Archive for June 5th, 2012

WATERCOOLER CHAT: THUNDER STEAL GAME 5, LAKERS ACTIVATE OPTION, BASEBALL DRAFT

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. The San Antonio Spurs.  The Thunder have had the Spurs number lately, figuring out a way to strategically defend the Spurs.  But the Spurs are very tough at home.  And, with the series tied at 2, statistics show that the winner of Game 5 wins the whole series 83% of the time.  This game was a back and forth battle, but the Thunder surprised the Spurs showing their true young athletic prowess.  When the Thunder gets hot, there is no stopping them.  Kevin Durant finished the night with 27 points, but the Spurs found themselves with a chance to tie the game at the end.  Manu Ginobili hoisted up a last second 3, but… no good!  And the Thunder steal Game 5 from the Spurs on the road.  Can they close it out at home and head to the finals??!!!  OKC 108, San Antonio 103.

And elsewhere in the NBA, the Lakers put to bed a lot of sports talk radio rumors yesterday.  There was definitely gossip swirling around the organization after the Lakers lost to the Thunder.  Many thought they would get rid of Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol or even both.  Yesterday, the Lakers chose to activate their option on Andrew Bynum for $16.1MM.  This makes it so he is not a free agent.  They still might trade him, but at least they will get some value from Bynum.  However, there is a very good chance that the Lakers keep Bynum as it’s very tough to find such a versatile big man as Bynum.  He’s a young commodity that they need to protect and nurture as he could become the face of the franchise once Kobe decides to hang it up (whenever that is).

BASEBALL

And in baseball, it was time for the annual baseball draft.  A draft that definitely doesn’t get the same publicity as the NBA or NFL drafts, but is growing in popularity nonetheless.  The lack of high profile mostly comes from the fact that these rookies won’t see a major league field for at least 3 or 4 years (if they’re lucky).  Major League Baseball tends to draft right out of high school so they can start developing these players early.  This year the #1 pick belonged to the Houston Astros and they decided to draft short stop and Puerto Rican phenom Carlos Correa with the top pick.  Correa has been celebrated as the best Latino to hit the sport in years.  The Astros see a ton of promise in Correa and they desperately need some help as a franchise.

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