Buy or Sell: NBA Awards, Chile Soccer and Colorado Rockies

We’re back for another week of “Buy or Sell.” This week we’re discussing three different sports. We also have the return of Mickayeen, as he joins Aman and I in this week’s edition.

“Colorado Rockies” by jenniferlinneaphotography is licensed under CC BY 2.0

This past Monday we all witnessed the NBA Awards, where we saw Milwaukee Bucks head coach, Mike Budenholzer, win coach of the year. Should it have gone to someone else? How about Chile’s National team? Can they repeat as the Copa America champions? What are the Colorado Rockies’ chances of making a push for the National League West title?

 

Mickayeen: Mike Malone should have won Coach of the year over Mike Budenholzer

Rahim: I’ll buy this! When you finish the season with one of the best records in the NBA, it’s only fair you’re rewarded for it. That was the case here. Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer won the coach of the year because he had the MVP and best record in the league, but where would he have gone if he had to face injuries to key players for an extended amount of time?

That’s what Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone had to deal with. The Nuggets finished the season in the top four in terms of players lost to injury, with three of their starters out for a combined 75 games. That’s where the true test of coaching comes. The Nuggets lost Will Barton the second game of the year, and they didn’t have all their starters on the floor at the same time, yet managed to go 39-18 (.684). They also managed to go from a 9th place team the year prior to the 2nd place team in a tough Western Conference.

Aman: The Milwaukee Bucks had a brilliant season. If it wasn’t for a Toronto team which had Kawhi Leonard, the Bucks surely would’ve been in the Finals. The Bucks had put together an amazing team this season thanks to Mike Budenholzer. The sheer capacity of this team can be proven by whom the MVP award went to, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Budenholzer led the Bucks to the best record in the league, with 60 wins and just 22 losses. He didn’t just perfect the offense (not to mind the league’s best net rating), he can also boast the league’s best defensive rating. I can understand, and probably wouldn’t object if Mike Malone of the Denver Nuggets won the award, but the Bucks had a historical season for themselves and the future only seems bright under Budenholzer. I sell this statement.

 

Aman: Chilé will fail in retaining the Copa América title.

Mickayeen: I’m not gonna come on here and act like I know anything about soccer. I’ll say this, though: Chile will retain, beat Argentina in the final, and Messi will threaten to quit international play again. Therefore, I sell that Chile will fail to retain.

Rahim: I am going to buy this! I want to believe in Chile and their chances to win the Copa America title again, but this is going to be a hard task. Chile lost to Uruguay in the group stages, pushing them to second in their group. They’ve also got a matchup against Columbia on Friday. Columbia hasn’t given up a goal all tournament, and it’ll be hard to see them doing this again.

I actually think Columbia and Brazil are the two strongest teams this year. I think either one of these two teams has a chance to win it this year. So I have to buy that Chile even has a chance to retain their title. If they manage to beat Columbia on Friday, then I might reconsider my opinion here, but until then it’s a buy!

 

Rahim: Despite being 12 games back, the Colorado Rockies will make a push for the NL West title after the All-Star break?

Mickayeen: I sell this! The Rockies have no chance to catch the Doyers this year. Not only can LA pay millions to their superstars to retain them, but the biggest factor is they have dudes like Max Muncy coming out of the woodwork who act like they drank some of Michael’s secret stuff as soon as they put that Dodger uniform on.

I mean, come on. Matt Beaty is a 12th rounder and Kyle Garlick is a 28th rounder. They both have had timely hits for the Dodgers this year. Ridiculous. They’ve done a great job of developing guys like Bellinger and Verdugo, while retaining superstars like Kershaw and Ryu in their rotation. Every single dude on their team can hit. They’ve beaten the Rockies 13 straight times, and you can tell the Rockies just have that in their head every time they play the evil blue empire.

I still think they have a good shot to make the Wildcard game for a third straight year if they grab some starting pitching by the deadline.

Aman: I buy the Colorado Rockies pushing for the NL West title, but not actually finishing first in the end. One thing the Los Angeles Dodgers are good at in this era is their consistency. Their 67 percent win rate proves this, and can only be backed up by an amazing 38 wins at home. Away games are naturally harder, so it’s important to have a strong fortress at home, something which the Rockies don’t necessarily have yet.
In order for the Rockies to finish first, something majorly bad would need to happen to the Dodgers. The Rockies’ win rate isn’t bad, at 53%, so if the Rockies improve, I think the Rockies should aim towards a playoff spot.

 

********************************************************************
There you have it! Now, what do you think?

• Should Mike Malone have won the coach of the year award over Mike Budenholzer?
• Can Chile retain the Copa America title?
• Will the Colorado Rockies make a comeback in the second half of the season to win the NL West title?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment!