Who To Watch (April 12 – April 18)

It’s been almost 11 years since Tiger Woods won his last major? Can he end that drought this weekend at Augusta? (Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports)

This is the most wonderful time of year folks.

At the time of writing this, Tiger Woods is -2 at the Masters, and we all know we want to see Tiger win another Masters. The NHL playoffs are off to a bang with plenty of road teams winning Game 1s (even if this is at the expense of the Bruins). The NBA season wrapped up with plenty of funky games, as well as some awesome farewells for Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. We know who’s playing who in the NBA Playoffs, and starting Saturday, it’s going to be heaven on Earth once the games begin. Hopefully the weather comes around and we can soak in some sun, but for now, you have an excuse from us at Hold My Drink Sports to sit inside and watch ALL of these great sporting events.

Before we start, congratulations to Virginia and Baylor for winning the championship in men’s and women’s college basketball, respectively… AND SHOUT OUT TO UMASS FOR MAKING IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN HOCKEY! GO MINUTEMEN!

Lets Rock n’ Roll.

NBA Playoff Predictions

The Bucks had the most wins in the NBA this season; are they the team to beat? (Credit: Behind the Buck Pass)

You smell that? Yeah, that’s right: playoff basketball.

We have been waiting for this moment ever since the end of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals last season (did you really watch the Finals? Be honest), and this year will be more wide-open than ever. First off, no more LeBron James in the East (or at all for that matter), so for the first time since 2010, the NBA Finals will NOT feature The King. The East has a least 4 teams with a legitimate chance to make a run for a title, while the West is chalked up with teams looking to prevent the Warriors from making their 5th straight appearance in the Finals.

This is how we’re going to breakdown our predictions: for the Eastern Conference, Nick is going to give a brief analysis for his picks, and Fredy will do the same for the West. We will also put down picks from fellow contributors to the page.

Say hello to the 808s and Ankle Breaks boys, Tervor and Kerm. We’ve also got Mike, and making their first appearances on the blog in 2019, we’ve got Kennedy and Gaashaan! If you haven’t seen their work, check out Kennedy here and Gaashaan here.

Okay, time to look like we know what we’re talking about!

NBA Award Selections

The Warriors were 52-17 in games Steph Curry played in this season (Credit: via Sporting News)

Folks, we made it. April 11, and the NBA season is over. For some teams, this is the end of the road, and time to see if they can get Zion. For others, this is the beginning of the playoffs. Before we move on, I want to highlight this season by making my choices for all of the accolades. This means All-NBA teams, All-Rookie teams, All-Defensive teams, and of course, the hardware itself. It was a great season, (heck, this week alone was amazing), and tons of players put on a show. Lets give them their time to shine.

Magic Johnson Steps Down as Lakers President of Basketball Operations

Who expected this!? No one! Look, he was already doing a bad job, but even then, I didn’t expect him to quit now!

Magic got the job in February of 2017. He started with dumping the 2nd pick of the 2015 N (who just brought the Nets to the playoffs after 4 years). Then, drafting a future Point Guard of his liking: Lonzo Ball. Unfortunately though, Ball has had some injuries that have taken him out of commission for weeks or months at a time so he’s never actually had time to progress or evolve into a player the Lakers want. It’s been only 2 years so I wouldn’t worry much now. But I guess Magic couldn’t wait.

Good for you, Giannis

Just when I couldn’t like this guy anymore, he finds a way!