2017-18 NBA Predictions

Randy Groce, Cleveland Cavaliers & NBA Writer (@Brownsareaweful)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Wizards
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Rockets
NBA Finals: Cavs v Warriors, Winner: Cavs
MVP: Kawhi Leonard, changed to LeBron James
Most Improved Player: Joel Embiid
Rookie Of The Year: De'Aaron Fox
Cavs Wins: 57

Cliff Gulley, NBA Writer (@CLG2282)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Wizards
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Thunder
NBA Finals: Cavs v Warriors, Winner: Cavs
MVP: LeBron James
Most Improved Player: Dante Exum, changed to Jaylen Brown
Rookie Of The Year: Ben Simmons
Cavs Wins: 62

Pat Luhta, MLB Writer & NCAA Football Writer (@PLuhta)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Celtics
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Thunder
NBA Finals: Cavs v Warriors, Winner: Warriors
MVP: John Wall
Most Improved Player: Rodney Hood
Rookie Of The Year: Josh Jackson
Cavs Wins: 58

Jason Disantis, Ohio State Writer, UFC Writer (@JasonInCLE)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Wizards
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Thunder
NBA Finals: Cavs v Warriors, Winner: Warriors
MVP: LeBron James
Most Improved Player: Kristaps Porzingis
Rookie Of The Year: Lonzo Ball
Cavs Wins: 57

Pat Tregoning, NCAA Basketball Writer (@PatNShaker)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Wizards
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Rockets
NBA Finals: Cavs v Warriors, Winner: Cavs
MVP: James Harden
Most Improved Player: Myles Turner
Rookie Of The Year: Ben Simmons
Cavs Wins: 57

Katelin Marshall, Cleveland Browns & NFL Writer (@KatelinKnowsCLE)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Celtics
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Thunder
NBA Finals: Cavs v Warriors, Winner: Cavs
MVP: LeBron James
Most Improved Player: Myles Turner
Rookie Of The Year: Lonzo Ball
Cavs Wins: 55

Jaison Roberts, Pittsburgh Steelers Writer (@Kratoslives)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Wizards
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Spurs
NBA Finals: Cavs v Warriors, Winner: Cavs
MVP: LeBron James
Most Improved Player: Derrick Rose
Rookie Of The Year: Jayson Tatum
Cavs Wins: 70

Brandon Albright, Wrestling Writer (@B_Rock1978)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Celtics
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Spurs
NBA Finals: Cavs v Spurs, Winner: Spurs
MVP: Russell Westbrook
Most Improved Player: Brandon Ingram
Rookie Of The Year: Lonzo Ball
Cavs Wins: 57

Raven Williams, Editor, Entertainment Writer, Host (@nevaRWilliams)
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs v Wizards
Western Conference Finals: Warriors v Thunder
NBA Finals: Cavs v Warriors, Winner: Cavs
MVP: Kawhi Leonard
Most Improved Player: Devin Booker
Rookie Of The Year: Dennis Smith Jr.
Cavs Wins: 61

Podcast 8/16/17: On LeBron James, Browns Preseason, NFL QB Rankings & More

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

You can now download the latest episodes of "TripleThreatCLE.com's Podcast"!

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DOWNLOAD: On LeBron James, Browns Preseason, QB Rankings & More (8/16/17)

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2017 Episodes Of Triple Threat CLE Radio Show
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2016 Episodes of Triple Threat CLE Radio Show

Full Court Press 4.14.16: 2015-16 NBA Awards Predictions #NBA

2015-16 NBA Awards Predictions
By Randy Groce, @ImissWiggins

Another long NBA season has come to an end. Records have been broken and milestones have been reached. We have reached the point where we will find out who are the winners and losers of the awards that we as fans have been debating about since the All Star break. All of the categories will have at least four mentionable players, but I will only highlight the top two or three that truly have a shot at winning.

Like anyone else who's a fan of the NBA I have my personal favorites, but the players that I choose as winners will be chosen based on what I saw on the court. The categories are: MVP, Coach of the year, Rookie of the year, Defensive Player of the year, Most Improved Player, 6th Man of the year, and Comeback player of the year. Since we're here I think I'll even throw in the First and Second All NBA Team. So, let the arguments begin........


Comeback Player of the year

Paul George
Kevin Durant

Paul George is my winner. George returned this season after only playing in a handful of games last season to a completely different and younger Pacer roster than he's played with his last few seasons. George is averaging 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists this season all while leading his team back to the playoffs.

Winner: Paul George

Most Improved Player

Andre Drummond
CJ McCollum
Steph Curry

All three of these guys had big jumps in their numbers from last season. It seems as though Portland got rid of every player on the roster except for Lillard and McCollum. McCollum averaged 20 points per game this year and has Portland in the 5th seed right now. Curry has added seven more points per game from last season which is almost unheard of from a guy who just won the MVP. Drummond has looked like a monster in the paint grabbing every rebound in sight this season. Based where Detroit is now compared to where they were last year I think I'll take Drummond. Also, Drummond is the only player in the NBA this season to record 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 100 blocks & 100 steals.

Winner: Andre Drummond

Sixth Man Of The Year

Andre Iguodala
Will Barton
Jamal Crawford

I gotta go with Iggy. This was only his second year ever coming off of the bench, but fresh off of being named last years Finals MVP Iguodala made it possible for Steph and Klay to spend many nights on the bench in the fourth quarter with his playmaking and leadership abilities.

Winner: Andre Iguodala

Rookie Of The Year

Karl Anthony Towns
Kristaps Porzingis

This is probably the only category where I don't even think that it's close. Towns is averaging 18points/10 rebounds a game and is making it look easy for a 20 yr old. Paired with Andrew Wiggins, the Wolves are a coach away from maybe seeing how good they can be. Porzingis, averaging 14 points/7 rebounds was booed on draft night by Knick fans. Maybe they'll give up on begging LeBron to come to town and they'll realize that they have a good young piece to watch grow and hopefully turn their franchise around. 

Winner: Karl Anthony-Towns

Defensive Player Of The Year

Kawhi Leonard
Draymond Green
Hassan Whiteside

Both Leonard and Green can guard all five positions without having it affect their offense, but if I need one guy to guard anyone in the league for one possession to win a game I have to pick Kawhi. Whiteside affects the game in the paint the way Dwight Howard used to and the way DeAndre Jordan is supposed to.

Winner: Kawhi Leonard

Coach Of The Year 

Steve Kerr
Terry Stotts
Gregg Popovich

I'm pretty sure Popovich has never won this award which is weird because he should have won it at least 4 times. Unfortunately, I can't see myself giving it to him this year either. He's led the Spurs to the best season in the team's history. The problem with that is Golden State is having the best season ever. As I stated earlier when Portland is in the middle of a rebuild and lost their franchise player and somehow found a way to make it the playoffs this year. No way this happens without Stotts. Although Kerr has coached less than half of the games for the Warriors this season, they had the same players and ran the exact same system as they did last year. The system belongs to Kerr.

Winner: Steve Kerr

MVP

Steph Curry
LeBron James
Russell Westbrook

There is no wrong answer for this category when it comes to these three men. When LeBron (25 points/ 7 rebounds/ 6 assists) doesn't play, the Cavs lose. Despite a coaching change and a lot of "rumblings' in the locker room, the Cavs still finished with the best record in the East. Westbrook (23 points/10 assists/8 rebounds) has matured and has turned himself into an almost automatic triple double machine while leading his team to the fourth best record in the league. Curry, who has more attention payed to him this year than last has improved his scoring average from 23 points per game to 30(29.9). Curry is averaging 30 points/6assists/5rebounds and his team is on the verge of breaking all time wins mark.

Winner: Co-MVP's Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook


First Team All NBA

Steph Curry
Russell Westbrook
Lebron James
Kawhi Leonard
Hassan Whiteside

Full Court Press 12.25.15: NBA Season Has Finally Arrived #NBAXMas

Basketball Season Has Arrived
By @mrgroce

At first glance, I'm pretty sure when you saw the title, you figured that this was an article written in October. No, it wasn't. It's December 22nd and I'm sitting at my computer watching season one, episode 4 of Breaking Bad. When it comes to this show, I'm pretty late to the party, but as far as the NBA season is concerned, now is the time to start paying attention. Other than witnessing the Golden State Warriors begin the season with best start in the history of the NBA, you haven't missed much. The Spurs are good, as usual. The Cavs are good and injured, but almost back to fully healthy. Kobe is retiring and won't stop shooting. Dwight Howard is unhappy and people in the media are talking way too much about the New York Knicks.

But guess what?

Christmas Day is here, and for a lot of fans this is almost the equivalent of MLB Opening Day. Five games featuring five possible championship contenders. The main event takes place at 5:00 PM when the Cavs visit the Warriors for a one game "rematch" of last season's NBA Finals. 

I'm not quite sure when it happened, but somehow along the way I've developed a deep fondness of the Golden State Warriors and the league's reigning MVP Steph Curry. Like everyone else I was a naysayer who repeatedly said that a jump shooting team can not win a championship, but the Warriors kept winning and we kept doubting. Each round of the playoffs a key player was missing from one of the Warriors opponents. This gave everyone who doubted Golden State an excuse to say that their championship run was lucky. Now I'm no expert, but I think it's safe to say that the absence of Patrick Beverly and Tony Allen is not what propelled the Warriors to the Finals. Would things have been different if Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were available for the Cavs? Maybe, but this team is good, they play the right way, and the best player is dominant, all 6'3", 190 lbs of him. 

I'm in the minority, but I feel that Curry has surpassed LeBron as the best player in the game. I think when people hear this they assume that I'm saying that Steph has had a better career or is on pace to have a better one. No, what I'm saying is that RIGHT NOW Curry is better simply because he's unstoppable and knows what his strengths are. 13 years in LeBron still doesn't post up much, still does not have a dependable jump shop (although he loves to shoot em), and is barely an average free throw shooter. Despite that, he still gives you 26 points 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game. Of course these are numbers that can not be ignored or glossed over, but I'm one of those people that feel like numbers do lie. Remember Steph has been in the league seven years fewer than LeBron, but is only has one less ring.

There is still one challenge that I need to see the Warriors complete before I crown them of the best teams that I've ever seen. I need to see what they can do against a Greg Popovich coached team in a best of seven series. So far the all of the attention has been on Golden State and Cleveland, but the Spurs have the second best record in the league and are only 3 games behind the Warriors in the overall standings. They have transitioned from a team that was led by Tony Parker and Tim Duncan to a team that is now being guided by LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard. San Antonio, Golden State and Cleveland all have great rosters, and in my opinion the Cavs have the best, but the Warriors and Spurs play "the right way" for longer stretches in games than the Cavaliers do.

The Cavs have a tendency to get complacent on defense and lackadaisical on offense. The Warriors, a great jump shooting team sometimes forgets that a drive to the hoop is smarter than heaving a 30 footer even if it is a "heat check". The Spurs, well, I'm still having a hard time finding weaknesses, but one or two are bound to pop up.  All three teams have multiple go to guys, and all three teams can play big or go small. Barring some sort of catastrophic disaster the Cavs will be in the Finals, but the battle between Golden State and San Antonio will be epic.

As the NFL regular season is coming to a close, the casual basketball fan will turn their attention to the NBA, and when they do they'll see the defending champs chasing history by trying to match and surpass the 72-10 record of the Chicago Bulls.

There will be other storylines to watch for:

1 Can Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant work together and get OKC back to the Finals?

2 Will the Bulls blow up their roster or make one more run at it with the team they have?

3 Does Miami pose a legitimate challenge to the Cavs in the East?

4 Will the fans or coaches vote Kobe onto the Western Conference all star team?


That last one was for me and I don't care what you have to say about it.



Merry Christmas, and lets enjoy the season.

Leadoff with Lee 6.11.14

-Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs took a 2-1 on the Miami Heat in a 111-92 Game 3 victory. The Spurs could not miss in the first half. Scoring 41 1st quarter points, they took a 71-50 lead into halftime. And then the Miami comeback happened. The Heat put up 25 points in the 3rd quarter, compared to San Antonio's 15. But in the end, it was just too much for LeBron and company to overcome. Leonard led all scores with 29, while Tony Parker and Danny Green chipped in 15 apiece. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both had 22 points, but Chris Bosh only got 4 shots the entire game, scoring 9 points. Game 4 will be Thursday night in Miami.

-The Indians win streak came to an end Tuesday night with a 9-5 loss to the Royals. Corey Kluber got the start, but was roughed up in the 3rd inning, giving up 4 runs. Kluber, 6-4 on the year, pitched 5 innings, giving up 6 hits, 6 runs and 2 walks. In positive news, Lonnie Chisenhall's hot bat only cooled off a little, going 2-4 on the day. The Tribe will finish up this two game set this afternoon at 2 PM.

-From my sources, Browns WR Josh Gordon will receive a suspension of 0, 6 or 8 games. Noticed I skipped 4 games. I don't want to get into any more detail at this time, but there is a method to my madness.

Leadoff with Lee 5.9.14

-Be on the lookout later today for Browns React where we cover the Cleveland Browns draft picks in the 2014 NFL Draft.

-The Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 94-82. King James had a game high 22 points, Chris Bosh added 18. Deron Williams couldn't hit a shot, going 0-9 from the field with 0 points for the Nets. Mirza Teletovic set a Nets playoff record, hitting six 3-pointers scoring a total of 20 points off the bench. Miami leads the series 2-0. Game 3 will be Saturday in Brooklyn.

-The Spurs topped the Blazers 114-97 to go up 2-0 in the series. As always, the Spurs played a great overall team game with Kawhi Leonard leading the way with 20 points. San Antonio had 7 players score double figures. Other notables for the Spurs, Tony Parker had a double-double scoring 16 points and 10 assists. The Blazers shot a dismal 43% from the field. Nicolas Batum had a team high 21 points for the Blazers. Game 3 will be on Saturday.

-The Indians racked up 15 hits in their 9-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins yesterday afternoon at Progressive field. Asdrubal Cabrera, Michael Brantley, David Murphy and Mike Aviles all had 3 or more hits in the game. Cabrera and Brantley both hit home runs for the Tribe. Justin Masterson improved to 2-1 on the season with the win. He went 6.1 innings giving up 4 hits and 2 earned runs in the series finale. The Indians open up their weekend series versus the Rays in Tampa on Friday at 7 PM.