, but instead found Chris Thorburn at the edge of the circle

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys .com) – Its not like the Miami Heat playing well in the postseason is newsworthy, but the way theyre getting it done at the moment should terrify the remaining seven teams with a chance at the title. The fact the Heat are 6-0 is impressive enough, but with every victory, theyre building momentum. Are they going to go undefeated in the postseason? No, but in these early rounds, Miami is just having its way with Charlotte and now Brooklyn. Its not like the Heat need confidence what with winning the last two titles, but they did finish the regular season 11-14. Teams are trying to figure out ways to be at their best (in the playoffs), said MVP runner-up LeBron James. We have to continue to work our offense, work our defense, put ourselves in a position to be successful. The Heat have done that and it started on the defensive side of the ball. Miami has yet to allow 100 points in the postseason and surrenders an average of 89.3 points per game. Thats a stout improvement from the regular-season number of 97.4 ppg and the Heat rank No. 1 in the postseason in opponents scoring. Granted, the Bobcats at their best are offensively challenged and things became easier for Miami to defend when Al Jefferson got hurt. But, Brooklyn has firepower and the Heat have cooled them off, not allowing the Nets more than 86 points in either of their two games. With that side of the ball in good shape, the offense has been clicking. When one thinks of the Heat, the mind wanders inevitably to the Big Three of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Its fair since theyre all going to the Hall of Fame, but the Heats versatility has been on display like that weird, hologram egg in Oceans Twelve. Eleven members of the Heat are averaging 10 minutes a game or more. Sure, not all have played in all six games, but when theyre out there, everyone is contributing. Look at the starters for example. Shane Battier played 2:04 of the entire series against Charlotte. Head coach Erik Spoelstra reinserted him in the starting lineup against the smaller Nets and hes 3-for-6 from beyond the 3- point line. Conversely, Spoelstra pulled the plug on Udonis Haslem since the Nets only play one player over 6 feet, 10 inches in height at any given time. Its been an underrated aspect of Spoelstras tenure in Miami — his ability to sit players down and choose the right one. Battier sat out times against the San Antonio Spurs in last seasons NBA Finals. Same goes for Chris Andersen. Anyone want to bet Spoelstra employs more Haslem and Birdman in the next round when the Heat will face either the Indiana Pacers or the Washington Wizards? Both teams are bigger, so Spo will adapt. Spoelstra isnt Red Auerbach just for using the correct rotation, but his second-unit guys are paying dividends. The Heat bench ranked 17th in scoring during the regular season, but at least one Miami player has scored in double figures in five of their six postseason games and its been four different players. In fact, the Heat have had five double-figure scorers in the last three games, a great sign for a group that has, at times, been too reliant on letting James or Wade do their thing and everyone else watches with glowing admiration. We dont really care about who scores. Five guys in double figures once again tonight, so the ball is moving, James said after Thursdays Game 2 win. Guys are in a great rhythm. James may say he doesnt care who scores, but hes walking the talk. After averaging 30 points in the Bobcats series, LeBron is down to 22 ppg versus the Nets. His shot numbers remained steady and his assists are in decline against Brooklyn. So basically, the Heat are still winning convincingly with James not producing to his maximum. Is that not the scariest thing imaginable? The Heat have been tested to some degree and many thought they would be considering the Nets went 4-0 against them in the regular season. Even if Brooklyn gets a game at home, Miami is going to advance. The Wizards could give them some trouble with their size, which is still a sore spot for Miami. The inexperience in the postseason will doom Washington against the Heat. For months, everyone has waited for the Miami/Indiana series, but at this stage, that matchup would be more anticlimactic than the ending to an M. Night Shyamalan movie (not including The Sixth Sense). Miami is poised for another deep run. Anything less than a fourth consecutive trip to the Finals would be shocking, but the Heat are doing their part. Theyre playing fantastic basketball and improved in important aspects from the regular season. Just wait until James plays like his dominant self. They might not lose. RANDOM THOUGHTS – Even if Donald Sterling doesnt tie up the NBA with litigation and delays, things might remain bad if he tries to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to his wife Shelly. Head coach Doc Rivers said it would be a very hard situation. That translates into some Clippers players or staff would have a problem with it, and then its gets really complicated. Remember, the players got everything they wanted from commissioner Adam Silver, so if they dont get what they want, what happens next? – Ill ask – what is the fascination with Steve Kerr? Hes never coached, didnt do all that well in his only capacity in the league as a personnel guy with the Phoenix Suns and, even if he has a good basketball mind, think of the ex-coaches on the sidelines and ask yourself, why are two teams fawning over Kerr? My theory is that once Phil Jackson expressed interest, which was basically from the day he was hired, maybe the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz thought, If Phil wants him, he must be something. Otherwise, Im kind of lost on this one. – George Karl, Lionel Hollins, Avery Johnson, Mike DAntoni, Mike Woodson and Mark Jackson are all available. Pick a Van Gundy. Nate McMillan and Byron Scott are, too. Lets not even discuss if Rick Adelman is serious about retirement, because then he should be a major candidate as well. This just drives home how strange it seems that Kerr is the leading candidate for two such highly attractive jobs. – Kobe Bryant wants some say in the next Los Angeles Lakers coach. This is a tricky issue. As the superstar, and one who can be tough to manage, it might make some sense to consult him. But, Bryant cant be the one making these decisions. Its too much power. In theory, the Lakers want a long-term solution and Bryants contract is for two years, so you do the math. – The San Antonio Spurs are demolishing the Blazers, but I give Portland some credit. There was a rattlesnake in the Blazers locker room Thursday. I wouldnt have played. Id have booked a seat on a plane back to Portland, or wouldve started jogging there if I couldnt find one in a suitable amount of time. – Love making the medias votes on awards public. It explains a lot of the strange votes. – Sticking with Heat versus Spurs in the Finals. – Movie moment – Planes is my 2-year-olds latest movie obsession. I can not wait until hes old enough for The Godfather. At this rate, Im going to show it to him when hes 4. – TV moment – 24 is still better than most of whats on television at the moment. My beef with the two-hour debut was it took all of 45 minutes to immediately circle back into regular 24 mode. Wouldve been a golden opportunity to shake up the plot structure a little. Authentic Soccer Jerseys . He liked what he saw on Tuesday night. Not only did his team post a comeback 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Montreal Canadiens, but the rival Washington Capitals were beaten 5-1 in Buffalo. Soccer Jerseys . Kuper, a fifth-round pick in Denvers 2006 draft, started 79 games at guard over eight seasons. He dislocated his left ankle in the last game of the 2011 regular season, and though he started another seven games after that, he never returned to his previous level.Winnipeg Jets 2 Carolina Hurricanes 1 (Jets 28-25-5, Road 14-14-1) – With the win the Jets move to three games above the five hundred mark for the first time this year, while getting their road record to an even .500. The Jets have now won nine of their last 11, and five of their last six road games. With the win they moved to within two points of Vancouver in the west, the Canucks holding down the eighth spot. Vancouver lost in Boston, while the other big game saw Dallas win in Phoenix. The Jets do jump ahead of Nashville, and are now tied with Dallas, one point behind Phoenix. It was the Jets 33rd one-goal game of the season. The first period was scoreless with some careless play by both teams leading to a number of scoring chances, forcing both Ondrej Pavelec and Anton Khudobin to make a number of outstanding saves. The Jets outshot the Hurricanes 11-9. The only goal of the second period came from Andrew Ladd, his 13th of the season. Ladd now 3-7-10 in the last ten games. Ladd buried a rebound of a Micheal Frolik shot, with Bryan Little also picking up an assist, giving him 13 points in the last 14 games. A key part of the game later in the period with Zach Bogosian off for holding, the Jets were nailed with too many men on the ice. So for the eighth time this season the Jets were down two men (51 seconds) and for the eighth straight time they killed it off. Other than a shot off the post, the Hurricanes did not have a shot on goal on the power play. Adam Pardy made a number of key plays including a key blocked shot. Shots in the second were 12-9 Carolina. Riley Nash tied the game early in the third, setting the stage the game winning goal with 1:03 left in regulation. Blake Wheeler started the play with a cross blue line pass to Jacob Trouba in the Carolina end. Trouba took the puck all the way around the Hurricanes goal, tried to get a pass to Mark Scheifele in front, but instead found Chris Thorburn at the edge of the circle who scored his second of the year for the win. Wheeler has 15 points in the last 114 games, Trouba nine points in the last 10 games. Soccer Jerseys For Sale. Final shots were 29-27 in favour of Carolina. Pavelec is now 7-2 in his last nine games, allowing 20 goals against, including six games where he has allowed two or less. Al Montoya has played the other two in the 9-2 Jets run, allowing one goal in each.  Bogosian for the fifth straight game led the Jets in ice time at 25:01, Trouba next at 24:13. Little had five shots on goal, four of which were great scoring chances. Face-offs very much favoured the Hurricanes, who finished at 64%. 37 hits for the Jets, Trouba leading the way with five. Trouba was a plus-1 and is now a plus-14 in the last 11 games to lead the team, Scheifele was a plus-1 and is now a plus-12 in the last 11 games and is second on the team. „It wasnt one of our best games, but we found a way,“ commented Coach Paul Maurice post-game. „The effort was there, our structure was good, our goalie was good. Huge penalty kills. Just wasnt anything easy about the game but we handled it well.“ There was a lot of line matching with the Hurricanes wanting Manny Malhotra against the Little line and Eric Staal against the Scheifele line. „Scheifele is Winnipegs dirty little secret, hes a pretty good player. I have no problem putting Scheifele out against anyone.“ Trouba struggled early in the game handling the puck, but Coach Maurice kept putting him out. „He had a couple of shifts that were unusual. But he wants the puck on his stick with a chance to win the game. He took it low with his head up, and he can make those big plays. Hes been on the ice for a lot of big goals.“ On the penalty kill, „We got bodies and sticks where they needed to be. A big block by Pardy, that shot was a bomb.“ Jets continue their four-game trip in Washington Thursday as for the second straight game they renew the old South East Division rivalry. (TSN Jets, TSN 1290). The pre-Olympic schedule concludes in St. Louis Saturday afternoon. (TSN Jets, TSN 1290). ‚ ‚ ‚

xcitement of seeing Harvick o

21.01.2020

NEW YORK — Even as the NBA prepares for a draft that could be headlined by freshmen, Commissioner Adam Silver remains committed to keeping them in college. Yeezy Boost 700 Cheap . So much so that NCAA President Mark Emmert was invited to discuss his involvement with owners. Silver is moving cautiously on potential changes to areas such as the lottery format and playoff structure, but [...]

t season of my life, “ Harvey sa

21.01.2020

FALUN, Sweden – Canadas Alex Harvey rediscovered his magic to win gold at the World Cup cross-country skiing finals Saturday. Nike Air Force 1 07 Homme Pas Cher . The 25-year-old from St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., narrowly held off Norways Martin Johnsrud Sundby to win the mens 30-kilometre race. „This has been the best season of my life,“ Harvey said. „Obviously we didnt [...]

her NHL teams have already c

21.01.2020

With the NHL Draft coming up on June 27 and free agency opening on July 1, discussions between NHL general managers are already heating up towards a busy off-season. Paul Hornung Super Bowl Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Parting Ways Richard Labbe of La Presse reports that the Montreal Canadiens will not be offering a new [...]

Peter Pellegrini, Robert Fico, Peter Žiga, Juraj Blanár, memoradnum

Pellegrini čaká od Fica vysvetlenie cesty k Putinovi. Diplomat Demeš: Prezident by mal teraz oznámiť, kedy pôjde do Kyjeva

23.12.2024 14:45

Na Ficovu cestu do Kremľa reagoval prezident Pellegrini, podľa exministra Demeša sú očakávania teraz aj od hlavy štátu.

polícia, policajná páska

Požiar predajne so škodou milión eur spôsobil sedemročný chlapec

23.12.2024 14:24

Chlapec podľa polície úmyselne inicioval oheň v uličke s vystaveným toaletným papierom a detskými plienkami.

Pellegrini, Danko, Fico

Danko kritizuje Pellegriniho za jeho vyjadrenie k ceste Fica do Moskvy

23.12.2024 13:55

Pýtať si od predsedu vlády vysvetlenie, čo robil v Rusku, pripomína šéfovi SNS nepochopenie či nevnímanie situácie, že dodávky plynu pre Slovensko sú ohrozené.

Belgicko, Zelenskyj, Fico, summit

Zelenskyj obvinil Fica, že svojím prístupom ohľadom ruského plynu pomáha Putinovi

23.12.2024 13:35

Zelenskyj uviedol, že účastníci summitu si všimli, že Fico sa nechce podieľať na spoločnom úsilí získať energetickú nezávislosť alebo hľadať náhradu za ruský plyn.

Štatistiky blogu

Počet článkov: 571
Celková čítanosť: 254757x
Priemerná čítanosť článkov: 446x

Autor blogu

Kategórie