One of the best talent bases in NBA history, Serege Ibaka, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kevin Durnat only played three seasons together, reaching the NBA Finals once in 2012 (Credit: Yahoo Sports)
In this edition of “They Should’ve Been a Dynasty,” we explore recent NBA teams that should have won more than they ultimately did.
Remember the rules, I see a dynasty as the following: a team that has won at least three championships in a 10-year window. It can be a smaller window (i.e. a three-peat), but I think the simplest barometer is winning three championships within a certain window of time, showing that you were the best of your sport, and you showed it repeatedly.
Paul Pierce walking off the court after the Celtics lost Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals 83-79 (Credit: Jim Davis/Boston Globe)
If you’ve met me, you’ll know I’m a big what-if kind of guy.
Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be conducting a series called “They Should’ve Been a Dynasty,” exploring teams from different sports over the past 15-20 years that I believe should have won more than they did. Continue reading ““They Should’ve Been a Dynasty””
If we’re being honest, we may have just witnessed one of the best weeks in sports in a LONG time since we last met. Tiger Woods stayed in competition all weekend, and he FINALLY WON A MAJOR, over a decade since his last major championship. Congrats on number 15, Tiger! In the NBA, we have seen some great games thus far. Kyrie Irving had a great performance in Game 2 to help the Celtics take a 2-0 series lead. Damian Lillard has been phenomenal as the Trail Blazers have gone ahead 2-0 on OKC. The Clippers completed the biggest comeback in playoff history to tie their series going into Game 3, but the Warriors won last night to regain the lead. The Sixers lead Brooklyn 2 to 1, the Spurs lead Denver 2 to 1, the Rockets and Bucks are ahead 2 games to none in their respective series, and Toronto and Orlando are tied.
In the NHL, we saw one of the greatest upsets in sports history, as the Columbus Blue Jackets won their first playoff series EVER, sweeping the President Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning, the same team that tied the record for the most wins in NHL history this season. The New York Islanders advanced as well, sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins. Colorado leads Calgary three games to one (shout out to UMass defenseman Cale Makar, who joined the Avalanche this week after the Minutemen reached the NCAA championship game). The rest of the series in the league are currently competitive, with St. Louis and Las Vegas leading theirs 3 games to 2, and the remaining two series tied at 2 games apiece.
In baseball, the reigning World Series champs look awful (more on that later), and Tampa Bay seems to be taking the league by storm this season, as the currently stand at 14-5.
It’s been almost 11 years since Tiger Woods won his last major? Can he end that drought this weekend at Augusta? (Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports)
This is the most wonderful time of year folks.
At the time of writing this, Tiger Woods is -2 at the Masters, and we all know we want to see Tiger win another Masters. The NHL playoffs are off to a bang with plenty of road teams winning Game 1s (even if this is at the expense of the Bruins). The NBA season wrapped up with plenty of funky games, as well as some awesome farewells for Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. We know who’s playing who in the NBA Playoffs, and starting Saturday, it’s going to be heaven on Earth once the games begin. Hopefully the weather comes around and we can soak in some sun, but for now, you have an excuse from us at Hold My Drink Sports to sit inside and watch ALL of these great sporting events.
Before we start, congratulations to Virginia and Baylor for winning the championship in men’s and women’s college basketball, respectively… AND SHOUT OUT TO UMASS FOR MAKING IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN HOCKEY! GO MINUTEMEN!
The Bucks had the most wins in the NBA this season; are they the team to beat? (Credit: Behind the Buck Pass)
You smell that? Yeah, that’s right: playoff basketball.
We have been waiting for this moment ever since the end of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals last season (did you really watch the Finals? Be honest), and this year will be more wide-open than ever. First off, no more LeBron James in the East (or at all for that matter), so for the first time since 2010, the NBA Finals will NOT feature The King. The East has a least 4 teams with a legitimate chance to make a run for a title, while the West is chalked up with teams looking to prevent the Warriors from making their 5th straight appearance in the Finals.
This is how we’re going to breakdown our predictions: for the Eastern Conference, Nick is going to give a brief analysis for his picks, and Fredy will do the same for the West. We will also put down picks from fellow contributors to the page.
Say hello to the 808s and Ankle Breaks boys, Tervor and Kerm. We’ve also got Mike, and making their first appearances on the blog in 2019, we’ve got Kennedy and Gaashaan! If you haven’t seen their work, check out Kennedy here and Gaashaan here.
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