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"We, The People, In Order To Form A More Perfect Union..." Disregard the fact that the phrase is from an American political document or that there can be nothing "more perfect". Instead, review how the Toronto Raptors began their perfectly imperfect quest and whats next for the squad. October 31, 2013: Start of the 2013-14 NBA season. Fresh off a solid training camp with a full complement of players and outwardly optimistic, questions about the future of the franchise under president and general manager Masai Ujiri remained. With a highly publicized and strongly projected 2014 Draft Class, uncertainty about roster stability, quality and identity of the team and what appeared to be a lame duck head coach in Dwane Casey, RaptorNation and TankNation seemed to be in accord. Not having sniffed playoff pay dirt since a 2008 first round ouster at the hands of the then-Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic, an uneasy relationship with multiple monikers on what lay ahead for Canadas Team abounded: Mishandle For Randle, Concede For Embiid, Be Sorry For Jabari, Stop Caring For Aaron and of course Riggin For Wiggins. A shrewd and savvy front office executive, Ujiri has proven to be in just a few short months north of the border, jettisoning the personages and albatross-like contracts of Andrea Bargnani and Rudy Gay for more than just flotsam and salary cap relief. The deft moves brought in team players and quality, unselfish veterans in Steve Novak, Greveis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and the gritty, gutty Chuck Hayes, all fully aware of their roles and willing to lend to an ever-developing chemistry under head coach Dwane Casey. Now leading the Atlantic Division at 24-21 and in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, the Raps begin a week-long West Coast swing on Friday and a short homestand before the All-Star break. The energy around this team, despite recent injuries to Amir Johnson and the newly-minted All-Star DeMar DeRozan, has been at a fever pitch. Despite bucking for home court advantage in the playoffs, there is an overwhelming consensus that Ujiri will move Kyle Lowry by the NBAs trade deadline instead of losing the unrestricted free agent in the offseason. But dont be so sure. Any day between now and February 20 may well be The Tomorrow You Should Have Feared Yesterday as the Toronto Raptors and Masai Ujiri in particular, face a dilemma of potentially franchise-changing dimension. At the crossroad to this predicament, the twisted fates of Lowry and Casey stand. The Question is: Are they all headed in the same direction? "Where our team is, I dont know if, as a team, were where we can get two guys (on the All-Star team). Thats the truth, but were getting there," Ujiri said. "Well see how we continue to grow as a team." Is Masai Ujiri willing to roll the dice on Lowry, not move him and hope that he can make a cap friendly and competitively respectful offer in July for his starting point guard to stay in Toronto? All-Star snub aside, Lowry is averaging career highs in points and assists at 16.8 and 7.6 respectively. Arguably one of the Top 10 point guards in The Association, his real growth may be in areas that dont show in the box score, however. "Im going to keep grinding no matter what, All-Star or not," said Lowry. "Im always going to work hard and continue to be the best player I can be to help my team win. So for me, hey I didnt make it, it didnt happen, youve got a game, youve got to worry about the rest of the season and you go on." Does Ujiri have confidence that Casey is the right man for the job to lead the Raptors to heights unseen by the franchise? "My wish, my hope and my desire is to not let this be a one year flash in the pan," said Casey. "We want to develop something and thats why I keep talking about the process." With the Raptors at well beyond tanking level, the delicate ballet of managing expectation, fruitful return on any trade and current chemistry on this team falls in the apt hands of Masai Ujiri. As the exhaustive hype over the strength of the 2014 Draft Class continues to dissipate, Raptor fans might wish to envision the success of Ujiris "No Superstar" team in Denver of 2013. Or look to the steady build of a solidly great team in Oklahoma City by their GM, Sam Presti, who has effectively retained his very best players while building through the Draft, key veteran acquisitions and stability on the bench. Then again, RaptorNation might rest well on the notion of Ujiri standing pat with Casey, Lowry and the rest of the team for this season by thinking about the 2004 Detroit Pistons. It was that unit, led by a highly motivated and well-travelled point guard in former Raptor Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" Billups, a tough, veteran guard, an athletic young wing, two workhorses down low doing the dirty work, a solid bench and a very good coach, who defeated the seemingly invincible Los Angeles Lakers, fronted by Phil Jackson, Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant, 4-1 in the NBA Finals. Reaching? Perhaps... But dreams have to start somewhere... What "more perfect" place than Toronto with these perfectly imperfected Raptors? Khiry Robinson Saints Jersey . -- Amid stories about Jeremy Lin and the upcoming all-star game, the Detroit Pistons have quietly become one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Brandin Cooks Saints Jersey . -- If the Bears make changes this off-season, it will not be at quarterback. http://www.authenticsaintsjerseysteamshop.com/Marques-Colsto n-Saints-Jersey . Five first-round trades were made Tuesday night as well as another involving an early second-round selection. Saints T-Shirts . The Olympic hockey rookies will face top-seeded and 2006 Olympic champion Sweden on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Kopitar, who plays for the Los Angeles Kings, is the only NHL player on the Slovenia squad. His father, Matjaz, is the national teams coach. Cheap Rafael Bush Jersey . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Phoenix Coyotes forced the Anaheim Ducks into a number of critical mistakes which made all the difference in a one-goal win. Martin Hanzal scored his first two goals of the season, Boyd Gordon and Lauri Korpikoski scored than two minutes apart in the second period, and the Coyotes beat their Pacific Division rivals 5-4 on Sunday night. "We did a real good job of forechecking," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "We had a real mindset to push back, make sure we got in hard on the forecheck and create a couple of opportunities for ourselves." Korpikoski and defenceman Keith Yandle both had a goal and an assist, Taylor Pyatt had two assists, and Mike Smith made 29 saves for Phoenix to improve to 4-0-1 against Anaheim. "We have to be a team that gets on the puck, and we cant be sitting back," captain Shane Doan said. "We count on every single line to contribute. It cant be just one group. We dont have the luxury of (Anaheims) Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan line. We have to have everyone going and everyone forechecking and creating things off the pressure." Ryan Getzlaf scored his first two goals of the season for the Ducks, who have dropped two in a row at home after a four-game winning streak. Lubomir Visnovsky had a goal and an assist, and Kurtis Foster also scored for Anaheim. "Normally you dont give up four goals and call yourself a real sharp defensive team, but we came in wanting to play a good road hockey game and find a way to win," Tippett said. "We got a decent lead and hung on." The Coyotes, coming off back-to-back home losses to Chicago and Los Angeles, scored on five of 19 shots against Jonas Hiller and chased him at 7:56 of the second with Phoenix leading by three. "They pressure pretty well and they made it difficult for us," Hiller said. "Our defencemen always had somebody on their back and they didnt give us a while lot of time. We started throwing pucks around and didnt play smart enough and simple enough. We were losing the puck a lot in our zone and they scored on those chances." Gordon put the Coyotes ahead to stay at 4:47 with his first of the season, converting a pass by Pyatt from behind the net after a shot by Korpikoski sailed wide right. Korpikoski then scored on a short wrist shot after defenceman Adrian Aucoin intercepted an attempted clearing pass by Toni Lydman just inside the Anaheim blue-line and got the puck to Pyatt. Annother turnover by defenceman Cam Fowler led to Yandles goal.dddddddddddd Hiller was then replaced by Dan Ellis, who stopped all 16 shots he faced. "The flurry of goals in the second period sunk our hockey club," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "Im sure a couple of them Jonas would like to have back. Those are usually signs that the goalie doesnt have it going that night. I probably should have done something after the fourth goal instead of waiting for the fifth goal. "Its easy to criticize the goalie because hes the last line of defence, but theres a lot of things that happened in front of him." The Ducks responded to the switch, getting within 5-3 about 5 1/2 minutes later on Fosters first goal since being acquired this summer from Edmonton. Getzlaf scored his second with 1:08 remaining. "Theyre really good, and that Getzlaf line is fun to watch if youre not playing against them," Doan said. "They were good again, but we were fortunate enough to beat them and hopefully build some momentum." Hanzal opened the scoring at 4:41 of the first period, but Visnovsky tied it less than four minutes later with a one-timer that changed direction off Pyatts stick. Getzlaf put the Ducks ahead 2-1 at 14:02 of the first with another deflection, getting his stick on Teemu Selannes wrist shot from the right circle. But the lead lasted just 42 seconds, as Hanzal got a lead pass from Yandle while crossing the blue line and beat Hiller with a slap shot. "If Hanz isnt the best-kept secret in the league, hes right up there," Doan said. "You ask all those guys in our division that have to play against him, like Getzlaf, (Anze) Kopitar, (Joe) Thornton and (Mike) Ribeiro. He does an incredible job." Before the game, the Coyotes acquired centre Brock Trottier and a seventh-round pick in next years draft from Montreal for centre Petteri Nokelainen and minor league defenceman Garrett Stafford. NOTES: Referee Brad Watson worked alone because Steve Kozari was ill. Seven minor penalties were called. ... For the second straight Sunday, the Ducks hosted the only game on the NHL schedule after 28 of the leagues 30 teams played Saturday. ... Phoenix C Andy Miele, this years Hobey Baker winner as the top college player, made his NHL debut. ... The Ducks begin a seven-game road trip Tuesday at Chicago. ... The Coyotes are 2 for 23 on the power play over their last six games after going 4 for 6 in the season opener at San Jose. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
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| Beitrag vom 13.12.2014 - 08:14 |
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| gengm125 |
13.12.2014 - 08:14 |
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