Thuurd .I
Bio
Photography. Music. Sports. Fashion.
Stories (14/0)
Determined to Be the "One"
The 2018-2019 NBA season has finally reached its ending point after the 2018-2019 NBA awards were presented on Monday, June 24, 2019. In a season where LeBron James missed the NBA playoffs, Stephen Curry did not win an NBA title, and Kevin Durant experienced a catastrophic injury, many fans can feel the change in the air. One of the most exciting things about the sport of basketball is that nothing is for certain at any given moment. When players compete and work hard, on and off the hardwood, anything could happen. As a result, the ongoing debate for who the top five performers at each position are is a continuous conversation that has now carried into the off-season. After watching the 2018-2019 NBA season, I believe that the top five point guard rankings in the NBA have been re-ordered. With the 2019-2020 season quickly approaching, I believe that these players will be some of the league's most talked about athletes as they continue to compete for an NBA title.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
Jurassic Changes?
The Toronto Raptors have been a team that has caught the eye of several NBA enthusiast since the beginning of the 2018 off-season. After a year in which the organization's former head coach earned "coach of the year" accolades, many believed that the new direction of change for the organization had already begun. At the end of the 2017-2018 season, the Toronto Raptors finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Their 59-23 record was a testament to how great the talent of DeMar DeRozan truly was. The first seeded Raptors were seen as a huge threat to other teams in the Eastern Conference until the Eastern semifinals. It was then when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers swept Toronto and sent them home packing with new focuses on the upcoming season. After studying his team and the current reconstruction of the eastern conference, the Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri was determined to push the Raptors into a season of cleansing.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
Nursing a New Nation!
The opportunity to coach a group of individuals is a task that many people would refuse to take on. The ability to lead could be described as a tentative gene that develops during the lives of certain people who are willing to answer the call of becoming a leader. To be a successful coach in the National Basketball Association, an individual must be confident in himself before he is able to make decisions that will alter the careers of people involved. Throughout the span of an NBA season, coaches and executive members of the organization are given an efficiency grade that determines how well each level of leadership is performing. When a head coach is able to win an NBA Championship during his first year of coaching, the whole organization deserves an "A+."
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
The Raptors Achilles Heel?
The 2019 NBA Finals have been a tale of two cities. For the Toronto Raptors of the North, the journey to the NBA Finals has been full of hard work, surprises, and dedication. For a franchise that has not yet won an NBA championship, the city of Toronto have been standing by their home team as if they have been in this situation before. Celebrities such as the Canadian icon Drake have bought into the new winning tradition that was inherited from Raptors superstar small forward Kawhi Leonard. After years of playing in San Antonio, Kawhi Leonard has shown the league why he has always deserved to be considered an elite NBA player. With another chance to win an NBA championship, Kawhi and the Raptors must dust off a determined Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson who seem to have their sights focused on winning their third straight title.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
Kemba Changing Locations?
In 2011 the Charlotte Hornets were in a different stage of the organization's history. During this time, the organization was known as the Charlotte Bobcats, an organization that was prone to winning games in the National Basketball Association. At the time D.J. Augustine was the starting point guard, and Shaun Livingston was in the middle of his young career. The Bobcats lacked absolute talent which, at the time, was taking the NBA by storm. Players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Derick Rose, and Dwayne Wade had already become accustomed to the way the NBA was changing. It was clear that in order to win NBA Championships in the 21st century you needed at least one star to build around on an NBA roster. With a need to keep up with the new wave of competition, the Charlotte Bobcats decided to make a long term investment with their ninth pick in the 2011 NBA draft.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
No Splash Brother Left Behind?
After a long 82 game NBA regular season, the NBA was ready to reward some of its best players with some of the league’s highest honors. When the NBA All Teams rosters were released to the public on Thursday, many NBA fans and critics began to evaluate the roster to check its validity. In a year where so many fans were able to see so many different players reach a new level of success, it would be no surprise to see new faces on the 2018-2019 All NBA roster. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Paul George, James Harden, and Nikola Jokic were the five individuals that received first team honors. Jokic and Antetokounmpo have both shown tremendous growth throughout the course of the 2018-2019 season and were rewarded with one of the highest regular-season honors. For players such as James Harden, Steph Curry, and Paul George, making the All NBA team was almost a given. After incredible regular season performances, it was almost a given that players that have been dominant would make first team conversation.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
Moving Too Fast!
As the 2019 offseason begins around the National Football League, teams are preparing for the long and exciting season that is ahead of them. For many NFL organizations, like the Oakland Raiders and the New York Giants, the offseason has brought a tremendous amount of attention to the operations of their franchises. The scrambling of NFL front offices has had positive and negative effects on some teams and their locker rooms. After the firing of the New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, head coach Adam Gase has had to answer the remaining questions from media outlets about the current condition of the Jets organization. The move to fire Maccagnan came after the signing of the former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. Confused as to why the Jets front office decided to make personnel changes so late in the offseason, many fans are wondering if the New York Jets have enough potential to be an AFC wild card contender.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
One Last Ride
When NBA fans sit down to engage in conversation about the league’s best players, Kevin Durant is an immediate conversation starter. During the 2013-2014 season, Kevin Durant proved to NBA critiques that he was ready to start winning NBA championships. His 32 points per game average were accompanied by a consistent 50.3 field goal percentage for the season. Durant was awarded as the NBA’s most valuable player because he was one of seven players in NBA history to average 50 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent from the three-point line, and 90 percent from the free throw line. When fans look back and reflect on Kevin Durant’s incredible season, many forget that he was wearing an Oklahoma City Thunder jersey while doing so.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
The Luck Has Run Out
For the Boston Celtics, the 2019 NBA playoffs have been a humbling experience. Since advancing from the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics have been experiencing tremendous trouble against their semifinal opponent Milwaukee Bucks. The pressure fell on the shoulders of Kyrie Irving on Wednesday night as the Celtics had to win in order to fight for an Eastern Conference Finals birth. After finishing the first quarter 2-9 shooting, Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics began to see their season come to an end as Giannis Antetokounmpo and company began to trash the defeated Celtics.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
Relying on the Stars
The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has adopted a mantra that has kept the appetites of victory-hungry fans satisfied during seasons of transition. "Trust the process," has been the slogan of the revamping era of one of the cities most beloved teams. The Philadelphia 76ers have made moves within the last five seasons that have prepared them for playoff contention. After a couple of years of waiting, and persistence, Philadelphia has a chance to play in the Eastern Conference finals. Their only obstacle has been Kawhi Leonard, and the Toronto Raptors.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced
Can Pittsburgh Survive the Cold Off-Season?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been known to be the most dominant team to play on Sunday’s in the AFC North Division. Their symbolic steel curtain defense has won the hearts and souls of many football advocates across the American continent. To aid in their possessive type of scheme, the Steelers were one of the teams who has found a way to have a balanced offense as well. With the help of Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers have experienced more success than most NFL teams. After the long holdout of Le’Veon Bell, during the 2018 off-season, the Steelers have been facing a continuation of distractions, which ultimately showed in their on the field performances throughout the 2018 season.
By Thuurd .I5 years ago in Unbalanced