Two different leagues, two very different approaches.
The Lakers had a chance to almost put away an injury riddled Miami Heat team by going up 3-0, but failed to take it seriously and are now 2-1 letting some Heat players time to come back.
Meanwhile in the NFL, we see two totally different Kansas City Chiefs teams from one week to the next. A literal mind melt for fans watching at home. But here’s what I think is going on in both of these big games.
NFL Mind Melt
The battle between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs was practically a stale mate for three quarters.
We knew not to expect much from the Patriots who just lost their starting quarterback to the coronavirus. But the Chiefs are coming off a dominant performance against what is arguable the second best team in the league – the Baltimore Ravens.
You can give Coach Belichick credit for basically shutting down the most explosive offense in the NFL for nearly three quarters before they came alive, or you can dive deeper.
No one, in the playoffs, in the Super Bowl against the leagues best defense, and in the regular season, has been able to stop the Chiefs from scoring almost at will.
But, they didn’t score a touchdown for almost three quarters last night.
And it’s a simple battle of chess between Andy Reid and Bill Belichick.
Coach Andy Reid of the Chiefs took the game against the Ravens a week ago as a potential Super Bowl matchup. He brought out all the tricks, linemen were catching touchdowns, misdirection’s all over the field and the speed helped them score practically at will.
Last night we saw hardly any of that. A lot of dinks and dunks which really isn’t their style.
Put simply, I think the Chiefs new this was an easy win and didn’t want to expose any of their trick plays tonight – they are saving that stuff for the playoffs.
For the Chiefs, this likely means another potential Super Bowl if everyone stays healthy. For the fans you just have to ride out close games with weaker teams like the Patriots every now and then. Just know they can turn it on in a second when it’s playoff time.
NBA Ratings Jab
The ratings for the NBA playoffs have been one of the worst ever and politics are surely to blame. No one wants the NBA or any professional sport for that matter, to turn into CNN or Fox News. But that’s basically what happened this year and fans tuned out.
Now, with the Lakers having a chance to sweep the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, going 4-0 for the championship, they took their foot off the gas.
Came out disinterested in game three and allowed one Heat all-star to have his way.
With the Heat’s other two stars injured, there was no way an NBA Finals team should of let the Heat walk away with that win. No way. It just doesn’t happen.
For Lebron to want to be considered the best in the game, these chances, the opportunity to put a dagger in a series and get the top spot, have to be where he steps up – not disappears.
You can say he did show up, almost posting a triple double with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. But he also allowed the best Heat player on the court, the only star, to go for 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
That’s the kind of games James needs to put up when he has the chances to, not sit back and act like he was paid to throw the game.
But, I think he threw the game not for betting purposes, but for ratings.
A closer series is proven to bring out the fans of the sport. Not a 4-0 blowout for the NBA Finals. So they let the Heat win a game or two to keep some pressure on and fans tuned in for the ratings.
You can see how different this is compared to what is going on in the NFL.
Ones for ratings, ones for winning. At some point, they just need to get back to the sport and play the game they love. Forget about all the outside noise.
Then fans will come back in droves.
That’s all for today.
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Ryan
CEO, Daily Sports Bets
