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Case of the Mondays: Cavaliers, Golden Knights Slump to Anticlimactic Ends


by - 6/11/2018

Lebron James Cleveland Cavaliers

Is the LeBron James era over in Cleveland? That is the question of the summer. We know the 2017-18 NBA season is over, and it ended in unceremonious fashion for the Cavaliers. LeBron at least did well to make it back to the finals, and the same can be said of Vegas in the NHL. But the Golden Knights also bowed out in relatively listless fashion, falling in five games to Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals.

All odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook .

LeBron James . Adding insult to literal injury, the Cavaliers followed up their Game 1 NBA Finals heartbreak by losing three more in succession to the Warriors. The end result was a four-game sweep, with Golden State surviving a competitive Game 3 to go along with blowouts in Game 2 and Game 4. As for LeBron's injury, it was not known until after the series was already over. He apparently punched a whiteboard in the locker room and suffered considerable damage and swelling to his right hand following the series-opening loss in which J.R. Smith's late-game blunder in regulation led to a 124-114 overtime setback. "I let the emotions get the best of me and pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand," LeBron explained. He still shot 52.7 percent from the floor in the four contests and averaged 34.0 ppg but also committed a total of 20 turnovers. The Warriors are +125 favorites to win the 2018-19 NBA title.

Vegas Golden Knights . So much for all of those preseason bets on Vegas to win the Stanley Cup as an expansion team. They were certainly fun while they lasted, but they did not pay off in the end. The Golden Knights came up one round and three wins short of the ultimate goal, losing to Washington in five games. Ovechkin and company recovered from a 6-4 loss in Game 1 to reel off four consecutive victories-the most recent of which came via a 4-3 decision last Thursday to clinch the cup. Vegas scored only eight goals in those four setbacks while giving up 16. The Tampa Bay Lightning are +900 favorites to win the 2019 Stanley Cup.

Shohei Ohtani . The Angels' two-way sensation was placed on the disabled list this past Friday due to a Grade 2 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament. Rarely do you hear the words "ulnar collateral ligament" without having them accompanied by the dreaded phrases "Dr. James Andrews" and "Tommy John Surgery," although there is a chance Ohtani could avoid going under the knife since it is currently diagnosed as a Grade 2 issue instead of Grade 3. Whatever the case, the 23-year-old will miss at least three weeks and will be reevaluated later in June. "The schedule doesn't stop, and you can't take a timeout," manager Mike Scioscia commented. "We've got to absorb it and move on." The Angels (Heaney) are - 113 favorites at Seattle (LeBlanc) on Monday night.

Julian Edelman . According to NFL sources, Edelman is facing a four-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. The 32-year-old receiver, who missed all of 2017 with a torn ACL, is appealing the ruling. If it is upheld, Edelman will forfeit $470,588.20 in salary and will miss regular-season contests against Houston, Jacksonville, Detroit, and Miami. The Patriots are already thin at the position, having lost Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola this offseason. New England is a +650 favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Real Madrid . Despite winning a third consecutive Champions League title with Real Madrid, Ronaldo reportedly wants out. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner appears to be unhappy that other players like Lionel Messi and Neymar are making more money with FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively. Contract talks have been and continue to be stalled, so there is growing sentiment that Ronaldo is heading elsewhere. He is expected to remain in Europe, which means clubs in the English Premier League, France's Ligue 1, and Italy's Series A are in play. For now, though, the 33-year-old's focus will be on the World Cup. Portugal is +200 to win Group B and +2500 to win it all.

Novak Djokovic . The injury-plagued Serb was not thought to be a serious contender for the French Open title (who other than Rafael Nadal was?) prior to the tournament. But he looked good through four rounds and had an extremely favorable quarterfinal draw against little-known Italian Marco Cecchinato. But that's when it came to a surprising end for Djokovic, who got upset by Cecchinato 6-3, 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-6(10) last Tuesday. Dominic Thiem then cruised past Cecchinato in the semis before succumbing to Nadal 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday's championship match. It was Nadal's 11th title at Roland Garros and 17th major triumph overall-moving him five clear of Djokovic and to within three of Roger Federer. Federer is a +150 favorite to win Wimbledon.

David Clark . Adam Scott successfully went through sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open last Monday. Clark, his caddie, was around for that ride. He won't be around for the actual U.S. Open, because golfer and caddie parted ways last week. "There's never good timing for these kinds of things," Scott explained. "The player-caddie relationship is an interesting one. I've had a few over the years. It's an intense work environment. It's a love-and-hate thing. It becomes a revolving door out there. Sometimes I have to make selfish decisions." On the Aussie's bag this week will be Shinnecock Hills local Lenny Bummolo, whom Scott has used over the years for various practice rounds at the 2018 U.S. Open course. The 2013 Masters champion is +5500 to win at Shinnecock this week; Dustin Johnson is a +900 favorite.

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