Rest in Peace Roy "Doc" Halladay:

Doc:

The baseball word and the world as a whole lost another human being too early. Harry Leroy “Roy” “Doc” Halladay died this week after his plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico by Florida. He was just 40 years old and had recently just got his pilot’s license and the plane this year. He was excited to start another chapter in his life.

The previous chapter in his life is what most will remember him for. He had a Hall of Fame caliber career as a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies. He won 2 Cy Young awards (in both leagues only five others have done that), made 8 All Star appearances, led the league in wins 2 times and pitched a perfect game and a no-hitter in the same season. Only one other pitcher has done it in a post season, and that was Hall of Famer Don Larson. He joined six other pitchers to throw both a perfect game and a no-hitter; five of the six are in the Hall of Fame.

He only finished with 203 wins and 2117 strikeouts overall, but retired four full baseball seasons ago due to injury, which he attributed to back troubles. We all can imagine if he played until his age 40 season he might have had more wins and strikeouts, but those are always the what ifs with injuries to all athletes. If you use the JAWS system, an evaluation tool that accounts for a player’s peak seasons as well as his overall career, Halladay is ranked as baseball’s 42nd-best starting pitcher. Only nine players ahead of him are not yet in the Hall of Fame, while more than 30 pitchers below him on the list are already enshrined in Cooperstown. His postseason success and his popularity with the news media also bolster his case.

From all accounts from former teammates, local people in his community (coaching little leaguers) the media and fans alike, he was considered to be one of the best humans out there not just one of the best pitchers. While he was a member of the Blue Jays, Halladay and his wife invited children and their families from the Hospital for Sick Children into "Doc's Box" at Rogers Centre during Blue Jays games. As part of Halladay's contract with the Blue Jays, he also donated $100,000 each year to the Jays Care Foundation. Halladay was the Blue Jays' nominee numerous times for the Roberto Clemente Award for his work with underprivileged children. For the same reason, he was also the Blue Jays' nominee in 2008 for the Players Choice Awards Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.

His father used to be a pilot so he knew all the risks and even his wife urged him not but he didn’t want to sit around and do nothing. “I find myself kind of sitting around the house thinking, ‘There’s something missing here — I should be working out, I should be running, I should be doing something,’” Halladay said. “For a second, it’s kind of a little bit of panic, and then it kind of sets in: ‘O.K., that’s right. I’m retiring now.’ It’s actually a very peaceful feeling.”

Former Yankees catcher Thurman Munson famously died from piloting his own small aircraft died in 1979, and so did Halladay’s former teammate Cory Lidle in 2006.  One of his last acts of kindness was donating a police dog which they named Doc in reference to his name given to him by then Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, for Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday.

The hope is in 2019 when he is eligible the Hall of Fame writers will look at his numbers and career as a whole and put him into the Hall of Fame eventually. He will probably be known as the greatest pitcher in Toronto Blue Jays history and will deserve to have his jersey number retired. He is survived by his wife Brandy and his two sons Ryan and Braden. Our condolences go out to them. You will be missed Roy “Doc” Halladay RIP!

NBA 2017-2018 Season Preview:

Central Division: This will be the last year the Cavaliers are the kings of the East and a top team in general. PG Kyrie Irving single handily ruined the future of Cavs by demanding a trade. It’s one of the worst kept secrets in the NBA that SF Lebron James is going to leave his team for the second time when the season ends with his contract expiring.

Meaning this is the last year for him to win another championship for Cleveland and without Irving it makes the percentage even higher he will leave, leaving the Cavs without a potentially relevant future. New Cavs GM Koby Altman was put in a tough position after David Griffin resigned with Irving demanding a trade and getting it. They put a band aid on this season by getting PG IsaiahThomas, SF Jae Crowder and a first round draft pick in the trade; they also signed SG Dwayne Wade after the Bulls bought him out, and signed PG Derrick Rose. Lebron will have to carry an injured/injury prone team to make the finals this year. The team of the future-present in the Central is the Bucks because of point-forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

He could win MVP/take his team to the Eastern conference finals-and a top five finish. If SF Kris Middelton and PF Jabari Parker are healthy, Milwaukee will be deadly plus they have reigning rookie of the year PG Malcom Brogdon. They can only get better so watch out! By default the Pistons will make the playoffs this year since the East is weaker/they have two really talented players. It’s a shame only one playoff appearance in almost 10 years for them when they have C Andre Drummond and PG Reggie Jackson (health has been an issue).

They added one of the best two-way players in the league in G Avery Bradley when Boston was trying to clear cap space (someone they will miss dearly), and still have SFs Tobias Harris and Stanley Johnson that should assure them a playoff spot. Well the rebuild is on for the next two teams in the Central. The Pacers finally said goodbye to SF Paul George this summer (traded to the Thunder) and got SG Victor Oladipo and big man Damantas Sabonis in the trade to play with the improving C MylesTurner. Those are nice building blocks to start a rebuild and still have a few veterans to make them competitive in big man Al Jefferson, SF Lance Stephenson, F Thaddeus Young and brought back PG Darren Collinson. (Look for Bulls preview later too long for this NBA Preview) 

Atlantic Division: It looked like the year for the Celtics to dethrone the Cavs from winning the East (they already had the #1 seed last year) with the moves to revamp this team. They essentially swapped out PGS Thomas for Irving and signed SF Gordon Hayward away but had to clear cap space for him, so they lost Bradley (cap space/trade, Crowder (trade), C Tyler Zeller, PF Amir Johnson, C Kelly Olynyk and F Jonas Jeberko.

The two additions make them a great team but they lost their depth along with Hayward breaking his Tibia and dislocating his ankle. They will make the playoffs in the weak East but it means Irving will have to prove he can lead a team by itself to the playoffs. His help will be C Al Hordford and all the young guns on their team in rookie SF Jasyon Tatum, SG Jaylen Brown, F Abdel Nader, PG Terry Rozier, and still have G Marcus Smart to try to be a top 5 team.  PG Kyle Lowry decided to stay in Toronto after fellow teammate SG DeMar DeRozen did the same last year.

They think they can challenge Lebron and Co. by adding CJ Miles to the mix and also retaining PF Serge Ibaka. The Raptors got swept by them in Eastern conference playoffs last year and the previous year lost in the previous round. Even with all that talent to be a top 5 seed in the weakened East they still can’t get past the hump (Lebron and crew), so they will have to wait till the King changes league before they have a chance to be in the finals. Well, it hopes to be the year for the 76ers to finally make the playoffs based on sheer talent and the state of the Eastern conference. A full season of C Joel Embiid, his “rookie year” for point-forward Ben Simmons, the second year of F Dario Saric and rookie PG Markelle Fultz have the making of a future super team if they all live up to expectations, they can be an 8^th seed. They also still have big man Jahil Okafor and forward Robert Covingtion on the roster, and they added veterans (which they didn’t have much of in previous years) in PF Amir Johnson and three point marksman SG JJ Redick. 

Any young up and coming team needs a veteran presence to guide them through the struggles of a season. Now we have gotten to the portion about both New York teams (Brooklyn Nets and Knicks). The Nets will not be the worst team because of the Bulls, Kings and Suns. With the Knicks finally trading SF Carmelo Anthony away it is now F Kristaps Porzingis’s team and his chance to shine alone and see if he can lead the team to the 8^th seed or to be pretty close to it.

He has the perfect cast around him to help him in a pass first PG in Ramon Sessions, three point shooters in $71 million man Tim Hardaway JR (who’s back in New York), Doug McDermott (who they got in the Melo trade), SG Courtney Lee, and they also traded for big man Enes Kanter (who should be starting). If C Joakim Noah is healthy he doesn’t need to be the center of the offense. He did play with a young superstar before (Derrick Rose). Brooklyn isn’t tanking, they actually have some good players on their roster minus PG Jeremy Lin who is out for the year due to knee surgery. They finally traded C Brooke Lopez but got veteran C Timofey Mozgov, and got 21 year old guard D’Angelo Russell from the Lakers (who didn’t need him with them drafting Lonzo Ball), plus having Jordan Clarkson and signing KCP),

who will now control the ball without Lin. He is still young enough to evolve into the player he was destined to be.They also got veteran forwards Allan Crabbe, Demarre Caroll, and still have Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, so they will be competitive even as a bad team.

Southeast Division: It is still the Wizards division and they are one of three teams to be even in the conversation with Lebron and Co., but their 3^rd & 4^th best player will have to step it up if they face them in the playoffs. C Marcin Gortat will have to use his height to his advantage as most teams are going small. They retained SF Otto Porter Jr. to keep a mini big 3 together with the two all star guards in John Wall and Bradley Beal. Health will be the big factor along with Wall being a more willing passer since he has talented teammates.

The bench is still a question mark with no real big offseason moves to fix it. After missing the playoffs the Hornets hope to get back since the conference is weaker and they should be making the playoffs every year in the East (weak conference). The real reason is they have a top PG/player on their team in PG Kemba Walker. They added another veteran big man again further delaying the growth of C Cody Zeller (last year Roy Hibbert and previously Al Jefferson), this year they traded for C Dwight Howard. They already have a log jam for big men with Frank Kaminisky (not enough minutes to go around). Since they are a playoff team they will go the veterans in Howard and stretch four Marvin Williams and have the same issue at wing with G Jeremy Lamb (who didn’t get a chance in OKC and isn’t here), since they are going to play SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (can’t shoot/score), and SG Nicolas Batum, and they drafted a talented guard in Malik Monk in the draft.

The Heat will make the playoffs this time (after losing out on the last day to the Bulls last year) due to the weakened conference and they have a few really talented players. They have all world PG Goran Dragic and one of the five best centers in the league in Hassan Whiteside. They also retained SG Dion Waiters who had a career year last year since the team gave him a chance to play (unlike OKC and Cleveland), and brought in big man Kelly Olynyk who should fill the PF hole they’ve had since Chris Bosh had his heart problems. They also are hoping for a full healthy season from SF Justise Winslow who was the 10^th pick in the draft two years ago and who missed most of his sophomore year due to both wrist and shoulder injuries.

He can ease himself back into the lineup since he has four talented teammates surrounding him. Well, Atlanta no longer has any of the four all stars they had in one season (Al Hordford, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver and let Paul Millsap left in free agency) they also traded Dwight Howard away. Their best player is PG Dennis Schroder who is a fine player but not the center piece of a team. Their streak of making the playoffs 10 straight times is ending this year and they will start a new one of missing them. Kent Bazemore is really talented like Schroder but again a good complimentary player which sums up the roster.  Their team is full of veterans who are good role players/backups and inexperienced players.

The Magic again will be a bottom feeder despite having top picks in many consecutive drafts (bad drafting and they fired their GM-hired Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady to the front office as special assistant, which could be the most exciting thing they do). They are full of young talent that hasn’t proven themselves as a whole in PG Elfrid Payton who is in year 2 without G Victor Olidpo, F Aaron Gordon (who is a tweener and hope to take steps every year to get better), F Mario Hezonja and C Nikola Vucevic who can be a top center in the East.

They also have good veteran pieces but that’s it on this team in G Jonathan Simmons, G Terrence Ross, G Evan Fournier, G Aaron Affalo, C Bismack Biyombo, F Mo Speights, and PG DJ Augustin who all are trade bait.  

Pacific Division: It’s repeat at winning a championship or bust for the Warriors but they will have stiff competition in the West this year as many teams improved. Golden State did re-sign PG Steph Curry and SF Kevin Durant this offseason.

They were also able to retain their core by bringing back PG Shaun Livingston, SF Andre Iguodala, C Zaza Pachuila and  C JaVale McGee. While they also added SFs Nick Young and Omri Casspi to their bench making them even deeper, allowing the rest of their core of Durant, Curry, F Draymond Green and SG Klay Thompson to remain fresh throughout the season and the playoffs. With the improved West it may be hard for the Clippers with PF Blake Griffin & C DeAndre Jordan to make the playoffs this year with four other teams vying for last two spots.

They finally have a real SF in a trade acquiring Danilo Gallinari from Denver, but they longer have PG Chris Paul and SG JJ Redick to put it all together. They traded Paul in a blockbuster trade to Houston and got back PG Patrick Beverly who is a stud defensively, bench scorer Lou Williams and a few youngsters and a pick.  Redick left as a free agent and they even traded away Jamal Crawford to clear cap space but signed Serbian PG Milos Teodosic to help out at PG. The rest of this division is all teams rebuilding and have no shot to make the playoffs. The Lakers drafted PG Lonzo Ball, signed SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, traded Russell away with Mozgov’s contract for C Brooke Lopez, and signed C Andrew Bogut to be competitive this year but to also build for the future as they drafted four players.

They want to build a team around Ball, G Jordan Clarkson, F Brandon Ingram and F Julius Randle, but not be the 76ers and have no veterans to lead which is why they got Lopez (expiring contract), Bogut, and still have F Corey Brewer and F Luol Deng. The Kings finally traded away DeMarcus Cousin this past trade deadline so this is the first full season without him, and the team is half old veterans and half young players as they drafted three players in first round (four draft picks total) with one being promising PG De'Aaron Fox.

To not rush him they signed PG George Hill to start. For now, it’s G Buddy Hield’s team till Fox and fellow rookie, SF Justin Jackson takes over. They also signed the ageless wonder Vince Carter, PF Zach Randolph, and F Bogdan Bogdanovic to mentor the rookies and other young players like C Willie Cauley-Stein. The Suns team is full of young players and three rookies and top four pick SF Josh Jackson. They have young guns SG Devin Booker, PF Marquesse Chriss, PG Tyer Ulis, and Dragen Bender.

They have potential all star PG Eric Bledsoe (who wants a trade), veteran C Tyson Chandler, C Alex Len and G Jared Dudley on the team as well. They did lose G Brandon Knight to injury in the offseason which doesn’t help their win total on a team full of kids really. Another top five pick is in their future. 

Southwest Division: The Rockets went out and got Chris Paul in a blockbuster deal but already were successful at PG with James Harden but now he will move back to SG.

They traded away 7 players losing lots of their depth. They signed F PJ Tucker and F Luc Mbah a Moute while resigning Nene. They have sharper shooters in G Eric Gordon, SF Trevor Ariza and PF Ryan Anderson, which they hope helps them complement the facilitator in Paul. The question will be how Harden and Paul work together since they both like having the ball in their hands but they sure can match the Warriors in terms of fire power. The Spurs will always be a top 5 team even if PG Tony Parker is out for a bit with an injury and Tim Duncan is retired, because of the system Greg Popovich has installed and the good complimentary role players. It is still a one man show in terms of stars with SF Kawhi Leonard (who is out for a few months with injury as well).

They resigned Pau Gasol, PG Patty Mills and G Manu Ginobili, and added SF Rudy Gay who will come in handy since Leonard is out for a bit. If you combine PF Lamarcus Aldridge with Gay and Gasol you might have a big 2 with great solid role players in Mills (who’s starting till Parker comes back) G Danny Green, SF Kyle Anderson and crew (some youngsters). This is why they are not winning a championship; they are good but not good enough. The Grizzlies have two of the best players at their positions (also underrated) in PG Mike Conley Jr and C Marc Gasol which means they have a chance for the playoffs (with four other teams for last two spots).

The question falls on the other players they have like SF Chandler Parsons (one of the highest salaries in NBA), and SG Ben McLemore (who never showed how good he could be despite all the talent in Sacramento). The hope is Parson can stay healthy and the change of scenery can do wonders, while McLemore reaches his potential, then they would be a threat. Those two things don’t seem the most likely to happen which is why they also signed G/F Tyreke Evans and PG Mario Chalmers to solidly the bench, with C Brandan Wright who they hope can stay healthy. No longer do they have Zach Randolph, Tony Allen and Vince Carter as all 3 left in the offseason.  Also fighting with them for a playoff spot are the Pelicans who have two of the best big men playing together (going against the league that has lots of stretch fours and one big man lineup). Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins will have a full season to work together to see if this experiment will work.

They added PG Rajon Rondo despite having an all star PG in Jrue Holiday so they will try to play 2 PGS and two big men. At the same time rotate out a wing player all season which would be Tony Allen or Dante Cunningham to name a few. They also brought in PG Jameer Nelson and F Josh Smith for depth. It will be how well the two big men and two PG system works to see if they can make the playoffs. The Mavericks are in a rebuild mode despite the fact future Hall of Famer PF Dirk Nowitzki may still has some years left.

They also have a good amount of talented veterans on their team in SG Wesley Matthews, SF Harrison Barnes, guards JJ Barea, Devin Harris, Seth Curryand F Josh McRoberts. That’s usually a roster that is trying to make playoffs not rebuild. They do have a top 10 pick from the draft in PG Dennis Smith JR who should get the bulk of playing time at PG since they really don’t have one. Smith, Matthews, Barnes, PF Dwight Powell and C Nerlens Noel would seem like a good core to build a future on, but in the West that isn’t good enough to make the playoffs and they still will be starting/player Nowitzki a lot this year. They are a confusing team that will finish towards the bottom again. Look for them to sell pieces at the deadline.

Northwest Division: This is the best and most improved division in the whole NBA. Each team could make the playoffs and three of them made big moves to improve their team. The Thunder added SF Paul George from the Pacers for Oladipo and Sabonis. They also got another SF who will play, PF Carmelo Anthony from the Knicks for Kanter and McDermott.

The question will be how three dominant ball players learn to the share the ball. Mr. Triple-Double PG Russell Westbrook had to do it all for them last year to win games but they don’t have to worry about him sharing it with SG Andre Roberson because he can’t score (who I wouldn’t start but rather start George at SG and Melo at SF) or shoot well, and C Steven Adams is all about hustle. They also lost two good bench players in these trades and will have to rely on PG Raymond Felton and PF Patrick Patterson to lead the second unit. But don’t worry, they will finish as a top 5 seed and Westbrook hopes it convinces George to stay when he becomes a free agent. The Timberwolves were a team that everyone thought would make the playoffs last year with all the young talent.

They just got better by trading for G Jimmy Butler and signing PG Jeff Teague, G Jamal Crawford and PF Taj Gibson. You add those veterans to the young core of F Andrew Wiggins, C Karl-Anthony Towns, F Shabbaz Muhammad and C Gorgui Dieng, they can challenge for a top 5 seed. They had too many youngsters on their team and no real leadership but with Gibson and Crawford they will have that. Plus it gives some defenders for head coach Tom Thibodeau. The Trail Blazers failed to get Anthony which might be the difference in the league as teams try to make super teams as the Thunder and Rockets succeeded in doing. They still have one of the best PGs in the league in Damian Lillard and a potential all star in SG CJ McCollum.

The hope that a full season with their guards and C Jusuf Nurkic who missed significant time last year to injury is healthy so they can have an inside presence/side kick. They still have a team full of bench/role players or inexperienced players. They are playing a SF at PF since they have no PF and a team full of SFs in Evan Turner, Moe Harkless, Noah Vonleh, and the guy playing PF Al-Farouq Aminu. The Jazz did lose SF Gordon Hayward to the Celtics (but he is lost for the year) but still are one of the best defensive teams and most talented teams in the league since they have C Rudy Gobert  (who could be the best center).

They got a top defensive and elite passer in PG Ricky Rubio which will help them (since he doesn’t like shooting), as he will feed the ball to Gobert and PF Derrick Favors as much as possible or let SG Rodent Hood fill it up. They had bad luck with injuries last year so they hope they can count on PG Dante Exum and G Alec Burks who hasn’t lived up to his potential yet because of injuries. They still have G Joe Johson, Joe Ingles as part of their core and added veterans F Jonas Jerebko, G Thabo Sefolosha and C Ekpe Udoh to round out the bench of youngsters to provide some more veteran leadership. The Nuggets have a good chance to make the playoffs this year and it will be centered on that all around talent and potential they have. They added F Paul Millsap to the core of C Nikola Jokic (who came out of nowhere) guards Jamal Murray, Emmanuel Mudiay, Malik Beasley, and veterans SF Wilson Chandler, C Mason Plumlee (who can now backup), PF Trey Lyles, SF Richard Jefferson and F Arthur Darrell.

They have even more young talent outside of the three main guards and Jokic, in guards Gary Harris and Will Barton, but we are also forgetting about the manimal Kenneth Faried who may not even play since they got Lyles and Plumlee. They have the talent to compete, the question is can coach Mike Malone figure out a way to manage all this talent and minutes for the many talented guards they have?