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 Freundeskreis von Waldemar
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31.10.2019 04:41
The Raptors point guard Antworten

CLEVELAND - LeBron James sat in his corner cubicle with a towel wrapped around his waist and a look of satisfaction on his face that had been missing for weeks.His body, recovered from a two-week break, has refreshed the way he hoped. So has his team after two trades improving Cleveland at both ends of the floor. And two weeks after being thought of as dysfunctional and in disarray, the Cavaliers have won six straight games and are climbing in the standings.James wasnt ready to talk about the playoffs or NBA titles just yet after beating Oklahoma City 108-98 on Sunday. But he senses the Cavs are back on track.Theres such a long road ahead of us, Im not going to get too ahead of myself personally, said James, who scored 34 points including a personal 8-0 run early in the fourth to keep the Thunder at a distance. Weve played some great basketball as of late.Not surprisingly, James is at the heart of Clevelands turnaround.The four-time league MVP recently missed eight games to rest a strained back and left knee. The time away clearly revived the 30-year-old, who may want to consider a January retreat in upcoming seasons. Hes running, jumping, cutting, scoring — doing everything at his own towering standards. Hes physically stronger, mentally recharged.On Monday, he was named the Eastern Conferences player of the week after averaging 27.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.3 steals in leading the Cavs to a 4-0 record since Jan. 19.James, recently named to his 11th straight All-Star team, has averaged 30.3 points in his past seven games and hes leading the Cavs defensive resurgence. As the wins have piled up, questions about James relationship with first-year coach David Blatt — who never misses a chance to compliment his star player — have silenced. The two appear to be connecting better. The winning certainly helps.Blatt insists he hasnt changed as a coach.Ive got all my players, he said. It makes it easier.So does a healthy James. The Cavs are 1-8 without him and 24-12 when James is on the floor, a contrast that perhaps underscores his value better than any statistic. Make no mistake, the Cavs have good pieces around James, but hes the centerpiece to everything.Along with James being back on his game, the recent acquisitions of centre Timofey Mozgov and guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert have made a huge difference.The 7-foot-1 Mozgov has given the team an inside defensive presence and offset the loss of Anderson Varejao, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Mozgov, who played for Blatt on the Russian national team, has helped space the floor on offence, allowing forward Kevin Love to play more comfortably away from the basket.Mozgov, too, has shown a nice shooting touch and a nasty streak when needed. He has brought the Cavs a needed toughness. Mozgov didnt much statistically Sunday — 2 points, 6 rebounds in 28 minutes — but he threw himself around down low and drew a technical foul after an exchange with Thunder enforcer Kendrick Perkins.We got his back, guard Kyrie Irving said of the big man nicknamed Mozzy. Its great to have a big guy like that whos not going to take any nonsense.Smith has also been a welcome addition, making a seamless transition since coming over with Shumpert from the New York Knicks. A prolific scorer, and prodigious outside shooter, Smith is relishing a chance to help a contender. Hes been starting, but could have his role changed when Shumpert, who has played just two games after being out with a dislocated shoulder, gets better conditioned.Smith said he wont mind coming off the bench.As long as we get that gold ball, it dont matter what I do, he said, referring to the Larry OBrien Trophy. I could sit out for all I care, as long as we win.That gold ball is why James plays. He made four straight trips to the NBA finals with Miami and its hard to imagine the leagues ultimate showcase without him. The Cavs remain a work in progress, but because theyre in the weaker Eastern Conference, they are title contenders when James is healthy.For now, their confidence is growing. And with a soft schedule ahead — only three of their next 10 games are against teams with winning records — the Cavs may continue rolling.Weve shown we can play with the best teams, Love said. Hopefully were starting to put this thing together.The look on James face said thats happening. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China . Bostons bats exploded in Mondays opener, as David Ortiz belted a pair of two-run homers, Stephen Drew homered and drove in four runs and the Red Sox pummeled the Blue Jays, 14-1. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/. The 24-year-old Raley was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA for Chicago in his first two career starts after being called up from Iowa on Aug. 7. He was optioned to Iowa on Monday after losing 3-0 to Cincinnati in Chicago on Sunday. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys . Players suspended during the season for a performance-enhancing drug violation will not be eligible for that years post-season. In addition, discipline will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban. Clearance MLB Jerseys . It will mark the 22nd time the tournament has been held in this country and fourth in Atlanta Canada but will make its first appearance ever in played Nova Scotia.TORONTO - Dwane Casey was visibly put off when faced with a question regarding his teams recent success and their upcoming stretch of winnable games prior to Mondays contest against the league-worst Milwaukee Bucks. "[People] keep asking that question and its not a legit question because we dont have that right, we havent arrived yet," Casey responded. "Weve got to take each game at a time, each possession at a time and look at it that way." "Thats the message Im sending to [the players]. Weve got to play basketball and be focused and not look at records." League standings are not welcome in the locker room, Casey maintained. If they were, they would show the Raptors in sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference, just barely ahead of the Hawks, following a decisive 116-94 victory over the seven-win Bucks. Since an early-December trade reversed their trajectory, Casey has kept his team focused. They have defeated the leagues best in wins over the Thunder and Pacers, they have fought hard on the road in Indiana and Miami and, perhaps most importantly, theyve taken care of business against teams that many may have expected them to look past. They havent. "No, you cant [take anyone lightly]," DeMar DeRozan said following a 19-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist performance in his teams 22-point win. "It doesnt matter who we play, its an NBA team. Besides us theres 29 other teams in this league and we prepare for each one of them the same." Casey is getting through to his troops, whether they realize it or not. "He said that [too]?" DeRozan asked with a smile after echoing his coach. "Im just being honest. I tell my guys the same thing, we dont look at who were playing. We understand each game matters more than the last one." Its not just lip service, the Raptors have been practicing what they preach. Apart from a short-lived Bucks run that cut the home teams lead to eight at halftime, the Raptors never took their foot off the gas. Their 38-point first frame matched a sseason-high for scoring in a quarter and the game was quickly put away early in the third after Toronto adjusted to the Bucks pesky zone defence.dddddddddddd "We cant rely on that every night," Casey said of the teams second-half run. "That resolve, it doesnt win too many games against good teams so weve got to make sure we take care of business, and we did." "I think we came out with more effort in the second half and it seemed to work for us," said Kyle Lowry, who scored 11 of his team-high 23 points in the third quarter. Again, Lowry was exceptional, shooting 6-of-8 from the field, 4-of-5 from three-point range and connecting on all seven of his free-throw attempts. The Raptors point guard also recorded four steals and drew his league-leading 23rd charge of the season. "Just another night at the office for Kyle," Casey said. [The] charges are huge. If you go in there hes going to come from nowhere to get a charge so he does a great job of that, reading that, sacrificing his body for it. Hes done everything, defensively, offensively, hes set the tone." The playmaking ability of DeRozan - who registered four or more assists in a career-best sixth straight game - and John Salmons, adding five dimes along with his 10 points off the bench, took pressure off the Raptors point guard, freeing Lowry up on the weak side. As a team, the Raptors tallied 26 assists, shooting 51 per cent from the field and 12-of-23 from beyond the arch. Although Casey doesnt want to hear about it, Torontos next four opponents have losing records. The Raptors have won 10 of its last 11 games against sub-.500 teams and dont appear to be letting up. "Im going to say this again, we dont have any right, yet, to overlook anyone in this league," Casey repeated after his team improved to 19-17, two games above the .500 mark for the first time since March of 2010. "Its a tough league, were still building, were still getting there so I cant allow our guys to have that in their thought process." ' ' '

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