The Bucks are the NBA champions for the first time in 50 years, and now Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Devin Booker are Olympic teammates. Next year, the league will return to its regular schedule, with the NBA Finals ending in late June.
I must say I will miss the summer hoops we’ve enjoyed the past two years. What can cure my sadness? Well, we are now about two weeks from the Steelers and Cowboys squaring off in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 5. In this short gap between seasons, it is important to take a step back and clear your mind from the daily grind, but also have an eye toward football season and reacclimating yourself with depth charts and schedules. In the meantime, let’s find some winners (odds from BetMGM and DraftKings) …
Justin Herbert to win MVP (20/1): Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes captured this award in their sophomore seasons, and Carson Wentz was on his way to doing the same before tearing his ACL in December 2017. Herbert had a record-breaking rookie campaign, though somehow he wasn’t even the Chargers’ Week 1 starter.
Admittedly, even the most ardent Herbert supporter would tell you he’s not even the best quarterback in the AFC West, but voter fatigue is real. Guys don’t win back-to-back Heismans. Jackson won it in 2016, and had similar stats in 2017 but didn’t sniff the award. LeBron James hasn’t won an MVP Award since 2013, and Mike Trout has been in the major leagues for a decade and has won the MVP Award just three times. Voters like stories as much as stats, and they often search for new blood when dishing out the award.
The Chargers are good candidates to make a leap this year, as they have been plagued by more close losses in the past two years than any team in the NFL. Brandon Staley, who is rising in the coaching world, takes over as the Chargers look to reverse some of their late-game fortune. A winning season and a playoff berth are certainly in play, and if Herbert improves on his outstanding first season, he will be in the mix to cash this long-shot ticket if he can lead the Chargers to the postseason.
Eagles Under 7 wins: I’m not sure I’d like the Eagles to eclipse the seven-win mark, even with a more favorable schedule, but, yikes, the schedule makers did them in. Their first two games are against the Falcons and 49ers, and they will be underdogs in both games. Then … they visit the Cowboys on Sept. 27, starting a vicious four games in 17 days in which they also visit the Panthers and host both Super Bowl participants from last year, the Chiefs and Buccaneers — all in less than three weeks. Good luck.
The first third of the season often sets the tone for a team. A mediocre team can overachieve if it starts fast off a soft schedule and gains confidence. Contrarily, a team can get buried by a bad start and begin very early to look toward next season. I think a 1-5 start is very much in play, and the grueling stretch in October will put the Eagles in an inescapable hole. Another high draft pick is headed to Philadelphia in 2022.