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Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols

The Western Conference is too top-heavy for any first-round upsets

I'm not sure there's going to be any great first-round series where you're going to be like, oh, my God, they dethroned the number two. Like, think about how good the Warriors and Rockets are. Like, do you really think a seven or eight seed is going to knock them out?

In the 2018 NBA Playoffs, the #1 Rockets beat the #8 Timberwolves 4-1, and the #2 Warriors beat the #7 Spurs 4-1. No upsets occurred in the top two seeds.

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HankHank

Winning a championship can fundamentally change a fan's entire outlook on life for months

The high of a championship... if your team wins a championship, it honestly can change your whole outlook. You buzz for weeks, months, going into next year. You just feel better, you feel happier.

Void
Feb 14, 2018·Mt. Rushmore
#2711
Big CatBig Cat

Establishing the run game is the foundation of all football success

Mine [Mount Rushmore] is establishing the run game. Love when a team establishes the run game. Just run, run, run, run, run. Because then you get that play-action pass and the cameraman misses. It opens things up. ... Everything starts with establishing the run. That's just a fact.

Analytics has largely debunked the necessity of 'establishing the run' to make play-action effective, but it remains a staple of traditional coaching philosophy.
Void
Feb 14, 2018·Mt. Rushmore
#2709
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The first game of the World Cup is the only one everyone genuinely gets up for

That's the one soccer game that everybody gets up for is the first one. And then after that, the novelty kind of dies off. I would say that the championship game is a little bit more fatigue. So, like, everyone's had a month of soccer already. If they're not one of your two teams in the finals, you're like, eh, I can take it or leave it.

This is subjective, but most sports metrics (TV ratings, global betting) show the final is exponentially more popular than the opening match.

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Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols

I gave my NBA MVP vote to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

I actually voted for Shai. And it was a very, very, very hard vote... The Thunder had 18 more wins than the Nuggets. Right. At some point I don't always vote for the guy who's the highest in the standings, but at some point that matters.

She is reporting on her own official ballot entry.
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Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols

LeBron James should take significantly less money to win another championship ring

If it were me, I would say I will take significantly less, as less as it helps basically to make sure that we get other people in here who can help us win. Because here's the thing, you can't buy a championship ring after you retire all that money... He's not gonna feel any difference in his life.

Whether he 'should' take a pay cut is an opinion.
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Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols

The Celtics will win the NBA Championship

Before the season I picked the Boston Celtics. With the Boston Celtics down two to one in this series, I still pick the Boston Celtics... they're the best complete team and they just won last year.

The Celtics were eliminated in the second round by the Knicks in 6 games. The Oklahoma City Thunder won the 2025 NBA Championship.

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