On The Watch “It’s All About The NBA Season 2024/2025”

NBA Season 2024/2025

With the Boston Celtics regaining control by winning last year’s 2024 NBA Championship, the Celtics’ once again have a target on their backs and getting back to the promised land will not be an easy task this go around. However, with their team still intact with the same squad that got them their NBA leading 18 Championships, this team will definitely be looking to defend their hard-earned crown while welcoming all challengers from the East/West trying to block them of achieving back-to-back Championship glory.

The Eastern Conference has gained some significant ground with the Larry O’Brien trophy residing on their side for the time being but aside from the Defending Champions Boston Celtics, the jury is still out on who out of the Eastern Teams will come out the pack and pose a legitimate threat to the Celtics.

The New York Knicks have done a major upgrade by adding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges to run aside a battle tested squad of OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson. Giving the formidable starting 5, they will have to put in some serious work as a full unit in order to eclipse their previous successful year.

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed us once again that them Boys can ball during the regular season but they keep falling short in the playoffs. The Cavs just need to keep that same energy throughout the season and the postseason long enough to prove the naysayers wrong. I have them on the come up this year.

The Milwaukee Bucks are still amongst the top dogs in the East any given year with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard leading the pack but them Boys as a squad need to get it together asap in order to stay in the championship race.

The Philadelphia 76ers picked up Paul George to play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey giving them their “Big Three” that is going to terrorize the league and give them a legitimate chance to compete for a Championship only if they can stay healthy enough for a long but competitive run.

The Indiana Pacers defied all odds last year by competing with the “Big Boys” night in and night out all the way to the Conference Finals but fell short due to injuries but with a healthy squad I expect these Boys to wreak havoc once again and outdo their previous year.

As for the remaining Eastern Conference teams the Miami Heat, the Atlanta Hawks, the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, the Brooklyn Nets and the Washington Wizards there is too much uncertainty surrounding these teams at this point but hopefully throughout the season they will be able to show their true identity to stake their claim.

The Western Conference continues to bear the mantle of the strongest conference, hands down, but newer faces keep moving up shaking up the conferences from top to bottom.

The Oklahoma City Thunder who “Started from the Bottom to the Top” all the way to the Western Conference Finals may have fallen short of an NBA Final but have all the right ingredients to find their way back to championship contention with the added experience earned and a Bonafide superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading this young squad making this team must see TV on any given night.

The Dallas Mavericks reached the NBA Finals last year and with added fire power in Klay Thompson running aside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and their solid supporting cast, if all healthy, anything less than reaching the NBA Finals and getting a crack at the Championship would be considered a failure. That being said be prepared for some serious balling to be going down with this squad.

The Denver Nuggets and their three-time MVP Nikola Jokic can never be counted out the mix. This team is solid from top to bottom. Although they may have lost a few good contributors to the team, they still have the experience needed to compete with the young and the old on any given night.

The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to make some serious noise this year with a healthy and slimmed down Zion Williamson leading the pack of solid veterans with a mix of youngins watching his back, them Boys might just be able to play spoiler if all goes well.

The Phoenix Suns have the shooters in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal to outscore any team on any given night but have yet to show their full potential due to injuries. Hopefully they can put it all together this year and give us a good run in the Western Conference.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took the league by storm last year by being competitive on both ends of the floor and secured the third seed in a very tough Western Division. With Anthony Edwards steadily improving year by year alongside a motivated squad, them Boys should be able to continue their rise to the top of the food chain at a steady pace.

As for the remainder of the Western Conference Teams the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, the Sacramento Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, the Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers, the Jury is still out. No Western team can truly be counted out even if dead last and judging by how the usual suspects have fallen only time will tell which team will find their way out of the pack and back into contention status.

Tune in on opening night Tuesday October 22, 2024, and be part of an intense but intriguing new NBA Season 2024/2025.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Bakhram Murtazaliev vs Tim Tszyu”

IBF Junior Middleweight Showdown

Last night’s PBC/Amazon Prime Video Main Event between IBF Junior Middleweight Champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 Kos) and challenger, former WBO Champion Tim Tszyu (24-2, 17 Kos) brought the house to its feet with a surprising outcome that unraveled at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.

The 154-Pound Division received another shake up last night by the way Murtazaliev completely outclassed and demolished the favorite and highly ranked Tszyu within 3 rounds. Quite a few people in the boxing community considered Murtazaliev the weakest link within the Champions but on this night, he put the 154-Pound Division on notice by stopping Tszyu dead on his feet.

To simply put it, Murtazaliev was too strong and accurate to content with. Murtazaliev put them paws on Tszyu early and dropped him with a deadly combination in the second round that to me Tszyu never really recovered from after the standing 8 count. Tszyu proceeded to stand his ground but eventually got clipped again for the second time and got back up to another standing 8 count. He looked shaky on them legs and eventually was dropped again for the third time nearing the end of the second round.

Entering the third round Tszyu looked lost, confused but still game to go toe-to-toe which led to a further inevitable devastating knockdown by a counter left hook that sat him down for the fourth time on the night to another standing 8 count that saw Tszyu rise up to his feet only to get pummelled by an onslaught of unanswered punches prompting Tszyu’s corner to throw in the towel to formally stop the fight.

This was a statement bout that literally shook the 154-Pound Division. The battle for the No. 1 Spot in the Division is looking more and more intriguing where Bakhram Murtazaliev who retained his IBF Junior Middleweight Title has officially entered his name into the conversation. Real Talk!

Congratulations Champ on a very convincing win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol”

Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion

Last night, we witnessed the crowning of the first Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion in the four-belt era when our own Russian/Canadian representative Undefeated IBF/WBC/WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 Kos) defeated highly skilled and Undefeated Super WBA/IBO Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 Kos) at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This bout to me definitely lived up to the “HYPE” surrounding it. It was a long time coming but this high-level chess match unfolded in a competitive way that showed us just how great and exceptional these two warriors are inside that squared circle.

Bivol came out the gate with a busy jab and clever foot movement keeping Beterbiev at bay but not discouraged as Beterbiev maintained his own pressure with a very calculated jab.

Surprisingly Bivol sat down on his punches and exchanged toe-to-toe with the heavy-handed Beterbiev which made this bout that much more interesting but Beterbiev made his presence known despite Bivol’s “game plan”. Although Bivol was dishing out combinations after combinations, Beterbiev’s single shots resonated with thunderous power every time they landed.

Both combatants had their moments as the rounds progressed but it was very clear and visible that the pressure that Beterbiev was coming in with had some serious effect on the light footed Bivol.

Heavy leather was being thrown from both combatants but the stress of the pace of the bout seemed more taxing on Bivol who had to keep constant movement to offset Beterbiev who was building up steam round by round.

The more Bivol stood his ground the more punishment Beterbiev administered. Both combatants showed no fear as the rounds progressed but fatigue looked to be weighing on Bivol as his high punch output diminished in the later rounds. That being said Bivol and Beterbiev did continue to bring the “HEAT” in the championship rounds.

After 12 rounds of competitive action the Judges at hand scored it 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114 in favor of Artur Beterbiev.

This was a highly contested bout from start to finish where both combatants brought their “A” game but when all was said and done there could only be one true winner and that is “King Artur” the first and new Undisputed IBO/IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Well done, Champ. You’ve collected all the hardware piece by piece from every champion out there to now being “The Last Man Standing” in the Light Heavyweight Division.

Congratulations, Artur on an achievement well deserved.

Blaze