Lohensports

 Bengals games are exhausting, reminds me a lot of the Ben Roethlisberger, LeVeon Bell, Antonio Brown Steelers teams where they could light it up and score a million points but give it all back on defense. I have grown accustomed to grind it out rock fights as a Steelers fan over the last few years so to see a game end 44-38 was jarring. That being said, huge W in the division on a day where the Ravens also lost AND my Raptors won, I am flying high to say the least. Lots to react to Offensive Explosion Man the Bengals defense really stinks. I want to come in here and give credit to the Steelers offense but I really think a lot of the damage was due to just complete ineptitude on the Bengals side. Through the entire game, Wilson was able to find receivers up the middle of the field. No adjustments necessary, if the Steelers ran a route to the middle of the field, that guy was open and probably open for a big gain. You name the RB and he was effective as well, Najee Harris, Cordarrel...

 Wow the Pelicans are terrible with all these injuries.  That game was not worth watching unless you're a die hard Raptors fan itching to see some wins, which is me. The Pelicans got some hope back today with the return of Dejounte Murray, little did they know he would also play terribly. Before I get into it I just need to point out, you don't need to shoot every single time Dejounte you're allowed to pass! As a Dejounte Murray holder on my fantasy team, that one was straight up concerning. That being said, despite playing a banged up Pelicans team the Raptors dominated and the performance was headlined by multiple rookies who I thought deserve some love today.  Ja'Kobe Walter In a surprise move this early in the season, Ja'Kobe Walter got the start last night with Gradey Dick still sidelined with a calf contusion. Walter was nothing short of awesome in this one showing the fanbase why the front office was so high on him. Walter finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds...

 With the Raptors taking on the Pelicans tonight, hopefully they come out and look good so I can have a nice jubilation post tomorrow. Besides that, I have no interest in talking about the Jaden Ivey buzzer beater, I was sad. Instead, today lets look at a few stats that jumped off the page to me to start the NBA season.  56% If you've watched any Celtics game at all this year you probably came out of it very annoyed. The Celtics this season are launching 56% of their field goal attempts from 3 point range, by far the highest percentage of shots taken from deep in the league. In fact, no other team attempts even half of their shots from 3. Every Celtics game I've seen has been just an endless effort of jacking up 3s. With Porzingis back in the lineup, they play a rotation with zero bad shooters and they take full advantage. At over 50 threes attempted per game, the Celtics are on pace to lead NBA history in most 3s launched. Even the peak math-ball Rockets only ever got up 45 p...

 Every time I think I am gonna start Raptors reaction posts the Raptors lose in an annoying or embarrassing way, last night being no different. Luckily I have my usual cadence to fall back on and I get to talk about some of the awesome football that took place this week! Here's some thoughts I have:  Crazy Commanders Cowboys Sequence  I turned on Redzone at about 3:30 on Sunday only to be met with some absolute lunacy at the end of the 1pm games. The first of which being the Commanders vs Cowboys, a must win game if you wanted to right the ship as a Commanders fan. After getting down 20-9 in the 4th quarter, the Commanders stormed back with a TD and 2 point conversion to make it a manageable 3 point game with only 3 min to go. On the ensuing kickoff, Cowboys return man KaVontae Turpin muffed the ball at the 1 yard line, recovered it, ran into a crowd, did a spin move with nobody within 3 feet of him, somehow managed to break free to run 99 yards to the house for a TD to g...

 What a fun weekend of sports as always. Some great football games on Sunday that I will be getting to without a doubt tomorrow (hoping I can make fun of Baltimore to ease my pain from the Steelers losing Thursday.) To hold us over, today I thought I'd talk about the Raptors and how they've looked with Scottie back in the lineup. Scottie came back for Thursday's game against the Timberwolves and has helped in all the ways you'd expect the team's star player to help. Going 1-1 in the 2 games since his return lets get into how the team looks:  How Scottie Helps RJ RJ Barrett getting reps as a first option was actually surprisingly fun and interesting. RJ emerged as an above average pick and roll ball handler with the team getting 0.94 points per possession when RJ ran P&R. This is good for 16th in the league among players with at least 5 P&R possessions per game. RJ's playmaking has improved significantly and it pairs well with his ability to get downhill ...

 Lol. The big night for Lohensports absolutely did not disappoint last night! Scottie Barnes' return has now launched me back into believe mode for the Raptors, not that I ever left. The Steelers lost to the Browns, which is disappointing. When the Raps win and Steelers lose on the same day, you can guess that I'm having less fun talking about the Steelers. That being said, the game had so much that I should talk about so buckle up for the second Steelers reaction post of the week, this one with a much more salty tone.  Illegal Attempt To Catch The Ball I have never seen this penalty called in my nearly 20 years of watching football, but it saved the game for the Browns. With the ball on the Steelers 30 and 2 minutes to go, the Browns had a 3rd and 2 down 1 point. It should be noted, and I will get into that later too, that at this point the field was covered in snow as an actual blizzard swept through Cleveland. Kicking a field goal in these conditions wasn't going to be e...

 I actually wasn't going to write one today and was going to instead wait until tomorrow to react to the Steelers game. But I am currently extremely bored at work and figured this is a great way to pass the time. Here at Lohensports, we try our hardest to watch every Steelers and Raptors game all season long. Tonight is a rare night where the two teams will be playing at the same time, meaning I will be flipping back and fourth like a maniac. That being said, here's what you can expect from each game:  7:30pm - Timberwolves vs Raptors Could tonight be the return of Scottie Barnes? For the first time since he took a forearm to the face from Jokic, breaking his orbital bone, Scottie Barnes is listed as questionable on the injury report. Going up against a Minnesota team with a stacked front court, having Scottie back will be a gigantic boost to their chances of taking this one. Either way there's a lot of intrigue in this matchup. RJ Barrett is coming off back to back great g...