Random Thoughts: NBA, MLB, more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

The latest installment of Random Thoughts centers around the NBA championship series and next season, MLB divisional races, an unpopular opinion and a stinging loss by the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

NBA

They didn’t win the NBA championship but kudos to the Indiana Pacers for putting together such a memorable playoff run.

Most people didn’t expect the Pacers to get past the second round (at most), but they made to the championship series and despite being a heavy underdog and a key injury, took it the full seven games. They even led Oklahoma City by one at halftime of the seventh game, and that was after Tyrese Haliburton went down with an Achilles injury in the first quarter.

They certainly made the series interesting and certainly gave their fans something to cheer about.

More NBA

If Haliburton’s injury turns out to be a worst case scenario and he misses all or a big chunk of next season, and with Boston’s Jayson Tatum sidelined by an Achilles injury, the NBA’s Eastern Conference race will be wide open next season. Oklahoma City is and will continue to be the favorite to win it all again, especially with no true frontrunner from the East.

MLB

With one exception, all Major League Baseball divisional races are fairly close. As we literally round third and head home in the month of June, most division leaders have a 1-3 game lead on the next team. But that’s not the case in the American League Central, where Detroit already has an 8.5 game lead over Cleveland. That’s not exactly the strongest division in baseball and barring a total collapse by the Tigers, Detroit should cruise to the division title.

Unpopular opinion

I like baseball as much as the next guy but I feel like I’m the only person who can’t get into the College World Series. I don’t know why, I just can’t. Obviously, I realize that all of those players have put in a lot of hard work and are very talented and I wish all of them well. I also wish I could get into it more.  

Ouch

It wasn’t the way the Fort Wayne TinCaps wanted to end their six game series against Dayton. The TinCaps had an 11-4 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. That’s when the Dragons scored eight runs and took a 12-11 lead, and made that score stick. Ouch. If you like hits (the two teams combined for 29 hits) and don’t mind sitting at a ballpark for more than three and a half hours, it was a fun game to be at.

As always, if you have thoughts or comments on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.