The Bears have desperately needed a safety who can take over games as a playmaker, and they finally can solve the problem. Adams can lay the hammer down upfield against the run like an extra linebacker but also drop back to shine in coverage like an extra cornerback. Free or strong safety, it doesn’t matter. File Adams under transcendent for the position.
Also, the insular worlds that existed only in our respective regions now have a louder voice. Those voices have been amplified by one of the closest, most contentious MVP votes any of us can remember. It’s into this hyper-charged environment that the NBA has empowered more writers who came from the internet to have a vote for their awards.
Presuming we end up with Rockets vs. Spurs in Round 2, we’ll have ourselves a series. Houston played San Antonio to a draw in four close games this season. Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and Dewayne Dedmon make for an electric defensive core, but we know Harden can cook on anyone (except maybe the Warriors) and Houston is built to get threes off from any position. San Antonio’s primary strength is preventing clean threes and refusing to foul. Against Harden, there’s going to be some give in that. But not enough to make up for the fact that LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi are going to feast on offense. Spurs in a seven-game classic …
An individual can have an outsized influence on the outcome of each basketball game, but at the end of the day, it’s still an individual in a team sport. Paul’s tantrum is a great picture of what happens when that reality sets in. It’s what happens when someone tries his hardest to lead his team to victory but realizes the true limitations of a lone individual in a team sport when everyone else refuses to show up. Again.