TSNs Three Man Weave close out the first month of 2015, diagnosing if the Raptors have cured their January blues, explore All-Star robbery and snobbery and the return to glory of the Slam Dunk Contest. Hosts of TSN 1050s 1 On 1 with Will & Duane, Will Strickland and Duane Watson receive some crisp passes from Ray Bala, author and authority of The CanBall Report, as they also question if Jason Kidd has already run away with Coach of The Year honours. Are the Raptors finally over their January blues? Strickland: All signs point to that being the case. But even on the tails of a five-game losing strike, there are whispers and fears about the elite-level readiness of this squad. These perceived issues can either be an odd discomfort or a cause for real concern. Winning aside, the play has been loose and sloppy vs. relatively underwhelming competition. Yet and still, the Raptors possess the franchises best record ever in its 20-year existence before the All-Star break at 32-15, 17 games above .500. Odd discomfort, indeed... Bala: Maybe, but it will probably be the February blahs if they play like they did this month. With the exception of Brooklyn and New York, every other club on the schedule is currently playoff bound and though New Orleans is not, their record ties them for sixth in the East. The Raps need to have a short memory and play like its November. Watson: Yes, particularly when its more important on how you finish than how you start. A five-game win streak to close out the month with some attention to defence and, more importantly, a DeMar DeRozan who has found his rhythm are a cure all. Coach Caseys next challenge is to get them to ride this momentum into All-Star break. Damian Lillard was robbed as a reserve on the Western Conference All-Star team, whose place should he have on the roster? Strickland: Ouch! Robbed? Despite getting ethered by 2014 All-Star Game MVP and 2015 East All-Star reserve Kyrie Irving for 55 big ones recently, Lillard got all up in his feelings and let us know how he felt about the selection slight. He deserves to be on the team, but the criteria for selection after the fans popularity vote seems to shift with the wind. If combinations of personal numbers plus team record are the standard measures, Big Game Dame seems to fit the bill, averaging 21.6 PPG and 6.3 APG on a fourth-place team at 32-15 in the West. If anyone should be mad, though, it is the perennially underrated Michael Alex Conley, Jr. of Memphis Grizzlies. Bala: People will probably call this blasphemy, but Kevin Durant. I know that hes the reigning MVP, superstar and that the Thunder were 9-17 without him but hes missed half of the teams games. The All-Star player criteria should be treated like baseball stats - minimum amount of games to qualify - and that should apply here. Of course, we could keep KD on the roster and replace Carmelo Anthony with Lillard since the Knicks are just horrible. Watson: While we talk of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade receiving legacy votes, Chris Paul is still collecting them every year. Paul is on the downside, while Lillard is on the upside, even though their team records are similar. While Adam Silvers office has a fleeting memory that Lillard competed in five events at All-Star Weekend in 2014 - Rising Stars, Skills Competition, 3-Point shootout, Slam Dunk Contest and the All-Star Game – he receives no love, no respect and no thanks. The NBA Dunk Contest has reverted to its original format. Who do you like in this years contest? Victor Oladipo, Mason Plumlee, Zach Lavine or Giannis Antetokounmpo? Strickland: Unless there is a meltdown of epic proportion or a Chuck Hayes sighting as a late entry, Minnys Zach Levine should win easily. His bungees are banoodles and on Valentines Day, hell be handing out dunks bordering on the absurdative, breaking the hearts of his fellow contestants. The setup for a showdown with his T-Wolves teammate Andrew Wiggins in 2016 for the All-Star festivities in Toronto would all be in place! Bala: Truthfully, I havent really jazzed about the dunk contest for years, but if I had to pick one it would have to be Zach Lavine. Lets see if his hops make for creative show dunks. Watson: Always bet on the little guy. Historically, you can look at shorter dunkers like Spud Webb or Nate Robinson who have captured the judges attention due to the distance they have to get to the rim. Oladipo is just that, a 64 package of power, creativity, springs and athleticism. Brady Heslip was showing out in the D-League but opted to move across the water to play in Europe. Would he have had a realistic shot at a call-up this season? Strickland: Yes, but only to be a practice player filling due to injury. At 62, 180 lbs., Heslip doesnt possess the size, speed, handle, defensive capabilities and necessary wrinkles in his game to be an everyday NBA player. There may be mannequins out here somewhere who can beat Brady off the bounce. All jokes aside, all the best to him in his overseas endeavors. Bala: Even though I love Brady Heslip as a player and he was torching guys for 24.5 per game, I dont think he would have been called up. What can he offer to a team outside of that? Even though he could be a great benefit as an outside shooter to open up courts, hes not quick enough to defend an NBA point guard and not big enough to defend an NBA two, two big issues. I think he made the right choice right now. Watson: Heslips shooting and scoring were proving undeniable to notice by league front offices, however his role at the next level would definitely be more situational than rotational. Hes a professional and due credit to him for starting his career, getting playing time and being compensated accordingly. Jason Kidd: NBA Coach Of The Year? Strickland: Oh, indeed! The sexy, early season frontrunner, Golden States Steve Kerr, basically inherited Mark Jacksons solid teams and gave them more structure to improve their standing in a fairly dramatic way. Bud Ball is all the rage in the ATL as former San Antonio Spurs assistant-turned Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer leads a cohesive veteran group who has won 32 of their last 34 after a slow 7-6 start to impress many. But what in the wide, wide world of wins witchcraft and hoops wizardry is happening with the very surprising Milwaukee Bucks? At 24-22, the Bucks have exceeded last seasons win total of 15 and have done so mostly without mercurial centre Larry Sanders and the No. 2 pick in the 2014 draft Jabari Parker, all the while pushing point guard Brandon Knight to borderline All-Star status. The answer, Jason Kidd happened. Bala: That is a pretty good choice right now. The Bucks are playing incredibly despite missing Jabari Parker and Larry Sanders for big chunks and having a lineup that could really be role players on any other team. They are beating teams they should and losing close games to teams they shouldnt be beating, so Id say this kind of improvement needs serious consideration. If it doesnt go to him, it better go to Derek Fisher for setting the Knicks up for one epic season of futility. Watson: Jason Kidd, coach of mediocrity. There isnt any lower to go when youre at the bottom, and Kidds transformation of a lottery team to a playoff team has been great. However, his means to get there were more than unscrupulous and Steve Kerr has the Warriors on pace for a franchise-best season that could soar as high as 60 wins. Kerr gets my vote. Follow them on twitter: Will Strickland @WallStrizzle1, Duane Watson @duanewatson and Ray Bala @CanBallReport Justin Schultz Oilers Jersey . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Jordan Eberle Oilers Jersey . The New York Rangers seethed at what they didnt. Steve Oleksy, Jason Chimera and Mikhail Grabovski scored second-period goals in the Capitals 4-1 win over the Rangers. http://www.hockeyoilersonline.com/Authentic-Mark-Messier-Jersey/. Tevez scored on the half hour mark, although Torino will feel aggrieved not to have been awarded a late penalty when Omar El Kaddouri appeared to be tripped by Andrea Pirlo. "It was a penalty on El Kaddouri," Torino coach Giampiero Ventura said. Oilers Perron Jersey . Jonathan Toews had another big game. The Chicago Blackhawks had 13 players with at least one point. Wayne Gretzky Oilers Jersey . The Goldeyes ran their winning streak to 10 games with an 8-4 win over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Saturday night at Newman Outdoor Field before 3,990 spectators, including a small, vocal crowd of Winnipeg fans.SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Russell Wilson has enjoyed spending time with the Texas Rangers. Yet the Seattle Seahawks are never far from the young quarterbacks mind. While Wilson sat in the Texas Rangers dugout Monday, fans yelling "Seahawks" filled the spring training stadium. "I couldnt expect anything less," Wilson said. "The 12th man fans were unbelievable today. Theyre everywhere. The 12th man fans are out in the outfield, theyre on third-base line, first-base line, chanting Seahawks the whole way. Hopefully the Dallas fans didnt get too mad." Wilson threw for 3,357 yards and 26 touchdowns and helped the Seattle Seahawks rout the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the Super Bowl last month. He also happens to be a pretty good baseball player, drafted three times and hitting .229 with a .350 on-base percentage in 93 games in 2010-11 in the low minors in the Colorado Rockies system. But hes had instant success in the NFL. "You never say never," Wilson said. "Ive always had the dream of playing two sports. If somehow it was a miracle that it could work out, Id consider it. At the same time, my focus is winning the championship with the Seattle Seahawks and hope to be playing for a long time. "For me, it only being my second year, yeah I won a Super Bowl and all that, but thats not enough for me. It really isnt. My goal is to be one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, if not the best. Ive got a long ways to go. I make sure I get up earlier than Tom Brady and Drew Brees and theyre on the East Coast." The Rangers picked Wilson for $12,000 in the Rule 5 minor league draft in December. He was in the Rangers camp Monday, took ground balls in morning drills and brought the RRangers lineup to the umpires before the game, but did not play in the 6-5 loss to Cleveland.dddddddddddd "How much did I want to play an inning?" Wilson said. "How much did I want to play the whole game is the question." He spoke at a Rangers dinner on Sunday night for sponsors, suite holders and players and addressed the minor leaguers Monday night. He said he would leave Tuesday for Seattle and "turn my focus back to football." So what is most difficult, hitting a curveball or being hit by a 300-pound defensive end? "Hitting a curveball," Wilson said. "The ball is so small. It looks like a pea." Wilson worked on throws and pivots at second base in a group with young infielders Jurickson Profar, Luis Sardinas and Rougned Odor. "He surprised me for not being out on the baseball field for a while," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I might have burned his legs up a little bit, but he made it through all the drills and did a fantastic job. Hes got tremendous aptitude. Thats why he is who he is. You give him something and he knows how to apply it." Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus said Wilson is athletic enough to make it in baseball. "Hes got pretty good hands," Andrus said. "Ive got to see him hit so I can answer that, but so far what I saw today it was pretty impressive." The Surprise Stadium shops selling official Major League gear, predominantly displayed Wilsons Rangers No. 3 jersey. The one on Wilsons back, however, will not be sold. "The uniform, man, Im definitely hanging this up," Wilson said. "Im gonna get a few of these and put them up around the house." cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys Danny Rose Jersey ' ' '
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