By: Ryan Stein
The Eastern Conference has had its up and downs when it comes to talent. With recent moves by teams in the East, the conference is looking pretty strong, featuring a good chunk of the top players in the league. Among the giants of the conference, one surprising name has emerged from the ranks as a top 5 player in the East: Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine.
Welcome back to Far-Fetched Friday, where every Friday we give you a bold prediction that we believe will come to fruition. This Friday, we look at a player who is proving to be far more than a dunker.
There are a few players that have clear claims to being higher on the totem pole than LaVine, such as Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, after those three players, there is nobody in the East that is definitively better than the Bulls guard this season. When it comes to name recognition, LaVine isn't on the same level as guys like Trae Young, Jimmy Butler, and James Harden.
That being said, Zach LaVine is averaging nearly 29 PPG on historically great efficiency from the field. It's not every day you see a shooting guard averaging 52% from the field with high shot volume. While he may not exactly be a stopper on defense, his all-around elite offensive game and efficiency, along with dragging a bad Bulls team to a playoff spot as of right now, vaults him above the other guys who have led their teams to underwhelming starts to the season. LaVine is a borderline superstar, and it's time people start to recognize this fact.
It is time to throw away the American inferiority complex with its place in the sport, where many blindly claim that technique should come above all in choosing and developing the best prospects and that the U.S. is not an international power because it cares too much about athleticism.
Following last year's list of nine underground teams to watch, I bring the list back with eight new teams you need to follow. From entertaining amateur players to professional coaches revolutionizing the sport from behind the scenes, here are eight underground soccer teams to watch this season.
The Premier League is here and with that comes an uncountable number of variables and uncertainty from which teams will stay up to which teams will secure a Champions League spot. Here is a prediction of the premier league table from 20th to 1st.
