Some Miami Heat Draft Notes from Media Session Day 4

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Two guys that talked a little about the Miami Heat possibly picking them were Arizona teammates, Zeke Nnaji and Josh Green.

When Nnaji was asked about what teams he worked out with, the first team he brought up was the Miami Heat. He mentioned that they were the first team that worked him out.

He also mentioned quite a few times that his body fat is down to 5.9%, and he’s added 20 pounds of muscle. It almost seemed as if he was mentioning it for a specific reason.

He also brought up the fact that Andre Iguodala was a mentor for him, whenever he would come back to Arizona to speak with the team.

And with his improved shooting, he believes he can play some power forward, so Miami definitely could take him with that 20th pick.

Josh Green, on the other hand, did not mention any workouts with the Miami Heat, but did talk a little about the interview he had with them.

He said, “It was a good call. I was able to meet them all…I think they’re interested for sure.”

And I would think so too, since he’s the type of polished player that Miami would possibly consider. If Miami doesn’t take him with the 20th pick, I believe the 76ers would snag him with the 21st pick, due to the relationship with Ben Simmons.

Vernon Carey Jr also spoke with media today, but wouldn’t discuss any workouts with teams. I’ve talked about the connection with Miami for a while now, so it’s clear he will be considered.

Jaden McDaniels and Nico Mannion are also in that 20 range, but neither mentioned Miami when discussing the teams they’ve worked out with.

It’ll be interesting to see what Miami does with this pick on Wednesday, especially since there’s a chance it won’t be in their possession for long.

Miami Heat Off-Season: Best Player or Best Fit?

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NBA trades will officially begin today, and there’s a chance Miami could be among one of them pretty soon.

There’s talk of Miami packaging young assets for the big star, or they could potentially just acquire a role guy.

The question is what is Miami’s goal this off-season, landing the best player or landing the best fit?

Two players that land under that category are Danilo Gallinari and Wesley Matthews, since it was reported that both may have interest in Miami.

Danilo Gallinari is clearly an outstanding player for this team offensively. Many rave about the fit next to Bam Adebayo, but the fit with Duncan Robinson stands out more. Having two guys in the starting lineup, along with Tyler Herro potentially, that are that deadly from three would improve Miami’s biggest strength even more. But, it also hurts there biggest weakness.

At this stage, Miami’s offense is not a worry at all. Obviously there’s always room to improve it, but defensively is what Miami should be looking at more. If Miami has Herro, Duncan, and Gallinari in the starting lineup, it would honesty be a defensive nightmare.

Some will say that you can stagger the starting lineup, but the ends of games will be the bigger issue. If you can’t put your best overall lineup on the floor on any given night, there’s something wrong with the roster.

Now, the Wesley Matthews pick-up seems to be a lot more appealing to Miami’s needs. He’s an ideal 3 and D guy, that can guard opposing wings and guards. And most importantly, he complements Miami’s young and evolving offensive talents.

Some may argue that obviously you take the guy that can average 20 a night, but ultimately, I believe there’s a chance you can get that from Herro next season. Instead, this 20 point per game scorer will have a defensive co-pilot helping him out every step of the way.

Although I’m discussing the better pick-up, Miami could potentially end up getting both.

But if, for some reason, only one could get acquired, I’d probably go with Wesley Matthews. I’m probably a small percentage of people that think that, but I believe in best fit instead of best player, unless you’re talking about a total superstar.

We will see how this all plays out, since there’s a good chance Miami’s roster will look a little different next season.

Stock Up & Stock Down Week 10

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Welcome back to another installment of Stock Up & Stock Down. In Week 10 of the NFL season our Miami Dolphins faced the Los Angeles Chargers and came away victorious . Leading throughout after a blocked punt put us on the 1 for the first drive of the game. The Defense showed Herbert cexotic looks all afternoon long leading to his worst game as a pro. With so much to dissect let’s dive right in:

Stock Up

 

Salvon Ahmed:

One of the most impressive rookie performances of the year (excluding Tua) has to have been Salvon Ahmed against the LA Chargers. 21 carries for 85 yards 1 TD with 1 catch 5 for yards is what Salvon was able to finish with for the day which it was the closest in recent memory that we have gotten to a 100-yard rusher (we are officially 27 games straight without a 100-yard rusher). I look forward to showing you guys this week how impressive and complete of a game that Ahmed had as I saw him catch passes, run the ball, and protect Tua in pass pro. Regardless of who comes back from injury, from this point forward this should be Salvon Ahmed’s backfield to lead.

Flores:

Coming into this game I fully expected Flores and his defense to come more focused and determined to play well compared to last week vs the Cardinals. Flores coming from the Patriots style of defense showed that their core belief of destroying rookie QBs traveled down south. Coach Flores all afternoon long showed exotic blitzes and coverages ranging from having no lineman with their hand on the ground and sending the house multiple times on third downs. While we did give them a chance late in the game, we held tough forcing Herbert into a late interception by Xavien Howard. Another of my gripes with the coaching staff is the conservative calls which wasn’t how we played when we decided to go for 2 to make 28 and a 2-possession game and while it did not work out, it still showed the ability for the coaching staff to learn from previous mistakes and improve.

Special Teams:

A couple of weeks ago it was the punt return for a TD and this week there was not a better time to see the Special Teams be, well special. Going ahead and blocking the first punt of the game gave us a lead to start the game after we had just deferred the ball. Little details like that go along way especially when you see the end result being only a 1 possession game. There were also multiple times where Jakeem was a shoestring tackle away from taking it back to the house as he had punt returns of 18,19 and 20 yards. Each passing week shows that this is as complete a team as any in this league. We can rely and expect excellence from all 3 phases of the game, the offense, the defense and the special teams.

Raekwon Davis:

Having spent the previous 2 weeks diving deep to see what is going with our rookie DL.

Hearing that Wilkins would be officially out for the game made it obvious for me to know that he would be getting a major opportunity to make a name for himself in this league and he delivered. Raekwon played like the player we expected to see when we drafted him with so many WR and RB still on the board. Finishing the game tied for the lead in tackles with Elandon with 7 tackles (4 solo) Raekwon showed that with more in his plate, he can step up and handle it. Can’t wait to do another Juan on Juan this week featuring Raekwon.

Tua Tagovailoa:

The stat watchers will come out and see that Tua only threw 169 yards and see that Herbert threw for 187 and think that Herbert had the better day overall. Those people could not be more wrong. The more Tua plays the more he understands that he does not need to do anything more than what is expected of him. Some may call it a game manager but ultimately right now Tua’s main job is to hold and gain a bigger lead after either the defense or special teams do their part to affect the score. There will come a time where we will need Tua to go out and win us a game that we have no business winning, it will come eventually when we can hear all of the praise for Tua after a monster game, but until that time comes, let’s continue to fill our young QB with confidence because right now, the sky is the limit for him and this team.

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Trust the Flocess

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Stock Down

 

Rush Defense:

Even though the defense didn’t give up a 100-yards rushing on the ground for the second time all year (today we gave up 99 & Seahawks we gave up 98) it was still discouraging to see the Chargers be down the entirety of the game and down to their almost 3rd or 4th string RB and we still almost give up 100 yards. How long can this glaring weakness in our defense last before a team exploits it to hand us a loss. Flores and company have got to figure it out and hopefully having Wilkins back next week plus the confidence gained by Seiler and Raekwon this week helps this defense fix this issue.

Jordan Howard:

This is probably the nail in the coffin for him. Down our top 2 RB and we still sit Howard down. Only a matter of time before he’s cut because Salvon has shown he belongs on the active roster and we may need Jordan’s spot once Gaskins comes back. This will be the last time I write about him as a huge disappointment for me as I really thought he could fix our issues at RB.

Ted Karras:

It’s no exaggeration at all to say that Karras almost single handedly lost us this game. Getting the ball back up 2 scores in great field position and with the ability to go ahead and kill the game with a 3 score lead we had 2 separate snaps that Karras fumbled. The first one Tua was able to recover and make a hell of a play to DVP for 23 yards. The second one proved to be the back breaker as it occurred on the Chargers 9-yard line and was returned 38 yards before Tua wrestled him down. After the TD that followed the game never felt like it was fully in our control the rest of the way. Hopefully a week of practice can correct these issues as neither snap were Tua’s fault but still put him at risk to get hurt.

Devante Parker:

If there were a scale of concerned measured from 1-10 with 10 being the highest, I would say I am a firm 7 in what DVP has shown this year. I obviously realize that he has not been healthy all year and it takes time in practice to sync with a rookie QB which DVP is most likely not participating in fully. Having said that I don’t know how much longer our offense can survive with games a 3-game stat line of 9 catches for 98 yards and 1 TD. We need the 1200-yard WR we saw last year, and we need Chan to focus on making DVP a priority early and often next week when we play the Denver Broncos.

Overall, I have never been this excited to not only watch our Miami Dolphins play the most complete games since 2008, but to also be able to tell and show you guys how we are doing. Keep an eye for later this week’s Juan on Juan. Till next time guys, Fins Up!

Gabe Vincent: Possibly The Next Man Up

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One thing about the Miami Heat is that they don’t lack an ounce of shooting. But luckily in today’s NBA, there can never be too many shooters on a roster.

Something I’ve mentioned as of late is that depth will be huge this upcoming season, for many different reasons. And having Gabe Vincent at the end of the bench is more than ideal.

In the G-League this past year, Vincent averaged 23.7 points, while knocking down 4.4 threes a game.

Shooting is the first thing that sticks out in his game, since he’s not afraid to put shots up. His confidence is clear when on the floor, since he came out firing in the first game he played for the Miami Heat.

He checked in when Miami faced the Los Angeles Clippers back in February, and hit three triples right when he got out there. Although it can be streaky at times, it’s always good to have a shot maker like him on the roster.

He’s also an underrated attacker, which is what he showed in some of the regular season bubble games. Although he had limited minutes and didn’t jump out in the stat sheet, he made some intriguing plays offensively that showed he can get some bench minutes if need be.

He also won the G-League Most Improved Player Award this past season, and he seems eager to continue to improve and round out the rest of his game.

While I can point out some things that Gabe may need to tweak to get minutes in this league, there’s no way of actually knowing until he gets some minutes this next season. One of the reasons he didn’t stick out in most of the games he has played, seems to be due to a certain level of comfort. Some guys like Tyler Herro are able to blend in quick, while others need some time to get ready.

Duncan Robinson took a year to prepare in the G-League, and look where he is now. Vincent is also about the same age as Duncan was when he went through this process.

It’s definitely not insane to think that Vincent can potentially get playing time next season, especially since there’s a good chance Spo goes deeper into his bench. Some of it may be predicated on who Miami drafts, since if they draft a point guard, it’ll be clear they aren’t planning on his development.

Miami always enjoys grabbing un-drafted players who have something to prove, and it’s obvious that Gabe Vincent is determined to prove himself.

Dolphins Chargers

5 Keys to Dolphins-Chargers in Week 10

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The Miami Dolphins (5-3) enter their Week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers (2-6) coming off perhaps their best win of the last several seasons. The 34-31 victory over the Cardinals, coupled with the breakout performance from rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, has most Dolphins fans excited for not only this season but also the future.

Tagovailoa and the Dolphins return home to face another up-and-coming AFC team in the Chargers. LA has Justin Herbert, who they selected with the No. 6 pick in April’s NFL Draft, manning the helm. Although their record doesn’t show it, this Chargers squad is a good team.

Here’s a look at five keys for the Dolphins against the Chargers in Week 10.

Dolphins-Chargers: Deal with Injuries

The Dolphins lost Preston Williams to the injured reserve this week. Miami’s wide receiver room took the loss and will pivot to young players to fill the void. Lynn Bowden Jr. returned from the COVID-19 list. Kirk Merritt remains an option from the practice squad.

Antonio Callaway seemed to be an option, too, but he’s reportedly not performed well in practice. Callaway is coming off a knee injury and may not be ready to contribute.

Matt Breida missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury. He’s been limited in practice throughout the week. Jamal Perry (foot) and Durham Smythe (concussion) were limited participants as well.

The Chargers, meanwhile, officially ruled South Florida native Joey Bosa out for Sunday (concussion). They’ll also be without RB Justin Jackson. OG Trai Turner (groin) and OT Bryan Bulaga (back) are questionable for Sunday.

LA is already without a number of stars, including RB Austin Eckler, CB Chris Harris Jr., S Derwin James and former Dolphin C Mike Pouncey.

Manage COVID Concerns

COVID-19 continues to complicate matters for the Dolphins. Kyle Van Noy and Christian Wilkins, two starters on the defense, landed on the COVID-19 list on Thursday. According to reports, Van Noy’s move to the list comes from contact tracing. It’s unclear with Wilkins

NFL’s contact tracing protocols force players to isolate for five days from the time he was in close contact with an infected person before he’s eligible for return. The five-day count doesn’t start from the day the player is put on the list, so there’s a chance both Van Noy and Wilkins can play.

Miami elevated defensive tackle Benito Jones from the practice squad. Rookie defensive end Jason Strowbridge could see additional time on the field.

Matt Cole, who would’ve been an option at wide receiver off the practice squad, landed on the COVID list as well.

Miami also announced quarterbacks coach Robby Brown, defensive line coach Marion Hobby, quality control coach Kolby Smith and outside linebackers coach Austin Clark will miss their second game in a row due to COVID protocols. Last week, the Dolphins were without five assistants in Arizona.

Defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander seems to be on track to return to the sideline for Sunday.

Dolphins-Chargers: Pressure Herbert

Justin Herbert has been impressive in his seven starters despite winning just one game. He’s piled up stats and excels in the vertical passing game. Herbert’s arm allows him to attack downfield. When he’s protected well, Herbert completes 71 percent of his passes for 8.1 yards-per-attempt, with 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

When pressured, though, his numbers drop. He completes 59 percent of passes under pressure for 7.7 yards-per-attempt. He’s thrown seven TDs and two INTs under pressure.

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LA’s o-line has allowed 111 pressures in 2020 and they may be without Bulaga, who’s only allowed four of those. Herbert faces pressure on 29.1 percent of drop backs, which is third most in the league. He’s been blitzed 65 times, hurried 52 times, hit 21 times and sacked 14 times.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, blitz on 41.6 percent of pass plays, which is the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.

Miami’s 20 sacks are 13th-most, and their 75 pressures are 14th-most. Hurrying Herbert seems to be the plan heading into this one, however, the Dolphins may flip the script and force Herbert to show his patience against zone coverage.

Emmanuel Ogbah leads the Dolphins with 34 quarterback pressures. His seven sacks are tied for fourth-most in the NFL. His 13 QB hits are tied for seventh-most and his three forced fumbles are tied for second-most this season.

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Handle LA’s four-man rush

While the Dolphins send extra men at the fourth-highest clip in the league, the Chargers blitz the least in the league. LA blitzes on only 13.6 percent of the time. The Chargers deploy three deep defenders on most pass plays.

LA relies on a four-man rush to generate pressure. Normally, the Chargers sport a pair of elite edge rushers in Bosa and Melvin Ingram, but Bosa’s been ruled out. That’s a huge loss for LA, considering Bosa’s generated 37 QB pressures. Ingram, meanwhile, has generated 23 pressures, but he’s missed three games this season.

Miami’s offensive line has done well protecting Tagovailoa over the last two weeks. He’s been pressured just 8.3 percent of the time. He’s been blitzed 27 times in his two starts. When not facing a blitz, Tagovailoa has completed 72.7 percent of his passes, connecting on two touchdowns.

Ereck Flowers and Ted Karras have played particularly well this season. They’ve played a combined 604 pass-blocking snaps this season and have allowed with just 15 pressures.

Dolphins-Chargers: Sort out RB

The Dolphins lost Myles Gaskin to the injured reserve last week. Breida then missed the Cardinals’ game with a hamstring injury. So Miami turned to Jordan Howard and rookie Salvon Ahmed.

Howard underwhelmed, gaining just 19 yards on his 10 carries, though he did score a short touchdown. Ahmed played the majority of the snaps and picked up 38 yards on his seven carries. Tagovailoa gained 35 yards on seven scrambles.

The Dolphins could add DeAndre Washington to the mix this week. He sports a 4.0 career yards-per-carry average and has reliable hands out of the backfield. He’s a shifty back who could fit what the Dolphins do well with Tagovailoa.

Miami may need the pass to set up the run. The return of Bowden and the activation of Malcolm Perry affords Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey with versatile playmakers to incorporate. Jakeem Grant could play a role in the running game as well with jet sweeps.

Three Piece Picks: UFC Fight Night (Felder vs Dos Anjos)

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Main Event: #7 Paul Felder vs #12 (WW) Rafael Dos Anjos

 

Pick: Rafael Dos Anjos

By: Decision

Breakdown: Paul Felder is coming in on 5 days notice taking this fight which makes this fight all the more crazy. We might see him come out early and try to get an early win which he is more than capable of doing. Rafael Dos Anjos is coming in having lost 4 of his last 5, but 3 of those are fights against Usman, Covington, and Leon Edwards which are not easy outings. This fight is a little more one dimensional as Felder does not utilize the takedown very often. He tries to stand and bang and it is evident with 10 of his 17 wins coming by knockout. This fight is an uphill battle for Felder because of the lack of time to prepare and if Dos Anjos can take him down early, it would tremendously hurt the chances of him winning the fight. I see Dos Anjos winning this one because he can change levels if need be and he has had a longer time to prepare for a fight. Felder is tough so this one has a good chance of making it to the judges. 

 

Co-Main Event: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs Khaos Williams

Pick: Khaos Williams

By: Decision

Breakdown: If you can hold your breath for the first two and a half minutes, then you can bet on Khaos Williams winning this fight. Most of Abdul Razak Alhassan’s fights have ended within the first half of the first round. If you can hold him down and eliminate the power early, you have a much higher chance of winning the fight. Alhassan has not won a fight outside the first round. Khaos has the ability to take the fight to the ground. It was shown in his fights outside the UFC. If he is able to utilize his wrestling and take this fight down, it really gives him a huge chance in this fight. Abdul is shown to gas out in the later rounds and his punches become very labored. He has a good chance to win the fight in the first two and a half minutes but after that, his chances go down heavily. Khaos should come in with a good gameplan and should be able to take this fight.  

 

Fight #3: Julian ‘The Cuban Missile Crisis’ Marquez vs. Saparbek Safarov

Pick: Julian Marquez 

By: KO

Round: 2nd Round

Breakdown: Marquez is coming in off of a two-year layoff so it will be interesting to see how the time off has affected his game. He comes in still decently young at 30 years old and only has 9 total fights on his record. As of right now, he sits at 7-2 with 6 of his 7 wins coming by way of KO/TKO. As for Saperbek Safarov, he’s had a tough outing here in the UFC. He has gone 1-3 in his 4 fights losing all 3 via finish. It seems like he has had a tough time finding his footing in the UFC. It is favorable that we will see a finish in this fight. Safarov does have the ability to take this fight down and if he does he have a gameplan to win. But the advantage on the feet is heavily favoring Marquez and we will take him by the win. 

 

Fight #4: Kay Hansen vs Cory ‘The Hobbit’ McKenna

Pick: Kay Hansen

By: Decision

Breakdown: This strawweight bout is an exciting one as we’ll see Cory McKenna make her UFC Debut to take on Kay Hansen. Kay Hansen is coming in with an edge especially on the ground. She has 4 of her 7 wins by submission and in her first fight in the UFC, she was able to get two takedowns and an armbar for the victory. This fight is going to be a tough outing for Mckenna. She is outmatched on the ground and Hansen is known to be able to get the fight on the floor. It is possible that Cory steals a round by being abe to keep the fight standing for a small period of time, but this one feels like it’s going to be a lot of groundwork with Kay Hansen on top. 

 

Fight #5: Eryk ‘Ya Boi’ Anders vs Antonio Arroyo

Pick: Antonio Arroyo

By: Decision

Breakdown: This fight is a very close one in the betting books with Anders coming in -155 and Arroyo coming in at +125. Anders is coming in having lost 4 of his last 6 and 3 of those 4 losses have come by decision. On the other hand, 9 of 12 fights for Arroyo has ended in the first round. He is more well rounded as he has 4 wins by knockout and 4 wins by submission. I think the ability to take the fight to the ground and control the position for Arroyo will be the key to the fight. Anders does seem to have the power advantage in this fight, but the power gets neutralized on the ground. 

 

You can follow Johnathan on Twitter @ThreePieceCombo 

 

This is Bam Adebayo’s Team, No Matter Who Miami Acquires

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Due to all of the trade talks over the past few weeks involving the Miami Heat, it’s clear that a number one option is what they’re looking to acquire. But I believe that guy will ultimately be the second option.

Bam Adebayo is heading into his fourth season in the NBA, after an intriguing third season which caught the eye of many people around the league.

The difference between his breakout and other players, is that he did that without even reaching half of his potential.

Looking at the outstanding third season from Jayson Tatum, where he averaged 23 points a game, it’s obvious that he’s an evolving star in this league. But when you begin to evaluate him, there’s not many categories that you can say he hasn’t reached his potential.

Bam Adebayo is clearly a top defender in this league, but offensively is where all of the potential is waiting to be reached. That all begins with confidence, because once Bam actually realizes he can be a number one option for this team, that is when he will flourish.

I continue to bring up that closeout game in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, where he previewed what he’s capable of doing in this league as an offensive threat. And unfortunately, an injury in the Finals didn’t allow him to perform at the level he knows he can play at.

But now we are heading into yet another regular season, where there’s uncertainty if Miami’s roster will look the same, or if a superstar will be headlining it. But even if a James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo took their talents to South Beach, I believe Bam will still end up being the primary offensive option.

I’m not so sure it’ll be this upcoming season where he’ll be the number one option, but I do think we see an even bigger leap than what we saw in year three. This ultimately means that he will be the number one option for Miami the following year, and possibly a top 10 talent in the league.

Now, obviously this is a lot of expectations to live up to, but the only reason people say it is because he can absolutely do it.

And when I say he will breakout, it doesn’t just mean improving his points per game, which he definitely could. But what I actually mean is that he will continue to be the most impactful player on the floor, due to his offensive gravity from his passing and ball handling strengths.

A jump shot though would be pretty ideal for him to make an even bigger leap, but I’m not sure it’s as necessary as many think. Of course a consistent mid range jumper changes everything for Bam, but I think increased opportunities of attacking the basket helps him even more.

This Heat team relied heavily on three point shooting all season, which they should, but if the opposing defense has to worry about a weapon like Bam on offense, it gives their shooting a huge boost.

But once again, the specifics don’t truly matter, since it’s obvious that he will be ready to continue to expand his game by opening night.

This is Bam’s year. This is Bam’s team. This is Bam’s franchise.

It’s time to showcase that potential, but truly there is no potential limit to Bam Adebayo in this league.

Three Piece Picks: Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook Main Card

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Main Event: Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook, 12 rounds, WBO World Welterweight Title 

 

Pick: Terence Crawford

By: KO/TKO

Single Round: 10th round 

Winning Group of Rounds: (7-12)

Fight Goes the Distance: No                                                                                                                                                                           

Breakdown: Terence Crawford is coming undefeated at 36-0 with 14 wins coming in title fights. With this title fight experience, he is 14-0 in those title fights as well as having 11 of them come by way of knockout. On the other side, you have Kell Brook, who is coming in with a lot of big fights under belt. He has fought the likes of GGG, Shawn Porter, and even Errol Spence. He does not take the easy fights and for that, you know that there is a warrior in him. In this sport, it is important to have a strong mental game and when you’re going after killers and not worrying about your record, you will develop a reputation of being a hitman going after the best fights. But he is going against the top Pound for Pound fighter (According to ESPN) and Crawford is still in his prime. This fight for him will allow him to showcase his talents and build him up towards a super fight. For Brook to win this fight, he would need to continue to put on a pace that would make Crawford uncomfortable for most of the first rounds. It is able to be done, but it is more likely that Crawford picks up the win here. 

 

Co-Main Event: Joshua Franco vs. Andrew Moloney, 12 rounds, WBA WORLD SUPER FLYWEIGHT TITLE

Pick: Joshua Franco

By: Decision

Fight Goes the Distance: Yes                                                                                                                                                                        

Breakdown: This fight is a rematch from earlier in June where Franco won and took the WBA (Regular) super-flyweight title. In that matchup, Franco was able to dictate the pace of the fight and was able to cruise into a 12 round unanimous decision. The scorecards showed a relatively easy win for Franco and he became the new Champion. This fight will most likely look similar to the first one. One good thing about Franco is his ring awareness and ability to dictate control of the ring. By doing this he keeps the fight in his comfort zone and gets his punches warmed up by the time the middle rounds are coming up. Look for Moloney to come out a little strong early to try and avenge his loss but Franco taking control in the 3rd round and winning an easy decision. 

 

Fight #3: Joshua Greer Jr. vs. Edwin Rodriguez

 

Pick: Joshua Greer

By: Decision

Fight Goes the Distance: Yes 

Breakdown: Joshua Greer is coming in off getting dropped twice in only his second loss of his career. He has fought much harder competition that Edwin Rodriguez has. Every fight that Rodriguez has fought that has been a higher level of competition, has lead to him taking a loss. Greer is coming in with a heavy speed advantage. If he is able to get a feel for using his speed early in this fight, it could end in KO, but being that it is only an 8 round fight, it is more likely to see the scorecards. For Rodriguez to win, he’d have to try to get some more dirty boxing in to close the gap between him and Greer but if Greer is able to do what he is able to do with most people, which is stay out of reach and use his speed to get combos in, he will win this fight counterpunching away. Greer by Unanimous Decision. 

 

Fight #4: Tyler Howard vs. KeAndrae Leatherwood

 

Pick: Tyler Howard 

By: Decision 

Fight Goes the Distance: Yes 

Breakdown: Tyler Howard is coming in as the undefeated boxer in this bout and Top Rank is looking to push him as far as he can go. He is a good fighter with great head movement and fundamentals in striking. This fight is made for Howard to get the win and continue to build his record. At 18-0 it is getting closer to him being able to have a record to challenge one of the bigger names sitting atop of the division. 

 

Fight #5: Luis Porozo vs. Raymond Muratalla

 

Pick: Raymond Muratalla

By: TKO

Round: 8th

Fight Goes the Distance: No

Breakdown: Raymond “Danger” Muratalla is a great exciting prospect to keep your eyes on. At only 23 years old, he is 10-0 and is working his way up into being a good fighter in the 135lb division. Luis Porozo on the other hand is coming in 15-4 and has had a few tough outings as of late. Muratella is good at fighting a technical fight and working those combinations. He will start with a one, and work his combinations up to four and five piece combinations that will catch his opponents from all different angles. If he continues to grow at the pace he is, we could see him in a few years vouching for a title shot. His skillset is transferrable through most levels of the division so keep your eye out for Raymond Muratalla. 

 

You can follow Johnathan on Twitter @ThreePieceCombo

Marlins Ng

Marlins Make History with Hiring of Kim Ng to GM Position

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Fresh off a season where they ended a 17-year playoff drought, the Miami Marlins continued to make history by hiring Kim Ng as the organization’s general manager. Ng becomes the highest-ranking woman in baseball operations among the 30 MLB teams and is believed to be the first woman hired to the General Manager position by any of the professional men’s sports teams in the North American Major Leagues.

Ng sports an extensive and impressive resume. For the last nine years, she’s served as MLB’s vice president of baseball operations. Prior to that, she piled up 21 years of experience in the front offices of the Chicago White Sox (1990–96), the New York Yankees (1998–2001) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2002–11). Ng played an integral roll in assembling rosters that made eight postseason appearances, including six League Championship Series, and won three World Championships.

A statement from Marlins CEO Derek Jeter on Ng:

“On behalf of Principal Owner Bruce Sherman and our entire ownership group, we look forward to Kim bringing a wealth of knowledge and championship-level experience to the Miami Marlins. Her leadership of our baseball operations team will play a major role on our path toward sustained success. Additionally, her extensive work in expanding youth baseball and softball initiatives will enhance our efforts to grow the game among our local youth as we continue to make a positive impact on the South Florida community.”

While working with MLB, Ng directed international baseball operations. She worked closely with the front offices of all 30 MLB clubs and other leagues around the world. Ng led a group that set policy for and enforced international signing rules, established MLB’s first system for registering international players for signing and managed protocols for signing said talents. She raised the standards for international academies and negotiated agreements with various international winter leagues.

Ng’s Statement

“I entered Major League Baseball as an intern and, after decades of determination, it is the honor of my career to lead the Miami Marlins as their next General Manager,” Ng said in a statement from the club.

“We are building for the long term in South Florida, developing a forward-thinking, collaborative, creative baseball operation made up of incredibly talented and dedicated staff who have, over the last few years, laid a great foundation for success.

“This challenge is one I don’t take lightly,” she continued. “When I got into this business, it seemed unlikely a woman would lead a Major League team, but I am dogged in the pursuit of my goals. My goal is now to bring Championship baseball to Miami. I am both humbled and eager to continue building the winning culture our fans expect and deserve.”

Ng’s Path to Becoming Marlins GM

Ng started her career as an intern with the White Sox in 1990. Eventually, she made her way up the ladder to Assistant Director of Baseball Operations.

In 1998, Ng landed a role as Assistant General Manager of the New York Yankees. She held that position from 1998 until 2001, a time when current Marlins CEO, Derek Jeter, was an integral part of that club. At the time she was hired, she was the youngest assistant GM in MLB and only the second woman to attain that position with an MLB club.

Ng went from New York to Los Angeles in 2002. There, she assumed the role of Vice President and Assistant General Manager. While there, she assisted in all player transactions, including trades and free agent signings. She also oversaw LA’s arbitration efforts, as well as the scouting, medical and video departments. Her time with the Dodgers overlapped with Marlins manager Don Mattingly’s tenure there by one year.

Ng’s hiring continues a trend with the Miami Marlins. Jeter became MLB’s first Black CEO after his group, led by Bruce Sherman, bought the club in 2017. Jeter hired Caroline O’Connor to be senior vice president, making her one of the highest-ranking women in pro sports.

Ng becomes the fifth person in club history to hold the top position in baseball operations.

Dave Dombrowski filled the role from the franchise’s expansion season in 1993 until 2001. Larry Beinfest manned the GM position from 2002 to 2007, helped the club claim its first World Series title. Michael Hill and Dan Jennings followed Beinfest. Hill operated as GM from 2008 to 2013, then earned a promotion. Jennings was GM for two years, 2013-2015. Hill resumed GM duties in 2016 until the end of this past season.

Check out our discussion of Ng’s hiring & free agent possibilities on the Five Reasons Sports Network’s YouTube channel:

Reaction to Ng’s Hiring

 

Some Takeaways from Adam Simon Press Conference on Draft

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Adam Simon spoke with media this afternoon, to talk about the NBA draft on Wednesday.

He started off talking about the challenges of understanding talent since a lot of stuff is virtual, which he said “Something is better than nothing.”

He also spoke about the depth of this NBA draft, which favors Miami since they have the 20th pick. He said, “We feel good about the players we have studied.”

And without mentioning specific players that they are interested in or worked out, he gave some comments that kind of tell you which way they’re looking to go.

For one, he talked about some guys bodies being improved majorly during the layoff, since they haven’t seen a lot of these players since March. And that comment makes you think about center Vernon Carey Jr, since he’s lost about 30 pounds since the end of last season.

He also made some comments about things that I’ve been talking about for a while now, when referring to Miami’s possible draft selections.

I’ve been saying for a while now that Miami will not draft a player that needs to be developed majorly. There are many guys in this draft that are already polished, both through their games and bodies, which will make this pick a lot easier for Miami.

He also pointed out that they’re focused on guys who are two-way players, since shooting doesn’t matter if they can’t defend. That is why I’ve mentioned the name Ashton Hagans for quite a while now, since Miami is the type of team to make that selection.

And when discussing guys always trying to impress teams by shooting the three ball, he mentioned that he would rather players play to their strengths, especially big men. He mentioned the word “versatility,” quite a lot, but not in the sense of Bam Adebayo, since he said he’s just “unique.”

There are quite a few things to take from this press conference, and it mainly involves Miami making a pick that best fits them, since that is what they will do no matter what on Wednesday night.