SU has officially activated the NBA Season Pass which gives me access to every NBA game each night. Now, the reality is that 2/3 of the teams are unwatchable and SU does not go there but I do enjoy following the ex-Michigan players to see how their careers are progressing… or not.

But last night, SU watched most of the Knick game to see if the hype was for real. My first reaction is that team is much deeper than last year, and it looks like Thibodeau will be playing more guys this year. Fournier and Kemba Walker have been added to the backcourt and that is a definite upgrade. And there were stretches where the 2nd unit was really running and gunning led by Derek Rose and Toppin who is ready to take that next step – very athletic dude.

But SU says that what you need to watch for is whether Julius Randle will embrace having a better cast of characters around him. To me, the team played better when they pushed the pace and scored in transition. That helps the youngsters like Toppin and RJ Barrett who looked much improved I thought over last year. However, when it came to the 4th quarter, the movement stopped and grinded to a halt with every possession going through Randle. For SU, it brought back memories of the Carmelo offense who was another guy that didn’t like to run. If you watched the post-game, on-court interview, Randle said that he was looking for Fournier once in a while as he knew he was hot and wanted him to get his shots. I thought that was an odd comment. Better to say “we need to move the ball and find the open man.” If you run the offense through Randle too much, it will be easy for opposing teams to defense that.

It’s one game and there is talent on this roster. Kemba was way too passive and looked a step slow but he’s a good guy and if he’s healthy, is worth the price of admission. SU will be watching this year and is ready to return to the fold.

Speaking of watching, SU did check out the Red Sox – Cheating Astros games the last 2 nights. I have landed on rooting for Houston as I just cannot root for Boston. Can’t do it – ever. I do not understand the use of starting pitchers in relief on their “throw” days. You put a guy like Eovaldi in there in the 9th inning in a high stress situation. Make a note to see how his arm and shoulder are in 2022. It’s an injury waiting to happen. Neither team has great pitching at this point

So, Boone gets the new 3-year deal. SU says fine – he wasn’t the major issue this year although his in-game managing of the relievers probably cost about 5 wins along the way. But… if this is the Yankees’ major upgrade for 2022, don’t bother. There was no obvious replacement out there so that’s fine. But if the strategy is to roll out the same all right-handed line-up in 2022 and expect guys to have rebound years, well let’s not go there. Trade Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, and decide what you will do with Gleyber Torres. No-one will take Gallo so he is here for another season under contract. SU would trade Hicks as well. This will be an interesting off-season and SU expects Cashman to be bold as his contract is up soon as well.

Jared Diamond who covers baseball for the Wall Street Journal wrote an interesting article this week on how the teams that are in the Final Four now in the playoffs all emphasize hitting fly balls over ground balls. All are in the bottom handful of teams that hit the ball on the ground. The theory is that with the shifts, you need to try for home runs and extra base hits as hard hit ground balls into the shift are sure outs. SU says great but can’t you train hitters to hit to the opposite field where there is literally no-one standing? Apparently not. For the fan, this means games with lots of strikeouts and no action. It’s like watching Joey Gallo hit 27 times in a row. This cannot be the long-term answer. MLB may outlaw the shifts which rewards the fly ball hitters. Better to learn to bunt and hit to the opposite field and figure out a better way.