Glendale, AZ: Welcome to Eugene Robinson Week! Named after the Falcons Safety arrested for soliciting a hooker the night before the Super Bowl. No such incidents have occurred yet this year, but there’s still time. What else is going on? An NHL All Star Game with the excitement level of the Oscar winner announcement for best makeup & hairstyling. The Nets found a taker for Kyrie, with a surprising number of suitors. And the Rangers had a thrilling tussle with the Flames on Monday.
Kyrie Heads West
The most common blueprint for modern NBA Championships is pretty well established. You need two superstars, a gritty, dirty work third wheel, and solid role players. I guess that’s why there were so many suitors for a guy who has now submarined three talented teams. He’s got those superstar skills, which ain’t easy to find. But this guy is a crappier teammate than Zach Wilson, a guy who took no blame for his terrible play and got down with his teammate’s mother.
I can understand why the Lakers would roll the dice, they’d take a bucket of KFC with an 8-year contract to get rid of Westbrook. The Suns also made a decent offer and several other teams were reportedly involved.
He ended up going to the Mavericks for a decent haul. The Mavs needed a number two and Luca has been begging for help. The ball goes through Doncic in Dallas, so we’ll see if he can keep Kyrie involved enough to be happy.
Dallas should’ve just kept Jalen Brunson, who is almost as good as Kyrie, but is an awesome teammate. His value wasn’t fully realized in Dallas, because he didn’t get enough touches, with Doncic dominating the ball. The same thing might happen to Kyrie.
Dallas probably has the intention of re-signing Irving, or they sure gave up a lot for a rental. He seems likely to be on his best behavior until the next deal is signed, but who knows with this guy. He’s like the girlfriend who sleeps with half of your friends, your brother, and your cousin but you just can’t give her up because of those superstar skills. Not that that’s ever happened to me…
I still give him credit for not bending over for the garbage jab, though. You’ll get there too.
Rangers Gear up for Second Half
There’s quite a difference between what passes for a NHL All-Star Game these days and the Rangers Flames slugfest on Monday. The 3 on 3, no D all star game is hardly worth watching. This Rangers tilt was the opposite – intense and physical, with the feel of a playoff game.
Trouba was hammering dudes. The kid line was flying, and are taking over second line minutes. Kreider and Trocheck are sliding down. Trocheck is a decent player, but his big contract may have been a mistake. The second center was already on the roster. Chytil is flying.
The Rangers don’t have a lot of room to add players at the break, but they’re certainly going to be looking for some depth. The Isles already made a big surprise move by adding Bo Horvat. The Rangers won’t be making that big of a splash, but they have a few weeks to figure out how to replicate what they did last year with key additions that helped propel them on a playoff run.
Angry Ward will be here tomorrow. Please comment below and follow us on Twitter at @benwhit8 & @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts. And we’re on Instagram, too – @MeetTheMatts.
