Bewerbungen » r crowing the Kings as a team to watch in

With a new basketball season underway, TSNs Three Man Weave is back. Filling the lanes with crisp passes, alongside the hosts of TSN Radio 1050s 1 On 1 With Will & Duane, Will Strickland and Duane Watson, is co-host of the NBA webseries, Below the Hardwood, Ryan Henry. The Raptors have tied a franchise best start, going 4-1. Are they playing like a 4-1 team? Strickland: Hard to nitpick a team that is tied for first in the Eastern Conference, but... forming good habits early on helps, especially through the dog days of the season. Toronto has committed a NBA-low record amount of turnovers through the first five games and has been able to overcome deficits they put themselves in to win games. But this team arrived at this point by focusing their attention to detail on the defensive end. The Raps have not yet committed to their calling card as a Top 10 defensive unit in the Association yet. Itll be necessary to re-establish identity as the schedule gets tougher and Toronto looks to be considered one of the elite teams not only in the East but in the NBA as a whole. Henry: No. They have given teams a chance in games late because of poor starts. No.1 ranked 4th quarter D but how long can that last? Watson: Despite their record, they arent playing like one. They have the wins, but are lacking the defensive focus that earned them a franchise best in wins last season. As they say you dont count how they got the wins, you just count them, but more talented teams will view this match-up as a winnable game based on how they are playing thus far. With that said, they have the whole season to correct these issues. At what point does the panic in Cleveland get real? Strickland: Panic is a strong word. But the warts are noticeable for the Cavs. Rare is it that you can stay in a NBA game despite doling out franchise low six assists. But with Kyrie Irving playing like he is more concerned with more Uncle Drew commercials and winning meaningless All-Star Game MVP honours while sidekick and resident soloist Dion Waiters clearly not falling in with the expected program, the concern should be whether Cleveland would rather win by sacrificing individual glory or just look good losing? Last time a team made it to the Finals after starting 1-3: 1991 Chicago Bulls led by one Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Henry: Re-evaluate by All-Star break. With nearly an entirely new squad, this Cavs team shouldve expected chemistry/personnel issues. Watson: If the Cavaliers are still playing as such two weeks from now, there should be a legitimate concern. We saw this with the Big Three in Miami their first year starting 9-8, more than half of their roster wasnt on the team last year, in addition to a coach in his first year in the NBA. There is going to be an adjustment period, but last time I checked they have the best player in the league, recently tweeted to the world to relax. Right now, who is the best team in the Western Conference? Strickland: Ill add the caveat that San Antonio is automatically excluded from this question... for now. With two of the three remaining undefeated teams, Houston (6-0) and Golden State (4-0) prepping for an early season clash of contenders on Saturday and Memphis (4-0) quietly grinding out wins and nurturing team chemistry, the good money right now is on Steve Kerrs Warriors. Theyve destroyed better foes than the Rockets thus far behind a commitment to vastly improved defence without stifling the improvisational skills of The Splash Brother, Wardell Stephen Curry and the new $70 Million Man, Klay Alexander Thompson. Add in a strong, deep bench led by Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, Shawn Livingston and Leandro Barbosa and their main concern toward ultimate success may rest in The Human Injured Reserve List front line of Andrew Bogut and David Lee. Henry: The Golden State Warriors have blown out three of the four teams theyve faced to a convincing 4-0 start. Thompson and Curry may have ended the best backcourt in the league debate. Watson: At this point, the Rockets are doing it all and coming together early. Dwight Howard is finally looking like the player Shaquille ONeal has been clamoring for, James Harden has rounded out his game and Trevor Ariza has fit right in, making Chandler Parsons departure a non-issue. Theyve taken care of business and havent looked in trouble at all in their victories and can conceivably go 13-2. In the pre-season, Dennis Rodman called J.R. Smith the new Dennis Rodman, how far off was he? Strickland: For claritys sake, lets consider the source of this quote then look at it in a couple ways. Does The Worm mean Earl Smith, Jr. is a totally disruptive defensive force and rebounding madman who will give his heart, soul and body to his team and the benefit of winning? Or is Mr. Rodman comparing Smiths on and off-court antics to his own during a Hall Of Fame career that was at times overshadowed by his behavior and desires to be recognized for something... anything? Well, this much we know for sure: Smiths not a Hall of Famer and in his ninth year in the league, he still hasnt shown hes a winner. So heres to that comparison, J.R. Congratulations are in order.. or not... Henry: Dennis has been far off on a lot of things in his career. That trend continues. JR is a loose cannon but not in the same asylum as Rodman. Panda-Friend, however... Watson: Smith is finally achieving expectations, but not in a good way. His behaviour equates to the bad Rodmans antics and poor judgment calls, not the player who fits into the team dynamic and does whatever is asked of him. Based on his success, teams were willing to overlook the bad, cause his defense and rebounding were invaluable, but Smith hasnt even proved himself in any regard, except for being a good yet streaky scorer. After a decade in the league, people are still waiting from to mature, doesnt look like thats going to happen. Under the leadership of DeMarcus Cousins, will the Sacramento Kings continue to flourish? Strickland: The summer trip to Spain was good to DeMarcus Amir Cousins. Who knew that a gruesome injury to Paul George and Kevin Durants subsequent queasiness about FIBA basket stanchions would also be a blessing to the Kings as Cousins teammate Rudy Gay was called to fill in for them? Leadership is rooted in forming positive habits and adhering to those habits in practice and principle. Cousins launched his leader star turn demonstratively, helping the U.S. Mens National Team to a gold medal with stout defensive, strong inside presence and dominating both backboards. Add that to the early season uber-efficiency of both Cousins and Gay and there is a real reason to consider crowing the Kings as a team to watch in the West. Henry: Team USA may have set Cousins straight. He looks engaged and hungry for success. If he stays on the floor, the Kings may find themselves fighting for a playoff spot. Watson: Cousins is still posting double-doubles as he does every year, but his gold medal World Cup experience definitely helped prove to people he can mature. His focus has stepped up a notch thus far. Darren Collison has been a welcome addition in the backcourt and Rudy Gay is shooting over 50 per cent from the field, which is another positive. More importantly, they have played and won against strong western opponents so far, which can only bode well for the Kings. Follow them on twitter: Will Strcikland @WallStrizzle1 Duane Watson @duanewatson & Ryan Henry @RAHenry Cheap Air Max China . Berkman almost left the game last off-season before signing with the Texas Rangers. He then had another injury-plagued season and was limited to 73 games. Wholesale Air Max .com) - Kam Chancellor bobbed his head in celebration as he crossed the goal line on his game-clinching 90-yard interception return. http://www.wholesaleairmax.net/. "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. Cheap Air Max China Free Shipping . - Maynor Figueroa headed in a late goal to give Honduras a 1-1 draw with the United States in an international friendly Tuesday. Cheap Wholesale Air Max . Pekovic had an MRI test Tuesday on his right ankle that revealed bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid-filled pad that cushions the joint.QUEBEC CITY, Que. - Adam Erne had a goal and two assists as the Quebec Remparts downed the Victoriaville Tigres 6-2 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Friday night.Kurt Etchegary scored twice for the Remparts (25-12-2), in their fifth straight victory. Ryan Graves, Dmytro Timashov and Zachery Moody added the others.Mathieu Ayotte and Gabriel Gagne had early second-period goals for Victoriaville (19-15-5).Callum Booth made 22 saves for Quebec in the win. Chase Marchand started for the Tigres stopping 21-of-25 shots in 39:18. His replacement, Olivier Tremblay, made 15 saves in 20:42.The Remparts scored once on three power-play chances while Victoriaville faailed to score on three opportunities.dddddddddddd---SCREAMING EAGLES 2 ISLANDERS 1SYDNEY, N.S. — Maxim Lazarev scored his 19th of the season late in the first period as Cape Breton held off Charlottetown.Marcus Hinds opened the scoring for the Screaming Eagles (13-20-5) and assisted on the eventual winner.Bradley Kennedy replied on the power play for the Islanders (19-19-2).---WILDCATS 2 TITAN 1MONCTON, N.B. — Cameron Askew scored the winner at 17:49 of the second period as the Wildcats defeated Acadie-Bathurst.Bronson Beaton also found the back of the net for Moncton (25-11-2).Jeffrey Truchon-Viel started the scoring for the Titan (11-25-5).--- ' ' '