Second Thoughts

Oakley: Cavs beating up on powder puffs

Former NBA power forward Charles Oakley
Former NBA power forward Charles Oakley

The Cleveland Cavaliers' 10-1 start to this postseason is not impressing former NBA power forward Charles Oakley.

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The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays' Jose Bautista tosses his bat after popping out in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Toronto on Saturday, May 7, 2016.

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Paul Pierce, during his time with the Boston Celtics.

Oakley said Saturday that the Cavaliers are cruising against soft competition.

"The Cavaliers are playing JV teams right now," Oakley told SiriusXM NBA Radio.

Oakley, who is from Cleveland, was drafted by the team in 1985 before his draft rights were traded to the Chicago Bulls, knows something about tough roads to the NBA Finals.

Oakley played with Michael Jordan for the first three years of his career and then with Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks from 1988 to 1998. He had to deal with Larry Bird's Boston Celtics and later Jordan's Bulls to make it out of the Eastern Conference.

Calling Atlanta, Detroit and Toronto "JV teams" is a little harsh. Each has at least one All-Star on its roster, but Oakley is right to acknowledge that Cleveland's path to the NBA Finals is rather easy.

The Western Conference features the Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. No Cavs opponent in the East comes close to the talent on any of those three teams.

That is evident by the head-to-head records of the top three seeds from each conference. The Spurs, Thunder and Warriors were a combined 69-21 against the East. Cleveland, Miami and Toronto finished 56-34 against the West.

Cleveland is proving its worth with strong play. But it's difficult to tell how good the Cavaliers are until--assuming they finish off the Raptors--they take on the Warriors or Thunder for the NBA title.

No punch profit

Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor will not be reaping additional rewards from his punch to the jaw of Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista.

Per ESPN.com's Darren Rovell, Odor was scheduled to appear at a Field of Dreams store in Frisco, Texas, on June 4 to sign pictures of the now-famous punch that would be sold for $99.

However, Field of Dreams store manager Brett Kravitz told Rovell that the event was no longer taking place and representatives for Odor felt the timing was bad.

Odor's appeal of his eight-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball will be heard Tuesday.

Fans would have been able to get additional Odor photos that weren't brawl-related signed for $59.

Kravitz also told Rovell one of the potential inscriptions that fans could have asked for is "Bat Flip Will Get You Fat Lip." Bautista took some heat in October for his bat antics after hitting a three-run home run against the Rangers in the American League division series.

Odor is still awaiting to hear the results of his appeal, though it's almost certain he will have to miss some time for his role in the Rangers-Blue Jays brawl.

Party animal

Ask for an exotic animal, and you shall receive -- that is, if your dad is a NBA player.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul Pierce's daughter celebrated her fifth birthday in style, courtesy of her dad, who got her a pretty cool gift -- a llama -- which made a special appearance at her party over the weekend.

Pierce proceeded to take several selfies with the animal including one of it kissing the NBA star on the cheek.

Sports on 05/23/2016

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