Post by dengdai on Jan 9, 2014 6:23:05 GMT
FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS The countdown is on. Hawks Jersey . The NBA regular season is starting next week and theres no lockout to deal with. I feel bad for our friends on the hockey side - we went through two of them (last year and 1998-99) and its no fun whatsoever. Happy to have hoops so lets take a quick look at a few NBA topics. 1. NBA ALL-STAR VOTING: Love the new arrangement for this years voting. Rather than having the Center and Forwards category, it makes complete sense to me to just refer to it as Front Court Players and vote for the three that are the best in that area. With so few true centres anymore with the lack of emphasis on Back to the Basket/Power Play the 5, the Centre spot has become a dying breed. This allows the best players that are in this frontcourt group to get in the game rather than less deserving guys getting in because they happen to play the Centre spot. 2. RAPTORS (5-1) WINNING PRESEASON GAMES: Im sure you all know that the last two times the Raptors made the Playoffs they had winning records in the preseason. Since then, nothing above .500 and no playoffs. In 2006 they went 7-1 and won the Atlantic Division and in 2007 they went 6-2 and got back to the Playoffs. Does the fact that theyve had success this October guarantee that theyll be playing late into April/May? No, absolutely not. Dont set your chairs up on the parade route just yet but dare to dream a bit. At the same time, dont discount for a minute the positive vibe and bounce it gives a young team with confidence and belief in what theyre doing and it definitely encourages "Buy-In" from any potential fence-sitters you might have. Winning and doing things the right way is habitual. You want that early residue of winning to begin to help lay a foundation of expectation, belief and success. Sure beats losing! 3. TRISTAN THOMPSON (Cavs): Im expecting a nice improvement in his game this year. Needs to become a more consistent free-throw shooter and get a solid low-post/back to basket game going for himself in Year 2. I believe that the overwhelming learning curve for a young man coming in and jumping on a moving train in a lockout season is tough and he did a nice job with it. Now with time to learn the ins and outs of the NBA and to be truly coached in the off-season as well as a full training camp hell be a much more steady player. Love his energy, rebounding and ability to block shots. The input of this off-season will become output this season. 4. RAY ALLEN & RASHARD LEWIS (Heat): Caught some of their game against Charlotte that was played at North Carolina State (By the way, keep an eye on Mark Godfrieds Wolfpack squad this year, they will be tough) and loved what Lewis and Allen brought to the table. 21 combined points and four made 3s combined - Heat fans will appreciate the fact that these two veteran players know how to play within a structured/disciplined offence and can get their games off and space the floor for the better Heat players with their shooting range and experience. Nothing like having smart players who can stick shots to make teams think twice about double teaming LeBron or D-Wade. Choose your poison. Know your team and address your needs. Pat Riley has once again made some smart basketball moves to help his team compete at a big-time level. Nothing flashy about these two guys, they are good pros who will produce in an environment like this. 5. DAVID PENDERGRAFT (VP-Pro Scouting-Raptors): Word on the street has the Raps hiring him to replace Jay Triano (now an assistant coach with the Blazers) in this spot. Hes got extensive NBA front office/scouting experience in Atlanta, Seattle, New Jersey and Vancouver. He has also been a coach at the NCAA level. Hes qualified to do a very difficult and vital job in my opinion. You absolutely need to know the league cold and know the details of each player/team when youre going to swing trades and sign free agents. The ability to have lots of background on guys both on and off the court allows you to be proactive in your pursuit and make the right calls. The wrong calls turn into more transactions to get yourself out of the previous misstep. A really good scout helps you make the right calls the first time. Good job title for an organization to have (the pros you scout who have a body of work in the NBA game are the guys who help turn your team around the quickest) and hes a good get for them. Atlanta Hawks Jersey . Vazquez added to his last-season surge by pitching six scoreless innings Sunday, helping the Florida Marlins complete a season sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 4-1 victory. Authentic Hawks Jersey . The person spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been announced. TNTs David Aldridge reported its a three-year, US$24 million deal. BOSTON -- Bostons old guys just needed a little pick up. Philadelphia coach Doug Collins provided it. Kevin Garnett scored 19 points, Jeff Green added 16, and the Celtics won the back end of a home-and-home with Philadelphia, beating the 76ers 92-79 on Saturday night. During his pregame press briefing, Collins said that Garnett had played over 50,000 minutes and Paul Pierce 48,000. He added that veteran Jason Terry had also played a large amount of minutes in his career and there was no way his team should be more tired than Boston. Celtics coach Doc Rivers first agreed that "hes right," but later joked that he might tell his players. After the game, Rivers said he passed the message along. "I did," he said, smiling. "It was great. Thank you for that, media." Asked how his players responded, Rivers said the usually fiery Garnett "reacted the way youd think hed react." Pierce, though, just found it all kind of amusing. "It was amazing that he calculated that," he said. Pierce finished with 13 points and Rajon Rondo dished out 11 assists and collected nine rebounds, one night after his first triple-double of the season. Rondo had just seven points. Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 22 points and Evan Turner scored 13. The 76ers have lost three of four. "The difference between us right now and a team like the Celtics, the Celtics have a mental toughness born through championships and night in and night out being a team that has to play every single night because teams come with their best efforts," Collins said. "They mentally have an incredible approach. Kevin Garnett? I guarantee you his legs werent the freshest out there tonight, but his mind was the sharpest." Philadelphia won Friday when Turner hit the go-ahead basket in the lane with 3.9 seconds left in overtime and Rondo missed a game-ending shot after he slipped along the left baseline. "I love the way we responded tonight," Pierce said. "A lot of the guys were mad for the fact we lost yesterday and we wanted to take it out on them today. We felt that was a winnable game last night and we wanted to do something about it." Garnett was 9 of 11 from tthe floor.dddddddddddd "Experience, a lot of it," 76ers guard Jrue Holiday said. "Hes been to championships, hes been to finals, hes been to a million playoffs. Hes probably played a million and a half minutes, so hes got a lot of experience." The 76ers shot just 39 per cent in the game. The Celtics led by 20 at halftime, but what looked like a rout quickly tightened late in the third quarter. Boston led 65-44 before the 76ers scored 13 straight points over a 2:54 stretch. Turner had a pair of baskets and Holiday nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing, but the Celtics scored the final five points of the quarter and led 70-57 entering the final 12 minutes. Garnett ended the run with a jumper and hit a free throw later. They pushed the lead back to 18 points midway into the fourth and coasted to the win. The Celtics players certainly looked like they took Collins theory personally in the first half. Boston held the 76ers to a season-low 28 points in the first half, seemed to contest nearly every shot and held a 20-point lead at halftime. Philadelphia shot 23 per cent (9 of 39) in the first half. The Celtics, who shot 52 per cent in the first quarter, led 24-16 after one. Boston led 30-20 in the second before going on a 15-4 run over a six-minute stretch. Pierce scored five in the spree and Terry nailed long 3. Philadelphia was at its worst in the second quarter, scoring a season-low 12 points for a quarter and shooting a miserable 14 per cent (3 of 21). NOTES: The teams dont meet again until their final matchup of the season, March 5 in Philadelphia. ... Referee thingy Bavetta, who worked the game and is a part of the storied rivalry, turns 73 Monday. He was the only referee working after his partner got hurt when Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Julius Erving got into a fight. ... Actor Mark Wahlberg was seated courtside and held up a Ted green sweat shirt. ... The 76ers 28 in the first half was the lowest Bostons allowed in a half this season. ... Patriots safety Patrick Chung was also courtside. ...The 76ers had won the previous two meetings this season. ... Garnett didnt collect a rebound in the game, playing 24 minutes. The Celtics said the last time was Jan. 21, 1997, when he was with Minnesota. ' ' '