Weekly Takes - Monday, October 23rd Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, October 23rd Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs sloppy loss to the Blackhawks on Monday…

1. William Nylander

2. Auston Matthews

3. John Tavares

Three games, three sloppy performances from the Leafs, who maybe need a loss like this to get going.

It was the same script as the first two games, except the breaks did not go their way.

The stars were great (minus Marner in this one, who was awful), depth left a lot to be desired (though the third line was better than the prior two games), and the defence was awful.

Jake McCabe needs to get going because his decision-making has left a lot to be desired too.

2. My three stars from the Leafs loss to the Panthers on Thursday…

1. McCabe

2. Matthew Knies

3. Matthews

A big bounce-back game from McCabe, which was to be expected. He had a tough start to the season but there was never any reason to think that would be an issue moving forward.

It was the Leafs best game of the season as well, with the goalie on the other side making one more stop than Ilya Samsonov, who needs to get going himself.

3. My three stars from the Leafs thrilling comeback win against the Lightning on Saturday…

1. Nylander

2. Matthews

3. Marner

Marner’s best game of the season, while Knies and Max Domi may have just unlocked something on the Leafs third line.

The net is also Joseph Woll’s for the foreseeable future.

4. What the Phillies are doing – going up to the plate with the intent to hit the baseball as hard and long as possible – is further evidence of how flawed the Blue Jays approach was in 2023.

Situational hitting has its time and place, but the reality is, that the easiest way to score runs in baseball is via the long ball.

A true organizational failure that the Jays thought otherwise.

5. My 2023-2024 NBA Predictions…

Eastern Conference

1. Boston

2. Milwaukee

3. Cleveland

Gap

4. Miami

5. Philadelphia

6. New York

Gap

7. Toronto

8. Atlanta

9. Brooklyn

Gap

10. Orlando

11. Indiana

12. Chicago

Gap

13. Detroit

14. Charlotte

Gap

15. Washington

Western Conference

1. Phoenix

2. Denver

3. Golden State

4. LA Lakers

5. LA Clippers

Gap

6. New Orleans

7. Dallas

8. Oklahoma

9. Memphis

10. Minnesota

11. Sacramento

Gap

12. Utah

13. Houston

14. San Antonio

Gap

15. Portland

NBA Finals Prediction

Boston defeats Phoenix

Individual Awards Predictions

• Most Valuable Player (The Michael Jordan Trophy): Nikola Jokic

• Rookie of the Year (Wilt Chamberlain Trophy): Victor Wembanyama

• Most Improved Player of the Year: Cade Cunningham

• Defensive Player of the Year (Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy): Joel Embiid

• Sixth Man of the Year (John Havlicek Trophy): Immanuel Quickley

• Clutch Player of the Year (Jerry West Trophy): Jimmy Butler

• Executive of the Year Award: Sam Presti

• Coach of the Year: Erik Spoelstra

Takeaways: The Western Conference is as loaded as a conference has ever been, both in terms of quality at the top and quantity of good teams. Philadelphia may have very well missed their window, while it is now or never for the Clippers.

The most interesting development may be seeing who the next batch of stars are who ask out of their respective teams, as depending on how this season plays out, it would not be shocking to see Pascal Siakam, Trae Young, Embiid, Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, Kawhi Leonard, and/or Paul George on the move within the next nine months.

6. I think NFL officiating has largely been better this season than prior seasons, but the Browns have been handed two wins in the last two weeks due to incompetent officiating in the final minutes of both games.

Absolutely awful.

7. My Week 8 NFL Picks, after going 1-11 In Week 7…

• Bills (-7.5)

• Rams (+6.5)

• Vikings (+1.5)

• Titans (+1)

• Patriots (+12.5)

• Texans (-3)

• Jets (-3)

• Jaguars (-1)

• Colts (-1.5)

• Eagles (-6)

• Seahawks (-2.5)

• Ravens (-8)

• Bengals (+6)

• Kansas City (-8.5)

• Chargers (-8.5)

• Lions (-7.5)

On the season, I am now 47-53 on the season, with MNF still pending. Tough week.

8. Michael Bradley retires as not only the most integral player in Toronto FC history, but as one of the more integral players in Toronto sports history.

He came here when the franchise was at its lowest (which says something, given their current state) and turned them into a treble-winning organization who, alongside Seattle, became the class of MLS.

He was the captain of the greatest era in franchise history and, alongside Kyle Lowry, helped change the culture of MLSE.

And it was not just his leadership and presence that made him a legend in Toronto. His play, when TFC was at its peak, was as dominant of a peak as TFC has had in their history, and that includes the play of Sebastian Giovinco. He was a surgeon on the pitch.