2015 Heisman Sleepers

It's only May so we are still really, really, really far away from football, but it's never too early to talk about upcoming seasons, in fact, Sean is working on a piece about the 2019 season as we speak. In just over three months, the 2015 college football season will kick off and the most wonderful time of the year (football season, not Christmas) will be upon us. Every year there are teams rebuilding, teams trying to get out of a multi-season slump, teams who are all but certainly firing their coach in a few months and teams who think this is their year.

So what are we to expect in this upcoming season? No one knows for certain. Many experts have already released their preseason Heisman Trophy watch lists with names including TCU's Trevone Boykin, LSU's Leonard Fournette, and whoever starts at quarterback for Urban Meyer come fall. The only thing that is for certain in college football is that nothing is. The past five winners outside of maybe Marcus Mariota (including Cam Newton, Robert Griffin, Johnny Manziel, and Jameis Winston) were hardly on anyone's Heisman watch lists and barely anyone even knew who they were. Will someone do the same this year? Only time will tell, but here's 6 candidates I think people should keep an eye out for this year as sleepers for college football's most prestigious award (sorry in advance for this list being littered by the Pac-12):

7 Reasons Why Everyone Loves Stephen Curry

If it wasn't weird to say, Steph Curry would be the NBA's sweetheart. This year's MVP, the "baby-faced assassin", is arguably the most entertaining player in the NBA. He is loved by everyone. If you claim to not like him, either you're lying or his Wildcats upset your team in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and you still haven't let it go.

Bottom line, if you don't like him, you're in denial. Curry is the most lovable player in the NBA and here's seven reasons why:

Preview: Eastern Conference Finals

   

Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Game 1: Wednesday, May 20, @ Atlanta, 8:30 ET
Game 2: Friday, May 22, @ Atlanta, 8:30 ET
Game 3: Sunday. May 24, @ Cleveland, 8:30 ET
Game 4: Tuesday, May 26, @ Cleveland, 8:30 ET
Game 5: Thursday, May 28, @ Atlanta, 8:30 ET*
Game 6: Saturday, May 30, @ Cleveland, 8:30 ET*
Game 7: Monday, June 1, @ Atlanta, 8:30 ET*
* If necessary

The Eastern Conference Finals, or the LeBron Conference Finals, begin tonight. It is a battle between a team with no "superstars" vs the superstar in the NBA. Team basketball vs Lebron. A little much, but that is how people are looking at it. The season series was a 2-2 split, but the J.R. Smith, Timofey Mozgov, and Iman Shumpert Cavs have only played the Hawks one time. The Hawks took that game in Atlanta, but this series will be nothing like the regular season. The Cavs are without Kevin Love (Kelly Olynyk is such a jerk) and Kyrie Irving is playing with a bad foot and a sore knee. People forget that the Hawks are without Thabo Sefolosha, arguably their best perimeter defender. Paul Millsap (18.8 PPG and 8 RPG) and Al Horford (17 PPG and 5 RPG) did their fair damage against the Cavs in the regular season and I do not see that stopping in the playoffs. Lebron (4.7 TPG) and Kyrie's (3.3 TPG) turnover numbers in the regular season are a cause for concern but turnovers did not stop the Cavs in the last round.

Preview: Western Conference Finals

       

Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets

Game 1: Tue., May 19, at Golden State, 9 ET
Game 2: Thu., May 21, at Golden State, 9 ET
Game 3: Sat., May 23, at Houston, 9 ET
Game 4: Mon., May 25, at Houston, 9 ET
Game 5: Wed., May 27, at Golden State, 9 ET*
Game 6: Fri., May 29, at Houston, 9 ET*
Game 7: Sun., May 31, at Golden State, 9 ET*
*If necessary

The Western Conference Finals brings us a match-up of two of the best offensive teams in the league. Golden State dominated the season series 4-0. Though Dwight Howard was out for two of the contests, the Warriors outscored the Rockets by 61 points over the four regular season games. The teams' leaders Stephen Curry and James Harden each averaged just over 25 points per game when the two teams met. Curry is averaging 30, 8, and 8 along with 3.5 steals in Toyota Arena (Houston). Harden is averaging 26.7 points and 8 assists in this year's playoffs. But the series will hardly be just about these two All-Stars.