feel the changes from a child to an adult, but I feel sad that I couldn’t be with my family during this huge transition. After my birthday, one of my friends is using the same phone as mine, and he wants to upgrade his phone. At this time,  we have decided on buying a new phone together. I have decided to spend this much money to give myself an eighteenth birthday gift. I never spend this much money. I feel accomplish and happy. On the other hand, I feel it’s kind of a waste of money that my old phone didn’t break at all and still buy a new one. Nevertheless, I have done a lot of research that if the user using below than iPhone 11, iPhone 13 can be a great upgrade. There is a lot of features that have been upgraded including the battery life, the super retina XDR display, ceramic shield, and the A15 chip. If you are a user thats using iPhone 11 or below, it could be a huge upgrade for you.

Photo Credit: Apple iPhone 13

Over the Bars on a Dirtbike

bartholomulethegreatLeave a comment

To start this was about four or five years ago, my family along with a couple of other families go out to the desert around three or four times a year. We generally go to the same spot but around new year the site we stay at is a little more contested. One of these trips we went out and around half way through the trip we decided to go on a ride that was around 100 miles. Trips that are 100 miles usually take around seven hours, this particular trip was to a place where people put memorials to riders that have died in the desert. The ride consisted of lots of hills and a large open dried up lake bed where we would ride really fast. Shockingly enough that isn’t where I fell.

On the way back we took a similar route to the way there but we were going into the sun so it was getting hard to see. We jumped onto a dirt road in the middle of nowhere to speed up the process of getting home to our camp. We rode for a long while and were just getting back to camp on the road and the sun had just gotten to the point where is was near impossible to see because of the angle that the sun is coming at. I remember feeling my bike just stop and me keep going, this was followed by a section of time that felt slow as I flew forward over the bars of the dirtbike. As I hit the ground head first landing on my visor and the impact sliding out through my body. After I hit the ground it took me a second to gather my senses and get up. When I did get up I realized that my visor on my helmet had broken at the base from the impact of the ground. As it turned out I had hit a rock that I couldn’t see because of the sun in my eyes and it launched me forward while nearly stopping my dirtbike in its tracks.

Image Credit: Dirt Bike Planet

Impulsivity

treefroggyLeave a comment

I have ADHD, and a symptom I experience is impulsivity.

I often do and say things without thinking about the consequences. It happens most when I’m in an emotionally unstable or vulnerable state.

For example, when I’m happy, I go out of my way to do kind things for my friends. I’ll bring them Starbucks or surprise them with presents just because the idea popped into my head. However, it goes the other way too. If I’m angry, I’m likely to say whatever comes into my mind, no matter how mean it is.

When it comes to impulse control, I have to be completely mentally present to stop myself from doing mean or potentially harmful things. I’ve trained myself to stay quiet and think when I’m upset so I don’t ruin a relationship because I wasn’t paying attention to the words I was saying.

I also will buy things off impulse. I have so many meaningless objects in my room that I saw, liked, and bought without a second thought. It’s a struggle to be financially stable while impulsive, which could cause trouble for me later in life if I don’t get a handle on it.

Impulsivity can be annoying at times, but please try to be understanding of people with ADHD. We try so hard every day, and it’s great when people acknowledge that.

I hope that this article helps people understand ADHD and its symptoms better. Remember to look out for your friends or family who have ADHD to make sure they’re taking care of themselves.

Impulsivity: Definition, Symptoms, Traits, Causes, Treatment

Westend61 / Getty Images

NFL Week 5 Predictions.

navraj22Leave a comment

To preface, I am not a football analyst but my takes go crazy.

New York Jets vs. Atlanta Falcons (-3.5) [London, England]

In this weeks toilet bowl, I’d the Jets with the points. The Falcons are the worst team in football. I would summarize the Falcons with this clip:

VC: ItsKurt

Need I say anymore?

Anyways, Zach Wilson is the chosen one and if his receivers can catch his magical mormon passes he can torch the Falcons defense.

Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers (-3.5)

I thing the Panthers pull off the win with Wilson’s predecessor and MONO survivor Sam Darnold at the helm. Need them to win for my fantasy team too so that may play into it slightly. I just think the Panthers have been more impressive so far this season.

Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-10.5)

This week is not an exception to the “never bet against Brady” rule. Bucs by a million. The team he has created in Tampa will prove to be unstoppable, rolling the Dolphins at home.

PC: NFL Combine

New Orleans Saints (-1.5) at Washington Football Team

Famous Jameis is unstoppable. Finally in his starting role I really want to see him do well. The Saints wins have been against more impressive teams than their losses, and I think they will shake off their losses and turn a corner, starting with a win this week. The WFT has had less impressive wins, irking out wins against poor teams. I’d take the saints with the points.

Tennessee Titans (-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars

I don’t know who to take so Im gonna go Jags with the points. Partially because I’m feeling like a bit of a wimp for not taking more underdogs, partially because the points are the safe bet, and mostly because this video of the Titans mascot lives rent free in my head. Kindly disregard the title.

VC: NFL

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (-7.5)

Dan Campbell is the biggest football guy in the league right now. For this reason alone Lions NO POINTS. Lions gonna role. Biggest underdog bet right here.

Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5)

Still resent the Steelers for their tik tok dances. For this reason Broncos with the points. Points=Safety here.

VC: NFL

Green Bay Packers (-3.5) at Cincinnati Bengals

Moneybagg Jo takes makes it close. The discount double-check guy will pull off the victory, but the Bengals win on points.

Can you really bet against this man:

VC: LSUsports

New England Patriots (-9) at Houston Texans

McCorkle (Mac) Jones will lead the Patriots to victory in an absolute steamrolling of the lost Texans. It hasn’t been close for them at all this season, things in H-Town haven’t been the same since Deandre Hopkins departure and Deshaun Watson’s massuse scandal. Take the Pats with points, I would take them -20.

Chicago Bears at Las Vegas Raiders (-5.5)

Everyone has the Raiders in this one. Though the Bears pattern of beating lesser opponents and the spread at home and losing to stronger opponents and the spread on the road is in my periphery, I feel like Justin Fields has got something. I think they could keep it close, lose by a field goal or win even. This is my sleeper. Just saying the Bears are a sneaky good pick in this game.

Cleveland Browns (-1) at Los Angeles Chargers

I honestly have no clue at all. No jokes. Just have no idea.

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys (-7)

I never take the Cowboys, I don’t have a team I just hate the Cowboys. I like the Giants with the points after last week’s win over a strong saints team.

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals (-5.5)

Cardinals are hard to bet against, especially because of the QB scenario in the bay. I think the Cardinals well rounded game will be hard for the 49ers to crack, and just don’t think the 49ers are team enough to win this one.

PC: NBC Sports

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens (-7)

Ravens are a lock in this game. Points and all, Wentz doesn’t have it like that.

NFL Sunday’s in the Fall.

im6footLeave a comment

NFL Sundays are great, especially in the foggy/misty Fall.

Waking up on cloudy Sunday knowing football is on is truly of the best feelings in the world. And if you are an owner of NFL Network Red Zone that is 7 hours of commercial free football. I start my NFL Sundays with nice balanced breakfast(which is usually leftovers from dinner the night before). Then I’ll turn on a pregame show and read a couple articles or watch highlights of Saturday’s college football games.

10 o’clock hits and it kick off for the morning games. I’ll flip through the various 10am games that are broadcasted on CBS, FOX, and NBC. Following the completion of the morning games I’ll make my way to kitchen to find lunch. Lunch is either a sandwich of now that the Fall is upon us SOOOOOUUUUP! I’m a massive soup guy, chicken noodle, matzo ball, Italian wedding are some of favorites.

A generic view of a football before an NCAA game
Photo from USA TODAY Sports

Once I find a suitable meal I’ll head back to the couch to watch the afternoon games. Around this time is when I’ll make a deal with myself; the deal is I’ll start my homework during halftime of whatever game(s) I’m watching and I’ll finish it before dinner and Sunday Night Football. This deal fails 11 out of 10 times.

As the afternoon games wrap up I’ll set the table and eat dinner with my family. Following the end to dinner I’ll find myself back on the couch watching kickoff for that night’s SNF game. Once the games reality kicks in, with the sun being down and everyone in the house prepping for bedtime I once again realize that I’m in the same shorts and hoodie from the morning and still have a couple hours of homework to complete.

NFL Sunday’s in the Fall are amazing and I wouldn’t change it for the world.