The Weekly Assist: 10/5 to 10/11

As Ferris Bueller might say: The world of sports moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around at least once a week, you could miss it.

Here we'll review what you might have missed in the past week all in one place. Why spend hours scrolling through Twitter to catch up on the news you want? We've already done that for you, so remember to check back every Monday to get your dose of weekly sports review.

NBA

Jimmy Butler had another outstanding performance in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, which made the series 3-2 in favor of Los Angeles. Butler has undoubtedly established himself as an elite player in this league over the course of this postseason, but it appeared that he had emptied the tank to get the Heat to a Game 6. Butler finished with only 12 points on 5-10 shooting and only reached the foul line for 3 attempts.

It was Bam Adebayo who paced Miami in scoring with 25, but the perimeter scoring threats of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson only combined for 17 points. Goran Dragic made his return to the lineup, but that wasn't enough to spark the team to a comeback. The Lakers held a 28 point lead at halftime, and they never relented.

As the final buzzer rang on the 2019-2020 NBA season the LA Lakers had won the NBA Finals 106-93. LeBron James with his fourth NBA Championship and fourth NBA Finals MVP. For others such as Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis it was their first taste of winning a title.

James' legacy will undoubtedly be a hotly contested debate as he draws closer to Kobe Bryant's 5 rings and Michael Jordan's 6. In these Finals, James averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists against the Heat. Even while approaching 36 years of age, LeBron doesn't look to be losing a step yet. The return of players like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant will increase the number of competitive teams seeking a championship next season, but the Lakers look primed to defend around the core of James and Davis.

French Open Men's Singles Final Rafael Nadal v. Novak Djokovic

Nadal took the first set 6-0 and set the tone early at Court Philippe-Chatrier. Rafa held a 6-1 record against Djokovic in this competition going into their eighth French Open Final against one another.

Nadal's dominance on clay certainly extends beyond his rival, but on such a large stage the disparity is obvious. Nadal took the second set 6-2. The Joker took a 4-3 lead in the third set, which was quickly leveled by Nadal to make it 4-4.

They repeated the process to make it 5-5. In the end Djokovic had too many unforced errors down the stretch and Nadal finished in straight sets with his 20th Grand Slam Title tying Roger Federer for the all-time lead.

MLB

Both of the NL Division Series provided little drama. The LA Dodgers and Atlanta Braves advanced to the National League Championship Series by sweeping their opponents. The Braves didn't allow a run against the Marlins after the first game, while the Dodgers capped off their series with the Padres by putting up 12 runs.

The Dodgers and Braves will highlight some of the league's brightest stars, including Ronald Acuna, Freddie Freeman, and Marcell Ozuna for Atlanta. Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts, and Cody Bellinger for Los Angeles. Game 1 is Monday night, and we'll see Max Fried go for Atlanta and Walker Buehler for the Dodgers.

The AL Division Series featured the Tampa Bay Rays serving the New York Yankees an early exit after a competitive 5 games. The other matchup saw Houston make short work of the Oakland A's defeating them 3-1. The Astros have missed their ace Justin Verlander, so they will continue to rely on their bats as they did against Oakland. They will need production from George Springer and Carlos Correa to combat the pitching dominance of the Rays.

Blake Snell was available in Game 5 against the Yankees but wasn't needed. This set him up for a Game 1 ALCS start on Sunday, which saw him pitch 5 innings only surrendering 1 run on 6 hits. Snell outdueled Framber Valdez, who went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs, but that was enough to seal the victory for the Rays. Game 2 starters will be Lance McCullers Jr for Houston and Charlie Morton for Tampa Bay.

NFL

Covid-19 and Rescheduling

For the second week in a row, we saw positive Covid-19 diagnoses affecting the NFL schedule. The Patriots vs Broncos has been rescheduled to Week 6. The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs were scheduled to play Thursday Night (Oct 15) but are instead playing Monday Night (Oct 19).

The Jets and Dolphins game that was scheduled for Week 10 has been moved up to Week 6, and the Jets' original Week 6 game with the Chargers has been moved to Week 11.

The Jaguars and Chargers game initially scheduled Week 8 is now being played Week 7. The Chargers and Broncos game moves from Week 11 to Week 8. The Chargers and Dolphins matchup goes from Week 7 to Week 10. The Dolphins and Broncos subsequently now play Week 11 instead of Week 6.

From a fantasy perspective the shifting of games affects not only matchups, but bye weeks for players. The following are updated bye weeks for teams affected by the schedule changes. Broncos Week 5, Patriots Week 5, Chargers Week 6, Dolphins Week 7, Jaguars Week 8, Jets Week 10.

Notes from Week 5

The Carolina Panthers got their third win of the season without star running back Christian McCaffrey. Teddy Bridgewater threw for 313 yards and McCaffrey's replacement, Mike Davis, has continued to impress as he finished with 149 total yards and a touchdown.

The team that Bridgewater and the Panthers defeated on Sunday was the Atlanta Falcons who have now started their season 0-5. It resulted in the team firing Head Coach Dan Quinn and General Manager Thomas Dimitroff Sunday evening, and now the only question that remains in Atlanta is if this season is already lost.

The Las Vegas Raiders shocked the world by taking down the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. Every time it appeared that Patrick Mahomes was leading a classic comeback, the Raiders would match them with a score. In the end it was Derek Carr who won the showdown 40-32 as the Raiders improve to 3-2 on the year.

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Fantasy Breakout Performers Week 5

Travis Fulgham Phi WR - Fulgham exploded with 10 catches for 152 receiving yards and a touchdown on Sunday. Easily the Eagles' most competent threat against the Steelers as no other Eagle had more than 37 receiving yards. As DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery continue to deal with injuries Fulgham may have just carved out WR1 duty based off of one performance as Carson Wentz is desperate for any help he can get to turn this season around for Philadelphia.

Chase Claypool PIT WR - In one of the most memorable rookie performances in recent memory, Claypool finished his day with 4 touchdowns (3 receiving and 1 rushing) on 116 total yards from scrimmage. It was the outburst from Claypool that kept Pittsburgh coming back and eventually putting the Eagles away. An injury to Diontae Johnson opened up more opportunity for Claypool in this game, but the rookie receiver proved he was up for the challenge. If Johnson remains sidelined for next week's matchup with the Browns, Claypool is a must start.

Final Bites

The Cowboys lost Dak Prescott to a serious ankle injury and his season is almost certainly over

The Browns hold on to beat the Colts and improve to 4-1, even without star running back Nick Chubb

The Dolphins crush the 49ers as we see Jimmy Garoppolo benched in favor of C.J. Beathard, Dolphins fans will have to wait a little longer for Tua while FitzMagic is in full effect

Russ cooks up a comeback on Sunday night to remain perfect, the Seahawks defeat the Vikings 27-26

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Picks, Parlays, and Props Divisional Round

Josh Allen scampers for a gain against the Colts in the third quarter of the wild card game.

Harry Scull Jr. /Buffalo News

As the NFL postseason got underway last week, it became clear we need to make some halftime adjustments with our picks this week.

The Ravens were an easy cover for us, especially once Lamer found his groove and the grooves in Tennessee's D. Throw in a few head scratching punts by Mike Vrabel and that does the trick.

Meanwhile, Stefon Diggs came up two catches short for us with three targets left on the table. It was always going to be tough to get that many grabs, but it was worth a few bucks just to see what would happen.

Please, please, please remind me never to bet unders. I haven't hit one all year and yet the siren's song calls me to shore. I maintain this is the best one I bet all year. The pick 6 and DK Metcalf bomb in the second quarter killed after the best start imaginable. After 15 minutes, we had a combined score of 3, 15 minutes of game time later? 30. Bananas.

Then I don't really know what else to say about Pittsburgh losing to Baker Mayfield and co. that hasn't already been said. I just have to edit my list of completely impossible things to put, "Snowing in the Sahara desert," and "Taylor Swift ever getting back together with Jake Gyllenhaal" above "The Browns beating the Steelers in the playoffs."


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Why the Wizards should 'free Bradley Beal'

Wizards guard Bradley Beal looks on in a game against the Celtics on Jan. 8, 2021.

Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Put on your general manager hat for a moment and ask yourself this question: If my team struggled mightily the past couple seasons, is struggling now and will continue to struggle, would I trade my franchise star?

It's an extremely difficult decision to make, but it's something the Washington Wizards have to be pondering with shooting guard Bradley Beal.

Beal has been on an absolute rampage through 11 games, posting a league-high 34.9 points per game on 49% shooting and 38% from distance. He's also dishing out five assists and grabbing 5.3 rebounds with 1.5 steals. All that in 36 minutes a night, yet the Wizards are 3-8 which is the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

"I'm pissed off," Beal told reporters after his 60-point game on Jan. 6. "I'm mad. I don't count [them]. ... Any of my career-highs, they've been in losses. So I don't give a damn. You can throw it right out the window with the other two or three I've had."

His frustration is evident, and though he hasn't verbalized that he wants out of D.C., it's hard not to think that the idea hasn't crossed his mind at least once with how bad the Wizards have been recently.

From 2018-20, they went a combined 57-97 with John Wall sidelined after he tore his Achilles. Before this season began, the Wizards acquired Russell Westbrook in exchange for Wall and a pick, thinking they were getting an upgrade at point guard. Plot twist, they weren't.

Wall is healthy and playing good basketball in Houston while Westbrook is sitting back-to-backs and is currently nursing a quad injury. More importantly, he doesn't make them much better because of his lack of defense and is thus piling up meaningless triple-doubles that don't translate to team success.


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NFL DFS Preview:  Divisional Round

Each Friday, FindBet will preview the week's DFS slate, highlighting players that are priced well on DFS sites, as well as some contrarian plays that can push your team to the top of the leader board.

Most NFL DFS games have you putting a team together with players from a certain slate of games. It could be just Sunday 1:00 PM games, or it could be every game that is slated for the week. Once the last game that has eligible players is over, the final payouts are made according to how many fantasy points each team scored. Each player is worth a certain dollar amount, and you have a cap of $60,000 to build your team with. You have to have 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX (RB, WR, or TE) and 1 DEF.

The general scoring rules include (6) points for each rushing and receiving touchdown, (4) points for each passing touchdown, (0.1) points for each rushing and receiving yard gained, (0.04) points for each passing yard, and also (0.5) points for each reception. There are other scoring opportunities for defenses. Let's take a look at players we like in the first round of the NFL playoffs this weekend.

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