Predictions for the upcoming NBA 2013-2014 season. (Part 3: SeasonAwards edition)

       As part of our NBA prediction series, we give you part three which is the Season Awards edition. We will be giving you our predictions on the MVP award, Rookie of the Year award, Coach of the Year, Defensive player of the Year, 6th Man, & All-NBA 1st/2nd teams. Enjoy!  $wank!

2013-2014 NBA MVP Rankings

 

1. Kevin Durant- Oklahoma City Thunder
2. LeBron James - Miami Heat
3. Chris Paul - Los Angeles Clippers
4. Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers
5. James Harden - Houston Rockets
6. Carmelo Anthony - New York Knicks
7. Paul George - Indiana Pacers
8. Derrick Rose - Chicago Bulls
9. Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors
10. Russell Westbrook - Oklahoma City Thunder

 

 

                 Now let me clear something up before I catch hell with NBA fans, LeBron is the best player on the planet and is the MVP of the league every year that he plays, BUT America is a country that gets bored really fast when somebody is this good. One example is the year Derrick Rose won his MVP, LeBron had the better year no question, but he had just won 2 in a row and people were bored. The one person that will benefit from this greatly will be OKC Forward Kevin Durant. While LeBron will have his typical year of 27, 7, & 7, voters and fans alike will be bored with giving the same player the award year after year. Kevin Durant will also put up his monster scoring numbers to go along with improved shooting percentages and a probable number one seed in the West. The reason Rose is so far down this list is because he's been out of the game for a long time, and he will have to get use to the speed and flow of the game again which won't translate to an immediate MVP caliber season. People may say, "Well Kobe is high on the list and he's having surgery plus he's older than Rose". My response to that would be that Kobe's team absolutely sucks, while Rose is playing with 2 other all stars. If Kobe is able to drag one of the worst Laker teams in recent memory to the playoffs, he will win the NBA MVP. Plus..... HE'S KOBE BRYANT!!

 

Dark Horse Candidates: Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, & Deron Williams

 

 

2013-2014 NBA ROY Rankings

 

1. Trey Burke - Utah Jazz
2. Victor Oladipo - Orlando Magic
3. Michael Carter-Williams - Philadelphia Sixers
4. Ben McLemore - Sacramento Kings
5. Cody Zeller - Charlotte Bobcats

                  While this year's crop of rookies has been looked upon as a relatively "weak" class, there are still some gems to watch for. Our pick for ROY is Trey Burke, but not because we think he's the most talented, but because he has the best opportunity. Burke is going to step right in and be one of the best players for the struggling Utah Jazz and he will get the full set of keys to that car. Oladipo and Carter-Williams are in similar situations, but both teams have better and more seasoned players. Utah does not. (other than Gordon Hayward) I also think Kelly Olynyk has a realistic shot of winning this award. He will not only be able to shoot a lot of those sweet jumpers he likes, he will get the benefit of playing with one of the best PGs in the league. Look out for him to climb up the rankings fast.

 

 

Dark Horse Candidates : Kelly Olynyk, CJ McCollum, Shabazz Muhammad, Alex Len, & Archie Goodwin

 

 

 

2013-2014 NBA Coach of the Year Rankings

 

1. Mark Jackson - Golden State Warriors
2. Gregg Popovich - San Antonio Spurs
3. Erick Spoelstra - Miami Heat
4. Scott Brooks - Oklahoma City Thunder
5. Doc Rivers - Los Angeles Clippers

                    This year is going to be a big year for the Warriors, which is going to directly results in 2nd year coach Mark Jackson receiving the COY award. He's a great coach that I believe paired with this talented group, is going to make some serious waves in the NBA this year. The other usual suspects are going to contend as well.

 

 

Dark Horse Candidates : Kevin McHale, Jason Kidd, and Tom Thibodeau

 

 

 

 

 

2013-2014 NBA DPOY Rankings

 

1. Serge Ibaka - Oklahoma City Thunder
2. LeBron James - Miami Heat
3. Dwight Howard - Houston Rockets
4. Marc Gasol - Memphis Grizzlies
5. JaVale Mcgee - Denver Nuggets

          Every year I tend to believe that LeBron is the DPOY and every year I'm wrong, and this year will be no different. For some reason, NBA voters never seem to want to give Bron credit for what he does on the defensive end for his team. With that being said, I think Serge Ibaka is going to have a breakout year for the Thunder. If we were doing Most Improved Player predictions, he would be our pick. Also, I think JaVale Mcgee will break out of his shell for the Nuggets and contend for DPOY.

 

 

Dark Horse Candidates : Tony Allen, Tyson Chandler, and Andre Iguodala

 

 

 

 

2013-2014 NBA 6th Man of the Year Rankings

 

1. Jamal Crawford - Los Angeles Clippers
2. Jason Terry - Brooklyn Nets
3. JR Smith - New York Knicks
4. Tyreke Evans - New Orleans Pelicans
5. Ray Allen - Miami Heat

 Dark Horse Candidates : Reggie Jackson, Harrison Barnes, and Manu Ginobili

 

 

 

2013-2014 NBA 1st/2nd Team All-NBA Selections

 

                 

                        1st team All-NBA selections

 

                  PG : Chris Paul- Los Angeles Clippers

                  SG : James Harden- Houston Rockets

                  SF : Kevin Durant- OKC Thunder

                  PF : LeBron James- Miami Heat

                   C : Dwight Howard- Houston Rockets

 

 

                                         

 

 

                       2nd team All-NBA Selections

 

                  PG : Russell Westbrook- OKC Thunder

                  SG : Kobe Bryant- Los Angeles Lakers

                  SF : Paul George- Indiana Pacers

                  PF : Carmelo Anthony- New York Knicks

                   C :  Marc Gasol- Memphis Grizzlies

 

 

 

 

 

                      Well, that's it for part 3 of our NBA Season predictions! Come back or follow on twitter (@SwankyTimes) for updates on when the next installments will be dropped! Make sure to comment or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook and tell us what you agree and disagree with!

 

Stay $wanky,

 

  Ashton Howard 2

 

 

 

 

Tey Campbell- "Control remix"

It seems like everybody & their mama has been coming out with a remix to Big Sean's "Control" which featured the controversial Kendrick Lamar verse. Check out this one by up & coming Hip-Hop artist Tey Campbell, it's one of the better ones I've heard! We will be doing a feature on Tey pretty soon. $wank!  Tey Campbell- "Control Remix" (stream)

Earl Sweatshirt - "Doris" (Album Download link)

The Highly anticipated "Doris" album by the OFWGKTA artist Earl Sweatshirt was finally dropped earlier today. I've listened to it and I really like, if you like Earl or Odd Future in general, this album is for you. Here's the link, enjoy! Doris- Earl Sweatshirt (Download)

Predictions for the upcoming NBA 2013-2014 season. (Part Two "Eastern Conference Standings edition)

Even though many people, including myself, view the Eastern conference as the weaker of the two conferences, they have produced the last two NBA champions in the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat have basically ran the NBA since the Big 3 assembled 3 years ago. They have won 2 championships, almost broke an NBA record for a regular season winning streak, and have had the winner of the last 2 MVPs in LeBron James. To put it plain and simple, they have completely dominated teams while making it look easy. This year proves to be a more tough challenge for them, as its always hard to 3 peat, but also because virtually every team in the East have gotten better this off season. Here are my Eastern Conference Standings predictions!

Eastern Conference Standings

 

1. Miami Heat - Anything and everything you want to know about the Miami Heat was said in the introduction, this team is on the brink of becoming a dynasty. There are some questions surrounding this team, though, and the biggest one is interior defense. If there was one thing exposed about the Heat last year, it's that teams score fairly easy on them in the post. They tried to answer that question by signing talented but injury prone Greg Oden. If Greg Oden can stay healthy, the supporting cast plays well, and Dwyane Wade is able to give them one more productive year, then this will be another championship year for the Miami Heat.
2. Indiana Pacers - Last year the Pacers had one of their best years since the Reggie Miller era, and I think they will be even better this year. The emergence of Paul George as well as the supporting cast of Roy Hibbert, David West, and co. make this team the biggest threat to the Heat in the East. If they can get good production out of Danny Granger, who is coming off of a knee injury that sidelined him for most of last season, I think they have a real shot at taking down the champs.
3. Brooklyn Nets - The Nets had arguably the best off season in the NBA by trading for future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. By adding those two as well as Jason Terry and Andre Kirilenko to an already productive core of Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, they make up for one of the best starting 5s in the NBA. The two biggest questions surrounding this team will be age and how 1st year head coach Jason Kidd (I know it sounds weird saying it to me too) will be able to manage the many egos of this team. If they can gel well together, this might be one of the top 3 teams in the NBA.
4. New York Knicks - This off season the Knicks quietly made one of the biggest moves of the summer with the signing of Metta World Peace. World Peace is really going to help this team in their weakest department, defense. They won't need him score as that position is filled by reigning scoring champ Carmello Anthony and the always exciting JR Smith. The biggest question looming over this team is whether or not Iman Shumpert can take his game to the next level. If Shumpert can become a reliable 2nd or 3rd scoring option for the Knicks, they could challenge their cross town rival for that 3rd seed.
5. Chicago Bulls - Last season the Chicago Bulls really overachieved by winning a playoff series despite the very controversial decision by their superstar Derrick Rose to sit out. With Rose coming back this season after sitting all of last year out after ACL surgery, the Bulls will have an established superstar to lean on, but I don't think that will make them a better team. I was a firm believer that the absence of Rose led the rest of the team to step their game up and overachieve, but I think Rose coming back will lead some of them to ease up a little bit. Ultimately, though this is a talented team with D Rose, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah and they will contend.
6. Detroit Pistons - After what was a terrible year for the historically great Detroit Pistons, the team got the ball rolling this off season with some great additions. The Pistons have had a great championship tradition, but in recent years have fallen off the wagon a little bit. Despite a 29-53 record last year, there was room for optimism as the team discovered budding stars in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. The team decided to build around those two and make them their front court for the future. The biggest question surrounding them is whether or not new additions Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings will be able to conform of the idea of team ball. If they do, they will be a dark horse team in the East.
7. Cleveland Cavaliers - This team has been hurting hard since "The Decision" made by their hometown hero to take his talents to south beach, but the emergence of Kyrie Irving into a budding superstar has eased the pain a little bit. They also had a very good off season by acquiring a good back up point guard in Jarrett Jack and drafting Anthony Bennett to go along with an already talented team. The biggest question irking this team is the health of their big man of the future and new addition Andrew Bynum. When healthy Bynum is the 2nd best center in this league and in the conversation for number one. If he can stay on the floor this season, Cleveland will finally have a winning team to cheer after a few years of sheer depression surrounding the city.
8. Washington Wizards - Like many other teams in the league, the biggest issue plaguing this team is the injury bug. They have a very good young back court in John Wall and Bradley Beal, and whenever their on the court together it's trouble for the other team. If they can get good production out of Nene and Emeka Okafor in their front court as well as the bench, this team will reach the playoffs for the first time since the Gilbert Arenas era.
9. Toronto Raptors - While many other sites and experts are writing off this team, I really believe this team can compete for a playoff spot. They have a very good young core in Rudy Gay, Demar Derozen and Jonas Valanciunas who was the summer league MVP in Las Vegas. If this team gets their chemistry together and plays hard every night, I think we might see the best team in Canada since Half Man Half Amazing.
10. Boston Celtics - This team went into straight rebuilding mode this off season by blowing up their core. They sent KG, Pierce, and Jason Terry to the Celtics for draft picks, and expiring contracts in hopes of building a younger team through the draft. All of these moves basically left top 3 PG Rajon Rondo to be the unquestioned leader. Although it's going to be tough, I think a core of Rondo, Jeff Green, and Avery Bradley can contend in for an 8th seed in the East.

 

Best of the rest : Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, Orlando Magic, and Philadelphia Sixers. (In order) 



Predictions for the upcoming NBA 2013-2014 season. (Part One "West Conference Standings edition")

Although it's only August, it's never too early to start talking about the NBA season. This off season has been a wild one! From Dwight bolting for Houston, to Doc Rivers heading to Hollywood, a lot of changes were made. I will be doing a series previewing and predicting different aspects of what I believe is going to happen this upcoming season. I will be doing predictions for standings, season awards, playoff predictions, and key games to look out for this season. I will only be previewing the top 10 teams in each conference, so check back here for the next few days as I'll post a different blog every day. So without further ado I give you the Western Conference Standings edition!

 

 

Western Conference Standings

 

1.     Oklahoma City Thunder - Last year was a great year for OKC as they went 60-22 in the regular season, and had big expectations going into the playoffs. They seemed primed for another finals appearance when Russell Westbrook went down with a knee injury in the 1st round against the Rockets which led to an early exit against the Grizzlies. With Westbrook coming back for the start of the season and Kevin Durant being well, Kevin Durant, this team is the best in the west. They've had a relatively quiet off season other than the Kevin Martin loss, which will hurt, but I think the emergence of Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb will help ease that loss. All in all, when you have 2 of the top 10 players in the world on your team in Durant and Westbrook, you're going to be a good team.

2.     San Antonio Spurs - Every year people, including myself, say that the Spurs are too old to do it again, but every year we're wrong. Coming off of an NBA finals appearance and taking the Heat to 7 games, the Spurs will be just as good this year. They haven't made any big moves this off season other than the controversial re-signings of Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili, but they still have the best PG in the league in Tony Parker and the best coach in Gregg Popovich. They also have the best PF in NBA history in Tim Duncan, and although age will be a big factor, I think this team will be right at the top of the standings once again.

3.     Los Angeles Clippers - This team is my dark horse championship contender team. I think they have a chance to be REALLY good. They have been getting better every year but it always seems like they're missing that one piece. Well that one piece showed up this off season in the form of Doc Rivers. Doc is going to take this team over the top along with the underrated additions of JJ Redick and Jared Dudley. Ultimately Lob City will go as far as Blake Griffin and CP3 take them, but I think the X-factor will be Deandre Jordan. If Jordan can hit his free-throws and be able to stay on the floor during crunch time situations, this team will be scary good.

4.     Golden State Warriors- Last year was a coming out party for the Warriors and Stephen Curry, especially in the Playoffs. They have a great young team and arguably the best shooting back court of this generation in Curry and Klay Thompson. The Warriors also had one of the best off season additions in Andre Iguodala. Iggy will provide lock down defense and another scoring option on this already loaded team. If Andrew Bogut and David Lee can stay healthy down low this team is another dark horse contender.

5.     Houston Rockets - We all know about the major turnaround and good luck the Rockets have had the past 2 years in basically having James Harden and Dwight Howard gift wrapped to them. The Rockets have a great young team with two superstars; the only question surrounding this team is how they will gel together. Will they all be able to coexist, or will Dwight Howard ruin yet another locker room? One thing last season taught us is that talent alone doesn't get you to the promise land (cough cough LAKERS).

6.     Memphis Grizzlies - The Grizzlies are basically returning everybody from a team that was in the West finals last year. They have a top 2 center in Marc Gasol and the most underrated player in the league in Zach Randolph as well as plenty of other complimentary pieces. The biggest question surrounding this team is how well new coach David Joerger will do in his first NBA head coaching job. I believe this team will still be very good, just not western conference finals good

7.     Minnesota Timberwolves - The Timberwolves have been pretty bad for a while now, but the past couple season haven't been their fault. This team is very talented but has been hurt by the injury bug very hard. They have Kevin Love, who is the best PF in the league when healthy,  and Ricky Rubio, who is a very good up and coming point guard, leading the way. They also addressed some issues on the perimeter with the addition of sharp shooting Kevin Martin. I'm also a believer that despite his off the court issues, 2013 draftee Shabazz Muhammad can really help this team. If they can stay healthy and keep their full team on the court all season, this team has a chance to crack the playoffs for the first time since KG.

8.     Denver Nuggets - The Nuggets lost out big in free agency when their leader Andre Iguodala bolted for the Warriors, but this team still has plenty of talent. Ty Lawson is an exciting young PG who will have a chance to really show out this year with the absence of a defined 1st option on offense. They also signed the always exciting Nate Robinson for virtually nothing during free agency. Robinson will be the X-factor on this team, if he can do for them what he did for the Bulls in the Playoffs, this team should have enough to crawl into the last seed in the always tough Western conference.

9.     Los Angeles Lakers - Although I think ESPN had it right ranking the Lakers as the 12th best team in the West, I refuse to rank a Kobe Bryant led team any lower than 9th. He says he will be healthy for the season opener, and I believe him. Kobe is the ultimate competitor and I think he himself, old or not, will be enough to help this team of misfits compete for the last Playoff spot. I also think the additions of Jordan Famar and Wesley Johnson will help answer some of their perimeter defense questions, but ultimately this team's future rides on the Achilles of Kobe Bryant.

10. New Orleans Pelicans - The new named and new look Pelicans have had an interesting off season. They literally went through a complete make over with a new name, team, and look. I think they could've had either the best off season or worst in the league and only this season will be able to tell. They picked up an All-star PG in Jrue Holiday as well as former rookie of the year Tyreke Evans. The new additions could either create a very exciting and good young back court in NO or a complete log jam and toxic locker room. I think it will be the latter and this team will complete for the last seed in the West.


Best of the rest : Portland Trailblazers, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, and Phoenix Suns. (In order)


 

Best rapper alive?

                                 Yesterday Big Sean released a new track called Control featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica which caused some waves in the music scene. During Kendrick's verse, he basically called out every current relevant rapper! The part of the verse that caused waves was when he said, "I'm usually homeboys with the same niggas I'm  rhyming with, but this is hip-hop and them niggas should know what time it is. And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big Krit, Wale, Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electron, Tyler, Mac Miller. I got love for you all but I'm trynna murder you niggas. Trynna make sure your core fans never heard of you niggas. They don't wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you niggas." While you have to respect K Dot and his attempt to make the rap game more competitive and less buddy buddy, all I can think right now is WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!! He really bodied EVERY rapper who is hot right now other than Hov and Ye and made his claim to being the best! So this got people thinking, is Kendrick the best rapper right now? and the answer is............ Yes! I think K Dot is the best lyrical rapper in the game right now! His pure lyrics are second to none and if you listen to what he's saying you'll wanna refer to him as a storyteller, author, or poet instead of a rapper. Lyrically only J. Cole is in his lane in my opinion. BUT the Compton native is not the best Hip-Hop artist, there is a difference. Drake is the best hip-hop artist right now, Drake just makes better and more diverse music than Kendrick does right now. Drake can sing AND rap and on top of that he isn't THAT far behind K Dot lyrically! Being a Hip-Hop artist is more than just telling a story about how you made it out of the hood, it's about making music that the mass majority of people can relate to and will enjoy listening to. Most Americans can't relate to having to deal with the everyday life or death situations of living in Compton which makes him sort of hard to relate to. An example of this is that Kendrick's arguably least impressive song lyrically is his most popular song and his claim to fame and that's Swimming Pools. If you ask any casual Hip-Hop fan to name 3 Kendrick Lamar songs they're gonna almost certainly name Swimming Pools as one of them. Drake is just more polished as an artist. This inspired me to name my top 5 RAPPERS and my top 5 HIP-HOP ARTIST. So check it out below and leave comments on what you think!

 

                                      


       Top 5 Rappers right now

 

1. Kendrick Lamar
2. J. Cole
3. Jay Z
4. Drake
5. Lupe Fiasco

       Top 5 Hip-Hop artist right now

1. Drake
2. Kanye West
3. Wiz Khalifa
4. A$AP Rocky
5. J. Cole

   
                                                                        

Best Athlete in the world?

Earlier today Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant during an interview said that LeBron James could make the transition to being a football player pretty easily. With LeBron being 6'8, at least 260 lbs, and an All-state receiver his sophomore year in Ohio, this has always been a hot topic. Bryant's comments got me thinking, and how cool would it be to see LeBron in a Miami Dolphins number 6 jersey? I think he would be a great football player! He already has the things you can't teach such as speed, size, and just otherworldly type athleticism. Add all of that on top of the fact that he's played football before at a very elite level in high school, and I think you have yourself an All-pro receiver or tight end. Now obviously the game is night and day between high school and the NFL and plenty of former high school stars turned out to be nobodies in the league, but LeBron is different. The fact that he played in high school means that he knows how to run routes and he knows how to respond to a football playbook even if it is at a lower level. Bryant stated that he thinks that it would only take LeBron a couple of weeks to adjust and be a great player but I disagree. I think initially that LeBron would be a force right out of the gate and would have an amazing first 2 or 3 weeks in the league. I don't think that opposing coaches would know how to deal with him initially. It's not uncommon to see players have instant success in the league due to unorthodox playing styles. Just recently look at players like Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick who jumped right into the water without getting their feet wet, but just like those other players, other coaches would adjust to LeBron and that's when his process would begin. At the very least, LeBron playing football would be fun as hell to watch! He's the greatest pure athlete of our generation and we haven't seen a basketball player try to crossover since Michael Jordan! If you don't believe it would be fun just watch these highlights of LeBron dominating with Kevin Durant during a flag football game!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NZbXQzsu_8I

First Post

What up readers? I'm Ashton Howard and I've started this blog to be your one stop pop when it comes to rumors, gossip, news, etc. in the sports and pop culture scene. Most of my post in sports will be centered around basketball and football in the high school, college, and pro ranks. I will however post about other sports when there is big news! Most of my pop culture posts will be centering around the Hip-Hop scene and news on movies! I will post new songs, albums, and any news about your favorite stars! I'll also provide you with the download links for those songs/albums even if they leak! I'm always open to new ideas as well as anybody who would like to contribute to the blog with me! Okay haha enough with trying to type formal, I'm just an 18 year old kid at a cross roads in my life, I hoop myself and will be going to school next year. I'm being delayed because of a surgery I had to have to fix my torn acl I got during my senior season. It sucked! But yeah I'll be majoring in Communications with a minor in broadcast journalism and hope to be an analyst one day so that's why I've made this! Alright yall this should be dope, check in real soon for updates!




$tay $wanky,


  Ashton