2021 NBA Season Tips

 Hi all!!! I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe out there, I bet you were wondering where I have been all these months of silence. But don’t worry I did not vanish into thin air like a magician! With the effects of COVID-19 on sports there hasn’t exactly been much for me to report on 😕.  In this latest issue of Buckley Knows best, I will be providing an in depth preview of the 2 local teams in the Knicks and the Nets, as well as my bold predictions for NBA end of season awards as well as my picks for the NBA finals!! 😎😀😍🧐🥸🤩😟🏀🏀🏀.   Coming into the 2021 season the New York Knicks have a young core that management   Is really hoping makes leaps this year and far as progress goes! Returning from last years roster is veteran Julius Randle who could very well be dangled as trade bait come the trade deadline, lottery pick RJ Barret, Kevin Knox the Kentucky graduate,  Frank Nwikiena who is a product of the failed Phil Jackson experiment from years past, as they will be joined by Elfrid Payton, and lottery pick from this years draft in o Obi Toppin, Dennis Smith JR, and big man Mitchell Robinson! With a young core we can only hope for learning that will help shape these guys into competent veterans for seasons to come! The tutelage of Head Coach Tom Thibedeau should help these young men mold into solid NBA players! Across the bridge we have the Knicks counterpart in the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets made  2 huge  splashes in the off season signing the dynamic duo that is Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving! Durant is coming off of ACL surgery but in the early goin of this season looks like he hasn’t missed a beat and is everything the Nets we’re hoping they were getting! Kyrie on the other hand is an interesting case. He has had success everywhere he has played, but also leaves behind a trail of drama everywhere he plays. If Kyrie isn’t complaining about his supporting cast, he’s either lashing out at the media with hurtful interactions, or shoving his earth is flat nonsense down our throats! All that aside he’s an incredible talent that Brooklyn is clearly willing to deal with despite his short coming and off the court issues. After losing Spencer Dinwiddie earlier this week to an Achilles tear (partial) the Nets will rely heavily on their roll players such as Caris Lavert, Joe Harris, and Jared Allen to step up in Dinwiddies absence! Now for some very early award predictions from yours truly! As for the the Western Conference. Rookie of the Year : James Wiseman,  Most Improved : D’angelo Russell, Comeback player of the year: Steph Curry, 6th man award: Lou Williams,  Defensive POY: Draymond Green and last but certainly not least, MVP: Luka Doncic/Damian Lilliard.... I’m giving you guys two picks on that prediction due to the fact that I personally believe it will be a two man fight for said award! As for the eastern conference, Rookie of the Year : Lamelo Ball, come back player of the year: Gordon Hayward, 6th man award: Doug McDermott, Defensive player of the year: Mitchell Robinson (and yes I’m a Knicks fan!) MVP: Kevin Durant. As for my Finals picks!!!! Eastern Conference Boston v Brooklyn, as for your Western Conference Finals Matchup!! Lakers v Clippers in the battle of LA!!!! And I personally would have Brooklyn v Lakers in my NBA Finals with the Brooklyn upsetting Lebron and the Lakers to win their 1st title in franchise history!! Thank you for tuning into this installment of Buckley knows best, and we will be back next week with a preview of the upcoming NHL season!! 

Islanders kick off 2nd Round with A Bang

 Hello there NY Islander faithful, I am coming to you live on the heater of a day from the Floral Park Pool. After a dominant game 1 performance which featured goal scoring from JonathanTeauves , Anders-Lee, Andy Green, as well as Pageau! That wasn’t the only On ice excitement, at the other end, you had Varlamov stonewalling the Philly offense as he out dualed the young Phenom Goalie Carter Hart by posting a 29 save shutout! It goes to to show you that experience in the postseason makes all the difference when it comes to what is in between the pipes! Philly is looking to avenge their game 1 lack luster performance and come out firing on all cylinders in game 2. Because it would be silly for the Isles to fall asleep at the wheel given all of the talent that sits on the Flyers roster from top to bottom. You can catch all the action Wednesday, August 26th at 3 pm et on NBCSN! Buckley up Islander fans! We want the Cup! Yes! Yes! Yes! 

Battle for 1st

 Hello there NY Yankee faithful, I am coming to you live from the Roosevelt field mall in Garden City, NY on this soggy day! As the Yankees are seeking to bounce back from a home loss last night to their division rival, Tampa Bay, who is on the Yankees tail at only 2.5 games back. Tonight’s matchup will feature a pitching matchup of Garrit Cole vs Tyler Glasnow, Cole who is 4 and 0 on the season looks to continue his early season dominance as well as keep his unbeaten streak alive. While his opponent Tyler Glasgow is finally healthy and coming into his own as he is now in year 4 of his Major League career and showing why all the fuss about him as a youngster. With the brightest of their stars on the shelf for the foreseeable future, (Judge, Stanton, LaMehieu) the Yankees young bats Need to help produce runs if the Yanks have any hopes of hanging onto 1st place in the American League East.  It’s a pennant race in August as we get closer to the postseason !! Buckley up! Yankee fans, for a wet and soggy night in the Bronx! Tune into the YES network at 6:30 pm et for batting practice followed by the 1st pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm et. 

Yanks Hit Some Turbulence After Hot Start

 

        Hello there New York Yankee fans, I am coming to you live from Floral Park, New York.  The baseball season is finally underway, but after a strong 7-1 start, the Bombers find themselves losers in 5 out of their last 8.  Hitting has not really been the issue, outside of a few slow starts, (Gary Sanchez) who has struck out 22 times in 39 plate appearances, and (Gleyber Torres) who right now at times looks a bit lost out there.  Starting pitching? The Yankees are asking themselves the same question right about now.  Outside of Gerrit Cole, the Bombers starting rotation has been getting pounded as of late.  With a plethora of young studs in the minors, the Yankees may be inclined to unload one of the youngsters for a premiere arm to help take some of the pressure off of Cole.  Cole, who the Yankees signed to a 9 year deal worth 324 million dollars in the offseason has looked every bit of the part.  However, in a 7 game postseason series, you cannot throw Cole out there every game, there has to be some back-end relief for the Yanks as far as the starting rotation goes.  The Yanks look to take 2 from Atlanta and get back to their winning ways in the Bronx, but Atlanta's young core might have a thing or two to say about that.  Tune in live on YES at 6:30 pm for batting practice and your Toyota Pre-Game, followed by the 1st pitch at 7:05 pm. 

                                                                PLAY BALL!!!!!!!!!!! Go Yankees!!!!!!!!

                                                                

Islanders Dominate Panthers in Qualifiers

     Good afternoon, Blue and Orange faithful.  We are coming to you live from Floral Park, New York.  Today the New York Islanders defeated the Florida Panthers in the 2020 Stanley Cup qualifying round, 3 games to 1, to advance to the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.  

    The Islanders took games 1 and 2 in relatively easy fashion, but after a let down in game 3, the Isles got the jump on Florida today in game 4 and never looked back.  Anthony Bouvillier continues to possess a  hot stick by posting 2 goals while the Islander's power play was on its toes once again, scoring on 33% of its chances as Brock Nelson nets the goal.  Amongst the many contributors today, the Islanders received goals from Jean-Gabriel Pageau (empty net) as well as Brock Nelson (PPG), while Matt Barzal added a goal on a breakaway opportunity. 

    After giving up 3 goals in game 3, Varlamov had a terrific bounce-back effort stopping 23 of 24 shots that came his way.  Varlamov was every bit of what New York needed in order to advance this afternoon at Scotia Bank Arena, in Toronto, Canada.

    Now that the Islanders are through the qualifying round, they face 4 potential Round 1 matchups, pending the completion of the round-robin portion of the 2020 qualifiers.  Those potential matchups would consist of the possibility to face 1 of 4 teams.  Those teams would include the Boston Bruins (Atlantic Division), Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic Division), Washington Capitals (Metropolitan Division), and the Philadelphia Flyers (Metropolitan Division).  So as we watch the Round Robin portion of the 2020 qualifiers unfold, the Islanders opponent will be revealed.  

    So Buckley Up! It's on to the 1st round we go Islander fanatics!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                            

                                                                

         

                                                                    

                                                           

NHL Set To Resume In Bubble Play Saturday

       Hello there NHL fans, your favorite sports blogger is back from a long hiatus.  Bringing you the latest news from within the NHL postseason bubble.  When the league was forced to pause, back on March 11th, the Islanders and Rangers were both on the outside looking in.  But with the return to play format, which consists of  24 teams, (12 from each conference,) our New York squads find themselves in a position to play in a qualifying round that consists of a best of 5 series which will take place out of Scotia Bank Arena, located in Toronto, Canada. The New York Islanders are currently the #7 seed and are slated to play the #10 seeded Florida Panthers, who the Islanders swept during the regular season.  But the playoffs are a whole different animal, where regular-season numbers go out the window.  At 4pm eastern time this Saturday the Islanders will look to continue that regular-season dominance over their counter-part in the Panthers.  

    As for the #11 seeded Blueshirts, they will be facing off against the #6 seeded Carolina Hurricanes at 12 pm eastern on Saturday as well.  During the regular season, the New York Rangers also completed a 4 game sweep of their qualifying round opponent in the Carolina Hurricanes.  While the matchup does favor the Blueshirts, as avid sports fans would know, nothing comes easy in the post-season.

    Attention all New York hockey fans, we are in for an exciting edge of your seat qualifying round as it pertains to both teams.  So Buckley up! For a big Saturday in the NHL New Yorkers!!!

                                                    GO NEW YORK, GO NEW YORK, GO!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    GO NEW YORK, GO NEW YORK, GO!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    GO NEW YORK, GO NEW YORK, GO!!!!!!!!!!!

Islanders Face Big Test in Blues

Hello there NY Islander faithful, I am coming to you live from St
 Louis, Missouri. Here is where the Isles will try and bounce back after a tough loss to their cross town rivals in the Rangers earlier this week. Coming into tonight’s action the NY Islanders have a record of 34-20-7. The Isles hope to keep their new edition Paegio rolling after netting 1 goal in his Islander debut which ultimately resulted in that OT loss to the Rangers. Meanwhile the Blues are coming off a wild win as they sit comfortably at 37-17-4 and are poised to defend their title in this years postseason. Keep an eye out for David Purran, he’s been one of the hottest players for the Blues over the last month. Moving to the crease, we have Jordan Binnington in between the pipes for St. Louis as his opposition is Thomas Greiss, who will be seeing his first action in a few weeks due to the hot streak that Varlamov has been on. You can catch the action this evening at 8 pm et on MSG +! Let’s bring home 2 points Islander faithful!! Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!!

New York Islanders Continue Their Three Game Homestand

Hey there New York Islanders fans! Your favorite New Islanders reporter is back…sorry for the long wait, but I’ve had a lot of schoolwork—LOL. But you know how it is…schoolwork comes first; blogging comes second. So let me catch you guys up on where the New York Islanders are as we’re heading down the homestretch into a likely playoff position. Coming into tonight’s action against the San Jose Sharks, the Islanders have a record of 34 wins, 20 losses, and 6 overtime losses, while the San Jose Sharks have a record of 26 wins, 31 losses and 4 overtime losses. 

The Islanders are coming off a 4-1 win against the Red Wings on Friday the 21^st.  Jordan Eberle had a hat trick and Leo Komarov scored a goal for the Islanders. The Sharks are coming off a 3-2 loss against the New York Rangers. Joe Thornton scored two goals for the Sharks. Some players to look out for in tonight’s game include Jordan Eberle, Patrick Marleau, Matt Barzal, and Joe Thornton. Hopefully the Islanders can pick up right where they left off on Friday night by putting a couple pucks past Martin Jones tonight and picking up 2 more points in their push to the playoffs. 

But let’s not look too far ahead. We have the New York Rangers big rivalry game coming to town on Tuesday, but let’s get this game in the bag before we talk about Tuesday. One step at a time! That’s all for now. You can catch all of tonight’s action at 5pm with Brendan Burke, Butch Goring, and Shannon Hogan on MSG+. 

Islanders V Rangers Rd. 2

Hello there NY Islander fans, I am coming to you live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The Islanders are looking to build off of their impressive win Tuesday vs Detroit which had them on the right side of a 6-2 victory. The Isles currently sit at 3rd place in the conference at 60 points, while the Rangers sit at 48 points and  are fighting for a wild card spot as they trail Chicago, Columbus, and Philadelphia who are all fighting for 2 wild card spots. Earlier, during Monday’s matchup the Rangers owned the Islanders in every aspect of the game which the Islanders would desperately like to avenge this evening.  Adam Fox of the Rangers, Brock Nelson of the Isles, Tony Deangelo as well as Anders Lee are all players to watch throughout the impending matchup which will be brought to you on the MSG Network (204) (205)

battle of new york

hello there islanders fans i am coming to you live from MSG where tonight the Islanders meet the Rangers for the first time this season . coming into tonight's action the islanders have a record of 27-12-4  they're in third place in the division with 58 points while the Rangers have a record of 21-19-4 witch putting them into seven place in the division . here are some players to keep your eyes on during this game tonight they're Matt barzal against Artemi p hopefully the islanders can win tonight and keep the good time going