Sean Barnard Articles - Page 11

The NBA title race has been cut down to four teams as the Conference Semifinals have now concluded. In the East, the Celtics were able to clinch their spot in the Conference Finals after a seven-game series with the Bucks. It was a convincing victory over the defending champs which should have the Celtics feeling […]

The Miami Heat have advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since the 2019-20 season. This is the sixth time in the past 12 seasons that Miami has made it to the Conference Finals, and they’ll be looking to spurn the Boston Celtics to reach the NBA Finals once again. While their regular-season […]

The Dallas Mavericks are playing some of their best basketball at just the right time. The team stormed back in the matchup with the Suns to tie the series 3-3. The two teams will square off for a Game 7 in Phoenix and the Mavs hope to punch their ticket to the Conference Finals for […]

The Phoenix Suns have had an incredible season so far. They ran away with the best record in the NBA at 64-18 and secured the top seed in the West as a result. The Suns surprisingly had some issues with the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round, but it was still a six-game victory. […]

The Philadelphia 76ers’ window to win a championship with Joel Embiid is rapidly shrinking. Another valuable year of his prime was wasted in the disappointing second-round exit to the Miami Heat. There are many questions to answer about the future of the Sixers following the postseason failure. However, the most pressing issue is what to […]

The Philadelphia 76ers’ 2021-22 season is over after a disappointing second-round exit at the hands of the Miami Heat. The Sixers failed to reach expectations once again and have some serious questions to answer this offseason. At the top of this list is what to do with James Harden.   It was hoped that the […]

It has been an eventful offseason for the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts had a 9-8 record in 2021 and narrowly missed the playoffs in a disappointing fashion. The organization elected that one year was enough time with Carson Wentz and traded the quarterback to the Commanders. Despite making a major trade for the QB just last […]

The New England Patriots are coming off of a successful 2021 season. Their 10-7 record was enough to punch their ticket to the postseason where they were knocked out by the Buffalo Bills in the opening round. Rookie QB Mac Jones was impressive in his first year as the starter which gives great reason for […]

The New York Giants are in a difficult place as a franchise. They are coming off a 4-13 season in 2021 and enter with largely the same core intact. New York had a notable draft in which they added Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal with the 5th and 7th overall picks. The addition of Neal […]

The Philadelphia Eagles made headlines with their impressive Draft Day performance. The most notable move was the trade for wide receiver AJ Brown who is sure to be a great compliment to DeVonta Smith. The Eagles have gone all-in on surrounding Jalen Hurts with the necessary weapons and this is sure to be a “prove-it” […]

The Memphis Grizzlies do not find themselves in a good position heading into Game 5. After producing the second-best record in the NBA during the regular season, the playoffs have proven to be a different beast for the youthful squad. In the opening round, Memphis was able to secure the 4-2 series win over the […]

The Boston Celtics have gone toe-to-toe with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks through the first four games of this series. It has been an extremely tight series with each team stealing a game on their opponent’s home court. The series has lived up to the hype so far and is considered to be the best […]

The Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks has lived up to the hype thus far. The series is currently split at two wins apiece with each team able to steal a game on their opponent’s home court. The matchup is loaded with storylines and has been an impressive defensive battle […]

The Golden State Warriors currently hold a 3-1 series lead over the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Warriors were able to pick up a gritty win in Game 4 against the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies. Memphis received some bad news about their superstar’s status as he looks likely to miss the remainder of […]

The Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors have had arguably the most intense and physical series of the playoffs thus far. There have been chippiness, flagrant fouls, and unfortunately injuries already in the series. The most notable storyline heading into Game 4 is the status of Ja Morant. The Grizzlies star left Game 3 with […]

It has been an impressive postseason showing so far for the Dallas Mavericks. Their postseason hopes seemed to be in doubt following the calf injury to Luka Doncic to end the regular season. The Mavs managed to rally around their missing star and win two of the three games he was forced to miss. Doncic […]

The tides have greatly shifted in the Philadelphia 76ers’ second-round series against the Miami Heat. After the Heat jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, the Sixers have come storming back to tie the series 2-2. The return of Joel Embiid, who missed the first two games with a concussion and orbital fracture, has brought […]

The Indianapolis Colts had a 9-8 record in 2021 and were eliminated from playoff contention thanks to a disappointing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars to end the season. The franchise was quick to move from the Carson Wentz era and traded him after just one season with him as the starter. The Colts were active […]

There were several incredible individual performances around the NBA during the 2021-22 season, and each of them deserves a great deal of recognition. The NBA has gradually announced its postseason awards, with the most notable award finally being leaked on Monday morning. Many voters had publicly announced their votes for Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, […]

The Cleveland Browns are coming off a disappointing 8-9 season in which they were unable to punch their tickets to the playoffs. Frustrations with Baker Mayfield along with other drama on the team were too much to overcome and the team took a step back from their 11-5 record in 2020. Even amid the swirling […]

The New England Patriots finished last season with a record of 10-7 and made the playoffs, only to get destroyed by the Buffalo Bills. Still, it was a successful start to the Mac Jones era after he threw for 3,801 yards in his rookie year. The Patriots overachieved based on their expectations heading into the […]

The Boston Celtics knew they were in for a challenge when going up against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks are a difficult matchup for any opponent. The Celtics have done a fairly effective job defending the two-time MVP through the first two games. The Greek Freak has been held […]

There was plenty of conversation surrounding flagrant fouls following Draymond Green’s ejection in Game 1 of the second-round series between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies. It did not take much time to spark up once again as Dillon Brooks was ejected just 2:52 into the Game 2 matchup.   Brooks made contact with […]

The Toronto Raptors are coming off an impressive season in which they outperformed expectations. The Raptors ended the season on a hot streak and finished with a 48-34 record. Unfortunately, the squad was unable to make any noise in the playoffs and was knocked out in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers. Masai Ujiri continued […]

The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics enter Game 3 with the series tied at one win apiece. Each team can pick out their positive and negative takeaways for what is expected to be a difficult series for both sides. The defending champion Bucks should be excited about their dominant win in Game 1 of the […]

It is no surprise that patience is wearing thin in the Utah Jazz organization. The franchise continues to be in search of its first NBA title and has failed to get closer with its current core. Despite reaching the postseason the past six seasons, the Jazz have failed to make it past the Western Conference […]

The growth of Cleveland Cavaliers star Darius Garland has been a terrific storyline to watch. The third-year guard earned his first All-Star appearance this season by averaging 21.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 8.6 assists, which are all career-highs. Garland has continued to develop as a scorer and a playmaker.  No player can play all 48 […]

Overall, the Toronto Raptors had a successful season this year. After starting the campaign at 4-14, they were able to turn it around and secure the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. Their 48-34 record and the great number of lengthy defenders made them a frightening postseason matchup. Even so, they were not enough of […]

The Utah Jazz once again failed to meet their postseason aspirations. Despite not having Luka Doncic for the first three games of the series, the Dallas Mavericks were still able to boot out the Jazz in a convincing fashion. The Jazz have made the NBA Playoffs for the past six seasons but have failed to […]

The recent spat between Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley has stirred up quite the conversation on the internet. The accusation from Barkley that KD is simply a “bus rider” on championship teams caused quite the response from the Nets star. While Durant is an undeniable talent, his tenure in Golden State remains controversial. If he […]

The matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies lived up to the hype in Game 1. It had all the action you could hope for, including a Draymond Green ejection and a game-winning shot attempt by Ja Morant. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the layup attempt at the buzzer was unable to fall and […]

The Eastern Conference heavyweight battle between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks tipped off on Sunday. The winner of this series is expected to come out of the East. In Game 1, the Bucks were able to maintain control. The final score was 101-89, and the Celtics were never able to fully climb back into […]

After a thrilling opening round of NBA basketball, teams began tipping off in the second round of matchups this weekend. The Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies were looked at as a headline matchup and the opening game lived up to the hype. The home Memphis crowd was lively throughout and it was a hard-fought […]

The tides seemed to shift a great deal in the weeks leading up to the draft. Despite Aidan Hutchinson seemingly being pegged as the number one overall pick for quite some time, Travon Walker burst onto the scene. The Georgia defensive end managed to raise his draft stock and had his name called first overall. […]

Regardless of his on-field production, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner likely has already staked his claim as the coolest player in the 2022 NFL Draft. Gardner did not last on the draft board long Thursday, with the Jets jumping at the chance to add him to their roster.   The fourth overall pick oozed swagger when walking […]

For a good portion of the predraft process, it seemed Aidan Hutchinson was the surefire number one overall pick. The Michigan product has an incredible career in college and this is expected to continue at the next level. During his four seasons at Michigan, Hutchinson totaled 156 tackles and 17.5 sacks. He had a noticeable […]

There was only one quarterback who went off the board in the opening round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and that was Kenny Pickett. This is not a major surprise as this draft has been regarded as fairly weak at the position. In fact, this was just the second time in the last 20 years […]

The Baltimore Ravens were one of the most active teams in the first round of the NFL Draft. The Ravens selected safety Kyle Hamilton at the 14th overall pick. They also traded down from the 23rd to the 25th pick and selected center Tyler Linderbaum. While the talent they added in the draft was notable, […]

The 2021 season should be looked at as a success for the New England Patriots. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones led the team to a 10-7 record, which was good enough to secure a playoff birth. While they were knocked out in the first round by the Buffalo Bills, the team had a much more impressive […]