by any of the top teams most likely, but for a fan base dyin | Forum

Topic location: Forum home » General » General Chat
Deleted user Oct 22 '16, 08:04AM
LOS ANGELES -- Share and share alike. Jimmy Ockford Sounders Jersey . That appears to be the Los Angeles Clippers mantra now that theyll be facing extended time without All-Star point guard Chris Paul. Darren Collison scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half and had seven assists in his second start at the point since Pauls injury, leading the Clippers to a 101-81 rout of the Orlando Magic on Monday night. "You cant replace Chris Paul. Hes a great player in this league. Im just going to play my game and do what I do best," Collison said. "If I go out there and make a mistake, then I make a mistake. But the one thing you can always count on is that Im always going to play hard and try to help my team. When youre aggressive, then you start to see the openings for your teammates and get them the ball." Paul, who separated his right shoulder in Fridays win at Dallas and is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks, sat behind the Clippers bench in a suit and tie while Collison unselfishly orchestrated things without a hitch against the last-place team in the Southeast Division. "I think the biggest change D.C. made today was that there were three or four times where he could have shot the ball and instead gave it to one of his teammates," coach Doc Rivers said. "When a point guard gives up shots that he could take, its almost like the other guys want to pay it back and get it back to him. Blake did it several times tonight, and Jamal did it a couple of times. So that was good to see." The Clippers enjoyed one of their best defensive efforts of the season, after surrendering 70 first-half points in each of their previous two games against Dallas and San Antonio -- both on the road. "You couldnt really ask for a better game from a lot of guys tonight," Blake Griffin said. "I mean, guys were hitting shots, guys were defending, guys were getting steals, we were running people off the 3-point line -- we did all the things that we wanted to do. And thats always encouraging. Its good to have a game like that after having such a poor first half in San Antonio." Crawford chipped in with 13 points and eight of the teams 30 assists. Griffin -- bogged down by early foul trouble -- had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. DeAndre Jordan had 17 rebounds and 14 points. "I thought our ball movement was excellent," Collison said. "Without a guy like Chris Paul, I think we tend to take the pressure off ourselves when everybodys moving the ball like that. I thought we played phenomenal, as far as the offensive end and how we moved the ball. But I think the biggest reason we had so many good attempts at the opposite end was because of our defence. We really locked down." Reserves Maurice Harkless and Victor Oladipo each scored 22 points for the Magic, who have lost four straight and 11 of their last 15 games. Centre Nikola Vucevic, who had 30 points and 21 rebounds against the Clippers in Orlandos 98-90 home loss on Nov. 6, had just two points and eight boards in 20 minutes after missing the previous two games because of sprained left ankle. He left the game after fouling Griffin near the Clippers basket and taking a hard spill with 8:18 left in the third quarter. "He had a pretty bad fall," coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Hes already been diagnosed with a concussion, so hell enter the concussion protocol and Ill leave it in the hands of the doctors now." Rivers had all of his starters on the bench at the beginning of the fourth quarter with an 85-55 lead, but he had to put them all back in after Jason Maxiells dunk capped a 16-2 run that narrowed the gap to 87-71 with 7:01 remaining. Griffin had two fouls in the first 4:05 of the game and went to the bench after the Clippers opened the game with a 12-3 run. But Jordan extended the margin to 20-3 less than 2 1-2 minutes later with a demonstrative slam dunk, after Crawford set up an alley-oop dunk by Jordan and a 22-footer by Collison. NOTES: Paul, a six-time All-Star, is averaging 18.5 points and 9.8 assists during his three seasons with the Clippers. Since he joined them, they are 11-10 when he doesnt play and 109-55 when he does. ... Vucevic missed five games last March because of a concussion after starting each of Orlandos first 68 contests. ... The Magic made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons when Rivers coached them, but they lost in the first round each time. ... No Orlando player has scored more than 26 points in any of the last 16 games since Afflalos 43-point effort in double overtime in a one-point loss to Philadelphia on Nov. 27. ... Orlando had won 11 of its previous 13 meetings with the Clippers. Aaron Kovar Jersey . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Charlie Lyon Sounders Jersey . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. http://www.seattlesoundersteamshop.com/...tle-Sounders-Jersey/ .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Its been an eventful 12 months for the Toronto Raptors. The team got nailed by injuries to start last season and ended up dropping 19 of their first 23 games. Then another injury actually turned things around. Andrea Bargnani went down with an elbow injury and the Raptors won eight of their next 10. Next came a major in season trade as the Raptors sent much loved point guard Jose Calderon and young big man Ed Davis to Memphis in exchange for Rudy Gay. Gay instantly became the go-to guy in Toronto and the Raptors actually went .500 (18-18) after the trade to finish the season 34-48 and tied for ninth in the East. The in-season changes were nothing compared to what has happened since though. Off-season of change When Tim Leiweke was hired as the new president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment it didnt take long to realize that he was brining sweeping changes with him. For the Raptors it meant saying goodbye to Bryan Colangelo, the man who had led the team for the past seven seasons, the last five of which involved missing the playoffs. The Raptors lured up and coming executive Masai Ujiri away from the Denver Nuggets to take over from Colangelo as GM. Its fitting that the first major move made by Ujiri was to ship Bargnani, whom Colangelo selected first overall in 2006 and failed to build the team around, off to New York. And not only was Ujiri able to move Bargnani and his bloated contract, he actually got something in return. THe Raptors received Marcus Camby, Steve Novak and Quentin Richardson in the deal as well as a 2016 frist round draft pick and two future second round picks. The team waived Camby and Richardson, but Novak gives the Raptors some much needed three-point shooting and the draft picks will be najor assets as the Raptors look to rebuild. The Raptors also amnestied Linas Kleiza while adding Tyler Hansbrough, Austin Daye and D.J. Augustin to the fold for this season. The team certainly isnt ready to be considered a contender just yet, but its a brand new era in Toronto. And with Ujiri at the helm, the future looks bright. The Good The Raptors have turned the page on the Bryan Colangelo-Andrea Bargnani. The Raptors future is in far better hands with Masai Ujiri at the helm and building around Jonas Valanciunas. Toronto actually has a pretty strong starting lineup with Valanciunas flanked by Amir Johnson and Rudy Gay in the frontcourt along with DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry in the backcourt. That lineup actually outscored opponents by 85 points in their 343 minutes together last season. Valanciunas especially looks to be a real bright spot for the Raptors and could be in line for a breakout season after dominating in summer league. A full training camp for Rudy Gay should also prove big for the Raptors. He led the team in scoring after joining them in Febbruary, averaging 19. Dylan Remick Sounders Jersey. 5 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists. The team will look for him to be even better, and far more efficient, in his first full season in Toronto. DeMar DeRozan is another player that could be in line for a breakout year. His offensive game is continuing to develop and he is also improving on the defensive end. The team has the offensive firepower to compete night-in, night-out and could actually be in the running for a lower seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. And more importantly their future growth is in good hands with Ujiri who is widely regarded as a terrific talent evaluator. The Not So Good Dwane Casey emphasizes defence in his coaching, but the team actually struggled to stop opponents last season. Raptors opponents scored 104.7 points per 100 possessions last year, ranking the Raptors 22nd in the league in that category. Their starting five project to be a pretty stout unit, but Valanciunas, Lowry and Johnson all tend to be foul prone and the defensive depth behind them isnt great. Theyll need their starters to stay out of trouble if they want to keep opponent scoring down. Kyle Lowry is also proving to be a fairly injury prone player which could be problematic given the lack of point guard depth behind him. Luckily heavoided a more significant finger injury to his non-shooting hand in a presseason game against Memphis but will still have to wear a splint on the finger for the first six weeks of the season. He has averaged 13.5 games on the sidelines over the last four years though and neither Dwight Buycks, nor DJ Augustin looks capable of handling starters minutes. Another potential stumbling block for the season (not necessarily the long-term though) is the fact that Lowry and Gay are both in the final year of their respective contracts. Ujiri may decide may decide he wants to buld elsewhere and look to move one or both players. Any such move would drop the players out of playoff contention and into the lottery. In the long run that may not actually be a bad thing as the 2014 prospect pool is loaded and the Raptors are probabyl targeting 2016 for when they truly want to compete. What To Expect As long as the Raptors dont blow things up and trade Lowry, Gay or any other starter for future assets, this will be a team that is in the hunt for the playoffs. They should be flirting with the .500 mark all season long and if they get there it should be enough for a low playoff seed in the top-heavy Eastern Conference. They would soundly thumped in the first round by any of the top teams most likely, but for a fan base dying to get back into the playoffs, that might be enough for now. Of course, if Ujiri does decide to do some wheeling and dealing, the team would fall out of the playoff hunt and into the hunt for a high pick next year. Either way, there is reason for optimism in Toronto. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jersey ' ' '