5 Unpopular Opinions About Las Vegas Sports
These might look like unpopular opinions about Las Vegas sports, but they could become reality.
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Source. Kyle Busch[/caption]
Kyle Busch will probably go down as one of the best drivers ever to compete in NASCAR, but he might be in the twilight of his career. That seems evident by the fact the Las Vegas native hasn’t made the championship four in the past five years.
Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing in 2023, hoping for a fresh start, and he achieved that to some extent. That first year with RCR, he won three races and also made the playoffs. While Busch had great moments in 2023, he still fell short of making it past the third round of the playoffs.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Busch only has one top-five in the first six races of the schedule. He also has two top tens and an average finish of 16th this season. The good news is he hasn’t had any DNFs yet this year and sits 13th in the point standings. These are still far away from his best numbers and continue to show a decline.
This doesn’t mean he can’t win another championship or even another handful of races. The difference is that he won’t be as dominant as he once was. He no longer has that killer instinct.
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Source. Las Vegas Aces[/caption]
The Las Vegas Aces are on the verge of making history for Sin City once again in 2024. All they need to do is win one more title to achieve the first three-peat in city history. However, a lot is standing in their way, including new super teams, a grueling schedule, and an Olympic break.
That last one is their biggest hurdle and will likely stop them from winning a third championship in 2024. The rest of the league has a significant advantage in this sense, which they should capitalize on. These teams can use this break to find ways to neutralize the Aces.
The Aces must maintain their conditioning, avoid injuries, and continue to out-strategize every team. Sooner or later, it will all become too much, which is why the Aces are so vulnerable.
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Source Vegas Golden Knights[/caption]
The Las Vegas Golden Knights are not the same team they were a year ago, and they will show that relatively quickly in the playoffs. Between all the injuries, bad performances, and losing streaks, this team has nothing positive going for it. They went from a sure thing to barely clinging to a wildcard spot.
Of course, a lot of that involves injuries and free agency moves, but the organization is not blameless. They are guilty of not maximizing their opportunities and letting winnable games slip away.
Compare this lopsided group of misfits to those who won the Stanley Cup last season; there's a major difference. Just look at the stats! See just how much their offense has changed. Look how many goals they gave up last year compared to this one. You will see just how off the mark this team is.
That’s why an early exit from the playoffs is inevitable.
[caption id="attachment_49053" align="alignnone" width="819"]
Source. Las Vegas Raiders[/caption]
Anyone expecting the Las Vegas Raiders to be good right out of the gate in 2024 is in for a surprise. While the defense is improving, the team's offense looks bleak. Unless they strike gold in the draft, they only have Gardner Minshaw and Aidan O’Connell to rely on.
No matter how good this new-look defense is, it won’t solve all of Las Vegas's problems. Las Vegas still needs an upgrade under center to make the playoffs, and that’s probably not going to happen with the current quarterback situation.
A winning record at the end of the season is progress at this point. Just don’t expect it right away.
Las Vegas finally hosted its first Super Bowl in 2024. The game saw the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in a closely contested matchup that went into overtime and made history as the longest Super Bowl ever. There’s no topping an event like this, which is why Las Vegas sports might have finally reached its peak.
As disappointing as this sounds, it is reasonable to assume nothing will top a moment like this. There’s only one first, and Las Vegas set that bar pretty high after Super Bowl 58. Neither an NBA team, baseball team, or NASCAR street race can top this. It will forever be known as the proudest moment in Las Vegas sports.
Next: 5 times, the Las Vegas Raiders went viral for all the wrong reasons.
#5 Kyle Busch is past his prime
[caption id="attachment_48381" align="alignnone" width="732"]
Source. Kyle Busch[/caption]Kyle Busch will probably go down as one of the best drivers ever to compete in NASCAR, but he might be in the twilight of his career. That seems evident by the fact the Las Vegas native hasn’t made the championship four in the past five years.
Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing in 2023, hoping for a fresh start, and he achieved that to some extent. That first year with RCR, he won three races and also made the playoffs. While Busch had great moments in 2023, he still fell short of making it past the third round of the playoffs.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Busch only has one top-five in the first six races of the schedule. He also has two top tens and an average finish of 16th this season. The good news is he hasn’t had any DNFs yet this year and sits 13th in the point standings. These are still far away from his best numbers and continue to show a decline.
This doesn’t mean he can’t win another championship or even another handful of races. The difference is that he won’t be as dominant as he once was. He no longer has that killer instinct.
#4 The 2024 Olympic break will keep the Las Vegas Aces from a three-peat
[caption id="attachment_48297" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Source. Las Vegas Aces[/caption]The Las Vegas Aces are on the verge of making history for Sin City once again in 2024. All they need to do is win one more title to achieve the first three-peat in city history. However, a lot is standing in their way, including new super teams, a grueling schedule, and an Olympic break.
That last one is their biggest hurdle and will likely stop them from winning a third championship in 2024. The rest of the league has a significant advantage in this sense, which they should capitalize on. These teams can use this break to find ways to neutralize the Aces.
The Aces must maintain their conditioning, avoid injuries, and continue to out-strategize every team. Sooner or later, it will all become too much, which is why the Aces are so vulnerable.
#3 The Las Vegas Golden Knights won't go back-to-back as champion
[caption id="attachment_49055" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Source Vegas Golden Knights[/caption]The Las Vegas Golden Knights are not the same team they were a year ago, and they will show that relatively quickly in the playoffs. Between all the injuries, bad performances, and losing streaks, this team has nothing positive going for it. They went from a sure thing to barely clinging to a wildcard spot.
Of course, a lot of that involves injuries and free agency moves, but the organization is not blameless. They are guilty of not maximizing their opportunities and letting winnable games slip away.
Compare this lopsided group of misfits to those who won the Stanley Cup last season; there's a major difference. Just look at the stats! See just how much their offense has changed. Look how many goals they gave up last year compared to this one. You will see just how off the mark this team is.
That’s why an early exit from the playoffs is inevitable.
#2 The Las Vegas Raiders are in for a struggle in 2024
[caption id="attachment_49053" align="alignnone" width="819"]
Source. Las Vegas Raiders[/caption]Anyone expecting the Las Vegas Raiders to be good right out of the gate in 2024 is in for a surprise. While the defense is improving, the team's offense looks bleak. Unless they strike gold in the draft, they only have Gardner Minshaw and Aidan O’Connell to rely on.
No matter how good this new-look defense is, it won’t solve all of Las Vegas's problems. Las Vegas still needs an upgrade under center to make the playoffs, and that’s probably not going to happen with the current quarterback situation.
A winning record at the end of the season is progress at this point. Just don’t expect it right away.
#1 Hosting Super Bowl 58 was the peak of Las Vegas sports
Las Vegas finally hosted its first Super Bowl in 2024. The game saw the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in a closely contested matchup that went into overtime and made history as the longest Super Bowl ever. There’s no topping an event like this, which is why Las Vegas sports might have finally reached its peak.
As disappointing as this sounds, it is reasonable to assume nothing will top a moment like this. There’s only one first, and Las Vegas set that bar pretty high after Super Bowl 58. Neither an NBA team, baseball team, or NASCAR street race can top this. It will forever be known as the proudest moment in Las Vegas sports.
Next: 5 times, the Las Vegas Raiders went viral for all the wrong reasons.