Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 1-16-18

Sports
LeBron James, Stephen Curry Lead Conferences In All-Star Fan Voting
Four High-Priced
Bucs Veterans Could
Be Cap Casualties
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James leads NBA All-Star balloting with less than a week remaining in the fan vote.
James leapfrogged Mil- waukee's Giannis Antetok- ounmpo and now leads him by more than 140,000 votes in the second vote tabulation, released by the NBA on Thursday.
Golden State's Stephen Curry leads the voting in the Western Conference, pulling ahead of teammate Kevin Durant by more than 40,000 votes.
The conference leaders are significant this season. Under a new All-Star Game format, the player who re- ceives the most votes in each conference will serve as a captain, choosing his team from the pool of players voted in as starters and reserves.
In the Eastern Confer- ence, James (1,622,838), Giannis Antetokounmpo
Deshaun Watson's ACL Recovery Is Ahead Of Schedule
DESHAUN WATSON
Deshaun Watson’s sea- son was cut short by a torn ACL in his right knee in early November, but the Houston Texans quarterback is ahead of schedule, according to coach Bill O’Brien, and could be back on the field dur- ing the team's organized team activities this spring.
Houston has high hopes for Watson after he tore up the NFL during his seven games as a rookie, completing 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,699 yards with 19 touch- downs and eight interceptions.
The Texans and Watson don’t know how his game will be affected by the torn ACL, especially because perhaps his most impressive attribute is his mobility and ability to ex- tend plays. Watson already went through one ACL injury while he was at Clemson, tear- ing the ACL in his left knee.
It might be tough for Doug Martin, (left) to hang on to a job with the Bucs for another season. L to r: Martin, Chris Baker, Robert Ayers and J. R. Sweezy.
LeBron James and Stephen Curry lead their respective conferences in All-Star voting with less than a week left in fan balloting.
These four Tampa Bay Buccaneers players aren't set to become free agents, but their high price tags could cause them to be released this offseason.
RB Doug Martin is due $6.75 million next season but doesn’t warrant that type of pay. He averaged 2.93 rush- ing yards per attempt in the last two seasons. Plus he was a healthy scratch for the Mon- day Night Football game for violating an undisclosed team rule. The team is off the hook for any guaranteed money be- cause of his four-game sus- pension for violating the league’s policy on PEDs, so he can be cut without penalty.
DT Chris Baker is un- likely to return at $4.875 mil- lion. His first year in Tampa was a flop. In 14 starts, he contributed half of a sack. Things reached a boiling point in Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers, when Baker was confronted by several teammates in the locker room who weren’t happy with his attitude leav- ing the field after he jumped offside, setting up Cam
Newton’s game-winning touchdown in a 22-19 loss.
DE Robert Ayers has missed eight games in two seasons to injury. He man- aged 6.5 sacks in 2016, but had just two in 2017. He’ll be 33 when next season starts and the Bucs need to inject more youth into their defen- sive line, so it’s difficult to see them paying him $5 million in 2018, the final year of his deal.
OG J.R. Sweezy missed the entire 2016 season with a back injury, one that seri- ously jeopardized his career. He managed to start 14 games in 2017 before landing on injured reserve with a lower leg injury. But the Bucs’ ground game struggled. Sweezy didn’t have his best year, either. Bucs running backs averaged 4.0 yards per rush and had two explosives (rushing plays of 12 or more yards) running off the right guard, Sweezy’s spot. To- ward the left guard, however, they averaged 4.72 yards per rush and had five explosives. Sweezy is due to make $5.25 million in 2018.
(1,480,954) and Philadel- phia's Joel Embiid are cur- rently the top three frontcourt players in the fan vote. New York's Kristaps Porzingis (640,928) is fourth. Kyrie Irving (1,370,643) and Toronto's DeMar DeRozan (537,168) are the top two guards. Philadelphia's Ben Sim- mons (397,942) is third.
In the Western Confer- ence, Durant (1,326,059), New Orleans' Anthony Davis (664,687) and Golden State's Draymond Green
(616,730) are the top three frontcourt players. New Or- leans' DeMarcus Cousins (587,835) is fourth.
Curry (1,369,658) and Houston's James Harden (978,540) are the top two guards. Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (791,332) is third.
The starters and captains will be revealed Jan. 18, and the reserves will be an- nounced Jan. 23. Full team rosters will be announced Jan. 25. The All-Star Game will be Feb. 18 in Los Angeles.
Le'Veon Bell Says He'd Consider Sitting Out Or Retiring If Tagged Again
Cleveland Cavaliers su- perstar LeBron James told reporters he didn't see the end of his career in sight, even amidst his 15th season, though he acknowledged that his children would factor into any decisions about his fu- ture.
"The only thing is with my kids getting older, that's the only thing that kind of stops me from going as long as I'd like to," he said Thursday, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. "I've got a 13-year-old son now (LeBron, Jr.). He's in the seventh grade. He's a damn good basketball player, too. On this road trip, I've al- ready missed four of his games. That's the thing that kind of sucks.
"I've got a 10-year-old boy (Bryce), 3-year-old girl (Zhuri). Daddy side kicks in sometimes. That will be a de- ciding factor in how long I want to play."
James, 33, has shown no signs of slowing down any-
LEBRON JAMES
time soon, averaging 27.2 points, 9.0 assists, 8.2 re- bounds, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest. He's one of the front-runners for the MVP award this season, and his excellent play is a major reason why the Cavaliers are 26-14 despite missing Isaiah Thomas for most of the year.
"Right now, I feel great. I don't feel 33," he noted. "I don't feel like I've been to [seven] straight finals in a row. I don't feel like I came in at 18 and I've played 79-80 percent of games. Just keep it going."
At age 25 and fresh off a first-team All-Pro season, Le'Veon Bell is putting his own football future in ques- tion.
The Pittsburgh Steelers running back told ESPN that he's prepared to sit out a sea- son, or even retire, if fran- chise tagged for the second consecutive year.
"I hope it doesn't come to that, but I would definitely consider it," he said before Thursday's practice.
Bell played on a $12.1 million franchise tag in 2017,
LE’VEON BELL
and that number is projected to increase to around $14.5 million for next season. Teams can tag a player be- tween Feb. 20 and March 6.
LeBron James: Kids Will
Be A 'Deciding Factor'
In Length Of Career
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