If it were up to Zion Williamson, he …

If it were up to Zion Williamson, he already would have made his debut for the New Orleans Pelicans. That’s what the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft told ESPN’s Jorge Sedano before the Pelicans’ 112-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Williamson told Sedano that he “trusts the organization” in its decision-making and said that his rehab process has been about more than just the recovery from surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee.

49ers on verge of breakthrough in NFL Wire power rankings

The 49ers have a chance to catapult in the NFL Wire power rankings in the final week of the season.

The 49ers’ climb through the NFL Wire power rankings has been a strong indicator of their season. From the middle of the pack to a shot up to No. 1, and now sitting at No. 4 heading into Week 17, the 49ers have proven themselves worthy of the title of Super Bowl contender.

That’s ostensibly what being a top-four team is in power rankings, especially when Nos. 1 and 3 are AFC teams, and the No. 2 team is an NFC team. Seattle, the 49ers’ Week 17 opponent,  fell to No. 6 after a dreary home loss to the Cardinals.

The 49ers were sitting at No. 5, and a Week 15 home loss to the Falcons looked like it might doom their chances to finish any higher than No. 5 given how well the teams ahead of them were playing.

Now San Francisco gets on last chance to prove themselves in the regular season. Not that they’ve failed to prove they can hang with any team in the league, but snagging a road win against a division rival to close the season and sew up the NFC West would be a strong validation of everything the 49ers have put on tape to this point.

A win in the final week would put the 49ers into the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and would make it difficult to justify having them behind anyone but the Ravens in the final power rankings.

Ultimately power rankings are a fun exercise to get a snapshot of the NFL hierarchy on a week-by-week basis. Any team that makes the playoffs has a shot at a championship regardless of how the rankings shake out.

However, for the 49ers to climb higher than fourth to end the season, it would mean knocking off the Seahawks in Seattle for the first time since 2011.

The rushing attacks of Wisconsin and Oregon in the Rose Bowl

Wisconsin-Oregon: the ground games

The Oregon Ducks and Wisconsin Badgers aren’t in the 2020 Rose Bowl Game by accident. These are potent teams with a powerful running game anchoring their potent offenses. When these two teams collide, they’ll bring with them a vaunted running attack and a memory of their last meeting in 2012, which was a Rose Bowl win by the Ducks in a dramatic fourth quarter. The Ducks scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth to complete the victory. 

The history between the two teams in the Rose Bowl will surely provide them ample motivation to be prepared for this game, even if they both felt there were higher ambitions to pursue and fulfill prior to the 2019 season. Let’s look at the rushing attacks for both the Ducks and the Badgers.

On the Oregon side, the Ducks are loaded with talent carrying the football. Lead by C.J. Verdell, Oregon has 2,382 rushing yards on the season. Travis Dye, Darrian Felix and Cyrus Habibi-Likio round out the cast of talent the Ducks have at their disposal. It’s an embarrassment of riches for the Ducks, and it doesn’t even include the very mobile quarterback the Ducks have at their disposal: Justin Herbert. The Badgers certainly face a daunting task of preventing the Ducks from running the ball all over the Wisconsin defense. 

One the Wisconsin side, the Badgers have almost 2,000 rushing yards from one man alone, Jonathan Taylor. The 5-foot-11 junior tailback is second in the nation with 1,909 yards. The one man in front of him, Chubba Hubbard, has 1,936 yards. The Badgers have hogs up front paving the way for Taylor, who has only three games on the season in which he did not rush for at least 100 yards — Minnesota, Michigan State and Ohio State. Taylor is a workhorse the Badgers can ride while their increasingly efficient quarterback, Jack Coan, provides a steady hand for the rest of the offense. Nakia Watson and Garrett Groshek give the Badgers’ running back room a number of valuable outlets as receivers. 

Groshek has 187 rushing yards on the season but he also has 270 receiving yards on just 26 receptions. This gives him an average close to 10.4 yards per reception. He also has a long of 70 yards receiving and 23 yards rushing. After the scripted plays go out the window, guys such as Groshek give head coach Paul Chryst a unique and dynamic playmaker he can use to keep the Badger offense going in the right direction either through play design or improvisation. Finding a way to incorporate him into the offense without forcing the ball to him is a way the Badgers can keep Oregon’s defense off balance and gain leverage in Pasadena. 

The Ducks will by relying heavily on touchdown machine Cyrus Habibi-Likio and C.J. Verdell, who have a combined 18 touchdowns on the season so far (10 for Habibi-Likio, eight for Verdell). Verdell is the team leader in rushing yards with 1,171. That’s enough for 6.5 yards per carry, with a long of 89. He also has another 125 yards as a receiver and an 8.9 yards-per-reception average. Habibi-Likio may have only 337 rushing yards and 32 receiving yards, but his 10 touchdowns on the year make him the team’s leader. It’s the equivalent of a Jerome Bettis special in the city of Pittsburgh. The Ducks have plenty of diversity on the offensive side of the ball, so they may not feel as pressured as the Badgers to rely on one player the way Wisconsin does with Taylor.

All in all, the Ducks and Badgers present a very interesting case for a compelling bowl watch. The Rose Bowl has been hit or miss with its level of competition over the best few years, but it has mostly consisted of hits. Since 2000, the game has been lopsided in only seven matches. Every Wisconsin Rose Bowl played this century has been close. The players on both sides of this game on the first day of 2020 indicate that the latest Granddaddy has the potential to live up to the hype.

LaVar Ball criticizes Alvin Gentry for not starting Lonzo Ball: ‘You can’t spot play him’

After staying quiet for months on end, LaVar Ball finally spoke up about the Pelicans’ slow start and Alvin Gentry not starting Lonzo Ball.

While the New Orleans Pelicans have been unexpectedly bad this season, the biggest surprise has been the lack of comments from LaVar Ball. Lonzo’s removal from and reinsertion into the starting lineup has been emblematic of the Pelicans’ struggles as a whole on the year.

But LaVar wasn’t going to stay quiet forever and Fox Sports Australia gave him an ample platform to speak his mind. In a long interview released on Wednesday, LaVar had plenty to say about Lonzo’s situation in New Orleans.

“If you really believe in Lonzo, you’ve gotta let him go. You can’t spot play him. You give him 40 minutes, you’re gonna win games; a lot of games, on the fact that I’ve trained my boys to play the whole game. Now, you’ve got the best player with his hand on the game the whole time, so he’s not gonna let it get away.

“But if you start him, and then before the second half, take him out for six minutes, start him again then take him out, that’s how you’re gonna get injured… At the end of a game, it shows that you don’t have any faith in it, when you don’t let him finish the game. What I’m saying is, play him 40 minutes and you believe in him, you’re gonna do your thing.”

More than head coach Alvin Gentry moving him in and out of the starting lineup, LaVar made it known that the best way to utilize Lonzo is in the starting lineup.

“You’re not gonna get the best out of my son if he’s not starting the game. He’s been starting all his life, and now you’re trying to make him a role player. He’s not a role player. None of my boys are role players. They’re superstars, and that’s how you’ve gotta treat them.

“I don’t care how good you are. If that coach don’t believe in you like he should, you’re gonna be okay, and that’s where Lonzo’s at. He hasn’t run into a coach yet that says, you know what, here’s the keys. Every time he plays for me, successful. Chino Hills, the coach believed in him, very successful. UCLA, Steve (Alford) said go ahead… let him do what he do. Very successful. When you get to the league and they don’t believe in you like that…”

While Ball hasn’t been particularly good in either role this season, the numbers do back up LaVar’s argument that Lonzo is at his best as a starter.

In 15 games in the starting lineup, Ball has a net rating of -6.0 this season. Compared to his nine games off the bench with a net rating of  -13.5, it’s a fairly sizeable difference.

Ball does shoot marginally better from range as a starter, 34.0% compared to 31.8% off the bench. While it’s only marginal improvements across the board statistically for Ball as a starter, those all add up to a better version of the third-year guard.

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Tennessee, not just Wisconsin, is learning how to play a new way

More on Tennessee-Wisconsin this Saturday

The Tennessee Volunteers and Wisconsin Badgers have both endured rough losses this season, often marked by a sputtering offense but sometimes defined by an unfocused defense. These teams both have incomplete resumes and stand on shaky ground relative to the NCAA Tournament. They have a lot in common based on what they have endured over the past several weeks.

The past is not the only thing these teams share. Their current situations relative to their respective rosters are also strikingly similar.

Wisconsin fans know that the Badgers are trying to quickly integrate Micah Potter into their regular rotation. Potter was allowed to play for the Milwaukee game on Dec. 21, which gave the Badgers one game in which to adjust before this tussle with Tennessee. The Badgers are learning how to play a new way — not in terms of a new “style,” but certainly in terms of how they react and respond to each other in a sport which requires crisp and immediate (and often unspoken) understanding of what teammates will do. This will be Potter’s first road game of the season with the Badgers. It is a major test for Wisconsin with one of its key pieces finally in the lineup.

Tennessee is also facing a new situation, but not because an important player has joined the lineup. For the Vols, it is just the opposite.

Senior point guard Lamonte Turner (whose phantom foul of Purdue’s Carsen Edwards led to the Vols’ overtime loss to the Boilermakers in last March’s Sweet 16) was injured and knocked out for the entire season earlier in December. Tennessee has to rework its lineup without a core performer while Wisconsin welcomes Potter to the mix. Tennessee will also spend Saturday’s game figuring out how to cope with an adjusted reality. It makes this game that much more of a coin flip, so much harder to figure out from any or all sides of the competition.

If you think you know how Wisconsin — with Micah Potter — will play against Tennessee — without Lamonte Turner — this coming Saturday, you’re a much more confident person than I am.

Wisconsin and Tennessee can both relate to each other

More on the Tennessee Volunteers before they play the Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers visit the Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday. On so many levels, these teams will look at the other side and see their own journey reflected in the first several weeks of the season. Wisconsin and Tennessee can strongly identify with their respective struggles this season, because they are very similar.

Wisconsin fans know what the Badger basketball team has endured over the past month and a half. Let’s look at what Tennessee has gone through.

Whereas the Badgers had to replace Ethan Happ this season, the Volunteers had to replace Grant Williams plus Admiral Schofield. The adjustment has been hard, and a toll has been taken on the Vols. Tennessee — like Wisconsin — has struggled to score for portions of this season. The Vols scored 57 in a ragged loss to Florida State. They scored 58 in a choppy win over Chattanooga. They scored just 47 at home in a bitter defeat at the hands of Memphis. The realigned Tennessee offense, trying to function without two meal-ticket scorers who carried the team last season, has stumbled in the dark and groped for solutions it hasn’t yet found.

Yet, also like Wisconsin, Tennessee’s struggles haven’t been completely confined to the offensive end of the floor. The defense has been a problem at times, especially in a 78-66 loss to Cincinnati. Tennessee has beaten Washington and VCU, so the Vols aren’t bereft of valuable wins which look good on a nitty-gritty report. However, Tennessee has taken far too many hits and not won enough of the high-value games on its schedule to feel comfortable about its NCAA Tournament position… much like Wisconsin. The Badgers need this game more than the Vols do… but the Vols do need it a lot.

Tennessee has lost at home, unlike Wisconsin. The Vols aren’t really a Jekyll-and-Hyde team based on where they play their games. That is one noticeable difference with the Badgers in a head-to-head comparison. Yet, there are a lot of ways in which Tennessee basketball can relate to Wisconsin hoops… and vice-versa. These teams have been pushed around and have pinballed through their season with no reassuring sense that they have found a solid and reliable identity.

That is only one reason this Saturday’s game is so interesting… and important… and utterly mysterious… for both teams, not just one.

49ers’ injury situation improving as showdown for NFC West looms

The 49ers’ injury situation isn’t perfect, but it’s getting better at the right time.

The 49ers didn’t hold a practice Wednesday, but their estimated participation report revealed an improving injury situation heading into a Wee 17 showdown with the Seahawks in Seattle.

Perhaps the most notable names on the practice report were both on the defensive side of the ball. Safety Jaquiski Tartt was listed as a limited participant. Defensive lineman Jullian Taylor was a full participant.

Tartt has been dealing with broken ribs since Week 13 and hadn’t practiced in any of the three weeks following the injury he sustained against the Ravens. There was no official practice report Tuesday since the team isn’t required to issue one until Wednesday, but Tartt was spotted in a non-contact jersey by reporters during the open portion of Tuesday’s session.

Taylor was a limited participant last week while he dealt with an elbow injury that’s kept him out since the Baltimore game. His full participation estimation is a good sign that he’ll be ready to play against Seattle.

An extra player on the defensive line to take some snaps and give the starting group a few plays off could be key against a porous Seahawks offensive line.

While the 49ers’ injury problem isn’t perfect, especially with several key contributors and starters on Injured Reserve, it’s improving just in time for the most important game of the year. Winning Sunday would mean an extra week of rest to improve that injury situation even further.

Here’s the full estimated participation report from Wednesday:

Did not participate

DE Dee Ford (hamstring)

Limited participation

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee)
RG Mike Person (neck)
WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder)
SS Jaquiski Tartt (ribs)

Full participation

DB Tarvarius Moore (concussion)
DL Jullian Taylor (elbow)

Washington Wizards at Detroit Pistons odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Thursday’s Washington Wizards at Detroit Pistons sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Washington Wizards (9-20) and Detroit Pistons (11-20) tip it off at Little Caesars Arena at 7 p.m. ET Thursday. We analyze the Wizards-Pistons odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.

Wizards at Pistons: Key injuries

Wizards

  • SF Davis Bertans (quadriceps) out
  • C Thomas Bryant (foot) out
  • PF Rui Hachimura (groin) out
  • SG Jordan McRae (finger) questionable
  • SG C.J. Miles (wrist) out
  • PG Isaiah Thomas suspension
  • C Moritz Wagner (ankle) out
  • PG John Wall (Achilles) out

Pistons

  • PG Jordan Bone (knee) doubtful
  • PF Bruce Brown (calf) questionable
  • PF Blake Griffin (flu) probable
  • SG Reggie Jackson (back) out
  • SF Luke Kennard (knee) out
  • SF Khyri Thomas (foot) out
  • C Christian Wood (knee) probable

Wizards at Pistons: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated 1 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Wizards 128, Pistons 119

Moneyline (ML)

The WIZARDS (+220) just beat the Pistons (-278) by a 133-119 score Dec. 19 at LCA, and they’re 2-0 SU/ATS vs. Detroit this season. What you have to like about Washington is its bombs away perimeter shooting. It ranks third from behind the 3-point line, while the Pistons are a dismal 23rd in 3-pointer defense.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Wizards to win outright returns a profit of $22.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The WIZARDS (+5.5, -106) are a nice play against the spread. As mentioned, they’re 2-0 ATS against the Pistons (-5.5, -115), who enter the game on a five-game losing skid while also going 0-5 ATS. They have averaged just 105.4 PPG in the past five while allowing 120.6 PPG.

Over/Under (O/U)

The OVER 231.5 (-106) is where it’s at. The Pistons are terrible defensively, especially lately, while the Wizards have been dropping in plenty of triples. Washington was 18-of-34 (53.0 percent) from behind the 3-point line in the Dec. 16 meeting. The offenses might not be as prolific in this one, but an Over bet is still the way to go.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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