TheSportsPACK

By: Demitry Johnson Last night the Philadelphia proved the ultra talented rising R&B singer Sevyn Streeter to be absolutely correct by wearing the shirt "We matter" in a silent protest of the social injustice towards minorities. Before last nights season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder it was some extreme controversy as to why R&B singer Sevyn Streeter was getting ready to perform the national anthem before being notified that she had being pulled because of a shirt she chose to wear that said "We matter"... That's right not "black lives matter" it simply stated "We Matter" and the Philadelphia 76ers failed their fans, the city, the players, coaches and this young woman. The statement from the organization was total contradiction of their actions of pulling her from singing the national anthem.  1."The Philadelphia 76ers encourage meaningful action to drive social change....

Washington Wizards 99 vs Atlanta Hawks 114 - The new look Hawks win their opening night match up against the Wizards in dominating fashion. Dwight Howard finished with 19 rebounds while All-Star Paul Millsap leads the way with 28 points 7 rebounds and 6 assist. Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap  combined for 39 points and 26 rebounds (ajc.com) Great win for the Hawks. People questioned rather Dwight Howard would fit into the "lunch pale" mentality Atlanta play with but with 15 1st half rebounds he will work out fine. Moving Dennis Schroder to the starting point guard spot was another concern for Hawks fans. Jeff Teague is a scorer but what you lose of the offensive end you gain back with tough on ball defense with Schroder. Tim Hardaway Jr. was impressive tonight finishing with 23 points on 8-13 shooting. It's been a rocky start to Hardaway Jr career but he look comfortable coming off the bench for the Hawks. The Hawks will be a playoff team but no higher than a...

By: Demitry Johnson espn.com Why getting blown out was the best thing that could happen to these Golden State Warriors.. nba.com During the 2015-2016 campaign the Golden State Warriors went the whole season without being humbled, now yes they lost games even had a few close calls but it always seemed as if they still weren't humble. They always believed last year that they could flip it on whenever they were in trouble and I believe coming back from being 3-1 down against the Thunder still didn't humble them, if anything boosted their ego even more. It wasn't until Game 7 when the clock sounded and Lebron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers begin celebrating winning the NBA title at that moment Golden State was humbled but it was too late. This offseason, signing of Kevin Durant, one could see the arrogance all over the Warriors organization, press conference, the coaching staff etc. So coming into the 2015-2016 season the confidence lev...

Dante Exum is the latest NBA bit by the injury bug while participating in international competition. The torn ACL in Exum's left knee was a non-contact injury while coming to a jump stop.  The injury will most likely keep Exum out for the entire 2015-16 season. The Utah Jazz selected Exum with the 5th in the 2014 draft and was expected to make an huge impact for a young Jazz roster. Exum averaged 7.9 ppg and 3.9 apg in his rookie season (abcnews.go.com) This on top of the Paul George injury from last year's USA scrimmage game brings me to the point that NBA franchises should reconsider allowing their players to compete in international basketball. NBA teams are investing million of dollars into athletes for them to win NBA games. Not to say that international competition is not important but to have players risk an season-ending injury to play in a "world basketball tournament" just doesn't seem like a good idea. I'm all about players having free will ...

Today is the start of free agency in the NBA and there's a ton of talent looking for new places to call home. After hearing the rumors, reading discussions boards and listen to reports, here 's my 5 bold predictions for this free agency summer. 1. LaMarcus Aldridge will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers - The Lakers are looking to make a splash this summer and this is it. Aldridge averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in the past 3 seasons for the Portland Trail Blaze/rs but these numbers did not translate into teams success. In the past 3 seasons the Blazers have not made it past the 2nd round. With Nicolas Batum gone to the Hornets, LaMarcus is looking to be around better, more experienced players and wouldn't mind being in a bigger market to showcase his talent. Aldridge will be a huge help for the Lakers quest to get back into the playoffs. lakerholicz.com 2. Kevin Love will be traded to the Celtics - The Boston Celtics have had their eyes on Kevin ...

With a quarter of the NBA season in the books lets take an early look at my All-NBA 1st and 2nd teams 1st team PG: Stephen Curry GSW   (23.9 ppg 7.6 apg 5.3 rpg 2.0 spg) If there was any question about Steph Curry being a top 5 point guard, those questions have been answered with his play this season. An early MVP frontrunner, Curry has the Warriors atop of the Western Conference by shooting a career best 48.5% from the floor. SG: James Harden HOU   (26.7 ppg 6.7 apg 6.3 rpg) Harden stepped up his game in the 11 games Dwight Howard was out by averaging 30.8 ppg per game during that stretch. Despite James Harden's status as the league's leading scorer and arguably the best shooting guard in the game, questions arise defensive. A little too early to be thinking about playoffs but the way Harden is scoring the ball, Houston will be a tough out. SF: LeBron James CLE   (25.4 ppg 7.6 apg 5.4 rpg) King James is still the best small forward in the NBA...

Quin Snyder Utah Jazz - Quin Snyder becomes the 8th coach in Jazz history after a dismal 25-57 season. With an average age of 24.1, Utah is the 3rd youngest team in the NBA. Coach Snyder's first mission will be to find some type of production offensively. Utah finished 29th in scoring averaging 95 points per. To improve on this, Snyder will implement a motion offense with a lot of floor spacing. This will create a lot of opportunities at the basket for the Jazz resulting in easy buckets. With young talent such as Trey Burke, Dante Exum and Rodney Hood, I don't expect Coach Snyder to lead them to the playoffs, but with time this team will grow together and be fun to watch in the upcoming years. David Blatt Cleveland Cavaliers - David Blatt was hired June 20 to take over in place of fired Mike Brown. Since then he has seen his roster turn from lottery pick status to the favorite to win it all. How will Coach Blatt manage all the talent on this roster? With h...