To close the book on Week 4 we are getting the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers facing off on Monday Night Football. What was once the matchup that decided who would claim the title of the AFC North, now comes with both teams trying to capture their first win of the 2019 NFL season. The names that we are familiar with are mostly gone, especially with Ben Roethlisberger out with an injury.
The Steelers were not supposed to be at the bottom of their division. Even though Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown are gone, Pittsburgh was thought to have undergone addition by subtraction this offseason. However, they suffered defeats in all of their first three games and the replacements for the departed stars (James Conner and Juju Smith-Schuster) have not been able to replace their production so far. Losing Roethlisberger is likely attributing to that but excuses aren’t going to make the fan base happy–or keep Mike Tomlin off the hot seat. They’ve doubled-down on figuring things out this year when they traded away their 2020 first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for a second-year defensive back, Minkah Fitzpatrick. Finishing at the bottom of the standings would be an even worse outcome for this franchise. On the other side of the field will be the Bengals. They are in year one of the post-Marvin Lewis era and they chose Zac Taylor (from the famed Sean McVay coaching tree) to lead the way. Andy Dalton is likely on his last leg as the franchise quarterback and even though A.J. Green has yet to take the field the team is still expecting him to orchestrate an average moderate offense. Joe Mixon’s slow start to the season hasn’t helped any and as we saw with McVay and his disciples, establishing the run is priority number one.
During tonight’s game, both teams will be looking to turn their season’s around. With the vast majority of teams hovering around 2-2 the winner won’t be too far out of things at 1-3. However, falling to 0-4 all but assures three’s no chance at making the postseason. For some Bengals fans, the latter outcome might be the favored one as it gives them a better chance at drafting Dalton’s eventual successor if they get a higher pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Names like Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Jake Fromm, Joe Burrows, and Jacob Eason are likely to be among the potential quarterbacks selected in the first round.
Pittsburgh will be defending their home field and this could be a good opportunity for the Steelers defense to get their act together. After acquiring Fitzpatrick they now have nine defensive players that were drafted in the first round on their roster. T.J. Watt has been one of the bright spots to date but they are going to need more from the other two levels if they want any chance at getting back into the playoffs this year. The Bengals offense hasn’t exactly set the world on fire in Taylor’s first season with the team so what better way to get back on track than Monday Night Football. All eyes will be on this game and a good to great performance tonight can completely change the narrative surrounding this team.
Not only did the Denver Broncos suffer their second walk-off loss of the season on Sunday but they also lost one of their star defensive players as well.
Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb left the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a knee injury. Yet, he was able to return to action and finish the game.
The initial diagnosis revealed that he could play through it to finish the game. On Monday, further examination showed that he had suffered a slight tear in his ACL and he would require season-ending surgery.
Fangio said Bradley Chubb caused fumble on Minshew on last drive with partial ACL tear. "He was as surprised as anybody" when he woke up feeling like he did. #9sports
In yesterday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Chicago Bears lost starting quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky after he was brought to the ground on a strip sack that ultimately was overturned.
The seriousness of the injury wasn’t immediately divulged but Trubisky did not return to the game and came out of the locker room with his arm in a sling.
During his media availability today, head coach Matt Nagy revealed that the quarterback would not need surgery and would be back “sooner rather than later”.
Initial MRI on Bears’ QB Mitchell Trubisky revealed he has a dislocated left shoulder, with a slight labrum tear, but does not need surgery and should he back “sooner rather than later”, per source. He will travel with team to London and is unlikely to play vs. Raiders.
In the midst of all the Antonio Brown drama that the Oakland Raiders went through this offseason, one interesting nugget that was revealed is that Vontaze Burfict was one of the team captains.
Burfict had quite the past during his tenure with the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2016 he was suspended four games for a personal foul he committed against Brown in the playoffs. In 2017 another personal foul penalty—a hit on Anthony Sherman—resulted in his second four-game suspension. Then in 2018 he received a third four-game suspension but this time it was for the illegal use of PEDs.
On Sunday, during the Raiders game against the Indianapolis Colts Burfict unleashed a brutal hit against tight end Jack Doyle that resulted in his ejection.
It was announced today that he would be suspended without pay for the remaining 12 games of the 2019 season. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen was the first to report the possible season-long suspension. The NFL cited the unnecessary nature of the hit and his previous suspensions as the reasoning behind the length of this one. You can read the full statement, courtesy of NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:
Here is the official announcement on #Raiders LB Vontaze Burfict, who is suspended without pay for the rest of 2019. Jon Runyan wrote: “There were no mitigating circumstances on this play.” pic.twitter.com/DdoXyTb5ax
Before the day is out, we are officially 23 days away from the NBA regular season and the eagerness for the first tip could not be any greater. Coming up next into our SneakerReporter Top NBA Team countdown on day 23 is team 23: the New York Knicks.
The Knicks finished with the league’s worst record in 2018 and tied their franchise record for the worst win-loss ratio in a single season. On top of that, what looked to be a pragmatic procedure to feed fans’ optimism in possessing all that cap space to sign two max free agents was abhorrent mismanagement that blew up in their faces.
And of course Knicks fans, I’ve got good news and bad news for y’all: you got the Duke man that you wanted to build around for the future. Bad news: It wasn’t Zion.
What feels like broken promises – having all that cap space to sign two free agents in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to blowing it on low-tier talent in Julius Randle and Taj Gibson, and losing out on the first overall pick in the Draft Lottery to the Pelicans – are probably just more cycles of sun and moon for everyday Knicks fans. It’s gonna be a long road back to the top of the East, and that’s putting it nicely. With what they have, however, owner James Dolan, President Steve Mills, and GM Scott Perry, and head coach Dave Fizdale think what they have is enough to turn the Garden into Eden again someday.
23. New York Knicks (37-45) – Trust Me Knicks Fans, It Really Could Be Worse…
The Knicks are looking for a miracle, for lack of a better term. The Garden has not seen a postseason contender since 2013 when the Carmelo Anthony-Amare Stoudamire faction took the Knicks to the conference semis, ultimately losing to the Conference finals-bound Indiana Pacers in 6. Since then, it’s been gut punch after gut punch for fans who’ve felt like their favorite team playing in the Mecca was finally on the cusp of turning into contenders.
The cap space meant for Kyrie and KD to splurge within the city that never sleeps was dealt to Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis and Julius Randle, who in the most obvious of insights don’t hold a candle to the immensity of Kyrie and Durant’s name as KD and Uncle Drew took the trip to smaller NY borough Brooklyn to grow the smaller market into an Eastern powerhouse. Still, it could be way worse for the Knicks, and really, it’s a blessing in disguise.
In reality, the three veterans will be tasked with assisting the Knicks’ coaching staff in the professional and mental development of their new pieces picked up in the draft, and namely, their first-round selection, scoring aficionado R.J. Barrett. You ask anyone if the Knicks’ plan all along was to draft the 6-foot-7, 208-lb guard out of Duke, and they’d have a belly-aching laugh, proclaiming you were crazy. I mean, Knicks fans premade Zion Williamson jerseys and theorized different starting lineups with an assumed big three of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Zion Williamson, all before March Madness even started at the end of the college basketball season.
But, to quote some boring summer reading assignment for my eighth-grade English class, “the best-laid plans go awry”. The Knicks may not have seen Barrett in their future and things did not go as planned. That doesn’t mean its time to sulk over what could’ve been, but work on and go with what is their future. And Rowan Alexander Barrett is just that, if not more.
The Duke guard played understudy to the most efficient and electric player in the nation Zion Williamson, but that did not mean he didn’t get his. As a freshman, it was Barrett, not Williamson, who led the entire ACC in scoring. The duo led the nation in scoring, with Zion’s numbers being lower than Barrett’s. That number could be misleading, considering that Barrett’s numbers saw a rise in productivity by being the go-to scorer after Williamson went down with a foot injury (after blowing his sneaker to smithereens against UNC in January 2019).
The crafty lefty was a 3-level offensive dynamo under Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, averaging over 22 points a game, 4.3 assists per contest, and most surprisingly, 7.6 rebounds a game to earn Consensus 1st Team All-American honors. Barrett possesses an impressive blend of size, fluidity, and body control. He’s garnered professional comparisons to Manu Ginobili for his ability to get creative and ambidextrous at the rim, and James Harden to get hot from anywhere, create off the dribble as a slasher and make plays as an off-ball cutter.
His 6’10 wingspan meshes well with his unflappable scoring mentality, and in games that he struggled to put the ball in the basket, which, to be frank, were a good few, Barrett never showed discouragement or dismay, for he kept putting up shots. His consistency was a problem at Duke last season but as a playmaker, the native of Toronto, Canada displayed no shortage of Ball IQ. As his body and mind mature further into his career, his defensive skills will improve, and that will come with the proper development at the next level, of course.
Barrett can be a franchise centerpiece – that is, if he is afforded the proper coaching and established time with a starting five in the regular season. He’s too dynamic of a playmaker to leave on the bench as the sixth man to kick off his career.
As it goes for the rest of the Knicks, the destruction of the old-look Knicks in the post-Kristaps Porzingis era could not have come at a sweeter time.
The onlookers in the Garden probably won’t miss the likes of Emmanuel Mudiay, Mario Hezonja, Noah Vonleh, Lance Thomas and Luke Kornet, and for the moment be content with an offensively-maturing Julius Randle, who stepped up big in the scoring department, with his numbers going from 11.1 ppg to 21 ppg in a matter of two years. Randle may fit the rebuilding timeline and could be shipped to gain draft capital a few years from now, but was the only player to have guaranteed money beyond the 2019-20 season on the roster, which gives the Knicks organization plenty of flexibility.
Other additions in the offseason were: Michigan’s Ignas Brazdeikis (a result of a draft trade), Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton, Bobby Portis, and Wayne Ellington, Reggie Bullock and Marcus Morris.
None of those names really jump out, which isn’t really something Knicks fans want to hear. But, the Knicks are getting not only veteran leadership in the locker room but pieces that are legitimate floor spacers. Elfrid Payton, in 42 total games last year, performed like a starting point guard, averaging 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game. Though hampered by ankle pains that caused him to miss 40 games last year, he’ll have every opportunity to challenge both Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina for a starting guard spot (if his health permits) as a dual slasher and craftsman as a floor general.
On the topic of the Knicks starting backcourt, the Knicks will be heavily reliant on the offensive output of second-year guards Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. Ntilikina’s efforts on defense have been significant in his short time as a Knick, has held all of his matchups to shooting a little over 45 percent. That hasn’t translated to his scoring ability, only averaging 5.7 points per game off 36 percent shooting.
For that reason, his time in New York may be getting cut even shorter. When the Knicks traded for Dennis Smith Jr. by dealing Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks trusted the 21-year old two-way scoring guard to be an athletic pick and roll maestro. While he has time to develop in that role, he will have to earn his minutes in this rotation, regardless if he is a starter.
The acquisitions of Marcus Morris, Wayne Ellington, and Reggie Bullock do not solve the Knicks perimeter scoring problem right off the bat, but they sure are better than nothing. The twin of the Pistons’ Markieff Morris who has to secede from the dysfunction of the 2018 Boston Celtics, Marcus Morris backed out of a deal with the San Antonio Spurs after agreeing to a two-year, $20 million with the organization, all in the idea to agree to a one-year deal that was $5 million less.
Both Ellington (who came over from the Pistons) and Bullock (after one year with the Lakers) fit the bill when it comes to three-point shooting as their averages combine to around 35 percent from deep., which may not be much of an upgrade considering that the Knicks were the third-worst 3 point shooting team in the league last year.
What the Knicks are hoping to have those numbers skyrocket, is the second-year outlook on 2018 first-rounder Kevin Knox. A stretch forward that’s potential is through the roof from a defensive standpoint, Knox will be looked at as a veteran now and not some darling teenager that posted memorable highlights on social media sites in the Summer League. Make no mistake about it, Kevin needs to step it up in the offensive department.
Averaging 12 ppg by shooting 37 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arc is obviously not going to cut it and if he wants to avoid a sophomore slump, David Fizdale must run the offense through his 6’9, 216-lb multifaceted athlete for his numbers and confidence to grow.
When discussing the frontcourt situation for New York, the combination of Taj Gibson and second-year man Mitchell Robinson could be a dynamic rim-protecting swat fest when taking Robinson’s rookie year into consideration. Last year, Robinson instantly made a name for himself when he broke the Knicks’ rookie blocks record by swatting away nine shots in just his 12th game in the league and averaging 2.4 blocks per game. With the veteran Gibson, who over the course of a career averaged 1.1 BPG and 4.1 rebounds per game, it will be beneficial for Mitchell’s development into a polished big man.
So adding all of the Knicks offseason woes together, the casual viewer will be writing off the young, prospective Knicks roster that has more upside than their previous failing rosters by a mile. But do realize, even if this is the Knicks team of the impending future, there is enough to challenge in a less-talented Eastern conference right now, as crazy as it sounds. Moreover, if Mills and Perry want to get serious about contending, they have enough bargaining chips to get some big-name free agents by shipping off the pieces they acquired this offseason.
So no, all isn’t terrible for the Knicks in their teardown and reconstruction. And for the Garden to be rocking again, the work that is cut out for them must be accomplished.
But in order to do so while remaining the numero uno spot in the Big Apple, the Knicks must play hard night in and night out so that they can assert themselves as a postseason-pushing team that will incite fear of those who enter the Madison Square Garden during any road trip.
