FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS 1. wholesale nfl jerseys . CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. He can play both guard spots and plays within himself and can shoot the three-ball exceptionally well but most importantly he is a respected elder statesman who gets it and can still play. Hes a huge asset to coach Maurice Cheeks getting this young/talented team to buy in" and make the sacrifices necessary to be successful. A good under the radar pickup by GM Joe Dumars after a messy departure a few years back. 2. NIKOLA VUCEVIC (Magic): Check out these numbers (14.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg and shooting 56 per cent) and I think you can see this guy is no fluke. Loved watching him get extended minutes last season and its paying off. Hes relentless on the offensive boards and has that nose for the ball that good rebounders have. Hes getting the opportunity and is one of the bright spots for a young team that is flying high after knocking off the Brooklyn Nets. 3. LANDRY FIELDS (Raptors): None of us have any control over the bloated contract he received yet we do have control over our pure objectivity in assessing a guys game and overall contribution to a team with money left totally aside. I like what I see. Would he be a guy Id want as a teammate? Yes, definitely. Would he be a guy Id like to coach? It would be an honour. He gets it. Hes all about team and sacrifice. Smart and tough. Does he have limitations? Yes, but hes a solid rotation player who you can count on and trust to try to do the right things and be in the right places. He wont always be successful but you know the intent is precisely what the script calls for. As a former coach, you reach a point where you get tired of waiting for guys and youd rather deal with someone who is dependable. Fields fills that void for a number of minutes each game to allow for others to grow/prosper. I talk to lots of coaches, executives and scouts and in spite of a contract thats overpriced (no fault of Fields) to a man - hes a respected player who fits the bill as a role player with winning habits. Hes healthy and were seeing a guy regaining his confidence and earning the trust of his coaches and teammates as a guy who will be in that nine-man rotation. Guys like this are hard to keep off the floor. Its a team game. 4. MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS (Sixers): Who saw this coming? The 76ers are 3-0 and the Suns are 2-1 (they played pretty well in their loss at Oklahoma City on Sunday night and lost Goran Dragic). Carter-Williams has been awesome in their upsets. Hes averaging an amazing 20 ppg and 7 assists and is shooting 47 per cent from long distance. He guards and sets the tone for Brett Browns team defensively with his excellent lateral quicks and his ball pressure. Honestly didnt think hed be this good this early with a team that has limitations to say the least. He strikes me as a guy that will be one of those players who will be a better pro than he was in college at Syracuse. The pace and rules of the NBA game favour his game and also look at him as a guy who is still figuring out how to run a team. Has lots of ability and hes really jumped out at me. 5. XAVIER HENRY (Lakers): Style of play is a major benefit to this guy playing for Mike DAntoni. He parks himself behind the three-point arc (14.3 ppg and 45 per cent on threes) and lets loose. Watched a few of the Lakers games already and this system fits his game perfectly. Run to a spot and fire away on the catch. Im curious to see how he performs as we go along here as teams lock in with their scouting/preparation and begin to chase him off the distance line and make him score in a secondary fashion. If he can handle all that hes playing in an ideal situation for himself. cheap jerseys from china . </br></br> Apparently this took place at a soccer stadium for a club match in Brazil. cheap jerseys . The IceHogs scored three unanswered goals, capped by Jeremy Morins third-period goal, to beat the Marlies 3-2 in American Hockey League play Wednesday.DETROIT -- If what the Boston Bruins showed in coming back to beat the Detroit Red Wings was the resolve of a champion, it certainly wasnt obvious to goaltender Tuukka Rask. The Bruins erased a two-goal deficit in Game 4 to win 3-2 in overtime Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena and set up a chance to eliminate the Red Wings on Saturday. When they were behind and struggling, Rask didnt expect a switch to flip. "It definitely didnt look like it at times," Rask said. "It was a bit ugly at times, but then we got our stuff together and got going. Its just one of those things that we have a lot of character in this room that once we get going, we can come (back) from a deficit. But it just has to happen." It happened, thanks to goals from Torey Krug, Milan Lucic and then the game-winner by Jarome Iginla on a triple deflection that Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson was helpless to stop. The Bruins now need just one victory to set up an Atlantic Division final against the rival Montreal Canadiens. "Tonight was our toughest one in the series. Thats the way its supposed to be, it usually is, as it goes on," said Iginla, whose goal came at the 13:32 mark of overtime. "Being up now, we want to close it out. Theres no questions." One question Thursday night was how the Red Wings would benefit from the return of captain Henrik Zetterberg, who was playing his first game in two months after back surgery. The crowd of 20,066 cheered Zetterberg early and often and seemed to get even more of a spark from seeing him on the ice. "Obviously having that emotional lift by getting their captain back was big for them Im sure in the dressing room and you could hear it in the crowd, as well," Lucic said. Detroit took a 1-0 lead 11 minutes in on a power-play goal by new father Niklas Kronwall, who was arguably the Red Wings best player in Game 4. Kronwalls wife gave birth to a baby boy earlier in the day. Pavel Datsyuk, whose wife gave birth to a baby girl Wednesday, made it 2-0 just 4:27 into the second on a play orchestrated by Kronwall, who was beaming at what life had to offer outside of this loss. "Obviously it was a big day for me, a big day for me and my girl," Kronwall said. "Its something Ill never forget for sure. Rushed out of here, got there just in time to be there, and then just holding your son for the first time, its a pretty special feeling." Getting a surprise, last-minute start in place of the flu-ridden Jimmy Howard, Gustavsson wasnt tested much in the first and kept the Bruins off the board until Krugs goal 10:14 into the second. Shutout bid gone, Gustavsson also lost his best chance to pick up his first win in the Stanley Cup playoffs in his debut when Lucic scored on Bostons firrst shot of the third period. wholesale jerseys. . The overtime goal was just about impossible for the former Toronto Maple Leafs netminder to stop. Bruins defenceman Dougie Hamiltons shot went off Detroit forward Luke Glendenings stick, then Iginla, then Detroit defenceman Danny DeKeyser before going into the net. "We just want to get pucks on net," Hamilton said. "We were doing a good job of that. Its pucks and bodies and things like that happen." The goal was Iginlas sixth career game-winner in the playoffs and first since 2007. "Pretty fortunate goal, fortunate bounce, an ugly one. But that seems to be how a lot of those are in OT," the former Calgary Flames captain said. "It felt pretty cool to be winning an OT game in the playoffs." For the Bruins, winning Game 4 didnt happen in that instant but rather over a gradual period of time as they made this the ninth time a team erased a two-goal deficit in these playoffs. "After they took the 2-0 lead, I thought we kind of settled down a little bit and started playing our game," Boston coach Claude Julien said. From the other side, the Red Wings werent able to keep theirs up. The boost from Zetterbergs return only lasted so long, and then the Bruins chipped away. "I thought they got better as they game went on," Detroit coach Mike Bab**** said. "As the game went on, we had more holes defensively." Trying to patch those holes is one of the big jobs moving forward for the Red Wings as they try to stave off elimination. The Bruins expect Detroit to be desperate Saturday at TD Garden and know they need to be prepared. "Well load up and well be ready," Iginla said. "Were not taking anything for granted. Its always that last game, historically, thats the toughest." NOTES -- Gustavsson said he found out just before pre-game warm-ups that there was a chance hed start in place of Howard, who led the Red Wings onto the ice. The decision was made not long before puck drop as Bab**** said of Howard: "Last second, he just couldnt go." ... Zetterberg played 19:34 in his first NHL game since Feb. 8. ... Daniel Alfredsson was scratched for the Red Wings as he continues to deal with back problems. Bab**** said trainers told him that Alfredsson should be good to go for Saturdays Game 5 in Boston. ... Todd Bertuzzi replaced Tomas Jurco in Detroits lineup, while Zetterberg bumped fellow Swede Joakim Andersson. ... The Bruins went with the same lineup from Game 3, which they won 3-0. ... Boston forward Daniel Paille took part in the morning skate, as Julien said he was cleared to take "a little bit of contact." Paille has been out since suffering a concussion April 12 in Game 81 of the regular season. wholesale jerseys ' ' '
