Sport Thoughts

The 2025 NBA All Star game is approaching in the coming weeks. It is around that time where the All Star predictions begin. Like with many All Star games, there are usually several players making their All Star game debut. In the NBA there are a total of 24 players selected as NBA All Stars. Its time to analyze who the potential first time All Stars could be. It is noteworthy that many NBA All Stars are selected from winning teams at the top of each conference. Lets begin with the Eastern Conference. Potential first time All Stars from the Eastern Conference include Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat, Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Derrick White of the Boston Celtics. These potential first time All Stars are averaging career highs in points per game and impacting winning on both sides of the court in the Eastern Conference. Switching to the Western Conference, potential first time All Stars include Victor...

The 2024 NBA Play In Tournament is a few weeks away from begining. These final weeks are crunch time for NBA playoff contending teams. With just a few weeks left, it has become clear which teams will be in the Top 6 in the Eastern and Western Conference. The possible Play In Tournament teams in the Eastern Conference include the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks. The possible Play In Tournament teams in the Western Conference include the New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, Sacremento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors. Health and remaining schedules will be key factors during these teams final stretch of games. According to Tankathon, Play In teams including the Suns, Kings, Pacers and Pelicans rank in top 10 most difficult remaining schedules. The Magic, Bulls, Mavericks, Warriors, and Heat rank in top easiest remaining schedules. The Knicks, 76ers, Hawks, Suns, Lakers and Warriors ...

The NBA trade deadline has always been designed as a grace period for contending teams to make big or small changes. The deadline is also known as the final act for selling teams begining fire sales. NBA teams have the power to upgrade, retool or rebuild through the trade deadline. All Stars are often moved in the aftermath. The 2021, 22’ and 23’ NBA trade deadlines saw multiple All Stars moved including Nikola Vucevic, James Harden, Ben Simmons, Andre Drummand, Domantas Sabonis, Kristaps Porzingis, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley, D’Angelo Russell, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The 2024 trade deadline did not feature any star power compared to those recent deadlines. Trades were made based on high quality role players and bench players. The newly added role players could make a solid impact but it will never be on the level of a newly added star. There were several former All Stars remaining with their current teams after the deadline. Those stars include Demar Derozan, Zach Lavine, D...

The MLB All Star pitchers and reserves were recently announced. There were plennty of surprises during the All Star player unveiling. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the total number of Atlanta Braves All Stars. The Atlanta Braves had 8 All Stars selected to the Mid Summer Classic. Those All Stars includ Ronald Acuna, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Bryce Elder and Spencer Strider. It is not very often when more than half of a team’s lineup makes the All Star team. The Braves are a very good team and currently have the best record in the entire MLB. While each MLB team must have at least one All Star selected, someone might question if a team having 8 selected All Stars is unfair. Talent can only speak for itself. MLB teams should have more than one All Star in attendance. Only 30 active MLB players make each All Star team. The voting process can be uneasy and players are often snubbed. The MLB has so much talent in this current era. Fans can only h...