THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR heads to the desert for the Instacart 500

NASCAR heads to the desert for the Instacart 500
Look for Denny Hamlin to win this weekend. Photo via: Wiki Commons.
NASCAR: Hollywood Casino 400 preview and predictions

The NASCAR Cup Series heads for the Valley of the Sun this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. This track currently hosts two races including the season finale in November as well. This will be an important race for drivers that should be championship contenders. This track is a mile and a half, but it races very much like a short-track. We could very well see a lot of three and four-wide after the restart as they go down the sweeping front-stretch. We will also see the return of the higher horsepower package this week as well, so that will also play a part in the racing.

Last week at Vegas, Kyle Larson captured his first win of 2021 and first win with Hendrick Motorsports. His #5 Camaro was head and shoulders above everyone the entire race as he led a race-high 103 laps. Despite all that, Brad Keselowski didn't make it easy on the California phenom as it came down to a late race pit-stop where Larson would win the race off pit-road and pull away to victory. This victory really put the racing world on notice as this team has been strong all year. But now, this could very well be the catalyst that pushes him over the hump as a championship contender.

With Larson's performance, Hendrick Motorsports appears to be back where they were in their glory days of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Not only was Kyle Larson dominant but William Byron was also very competitive as well as he led 21 laps early in the race. When the race started, it looked like Chase Elliott was the car to beat but after falling off the jack in pit-road his chances took a hit. While it looked like he was going to storm back through the field, Elliott lost grip and spun out during a late race restart and spun out. He was still able to rebound and finish 13th. This is a welcomed sight for a lot of race fans, but it's not really new considering Eliott and his Hendrick team won the title last year. Regardless, it should be interesting to see what this team can do and if Alex Bowman the fourth driver there can catch up and also contend for wins.

While the Hendrick Chevy's are thriving, on the other end of the spectrum the Stewart-Haas team continues to struggle. While Kevin Harvick had strung together three top ten finishes to start the season, last week at Vegas the car seemed to have absolutely no speed. When the race started things looked promising as he started on the pole but after that, it seemed like they fell off a cliff. They had to limp to a 20th place finish. His teammates didn't fare much better as rookie Chase Briscoe finished one spot behind him in twenty-first. The driver who had it the worst was Aric Almirola who was involved in numerous accidents and finished an abysmal 30th place. This has been a horrendous start for the Florida native as he has now had two consecutive races where he was involved in an accident, and has crashed in four of the five races this season. The pressure is definitely going to be on him considering his 2022 plans are unclear. Stewart-Haas is in a strange place right now, but I am confident they will be able to turn it around. Well see what happens with this team down the line

Ironically enough, the favorite this week has to be Kevin Harivck. He has won here an unprecedented nine times and has almost led over three times more laps than any active driver. He will be coming from the back this week, but it shouldn't be too much of a challenge considering this is easily his best racetrack. I look for Harvick to bounce-back this week and really be a threat to win come Sunday.

The driver that I have winning is Denny Hamlin. When you look at the stats this year, no one has been better. But closing the deal has been the biggest challenge for him. Luckily, he's going to a track where he has been the next best driver behind Harvick and Kyle Busch. He has two victories here and nearly won here last year in the championship race. I look for him to finally put it all together and take the #11 Offerpad Toyota to victory lane this Sunday.

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Jalen Green does it again! Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Jalen Green scored 27 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 110-92 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

It was the Rockets' ninth straight win, their longest winning streak since 2019.

At 36-35, Houston is now just a half game behind Golden State for the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

“For sure, I’m looking at it,” Green said of the standings. “I was watching the Warriors last night. We’re making a push, and we’re executing so we’ve just got to stay the course.”

Green entered Monday tied for fourth in the NBA in scoring in March with 27.8 points per game on 51.4% shooting. Against Portland, he made 9 of 26 shots, including 4 of 12 from 3.

“He was kind of forcing it a little bit early and looked a little anxious, but he grinded it out and played the right way,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “It was huge for him to come out in the second half like that.”

Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. was out, serving a one-game suspension for his Saturday night fight with Jazz guard Kris Dunn. In his place, Jock Landale had a season-high 17 points and added nine rebounds.

“His energy really got us back in the game,” Udoka said. “His energy has been huge lately, and we really needed it tonight with a few guys struggling early.”

Houston outscored Portland 33-20 in the third quarter, taking an 80-71 lead into the fourth after trailing 51-47 at halftime.

Portland suffered its seventh straight loss and fell to 4-13 since the All-Star break.

Dalano Banton led the Blazers with 28 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, while Scoot Henderson added 15 points.

“We need to keep our defensive intensity up,” Henderson said. “That’s going to give us a chance every night — defensive intensity, moving the ball and just making the game easier for ourselves and not trying to one-on-one the whole game because we can’t win like that.”

In Saturday night’s loss to Denver, Portland became the second team to start five rookies since NBA box scores started tracking starters in the 1971-72 season. The Blazers started the same five rookies on Monday night.

Portland briefly held a nine-point lead in the first quarter but entered the second quarter down 28-25.

“I thought we had a really good first half and had some good moments in that third quarter, but the game kind of turned,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “They picked up their defensive pressure, and we just didn’t respond well to it. Give them credit. They turned it up when they needed to, defensively, against a young group.”

The Blazers were missing Deandre Ayton (left elbow tendinitis), Anfernee Simons (left knee tendinitis), Malcolm Brogdon (right elbow tendinitis) and Jerami Grant (right hamstring strain).

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: At Atlanta on Wednesday night.

Rockets: Visit Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

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