wuhao93
143 posts
Apr 28, 2012
11:46 PM
|
NEWARK, N. Authentic Pau Gasol Jersey.J. -- LeBron James swears he wasnt trying to send a message, though his coach couldnt help but notice. "You could kind of tell after about halfway through, he took three alley-oop lobs and a 360. I think without even talking to him that kind of spoke to us in volume that he was ready to go," Erik Spoelstra said. That was during the morning shootaround. Then James did roughly the same thing against the New Jersey Nets. James returned to the lineup and scored 22 of his 32 points in the first quarter, and the Miami Heat rolled to a 101-90 victory on Saturday night despite playing without Dwyane Wade. Wade missed his third straight game with a bruised left foot, but James had the game under control by the time his all-star teammate arrived at his seat on the bench. James made his first seven shots, leaping high for dunks, lobs and blocked shots and showing no effects from the sprained left ankle that forced him to miss a game. The NBAs leading scorer added nine assists and seven rebounds. "If I feel like Im good to go, then Im going to go out and play my game," James said. "Im not going to give no restriction, just try to do the things I do out on the court and I was able to get a couple of breakaways, some easy points, get to the free throw line and I was able to test the ankle out in the first quarter." Chris Bosh added 16 points after a slow start for the Heat, who won their third straight and ran the NBAs best record to 8-1. They hope to have Wade back when they move to the West for the final three games of a five-game trip. Kris Humphries tied a career high with 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Nets, who shot just 33.7 per cent in front of a sellout crowd of 18,711. Deron Williams had 10 points and 10 assists but was just 4 of 16 from the field. James took part in the morning shootaround, but the Heat didnt decide he would play until shortly before tipoff in order to see how he felt after warming up. And he denied his dunk show in the morning was designed to get Spoelstras attention. "No, I dont need to show no coaches what I can do," he said, laughing. "Ive been in this league long enough. Just trying to test it out this morning, try to get it warm, get it loose and see what I could do, what I couldnt do." Once the game started, he did it all. James took a hit but converted the basket for a three-point play barely a minute into the game during the Heats 10-0 start. He hung on the rim as the backboard shook for a couple of seconds after one dunk, appearing to motion to someone near the court. Wade also worked out prior to the game before the Heat decided to give him additional rest. He arrived at the Heat bench near the end of the first quarter, just in time to see James throw down a fast-break dunk in the final minute and later hit a 19-foot jumper with 0.2 seconds left for a 31-18 lead. "Mainly we turned the ball over and hes gone," said Nets coach Avery Johnson, whose teams 22 turnovers led to 26 points. "Hes a combination of a wide receiver, tight end, running back once he gets two or three steps on you." James finally missed after returning from a second-quarter rest, off on an attempted bank shot, but made his final shot of the half and Miami took a 57-35 lead into halftime. Bosh, who had 33 points and 14 rebounds Thursday in the Heats triple-overtime victory in Atlanta without the other two-thirds of the Big Three, shot 1 for 6 in the first half. The Nets were 15 of 31 behind the arc in Fridays 97-85 victory over Toronto, and Johnson said the 3-ball needed to be a weapon because his team has no post game with starting centre Brook Lopez out with a broken right foot. But the Nets missed 18 of their first 21 Saturday before finishing 10 of 33. Williams criticized his play and the teams. "I like the offence. I like the system. I just think were not executing good," he said. "Were not finishing. Were not hitting shots. You know were messing up plays. Were not on the right spots. Yesterday we were. Today we werent. Its a night and day frame you know where we were yesterday." Still, the Nets cut it to 10 on Williams 3-pointer with 4:27 left in the third, and had a chance to get closer on their next possession when rookie MarShon Brooks drove for a layup. But James blocked the shot to trigger a fast break that led to Shane Battiers 3-pointer, and rookie Norris Cole followed with one to make it 72-56. Udonis Haslem had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat. Notes: Spoelstra said injured swingman Mike Miller (hernia surgery) will take place in his first practice with contact Monday in California. Also, Spoelstra said Eddy Curry (hip) is getting closer to being cleared for full contact and was "very encouraged" by the oft-injured centres progress. ... Lopez said his recovery from surgery was going well and that an X-ray Saturday was negative. He was injured in a pre-season game at New York on Dec. 21 and learned the extent of the injury the next day. "I didnt see it coming at all," he said. "I thought it was a tweaked ankle or something." ... Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald was at the game. Authentic Claude Giroux Jersey.53 percent increase in net profit to 1.197 billion yuan ($176 million) for the first six months of 2010. Nicklas Backstrom Jersey. Aaron Johnson pitched in 18 points, seven boards and five assists for UAB (6-1). Stephen Hall scored 20 points in defeat for Jacksonville State (2-6), which received 18 points from Jeremy Bynum. As for senior guard Nick Murphy, who tallied nine points, he became the Gamecocks all-time Division I scoring leader. DeAngelo Williams Nike Jersey. - Stephon Thorne scored a pair of goals - including the game-winner at 2:09 of the second period - to lead the Brampton Battalion to a 3-1 victory over the Peterborough Petes in Ontario Hockey League action Friday night. Casey Hampton Jersey. After having to pull his starting goaltender in each of the past two games -- although surprisingly only one of those was a loss -- Ottawa coach Cory Clouston was in a bit of surly mood Wednesday morning, seeking an improved effort from netminders Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott. Authentic Shane Doan Jersey. The Devils had two reasons to feel good Saturday: They beat the best team in the NHL and have won three straight games for the first time this season.There are makeovers and then there are tear-downs. At the start of summer Raptors President and GM Bryan Colangelo promised changes. However, like he did the last time the team missed the playoffs, he significantly under-sold how dramatic those changes would be. While one could have reasonably expected some adjustments to rebounding and defense, historically sore points for this team under Colangelo, the total overhaul that has dominated the club this summer is borderline unprecedented for the team. While 2007 saw the same number of new faces (nine) report to training camp, the unending stream of changes - combined with the known calibre of talent acquired - puts this summer in a class on its own. Sheer player acquisition, though, doesnt make for a remarkable summer. On their own, for instance, Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson are rather banal gets. While both have had the virtues of their potential extolled by former coaches, neither has fully capitalized yet on their opportunities. However, the reason their arrivals in Toronto are noteworthy is because of WHY they were brought to the team. The club had a need for shooters after losing Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono, and Belinelli cost them a pittance (Devean George) to make the exchange. Despite being a Euroleague vet with upside (Colangelos addiction), he was picked up because of a definable skill set that he already possessed (outside shooting) that filled a specific team need. With regards to Johnson, the team had an excess of point guards after signing Jarrett Jack and used last years backup, Roko Ukic, along with Carlos Delfino, to sweeten a deal to address a need for an athletic and defensive-minded big. They eased a glut while improving a weakness. It wasnt just that the club addressed a weakness, either, its that the weakness in question was so esoteric. Johnson is a player brought in for nights against athletic scoring power forwards like Charlie Villanueva and LaMarcus Aldridge - and thats really it. There was a time recently that the Raptors would have been happy to have three proven bigs just to fill their rotation; this year they look to have four (Bosh, Bargnani, Nesterovic and Evans) and are now rounding it out with situational alternatives. Its that reality that has to be considered the biggest achievement of this (still possibly incomplete) summer. In 2007, the team was as concerned with acclimating (or re-acclimating) Andrea Bargnani, Jorge Garbajosa and Anthony Parker to playing in the NBA as they were with preparing for their upcoming season. They were depending on an as-yet-unproven Jose Calderon in his second year as a back-up to injury-prone starter T.J. Ford, they had an undefined wing rotation and Chris Bosh was their lone reliable asset; all were areas of concern heading into training camp in Treviso. The club was lacking in several areas (athleticism, perimeter defense, playmaking wings) and the team did little to address these areas of want mid-season or the following summer. This year, Colangelo and company were considerably more studious in assessing what they felt were weak points on the club and going about shoring them up - the extremity thereof being a pretty significant indictment of just how weak Colangelos roster was a year ago. Instead of simply turning over the roster to available European talent or a cavalcade of shooters, this year there was a decided focus on what the whole could accomplish in unison instead of the parts that simplyy made up a roster sheet. Mark Sanchez JerseyAntoine Wright and Reggie Evans, for instance, are not sexy pickups but they will prove invaluable during a long 82-game season when the team has to dig in a bit and outwork the other team en route to a win. In many ways, too, this has been the summer that most closely resembles the implications made when Colangelo took over the club in 2006. He wasnt just advertised as man who could push through a trade a trade or two; he was sold as savior that would bring a culture change to this adolescent squad. He was thought of as an executive that would end the rollercoaster ride of the previous decade and plant the Raptors, with some measure of permanence, in the relevant thick of the Eastern Conference. Until recently, though, his rosters appeared as soft, imbalanced collections of players that were less capable of achieving their goals with each passing year. They relied too heavily on shooters, showed a severe lack of rebounding and defensive effort and preached too often that internal development of guys like Kris Humphries and Jason Kapono would be enough to boost the team in the coming years. These last two months, though, and even the waning months of last season, saw a much more focused and thoughtful approach to player acquisition. Not only were fit and need considered thoroughly, but future cap implications, as well. Amir Johnson, Rasho Nesterovic, Antoine Wright, Quincy Douby, Patrick OBryant and Sonny Weems are all expiring or non-guaranteed contracts, and of course Chris Bosh has his own contract particularities to sort though next summer. Beyond 2010, only players deemed essential core assets (Bargnani, Calderon, Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack and DeMar DeRozan) are currently under contract to the team. So not only does the team have the most balanced roster than theyve had in years, but they also have not sacrificed their long term financial future - a must in this era of plummeting salary caps - to do so. By that measure this has certainly been the most remarkable summer in Raptors history, but it also portends that the oft-cited culture change that was said to come with Bryan Colangelo may have finally come to pass as well. Before anyone can say for certain, though, Jay Triano will have to lead this group in his first full season as head coach back into the post-season, while also maintaining competitiveness for the duration of the regular season. The team will have to demonstrate a commitment to winning defense that hasnt been seen since 2001 and then Colangelo will be tasked with not imperiling the club with his moves next summer. The Raptors fan base has been offered glimpses of what could be before, only to have their fortunes sour before they could be enjoyed. While this has certainly been the most promising offseason in Raptors history - eclipsing even the summer of 2001 when Glen Grunwald overspent to secure a secondary crew in an effort to get Vince Carters name inked on an extension - its the on-court play that will determine its relevancy. Its because the Raptors have promised so much and delivered so little in the past, though, that such cynicism will he in full effect until the club (finally) offers a reason for unfettered optimism. Today, then, perhaps the best compliment that can be paid to the club is that is that one can actually see the direction this club is taking and not want to shake his or her head at their premonitions. Its not much, but its positive start. Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
|
