Weekly Takes - Monday, December 11th Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, December 11th Edition 

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs win over the Senators on Thursday..

1. Joseph Woll

2. Morgan Rielly

3. Nick Roberston 

It was tough getting to three stars in this one. Woll was not just the primary reason the Leafs won, he was the reason. His injury is yet another key injury they will have to overcome this season.

And what they have overcome should not go unnoticed, even though it largely is. They are second in the Atlantic by points percentage with a depleted defensive core. Sheldon Keefe deserves credit for the start the team has had.

2. My three stars from the Leafs dominant win over the Predators on Saturday…

1. Auston Matthews

2. Matthew Knies

3. William Nylander

The Leafs best game of the season, with everyone contributing in some form or fashion. 

3. Shohei Ohtani signing with the Dodgers cements them as the overwhelming World Series favourites should they be able to add to their rotation, with a lineup of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Ohtani being a must-see for any baseball fan.

From a Blue Jays perspective, it is crushing. The idea of Ohtani in Toronto, forever changing the narrative of players not wanting to sign in Toronto, was a dream. As was the idea of the media spectacle that it would be, with every home game being sold out and the entire City of Toronto walking around in Ohtani jerseys. His signing with Toronto would have been right there with the Raptors winning the championship in 2019.

4. Alas, he is a Dodger, leaving Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins with lots of work to do. 

They need a starting designated hitter, third basemen, and left fielder, as well as a utility infielder and reliever. That was the case heading into the offseason and that remains the case.

Address those needs and they will enter the season with a legitimate shot to come out of the American League, even if the hype will not be there. But those needs need to be addressed. 

5. As for the lying, lack of verification, or whatever you want to call it from “insiders” on Twitter in the last week…

I follow nearly, 2,500 people on Twitter. Some are insiders, some are reporters, some are analysts, and some are fans. Each insider and reporter I follow is someone I would trust to break news. That is why I did not follow JP Morosi before Friday and that is why I did not follow the Dodgers “insider” before Friday. People as a collective need to do a better job of digesting who is reporting what and what it means.

But it starts with Sportsnet, who for far too long allowed Morosi – a longtime hack – on their airways. For them to publish an article on Friday saying it is the fans fault for getting caught up in the hoopla is embarrassing. Sportsnet deserves a ton of blame for the fiasco on Friday, more so since their insiders could have shut down the rumours instantly. 

6. My thoughts on the Juan Soto trade…

• Michael King and Johny Brito are two young arms who have shown flashes of being big-league starters, while two Top 100 prospects are always nice pieces to add to your organization. But the Padres come off as massive losers in the trade, given what they traded to the Nationals for Soto just over one year ago. I do not understand why they all but limited themselves to the Yankees in the negotiations, either, Why not wait until Ohtani signs to trade Soto? He would have become the prize of the offseason. 

• The Yankees, meanwhile, come off as massive winners, whether they can re-sign Soto or not. Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole are about to exit their prime with nothing to show for it as Yankees. They had to go all-in, even if it is just for one season. The trade only looks better for the Yankees when you equate it with the fact that Soto is surely going to re-sign. 

7. The NBA In-Season Tournament was a resounding success. The courts were gimmicky, the scheduling was weird (with some teams being eliminated from the tournament before some teams even played games), and the point differential aspect of things was bush league. Still, the league managed to turn irrelevant regular season games into compelling television. 

Mission accomplished if you are Adam Silver, with only minor tweaks needed moving forward. The players bought in.

8. What is not compelling is the Raptors.

The best case coming into the season was Scottie Barnes would take a step, the Raptors would perform like an elite defensive team, the half-court offence would improve with the coaching change, and the team would put themselves in the Knicks/Nets tier in the Eastern Conference.

That alone left a lot to be desired, as at best, they would be a six-ish seed and win, at best, a playoff round.

Somehow, they have underperformed even with such low standards. Barnes has taken the step, yes, but the Raptors – despite the talent to be so – are not only not great defensively, but they are not even good defensively. They are flat-out average. That would be fine if they took a leap offensively, but they have not even done that. They are below average offensively, with their shooting as bad as it has ever been, even with a better half-court offence. 

They are not even great at creating extra possessions by creating steals, not turning the ball over, etc, anymore either. That part of their game, outside of rebounding, is gone.

This core has simply reached its apex in terms of what it can accomplish. The blow-up – or significant addition – needed to come in the summer, as everyone but Masai Ujiri and Bobby Weber seemed to understand. Now they have a franchise-altering trade deadline to determine the direction of the team. Because their options are simple…

1. Trade at least two of their three pending free agents (Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr.) to begin a serious rebuild around Barnes and the future pieces they’d acquire in those trades

2. Re-sign Siakam at the deadline and trade futures for a significant piece that can launch the team into contention for the next three years

3. Continue to do nothing and walk your free agents into free agency, beginning a rebuild around Barnes and no other assets, outside of Gradey Dick

Number one has been the best option for a while now.

9. The Steelers do not need to move on from Mike Tomlin quite yet, but it is clear that they need to do three things to salvage the TJ Watt era…

1. Hire the next great, up-and-coming offensive coordinator. Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan have been upgrades over Matt Canada, but that surely cannot be the standard. The Steelers next offensive coordinator has to come from outside the team.

2. Fire defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. The Steelers defence has been great because of the splash plays their star players create. Down-to-down, they have not been as good as they should be given their defence on paper.

3. Draft a quarterback in round one and a centre in round two. The two most glaring holes on the roster. Address them.

10. If Tomlin fails to check off each item on this list, then he too should be shown the door. I do not care if the Steelers have another season above .500. That cannot be the standard for a team with six Super Bowls. Playoff success is what matters and it has been too long since Tomlin has had playoff success. His way is simply not working. 

11. I was fine with Patrick Mahomes’ outburst on the sidelines after Kansas City’s loss to the Bills on Sunday, as it was in the heat of the moment. But he embarrassed himself on the podium afterwards by ripping the officiating for calling Kadarius Toney offsides, because he was offsides.

There is no debate to be had here. The right call was made.

12. Toney going offsides bailed out Joe Brady and the Bills coaching staff, who coached an awful last offensive possession. Mahomes had no business having as much time on the clock as he did. 

13. My Week 15 NFL Picks, after going 8-5 in Week 14…

• Raiders (-3)

• Vikings (+4.5)

• Colts (-2.5)

• Broncos (+4)

• Browns (-3)

• Falcons (-3)

• Dolphins (-10.5)

• Texans (+2)

• Giants (+6.5)

• Packers (-3.5)

• Kansas City (-9.5)

• 49ers (-13.5)

• Cowboys (+2.5)

• Ravens (-3.5)

• Eagles (-2.5)

On the season, I am 109-92, with MNF still pending.