Deine Login Box-
 
Kniffel Tagessieg
Heute wurde noch kein Spiel beendet
|
|
|
|
| 56166 Beiträge & 42192 Themen in 26 Foren |
Keine neuen Beiträge, seit Ihrem letzten Besuch am 30.01.2026 - 12:02.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Autor |
|
|
|
| a physical presence," Coyle said. "When Koa hit |
|
|
| 970 Beiträge - Forenjunkie
|
|
|
BROOKLYN - With just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, Amir Johnson sat on the bench, wincing in pain as he watched the game and, in effect, his teams season slip away. That seemed like an appropriate time to get a head start on the Raptors playoff obituary. Their first-half onslaught had evaporated, the 17-point lead was no more and Johnson, like Kyle Lowry, was battling foul trouble and a myriad of ailments. At that point the momentum, if you believe in such things, belonged to the hosting Brooklyn Nets. This upstart Raptors team had been in similar situations throughout the season - fighting for their lives, backs up against the wall - but, tied going into the fourth quarter of a critical Game 4, this would be their biggest and most revealing test yet. They had a new audience, a brighter spotlight, a bigger stage and 12 minutes to prove something that they themselves already knew. "Everybody has something on their body that definitely hurts," said Johnson, who injured his knee in a failed attempt to draw a charge on the Nets Paul Pierce, "but we keep playing, we keep fighting. Its not the time to hold back now. Weve got to keep going." The Raptors held Brooklyn without a field goal for the final six minutes, without a point for the last five and in doing so they showed more character than they had at any point in this series. "Thats just us, man," DeMar DeRozan said after scoring a team-high 24 points in the Raptors scrappy 87-79 win on Sunday, tying their best-of-seven opening round series up at 2-2. "Were definitely resilient, were not going to give up until the games over. Were going to fight through." Just as things were at their most bleak - Lowry had picked up his fifth foul and Johnson, still on the bench, was also saddled with five - the Raptors got serious. Slightly out of character, DeRozan drew a charge, then he took another. Was that a first? "Nah, I dont think so," the all-star guard said with a smirk on his face as Lowry, sitting next to him, chuckled. "I hope its not." Then Lowry, throwing caution to the wind, reached in and poked the ball away from Pierce. Johnson followed suit and in a familiar scene - one that earned him his fifth foul and a sore knee earlier - stepped in to take the charge. Both Lowry and Johnson were one foul away from spending the rest of the game watching from the sidelines, one hit to the knee away from spending the rest of the night on the trainers table. Neither player seemed willing to allow his team to lose. "Theyre fighters," said Jonas Valanciunas. "Theyre soldiers. They go on the court anyway. So its good when you have those types of guys on your team." Everyone is dealing with bumps and bruises to some degree at this point in the season. Who wasnt limping out there tonight, Valanciunas was asked. "Julyan Stone," the young centre said with a smile. But there was Lowry, limping up and down the court between possessions, lying next to the bench to stay loose when he wasnt in the game. He had tweaked his reoccurring right knee injury early in Game 3, on top of all the nicks hes accumulated over a long season, but he gutted it out again. Where would his team be without him? "We would have probably got in a fight if I tried to take him out of the game," coach Dwane Casey joked. "Hes dealing with a lot right now and he came through with flying colours. He fought through foul trouble, a little bit of adversity throughout the game and still came through.  Lowry scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half and once again, with the game on the line, his team resembled their point guard, their leader, their best player. "I am not surprised at all that Kyle was limping around, hes a warrior, hes everything to this team," said Chuck Hayes. "The guy gives it his all, we just feed off of him. Then we tease him about it after, hes going to have probably every ice bag in here on his body." "We dont give up man, were some fighters," Hayes continued. "We play like the underdog, we were the underdog probably all year, including this series. I dont know, we just go out there and play for each other." Go ahead, underestimate them, disrespect them and count them out. They feed off it. If respect is earned in the postseason, perhaps the Raptors are starting to turn heads. "We understand that this is a group thats not going to back down, thats not going to give up," Pierce said after the game. "Theyve earned a lot of peoples respect around the league. Just because you dont have a lot of playoff experience doesnt mean youre not a good team. You can learn on the fly." Theyve done just that, now its a whole new ball game. The Raptors will return to Toronto and their raucous crowd at the Air Canada Centre after reclaiming home-court advantage for what has become a best-of-three set, beginning with Wednesdays Game 5. Have they played their best basketball? "No," Lowry and DeRozan answered in unison, but there is a growing sense of belief in the room coinciding with an ambiance of nervousness that spread throughout Barclays Center as Toronto hit back on Sunday. The Raptors may not be in over their heads after all. "Were on a mission," Casey said. "Were not just here trying to win a game. We want to make sure we stay poised, stay focused on our business. Thats what weve been about all year." B.J. Raji Jersey Green Bay Packers . The Maple Leafs are three points behind Columbus for the last playoff spot in the East with only three games left on their schedule. You can listen to the game live on TSN 1050 starting at 7:30pm et/4:30 pm pt. Matt Flynn Jersey Green Bay Packers . - Alex Gordon went from a bust to busting the bank. http://www.officialpackersjerseysforsale.com/authe...nk-jers ey/ . Despite the advantage of four Fijians being sent to the sin-bin in eight minutes early in the first half, Italy almost spoiled the occasion for two of their rugby greats by blowing a 30-10 lead with 20 minutes to go. Tramon Williams Jersey Green Bay Packers . - Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade had 23 points apiece, and the Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-95 on Wednesday for their sixth straight win. Khyri Thornton Jerseys . Louis is going to get a chance to represent his country at the Winter Olympics after all.DAVIE, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins linebacker Koa Misi says hes looking forward to the teams annual fishing tournament this weekend, when he hopes to end a slump. "Its a lot of fun," Misi said. "But I seem to get on a boat that doesnt catch too many fish. Hopefully this year that will change." With the season three months away, the Dolphins are casting about for ways to improve their defence, which is why Misi found himself at middle linebacker during Mondays off-season practice. He spent his first four NFL seasons mostly at strong-side linebacker, but the Miami coaching staff believes Misi might be better suited to clogging up the middle for a team that ranked 24th in rushing defence and 21st in yards allowed in 2013. The switch is an experiment instigated when the Dolphins began off-season workouts. Misi swapped spots with Dannell Ellerbe, who moved from the middle to the outside in Miamis 4-3 scheme. Philip Wheeler remains at weak-side linebacker, where second-year pro Jelani Jenkins could challenge him for playing time. Linebacker was considered a weakness last year for the Dolphins, but they didnt address the area with a major acquisition in free agency or the draft, and now coach Joe Philbin is looking at the position switch as a possible remedy. The 6-foot-3, 254-pound Misi was considered the best of the three starting linebackers last season. He won praise for his sound fundamentals, sure tackling and run-stopping skills. "One of the things Ive liked about him is when we do a year-end video cutup and show examples of how to take on a block, tackle properly and pursue to the ball, he shows up on a lot of those cuts," Philbin said. "He plays the right way. And he has great leadership qualities. So we want to take a look at him in the interior. Well see how he adjusts to that position and relaates to the other players and the defence in general.dddddddddddd So far he has done a nice job." Defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle said the switch is a work in progress, but he likes the idea of Misi in the middle. "He has such a physical presence," Coyle said. "When Koa hits you, you stay hit for a while. I cant tell you how many times weve used Koa as the example of, This is how you compete each and every snap on defence." Misi has been used at both outside linebacker spots and played a little defensive end early in his career, so hes accustomed to position changes. "Since I got here Ive been switching positions," he said. "Im always open to try something new. If it works, it works. If not, well go back to the way things were." Ellerbe said his attitude is the same. He played four seasons at outside linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens before replacing an injured Ray Lewis in the middle during their Super Bowl championship season in 2012. He moved back to the middle when he joined the Dolphins last year. "Whatever will help the team, Im down for," Ellerbe said. "It doesnt matter where we play." In the middle, Misi said, he must adjust to the heavier traffic and change the way he reads keys. In addition, playing in the middle -- the mike position -- requires that the laid-back Misi assume more of a leadership role. "Mike is the leader of the defence," he said. "It forces you to be more vocal. Youve got to make all the calls, and you have to know pretty much the whole defence to get in the right spot to make a play." The experiment will likely continue the rest of this week at least, with two more practices scheduled. "I cant commit today to say that its a done deal," Coyle said, "but certainly I like what were seeing." cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
|
| Beitrag vom 17.01.2015 - 01:36 |
|
|
Bilder Galerie-
User: joku
Hits: 5126
Kommentare: 3
Wertung: 10
Laberecke-
| Bitte einloggen um hier schreiben zu können. |
|
| |
| © by Lucky |
Event Counter
| Muttertag |
| Countdown abgelaufen! |
|
Usermap
Seitenanfang: