EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – Happy Monday. Every Monday after the Super Bowl, I like to point to the classic MTM bit about why the Super Bowl should be on a Saturday. There are too man no shows and people showing up but not working. I had to add the game to the rest of the slate. Here is today’s slate: Super Bowl, Knicks Trade, Nets Trade, NY Rangers Trade.
Super Bowl
This was the first Super Bowl with two black quarterbacks. The NFL has failed in may ways in its relationship with the black community, but this was a big deal. If anyone wants to talk about Mahomes being bi-racial, I would kindly ask you how often Obama was called bi-racial as opposed to Black. Beyond that, this was the Super Bowl between #1 seeds and the most dominate teams in their conference. As a neutral, the most important thing is a to have a competitive game. We are not looking for Bills v Giants or Titans v Rams but something where we pay attention until late 4th quarter. This Super Bowl delivered that.
Jalen Hurts became the first QB to run for 3 TDs in the game as he also threw one. Mahomes threw for 3 also, as his defense scored one and running back Ivan Pacheco ran one in. One of the receivers of a Mahomes touchdown pass was former Giant, Kadarius Toney. He was also responsible for huge punt return. I would have loved to seen Ben Whitney’s face when that happened.
I think the sides only punted twice each. The only real complaint would be the late holding call on Philadelphia on 3rd down with just over a minute left. That let the Chiefs wind down the clock and hit the game-winning kick. As for the call, at that point in the game you gotta just let them play unless it is blatant. Watching the replay, that was not bad enough for a flag. It may have changed the outcome.
I think the NFL got what it wanted from this game; High -coring, great QB play and a close final score. Worth the hangover to some.
NY Knicks Trade
The New York Knicks traded Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, Svi Mykhailiuk and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Josh Hart. The Knickerbockers traded for Reddish and didn’t know what to do with the guy. He was never a Thibobeau guy, so he is moved out for Hart. He is the college backcourt mate of their star Jalen Brunson, so they two are reunited. Hart is an undersized SF that can play SG and is one of the top rebounding guards in the league. That makes him a Thibs guy. He will help tighten up the Knicks defense and find his own points without needing plays. While he is a very good fit, I’m not sure if the Knicks gave up too much… we will see how this move works out.
Brooklyn Nets Trade
The Brooklyn Nets agreed to trade Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns as part of a 4-team trade.
Here are the full trade details:
Suns receive:
Kevin Durant
TJ Warren
Nets receive:
Mikal Bridges
Cameron Johnson
Juan Pablo Vaulet
2023 first-round pick (from Phoenix)
2025 first-round pick (from Phoenix)
2027 first-round pick (from Phoenix)
2028 first-round pick swap (from Phoenix)
2028 second-round pick (from Milwaukee)
2029 first-round pick (from Phoenix
2029 second-round pick (from Milwaukee)
Bucks receive:
Jae Crowder
Pacers receive:
George Hill
Serge Ibaka
Jordan Nwora
3 future second-round picks (from Milwaukee)
Cash considerations (from Brooklyn)
The Nets blew up their big three and are going to start from scratch and rebuild. I can’t really blame them. Their big three seemed a mix of some bad mind sets and really they seemed like really good guys that were the three in other big threes and had no mental ability to be somewhere else. Best thing for the franchise at this point.
NY Rangers Trade
The Rangers acquired forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola in exchange for a conditional 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick, Sammy Blais and prospect Hunter Skinner. This trade gives the Rangers a rental of a scorer who will improve the top line of Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin. Mikkola is a perfect fit for the 3rd line defensive pairing. The Rangers gave up some future picks it was not an over pay which is the key part.
Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below. Check out Ben Whitney, who will give you his thoughts using a picture of him in a Bruins jersey.
