Almost every lunch period, I sit around a common space table with my friends and we share our hot takes from the past weekend’s sport cycle. Today, I would like to bring my lunch table to those that don’t sit there.
Hot Take 1: NBA
The Denver Nuggets won’t make the 2023-24 NBA Western Conference Finals.
I know it sounds crazy on paper, but looking at past championship results, this isn’t that insane.
The last time a team won back-to-back championships was when the Golden State Warriors won during the 2016-17 season, and then again in the 2017-18 season. The last time a team who won or even appeared in the finals the next season was also the Warriors in the 2018-19 season – who lost to the Toronto Raptors in 6 games.
The Raptors didn’t even make it past The Celtics, who defeated them in 7 games in the semis the next year, 2019-2020. The Lakers won in the 2020 bubble year, and a few months later they were sent home by eventual runners-up, The Phoenix Suns, in the first round. The Bucks came back against the Suns, winning in 6.
The Bucks then got knocked out by The Celtics in 7 games in the semis. The Warriors won the finals then lost to the Lakers, also in the semis the following year. The Nuggets are going to be a good team and lock in a playoff sport, no doubt about that, but the West is stacked this year.
The Young Kings down in Sacramento, the depth the Lakers have, and the Suns’ super team all pose major threats to the Nuggets’ goal of repeating. Bruce Brown leaving Denver for Indiana was a major loss, and they will have to fully believe Christian Braun has made the leap to replace Brown in order to have a chance.
Take 2: Formula One
While Max Verstappen’s historic season was dominant, it was not as impressive as most say.
Max Verstappen was recently crowned a three-time champion of the world in Qatar during the Formula One sprint race. This caps off the end to the most dominant season by a team or driver in the history of Formula One.
This is not an achievement worth celebrating. Max and Red Bull have been ridiculed by fans for scandals they’ve been in since the start of their time on top of the sport.
Abu Dhabi, 2021: Max Verstappen and 7 time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton are tied on points entering the race in the UAE. Nicholas Latifi crashes bringing out a safety car with 5 laps left. The rules say that in this situation, the race should end under the safety car, but it doesn’t.
This was an odd choice by racing director Michael Masi. What’s even more strange is that he only allowed the lapped cars in-between Lewis and Max to unlap themselves. Max ended up winning the race and the championship on the last lap with an overtake at turn four.
A major asterisk on his first world championship, which becomes even bigger as the FIA investigated Red Bulls spending from that season and it’s concluded that they went over the cost cap.
Red Bull was always predicted to win this championship, as they did the double last season for both the drivers and team championships. Max had a wonderful season, but the car is what determines a driver.
Max was mediocre in a bad car and great in a good car. Driving talent is related no doubt, but even looking back at some other dominant seasons by other drivers, we can see that the car plays a large part.
Like previously mentioned Lewis Hamilton in 2018-2020, Michael Schumacher in 2002 and 2004, and Sebastian Vettel in 2010-2014; the car was a major help to these drivers. It is not an achievement as they have tarnished not just the new set of rules put in place last year, but also the history of the sport.
I do applaud Max for having a good season but, what he has done with cheating in the past and tarnishing the sport shouldn’t be looked past.
Take 3: Premiere League
Tottenham Hotspur will win the FA Cup.
Tottenham has seen 15 years without a new piece of silverware in their cabinet. We’ve seen legends of the sport come and go; Gareth Bale and Luke Modrić both departed from the North London side, a year apart, for sunny Madrid. More recently, we’ve seen Harry Kane hop on a flight to Munich.
This worried a lot of Spurs fans, as he is the best player to ever don the Lillywhite. However, the departure of Kane has not seen a drop in club performance as many predicted.
Instead, The Spurs have seen a spike in match performance. Since Kane’s departure, Tottenham has seen the best start in league play since they last won it in the 1960-61 season.
Ange Postegcoglus’ tactics, known as “Ange Ball”, are clicking in Tottenham, and the way he plays will push The Spurs to their first ever trophy in a decade and a half.
As it sits at the October international break, they are top of the table and are tied with Arsenal for that spot. The defending three time champions were the favorites to win the league but they have lost two matches in a row giving Tottenham that top spot.
James Maddison, the most important signing from the summer transfer window, came in and did not wait to make a difference. The Midfielder has two goals and five assists in seven league games.
The Spurs did great business acquiring Maddison, as his previous team in Leicester City were relegated to the league below last season. Leicester, wanting to get something for Maddison, had to sell him at a lower price than expected.
While the league will be tougher for The Spurs, the FA Cup is where they will shine. I fully believe “Ange Ball” will be even more prosperous in the FA cup. The Spurs will face lower league teams in their first few matches, in which we will truly be able to see the dominance that these tactics possess.
