Crazy Rebel(l)s
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28.11.2018 06:39
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INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers bizarre season came to a familiar end Friday night. Another embarrassing loss at Miami. Now Larry Bird must spend the off-season trying to figure out what went wrong and what must be fixed to finally beat the Heat in the playoffs. "You just have to go into the off-season with the mindset that were going to reload. We have a core, a system, a culture thats going to give us a chance every year," coach Frank Vogel said after Fridays 25-point, season-ending loss. "Weve got to make whatever adjustments we have to make to come back and be here again next year." There are plenty of questions heading into what could be a turbulent off-season. Will Vogel be back after leading the Pacers to 42, 49 and 56 wins in his first three full seasons as coach, capturing back-to-back Central Division titles, reaching the last two conference finals and earning the No. 1 seed for only the third time in franchise history? Will the Pacers re-sign free agent Lance Stephenson, their 23-year-old energizer, whose erratic behaviour became a major distraction in the Eastern Conference finals? Could Hibbert be on the trading block after struggling through Indianas confounding second-half swoon and nearly disappearing, at times, during the playoffs? Might Bird make other moves to cope with the NBA trend of spreading the floor, add scorers or rebuild the bench yet again? Or do the Pacers simply need more time to mature? While those answers might not come for months, one thing is clear: They must find a way to get past Miami after three straight playoff series losses, the last two in the Eastern Conference finals. "Obviously, theyre more prepared, theyre more seasoned for this moment," David West said. "Theyve been able to embrace these moments to get to a level that we, for some reason, cant compete." Bird spent last summer revamping the bench, and Indiana responded with a 33-7 start — the best in the NBA. But after signing Andrew Bynum in February and trading Danny Granger for Evan Turner at the trade deadline, the Pacers went into a confounding second-half swoon in which they looked disengaged and disinterested. Two-time All-Star Paul George acknowledged Friday that the Pacers seemed to hit a wall, thinking they could turn it on whenever they needed it. Somehow, they still managed to finish with the best record in the East, rallied to win the final two games against eighth-seeded Atlanta after twice giving away home-court advantage and rallied again against a young Washington team after giving away home-court advantage in Game 1. When they did it again by failing to close out the Heat at home in Game 2, Miami responded by winning all three of its home games decisively to clinch the series. "You know at times it feels like were there, and then theres games where it still feels like were not at that point yet," George said when asked if he thought the Pacers had closed the gap on Miami. "Coach says it, I mean, in order for us to beat this team, weve got to play like champions. More times than not, we didnt do so." Most of the problems were self-inflicted. Indiana struggled with infighting, prolonged slumps, unseemly rumours and constant criticism. Hibbert epitomized much of it. In late March, he complained about "selfish dudes" in the locker room, a barb directed at Stephenson, later apologized and was so bad, at times, in the playoffs that fans and analysts called for his benching. And its unclear what the Pacers will do after a second straight blowout in an elimination game at Miami. Bird acknowledged the Pacers were going "all in" this season when they re-signed David West, gave George a max deal and traded away their first-round pick to get Luis Scola from Phoenix. Stephenson could be the next Pacers player to strike it rich. But after calling out LeBron James publicly before Game 4, blowing in his ear in Game 5 and tapping James on his chin early in Game 6, some wonder if the Pacers even want Stephenson back. It all depends on whether Bird thinks Stephenson can help beat the Heat. "I dont know what the future holds for us," West said. "Obviously, everything starts and ends with the Miami Heat. You have to have a team that can get through a tough regular season but ultimately, you have to be able to beat Miami to get to the finals." Cubs Ben Zobrist Jersey .Y. - For once, Clayton Kershaw was glad to see a long shutout streak end. Cubs Ernie Banks Jersey . The underachieving franchise finished 17th in the 19-team league with a 6-17-11 record this season. "Our soccer team is absolutely in complete disarray," said Leiweke, drawing laughs during an Empire Club luncheon speech about the future of MLSE teams and plans to improve them. http://www.cheapcubsauthenticjerseys.com/?tag=cubs-david-ross-jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Cubs Carl Edwards Jr. Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Cubs Adbert Alzolay Jersey . - On the night Dirk Nowitzki overtook Dominique Wilkins on the career scoring list, Brandan Wright was a human highlight film all by himself.DENVER -- Randy Foye made a go-ahead 3-pointer in the waning moments and then helped it stand with his last-second defence. Foye connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the game with 1:11 left, and the Denver Nuggets hung on to beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-100 on Saturday night. "It was huge," Foye said. "I work extremely hard on my shot, so 5 for 12, 1 for 12, it doesnt matter, just got to continue to shoot the ball with confidence." Ty Lawson scored 20 points to lead the Nuggets, who won their fifth straight at home while ending Dallas four-game winning streak. Kenneth Faried had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Foye finished with 17 points. Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points but, with Foye contesting it, missed a shot at the end that would have sent the game into overtime. "When I saw him with the ball, I thought, I know hes going to hit me and I know hes going to fadeaway," Foye said. "I have no chance to block the shot, so dont let him get comfortable. When he bumped me a little bit, I nudged him back." Nowitzkis shot ended up hitting off the rim. "We ran a good play," Nowitzki said. "I thought Vince (Carter) was halfway open, decided not to shoot. Then we ran a little pick and roll and the clock was going down and I had to heave one. It was still a decent look to tie it, but it just didnt go in. "Ive got to be a little better down the stretch. I missed my last two or three shots." Monta Ellis added 25 points and Carter had 16 for the Mavericks, who were without coach Rick Carlisle for most of the game after he drew two technical fouls in succession and was ejected by referee Tony Brothers with 5:14 remaining in the second quarter. Carlisle was initially upset that officials didnt send Nowitzki to the free throw line, ruling the Mavericks forward was in the act of passing, not shooting, when he was fouled by Wilson Chandler. Moments later, Ellis took a hard foul from Foye and was sent to the line, but Carlisle apparently was upset the foul wasnt considered flagrant and let Brothers know it, leading to his ejection. "I thought the foul was excessive," Carlisle said. "I thought he fouled him and he came down on him exxtra hard.dddddddddddd Im going to stand up for my players." Assistant coach Monte Mathis took over on the bench for Carlisle. The Mavericks trailed by as many as 17 points early in the game and were down 65-53 at the half. But they fought back to 84-78 with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Carter, his third 3-pointer in the period. Carter hit another 3-pointer, pulling Dallas within 86-85 with 10:13 left to play. Faried answered with a short jumper but Dallas got consecutive baskets from DeJuan Blair and Ellis to go in front 89-88, its first lead since midway through the first quarter. The game remained tight in the final minutes, with the teams alternately taking the lead. Dallas put together a 6-0 run that included consecutive jumpers by Nowitzki that put the Mavs up 100-98 with 2:02 remaining. That set the stage for Foyes go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:11 left to play as the Nuggets regained the lead 101-100. After Nowitzki missed a jumper, Faried rebounded and was fouled by Blair, making one of the two free throws with 14.7 seconds left. Nowitzki missed a long jumper in the final seconds as the Nuggets hung on. "Were getting them, thats all that matters, as long were getting the wins," Faried said. "Im excited. The team is excited and the coach is excited." Dallas, a 103-93 winner over Utah the night before, missed a chance to sweep a back-to-back for the first time this season. Denver improved to 49-8 since the start of the 2009-10 season when facing a team playing the second game of a back to back in the Mile High City. NOTES: The Nuggets Andre Miller registered his 7,988th assist in the NBA on an alley-oop pass that Chandler converted into a dunk midway through the second quarter, surpassing Rod Strickland for ninth all time. ... Ellis has scored at least 18 points in each of the Mavericks first 14 games. ... Chandler has scored 10 or more points in four of his first six games since returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the first two weeks of the season. ... Faried recorded his sixth double double of the season and fifth in his past seven games. ... Dallas has gone 4-6 in its past 10 games in Denver. Chiefs Jerseys China Cheap Nike Chargers Jerseys Cheap Nike Raiders Jerseys Wholesale Cowboys Jerseys China Cheap Nike Giants Jerseys Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys For Sale Wholesale Redskins Jerseys China Cheap Nike Lions Jerseys Packers Jerseys China Cheap Vikings Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Panthers Jerseys Hoodies Cheap Saints Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Nike Buccaneers Jerseys Cardinals Jerseys China Cheap Rams Jerseys Hoodies Cheap Nike 49ers Jerseys Seahawks Jerseys China Bears Jerseys China Cheap Nike Bills Jerseys Ravens Jerseys China Wholesale Falcons Jerseys China ' ' ' |
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