Best American sports teams combine talent and coaching

December 9, 2017 — by Alex Wang and Siva Sambasivam

The Celtics are emerging as the best team in the East, led by major offseason acquisition Kyrie Irving, who seems to have no problems leading a team without the help of King James.

The Eagles are the only team with just one loss as of Nov. 15. Young quarterback Carson Wentz is carrying the high-flying offense with precise throws, sharp reads and key third-down conversions. He is an MVP candidate this year, leading the league in touchdowns and ranking third in yardage. The Eagles’ run game is strong with the help of a excellent offensive line; in addition, the defense is playing good football.

Most importantly, though, the Eagles know how to win games. Even though some of their games were closer than they should have been, they can finish off opponents and should find more success in the rest of the season.

 

NBA

Current: Warriors

The defending NBA champions may have tough competition this year. While most people still regard the Warriors as the best team in the league, a couple of other teams are catching up.

The Celtics are emerging as the best team in the East, led by major offseason acquisition Kyrie Irving, who seems to have no problems leading a team without the help of King James.

After losing arguably their second best player in all star forward Gordon Hayward (also acquired this offseason) to a severe leg injury in the first game, the Celtics lost their first two games to the Cavs and Bucks.

Since then, they have been able to overcome this adversity and have been nearly unstoppable going on a 13-game winning streak, beating teams like the Magic, the Spurs, and the Thunder, sometimes without Irving.

The Celtics, though, have really no solid bench players and their second unit will be a serious question all season long going into the playoffs. On the other hand, the Warriors have one of the deepest lineups in the game, and are positioned for another long run into the playoffs.

Despite their ups and downs and the great play of some other teams, the Warriors still have the most talented roster, with two former NBA finals MVPs and two more All Stars to boot.

MLB

This year's world champions, the Houston Astros, boast a formidable young core with veterans sprinkled in, leading the team to its first title ever over the equally talented Dodgers.

Their offense, headlined by MVP candidate Jose Altuve and All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa, was one of the best run producing offenses in MLB history as well as one of the teams that stuck out the fewest. In the current home run or miss era, the Astros’ ability to put the ball in play was what many experts attributed their championship run to.

Their pitching staff was anchored by Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel, two previous Cy Young Award winners, the former being one of the few pitchers to ever win the MVP award. Verlander was acquired by the Astros 2 seconds before the waiver trade deadline, and turned what was an already strong team into a championship favorite.

In a thrilling seven-game series including two extra inning affairs, the Astros outdueled the Dodgers, led by Clayton Kershaw, to win the Fall Classic and will look to continue their success into next year with their core of position players and most of their pitching staff returning.

 

MLS

Toronto FC is easily the best team right now, coming off a record-breaking season that is in competition for the best season ever. Over the regular season, they had the most goals in history with 69, are tied for most games won and are second in best goal differential.

Their forwards, Sebastian Giovinco, who is in MVP conversation, and Jozy Altidore, are two of the best in the league, and defender Justin Morrow is a defender of the year finalist. Toronto has the highest chance of winning the championship, and it would be no surprise if they did.

 

NHL

It’s little surprise that the Pittsburgh Penguins are skating circles around the rest of the league. The defending Stanley Cup champions are atop the Metropolitan Division and second in the Eastern Conference. Led by captain and two-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner Sidney Crosby, the Penguins look to be like the team that won it all last year and continue to be the favorites for this year’s Stanley Cup.

 
2 views this week