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LAKE FOREST Cheap Royce Freeman Jersey , Ill. (AP) With three straight losses and Aaron Rodgers sidelined because of a broken right collarbone, things sure are looking bleak for Green Bay.

Even beating Chicago is hardly a given.

While the Packers come into Sunday’s game trying to find their footing with the superstar quarterback sidelined, the Bears are playing more like a respectable team.

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”The standard is still the standard,” Packers cornerback Davon House said. ”My eye is still on the Super Bowl Vikings Kendall Wright Jersey , but we’ve got to make the playoffs first and we’ve got to beat Chicago first.

”If we don’t beat Chicago and we don’t start winning some of these division games, there is no playoffs. That’s as simple as that. As simple as that.”

The Packers (4-4) haven’t won since they pulled out a 35-31 victory at Dallas on a touchdown pass from Rodgers to Davante Adams in the closing seconds on Oct. 8.

A week later at Minnesota, the two-time MVP got driven hard to the turf by the Vikings’ Anthony Barr.

Rodgers fell on his throwing shoulder and left with an injury that could sideline him for the rest of the season.

With Brett Hundley taking over at quarterback, the Packers dropped that game 23-10 and have lost two more since then. That includes a 30-17 drubbing by Detroit on Monday night coming off a bye.

The Packers have tormented the Bears in recent years Authentic Taron Johnson Jersey , taking seven of eight from them. They have won seven in a row at Soldier Field, including the 2010 NFC championship game.

They also pounded Chicago 35-14 at home on Sept. 28. But the Bears (3-5) have also undergone a few changes since then.

Chicago benched struggling quarterback Mike Glennon and turned to No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky after getting blown out by Green Bay. Since then, the Bears are 2-2.

With their defense leading the way, they put together back-to-back victories for the first time since 2015 before a loss at NFC South leader New Orleans.

After a week off Quenton Nelson Super Bowl LI Jersey , the Bears have a chance to exceed their win total from last season by beating Green Bay.

”I kind of feel like it’s a new season in a way,” Trubisky said. ”The last few games are what they are but we have a great opportunity coming up next with this home game.”

Here are some things to know as the Packers try to stop their skid and the Bears go for their third win in four games:

MISSING RODGERS: The Packers are 3-7-1 in games Rodgers has missed since he became the starter in 2008. They’ll need more from Hundley if they’re going to improve on that record.

The third-year pro has thrown one touchdown and four interceptions in the past three games. He has also been sacked eight times.

Hundley was 26 of 38 for 245 yards with no interceptions against Detroit. But a late touchdown drive with the game in hand boosted those numbers.

TARGET DOWN: Last in the NFL in passing, the Bears will try to get their offense jumpstarted even though they are missing one of their few reliable targets.

Tight end Zach Miller is recovering from surgery to save his left leg after an injury at New Orleans, and that means bigger roles for Dion Sims http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/thomas-rawls-jersey , Adam Shaheen and Daniel Brown. Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman is available for the first time since the Bears acquired him from the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 25.

”He’s a veteran guy,” coach John Fox said. ”He’s had opportunities to throw live with Mitch and the other quarterbacks. I think he’s got a good grasp of what we’re doing now and what’s expected of him.”

BENNETT GONE: The Packers waived tight end Martellus Bennett on Wednesday while citing a ”failure to disclose a physical condition.” That could mean more opportunities for Lance Kendricks and Richard Rodgers, who each have had 50-reception seasons.

Kendricks has caught eight passes for 126 yards and one touchdown while Rodgers has caught four passes for 43 yards.

LINING UP: Besides dealing with a decimated group of wide receivers, Trubisky is playing behind a banged up line. Guard Kyle Long left the New Orleans game because of a finger injury and Cody Whitehair left with an elbow injury. Both players returned to practice this week.

UNDER PRESSURE: The Packers have been burned by Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford while dropping the past two games against New Orleans and Detroit. One reason for that: A lack of sacks.

The Packers have four in the past five games. And only one team has fewer sacks than Green Bay’s 13 on the season.

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For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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Paul George said all the right things when asked if he’d consider staying with the Oklahoma City Thunder instead of leaving in free agency this summer.

”They honestly check the boxes where I needed those boxes to be checked from what a player wants and needs out of a front office Cheap Durham Smythe Jersey , out of a medical group, out of teammates, out of a coaching staff,” George said Saturday, a day after the Thunder lost their first-round playoff series to Utah 4-2. ”I mean, honestly, I can’t say it any more than that. They checked the boxes on what needs to be checked.”

George’s decision will largely determine if a rare gamble by general manager Sam Presti pays off. The Thunder bucked their tendencies and went for big splashes before this season, trading for George and Carmelo Anthony to join Russell Westbrook in hopes of rejoining the NBA’s elite.

It didn’t work – or at least, it hasn’t yet. Now, the Thunder and their fans are in an eerily familiar position. Kevin Durant had good things to say about Oklahoma City in 2016 Steven Wright Jersey , but he left for Golden State. Now, George has a $21 million player option for next season. If he declines, he will become a free agent.

It would be a huge loss for the Thunder. George, a 6-foot-9 forward, was an All-Star who averaged 21.9 points and 5.7 rebounds this season and was among the league leaders in steals.

George’s camp showed interest in the Los Angeles Lakers last year before the Thunder made the deal with the Indiana Pacers to get him; Los Angeles is near his hometown. George said going home would be enticing, but that wouldn’t be the determining factor. He said he’d talk to Presti, Westbrook and coach Billy Donovan before making a decision.

”It will definitely be the opportunity on knowing, you know, team, personnel Bradley Zimmer Jersey , and ultimately like what team will be assembled,” he said. ”That’s the only thing that it will come down to.”

George believes the team has something on which to build. The Thunder started off 8-12 but went 40-22 the rest of the way to earn the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the second straight year and Steven Adams evolved into one of the league’s best centers.

But the team never fully recovered after defensive stopper Andre Roberson was knocked out for the season with a ruptured left patellar tendon.

Westbrook said that was hard to overcome.

”I’ve always been very, very big on Andre,” Westbrook said. ”He’s one of my favorite players, just because the things he brings to the game. I know a lot of people across the world, even you guys (media) doubted Andre many, many times about his shooting and all that stuff. But to me, man, the type of guy he is, the things he brings to the game is a huge Authentic Johnny Townsend Jersey , huge impact on our team and what he brings to the table.”

Compounding the pressure on the Thunder to keep George is the fact that the players they traded to get him – Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis – have been so good for Indiana. Oladipo had an All-Star season and Sabonis is a solid contributor.

Anthony was Oklahoma City’s No. 3 scorer this season, averaging 16.2 points per game. His playing time dwindled in the playoffs and he wasn’t happy. In Game 5, the Thunder rallied from most of their 25-point deficit against Utah with Anthony on the bench. In Game 6, backup Jerami Grant actually got more court time than Anthony.

Donovan said he won’t need to mend fences with Anthony.

”I think there was a lot made of Game 5, him wanting to be out there, and I respect that, and I said that about his competitiveness. But I think going forward, Carmelo has been a total pro, and he’s been a total team guy.”

Anthony will be 34 before next season starts, but he still feels he can play at a high level. He became more of a catch-and-shoot scorer this season instead of the isolation specialist he had been. He said prefers to play his old way and said he has no interest in coming off the bench. Though he is due $28 million next season Chris Iannetta Jersey , he seemed unsure of his future.

”It’s something I really have to think about, if I really want to be this type of player, finish out my career as this type of player, knowing that I have so much left in the tank and I bring so much to the game of basketball,” he said. ”And how long I want to continue to do this, I think that’s also a thought process as well.”

In the end, for all Westbrook’s electrifying play and the two major moves, the Thunder have three playoff wins the past two years and haven’t advanced past the first round since Durant left.

”Our biggest challenge to try to figure out I think in this offseason is our consistency,” Donovan said. ”That has been a problem. That’s going to be obviously my major focus. I think it needs to be our team’s major focus.”

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A pair of rookies helped the Giants get their weekend in Arizona off to a winning start.

Andrew Suarez pitched six strong innings Reggie Jackson Jersey , Austin Slater had a pair of RBI doubles and San Francisco beat the Diamondbacks 2-1 on Friday night.

Suarez (3-4), a 25-year-old left-hander, gave up a run, scattering seven hits in his first win in five starts. The left-hander struck out five and walked two.

Five of the singles Suarez allowed were infield hits, including one that died halfway down the third-base line, an inch or two off the chalk.

”It was just weird,” Suarez said of the infield hit spree. ”I’ve never seen it like that. But it worked out thankfully. It could have been way worse and they’d have scored five or six runs.”

Suarez is among the young pitchers who are filling in well for the Giants while the veteran starters work their way back to health.

”We have difficult decisions the way these kids are throwing Corey Dickerson Jersey ,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. ”As I said so many times, they’re doing what you’d hope they would do, is make the decision tough.”

Slater, recalled from Triple-A Sacramento four times this season – most recently last Saturday – doubled in a run off Patrick Corbin in the second and knocked in the go-ahead score off Andrew Chafin (1-3) in the seventh. Slater, who entered the game 4 for 15 in the majors this season, also singled.

He’s become accustomed to the back-and-forth trips to Sacramento.

”The first couple of times up and down it’s easy to lose focus,” Slater said Cheap Roquan Smith Jersey , ”but for me, I see it as a way to try to prove a point, that I was here to stay.”

One of these trips, after a few more of these nights, he may be right.

Will Smith pitched a perfect ninth for his first save since April 13, 2014. San Francisco relievers retired the last 12 batters they faced.

Chafin, relieving Corbin in a 1-1 tie Authentic Derwin James Jersey , walked Brandon Crawford, who scored from first when Slater doubled to the right-center gap.

Corbin limited San Francisco to a run on four hits, striking out five and walking one in six innings, but left with his second straight no decision. In his previous outing, Corbin blanked Pittsburgh on three hits for seven innings and matched his career strikeout best with 12. Corbin last won on June 5 at San Francisco.

”Patrick was great today,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. ”He did everything we asked him to do. Would have sent him back out there in the seventh inning to get couple of hitters but we decided to pinch-hit for him. Unfortunately, one of the hazards of the National League game Pat Valaika Jersey , but he did a great job and gave us a chance to win the game.”

The NL West-leading Diamondbacks opened a 10-game homestand after an 8-2 trip.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second. Buster Posey led off with a single and took second when Chris Owings bobbled the ball in center. Slater brought Posey home with a one-out double.

The Diamondbacks finally got to Suarez tied it in the sixth. Ketel Marte led off with a double to the fence in right-center. Owings was called out on a groundout to third on a close play. Arizona challenged and the call was overturned after a video review, leaving runners at first and third and no outs. Jake Lamb’s sacrifice fly to left brought home Marte and made it 1-all.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Giants: RHP Johnny Cueto (right elbow strain) made his second rehab start Friday night for Triple-A Sacramento.

Diamondbacks: CF A.J. Pollock (fractured left thumb) made his first rehab start, with Triple-A Reno.

HIRANO’S MARK

Yoshihisa Hirano set a Diamondbacks record with his 25th consecutive appearance without allowing a run, getting the final two outs of the seventh inning. The Japanese right-hander broke the previous record of 24 shared by Brandon Lyon (2008) and J.J. Putz (2012).

It’s tied with Shigetoshi Hasegawa of Seattle (2003) for second-longest streak in the majors by a Japanese-born pitcher. Koji Uehara of Boston had 27 straight scoreless appearances in 2011.

UP NEXT

Giants RHP Derek Rodriguez (2-1, 3.82 ERA) makes his sixth major league start. San Francisco has won four of his previous five. Arizona RHP Shelby Miller (0-1, 12.27) makes his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery in the second game of the three-game weekend series.

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Doctors told Adrian Clayborn not to play football.

His mother decided it was safer than letting him hang out on the streets.

The free agent defensive end Cheap Anthony Averett Jersey , who signed with the defending AFC champion New England Patriots last week, developed a condition called Erb’s palsy when the nerves in his neck were stretched during childbirth. The damage affects the right side of his body – his neck, his bicep and his trapezius muscle – and forces him to work out differently, but doesn’t change his play, he said.

”I’ve learned to compensate when I have to,” Clayborn said in a conference call on Wednesday. ”And I do what I’ve got to do to make the plays.”

Clayborn Yuli Gurriel Jersey , 29, wrote on The Players’ Tribune that because of the condition doctors told his mother not to let him play football. But she relented after his older brother was shot and killed.

He also spent most of two seasons on injured reserve, with a popped bicep in the NFC championship game after the 2016 season that had him contemplating retirement.

Instead, he pushed forward.

”Life happens,” Clayborn told reporters. ”I mean, through the Erb’s Palsy or losing my dad and my brother – it just made me the person I am today. Just got to take the blows when they come and throw a couple back at times. So Authentic D.J. Fluker Jersey , just learn how to fight and scrap and learn how to keep going.”

A seven-year veteran who played the past three seasons with Atlanta, Clayborn is coming off a career-high 9 sacks in 2017. Although he played mostly on third down and other pass-rushing situations with the Falcons, he said he could take on a bigger role if the Patriots ask him to.

”That’s what people have pigeonholed me in as a third-down player, but I know I can play first, second, third down if need be Cheap Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey ,” he said. ”That was my role in Atlanta because that’s what they asked me to do, but I mean, I can play all three downs if you ask me.”

Although he was on the 2016 Falcons team, he was injured early in the conference title game and missed the Super Bowl, when New England rallied from a 25-point, second-half deficit.

”Authentic Saquon Barkley Jersey , being hurt,” Clayborn said. ”I don’t know if I could have made an impact. I would hope so. I mean, that’s my job to do every game, so I would hope I would have been able to make an impact in that game and possibly a different outcome.”

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Last spring Authentic Luke Falk Jersey , after another crushing postseason loss, Capitals coach Barry Trotz flew to Russia to meet with his best player.

Trotz spoke with Alex Ovechkin about his game and how it might be fine-tuned to prolong his career. They discussed the coming season and setting the tone in training camp for a team getting younger and undergoing a roster overhaul.

There were bumps in the road, but the end result has seen a reinvigorated Ovechkin playing an instrumental role in getting Washington within reach of its first Stanley Cup.

”You don’t want to be a one-trick pony in this league,” Trotz said. ”The league keeps changing on you.”

Ovechkin, whose Capitals faced the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the final Monday night, scored 49 times this season after just 33 goals in 2016-17.

”The one thing that Alex does better than anybody J. C. Ramírez Jersey , maybe in the history of the game, is score goals,” Trotz said. ”He has fantastic release. He plays a physical game for a pure-skill guy. There’s so many things that he’s done for the game. But we talked about finding other ways to be effective.”

The 32-year-old Ovechkin has done just that in pretty much every facet of his game.

”I try to do my best in the regular year, in the playoffs,” he said. ”Of course, in the playoffs Cheap Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hoodie , you don’t have tomorrow.”

Ovechkin has won the Richard Trophy seven times as the top goal scorer. He has 607 goals in 1,003 career regular-season games, 19th on the career list. Another 49 next season would tie him with Brendan Shanahan for 13th.

”He has that ability to see past the block, see past the goalie,” Trotz said. ”Some of the better goal scorers in this league don’t see goalies, they just see empty spots. Guys that aren’t goal scorers Matt Davidson Jersey , they see the goalie.”

Trotz sees a certain ease in Ovechkin that wasn’t there when the Capitals were having great regular seasons only to fall well short in the playoffs.

”He’s very comfortable within our group,” Trotz said. ”And he’s very comfortable pushing forward and not worrying about anything else.”

That comfort was on display Sunday when he was asked about the impact his first trip to the Stanley Cup final is having in Russia.

”Vladimir Putin called me and wished me luck,” Ovechkin said before pausing. ”No it’s (a) joke.”

Until now, Ovechkin was criticized for the Capitals’ postseason failures. Washington had never moved beyond the second round during his career until this spring surge, with ousters by the Pittsburgh Penguins the last two years especially difficult.

He had 46 goals in 97 career playoff games before adding 12 more on this current playoff run. But despite an experienced roster and plenty of blame to go around, the finger-pointing was often aimed at Ovechkin.

”Being the captain and the highest-paid player Logan Forsythe Jersey , I think he got a lot of unfair criticism,” said Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik, who has played with and against Ovechkin. ”That comes with the territory. I think he understands that, but it was really good to see him get by the second round.

”I don’t think he necessarily did that much different. I think we just played better as a team.”

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LeBron James was relaxed Christian Arroyo Jersey , reflective and even resigned to his fate.

The end of the series, season and maybe his second stint in Cleveland, are near.

The Golden State Warriors have made his eighth straight NBA Finals – and their seasonal rivalry with the Cavaliers – very one-sided.

Still weary and wrestling with emotions after losing Game 3 on Wednesday night, when Kevin Durant scored 43 points and shot the Warriors within one win of their third title in four years, James pointed out Thursday what has become terrifyingly obvious.

The Warriors are at another level. And may be for a while.

”Obviously, from a talent perspective, if you’re looking at Golden State from their top five best players to our top five players, you would say they’re stacked better than us. Let’s just speak truth,” James said before rattling off Golden State’s embarrassment of riches.

”Kevin Durant,” he said. ”You’ve got two guys with MVPs on their team. And then you’ve got a guy in Klay (Thompson) who could easily be on a team and carry a team Ozzie Albies Jersey , scored 40 in a quarter before. And then you have Draymond (Green), who is arguably one of the best defenders and minds we have in our game. So you have that crew.

”Then you add on a Finals MVP coming off the bench (Andre Iguodala), a No. 1 pick in (Shawn) Livingston and an All-Star in David West and whatever the case may be. So they have a lot of talent.”

Too much, it seems, for these Cavs.

James wasn’t making excuses for Cleveland’s postseason pickle because if not for a reversed official’s call or J.R. Smith’s brain-lock in the closing seconds of regulation in Game 1 or Durant’s brilliance in Game 3, the Cavs could be leading the series.

The three-time champion, though, was being open and honest about the Cavs’ chances to become the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs.

To this point, 131 have tried, and 131 have failed.

”We’ve been in a position where we could win two out of these three games Authentic Kyzir White Jersey ,” said James, who had 33 points and his 10th Finals triple-double in Game 3. ”So what do we have to do? Do we have to make more shots? Is it we have to have our minds into it a little bit more? Is it if there is a ball on the ground we can’t reach for it but you’ve got to dive for it?”

Those were today’s relevant questions. Tomorrow, they’ll be different ones if the Warriors, who have dealt with adversity all season, sweep the Cavs.

James is headed toward free agency and then where: Los Angeles? Philadelphia? Houston?

Or will he decide it’s too painful to part again with Cleveland, his basketball home for 11 seasons and just up the highway from his actual home in Akron?

The 33-year-old plans to consider everything once the season ends, but he offered some clues about what he’ll consider before making his next move, a decision that will dwarf any other NBA news in July. James also laid out a potential blueprint for the Cavs to follow if they want to keep him.

Bottom line: James needs better, smarter teammates.

No player in the league understands the current climate better than James, who formed a super-team in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and won two NBA titles before returning to Cleveland and joining forces with All-Stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. The Cavs’ reign lasted only one year Authentic Jeff Locke Jersey , destroyed by Durant’s shocking departure from Oklahoma City for the 73-win Warriors, a team he couldn’t beat but was glad to join.

James said his decision to bolt from the Cavs the first time was simple.

”I knew that my talent level here in Cleveland couldn’t succeed getting past a Boston, getting past the San Antonios of the league or whatever the case may be,” he said.

But beyond the talent disparity, James said the key to winning a championship is ”you’ve got to be very cerebral too.”

James then explained what it takes to be the last team standing, and in the process seemed to take a swipe at unnamed current and former teammates.

”So now everyone is trying to figure that out,” he said. ”How do you put together a group of talent but also a group of minds to be able to compete with Golden State, to be able to compete for a championship? That’s what GMs and presidents and certain players, it’s not every player. Every player does not want to – sad to say – but every player doesn’t want to compete for a championship and be in a position where every possession is pressure.”

Months of weight will lifted off him once the Warriors, who haven’t lost four straight games since 2013 Ryan Rua Jersey , are crowned again.

This series has been a painful reminder to James that the great teams have more than one king.

”When you make mistakes they make you pay,” he said, ”because they’re already more talented than you are but they also have the minds behind it, too, and they also have the championship DNA.”

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The Nashville Predators are right where they are supposed to be.

The pick by many to win the Stanley Cup in June Authentic Troy Apke Jersey , the President’s Trophy winners are up 2-0 on Colorado in the first-round series and heading to Denver to finish off the pesky Avalanche.

While the series looks lopsided, it’s a lot closer than the 2-0 advantage. Colorado has led in both games and nearly rallied to force overtime in Saturday’s 5-4 Nashville win. Despite mounting injuries, the Avalanche are confident heading home, where they have won 28 games this season.

Still, the sting of losing both games in Nashville lingers for eighth-seeded Colorado ahead of Monday’s Game 3.

“We played hard, but we lost, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s tough George Foster Jersey ,” center Nathan MacKinnon, who had a goal and an assist to give him three points in the series, told reporters after Saturday’s loss. “I thought we played two pretty good games here in Nashville, and we couldn’t get a win.”

MacKinnon has been productive despite his line — which includes Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog — being the focus of the Predators’ defense. He had 97 points in the regular season and is a serious Hart Trophy candidate as the NHL MVP, and he hasn’t slowed down in the postseason.

“Oh man, he’s special,” Predators forward Austin Watson told The Tennessean. “I mean Authentic Mike Remmers Jersey , you don’t have the year he had this year without being a pretty incredible player. And just his line as a whole, they play the game with so much speed, you can’t get caught standing still.

“I mean, if you are, they’ll blow right around you. Even if you think you’re doing a good job on them, you can’t really take your foot off the gas at all or they’ll turn it back on you and get chances.”

The Predators have some special players, too Authentic Marcus Davenport Jersey , including Filip Forsberg, who scored a highlight-reel goal in Game 1. Nashville won’t take Colorado lightly because it knows how dangerous a No. 8 seed can be. The Predators reached the Cup finals last year as the eighth seed in the West.

But Nashville has a healthy squad that has won 12 straight against Colorado dating back to the end of the 2015-16 season. The Avalanche, on the other hand, are playing without No. 1 defenseman Erik Johnson, top goaltender Semyon Varlamov and may not have rookie defenseman Samuel Girard for Game 3.

Girard was scratched from Game 2 with an upper-body injury and his status for Monday’s Game 3 is not known.

Both teams are hoping for a cleaner game in Denver. Game 2 was cluttered with 14 penalties — seven for each team — which might have been a result of Nashville center Ryan Johansen’s hit on Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie in Game 1.

The Avalanche felt Johansen should have been suspended but the league didn’t agree. One thing that came out of it was a rivalry was born.

Nashville’s goal is to get the series over quickly. A win in Game 3 will make it nearly impossible for Colorado to win the series, and the young team knows it.

“There’s definitely no quit on their side,” Johansen Saturday. “That’s with every team in the playoffs Gregor Blanco Jersey , but they play desperate, they play fast, they’ve got a lot of young skill over there. We’ve got to make sure we close out games better.”

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Nathan MacKinnon was given a day off from practice Cheap Tyquan Lewis Jersey , which created a little stir on social media.

Turns out, nothing to fear. The Colorado Avalanche just wanted to give their top scorer and Hart Trophy candidate a little rest Monday before embarking on the postseason.

Not many gave this team much of a chance to make the playoffs at the beginning of the year. Understandably so considering they were coming off a 48-point season. But here the Avalanche are, about to face the top-seeded Predators in the first round beginning Thursday in Nashville.

Colorado is rested, rejuvenated and carries a surge of momentum after needing to win its final game to secure its first postseason spot since 2013-14.

”We expect a lot from our group and know we can surprise a lot of people,” said captain Gabriel Landeskog, whose team finished the regular season with 95 points and matched the franchise record for wins at home with 28. ”This is when the fun begins.”

The type of turnaround the team has made doesn’t happen that often in the NHL world. The last time it occurred over an 82-game season was when Pittsburgh also improved by 47 points from 2005-06 (58) to `06-07 (105).

”We didn’t expect this in October George Foster Jersey , but as the season progressed our confidence grew and grew,” MacKinnon said recently after finishing with 39 goals and 58 assists to wind up fifth in scoring. ”For the last month we expected to make the playoffs. For it to actually happen is very satisfying.”

The turning point for coach Jared Bednar was in early December, when his squad wrapped up a 1-4 homestand. A similar thing happened a year earlier and it sent the team into an unrecoverable downward spiral.

This time, it was different. The Avs found some traction and at the end of the month began a streak of 10 straight wins.

”The way (the players) handled that and responded there … starts making you a believer,” Bednar said. ”At that point, it became pretty clear we weren’t the same group and we’d push to the end of this thing.”

Still Chris Young Jersey , they needed a 5-2 win over St. Louis in game No. 82, a winner-take-all affair, to secure their spot. For Bednar, it was one of his team’s best performances of the season.

”I want our guys to have fun, embrace it and enjoy it,” Bednar said. ”But I want us to dig in and be highly competitive.”

Colorado will be without two key players for this series – defenseman Erik Johnson and goaltender Semyon Varlamov Authentic Sylvester Williams Jersey , who are both sidelined by knee injuries. Not only that, but the team has struggled this season against the Predators, going 0-3-1 and being outscored by a 17-8 margin.

”It’s not going to be an easy series. But if you want to get farther, you have to beat the best team and we start with the best team,” goaltender Jonathan Bernier said.

Avalanche players Colin Wilson, Gabriel Bourque and Samuel Girard all stepped up at a recent meeting and chatted about their ties with Nashville. They offered a little insight into the team they’re about to face.

”They all had some good things to say about their personnel Cheap Kemoko Turay Jersey ,” Bednar said. ”We have a lot of input from those guys.”

The Avalanche relish in the fact that just a year ago Nashville was the second wild-card team in the Western Conference and advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final. They wouldn’t mind following that sort of path.

”It’s possible. It’s the playoffs. Anything can happen,” Landeskog said. ”It’s just a matter of taking it one day at a time, enjoying the journey and making sure you bring your best game at the best time.”

Bednar was asked if he thought there might be concerns over his team being content to merely be in the playoffs.

”They’re a hungry group. They want more,” Bednar said. ”I don’t mind being the underdog. It’s a good spot for our team. We’ve been feeling that way all year long, that we were an underdog to get into the playoffs. We’re here.”

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Here’s a look at what’s happening around the majors today:

SWING OR MISS?

Many hitters got off to a smashing start in July as Cleveland socked 11 doubles Ketel Marte Jersey , Baltimore homered four times and the Cubs combined with Minnesota for 21 runs at Wrigley Field on Sunday. Now, we’ll see if the trend continues as the weather heats up and the balls fly.

June marked the second time in three months that strikeouts exceeded hits in the major leagues, a pattern that had never occurred until this year. About halfway through the season Scott Kazmir Jersey , there had been 21,090 strikeouts and 20,671 hits.

SLAMMIN’

The Reds try to keep socking grand slams when the White Sox come to Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati leads the majors with nine slams and has already tied the single-season franchise record set in 2002.

Jose Peraza hit one Sunday Brent Suter Jersey , and pitchers Mike Lorenzen and Anthony DeSclafani recently connected. Eight different Reds have hit grand slams – Adam Duvall is the only player with two.

James Shields, who twice has led the league in homers allowed, starts for Chicago.

MOTOWN MEMORIES

Washington ace Max Scherzer (10-4 Authentic Markus Wheaton Jersey , 2.04 ERA) will face ex-Detroit teammate Rick Porcello (9-3, 3.60 ERA) in a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners when the Boston Red Sox visit Nationals Park.

HE’S BACK

Shortstop Jorge Polanco is set to rejoin the Twins after serving an 80-game drug suspension. He went 8 for 19 in six rehab games at Triple-A and Class A, and will report to the big league club for the series opener at Milwaukee. The 24-year-old Polanco was a key contributor last season when the Twins earned an AL wild-card spot.

SEATTLE SLOW

The Mariners plan to monitor Felix Hernandez and his back stiffness over the next few days. Hernandez pitched five innings Saturday night and earned the victory over Kansas City Authentic Kyzir White Jersey , but struggled with back pain and wasn’t able to sit down in the dugout between innings. The six-time All-Star is 8-6 with a 5.11 ERA in 18 starts this season.

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Third time was the charm for James Harden.

The Houston Rockets star was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player after twice being runner-up Trevor Bauer Jersey , beating out four-time winner LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Pelicans at the NBA Awards.

Harden joined Michael Jordan as the only players to average at least 20 points, eight assists, five rebounds and 1.7 steals in a season.

He led the league in scoring, 3-pointers and 50-point games with four while helping the Rockets to an NBA-leading 65 wins.

James didn’t attend the show in Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport amid frenzied speculation about his future. He has until Friday to tell the Cavaliers if he will pick up his $35.6 million option for next season or opt for free agency.

Harden, who is from Los Angeles, led his mother on stage before he accepted the trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver.

Dwane Casey won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award for his work with his former team Mark Lowe Jersey , the Toronto Raptors. He was fired last month and has since become coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Casey led the Raptors to the No. 1 seed in the East for the first time in franchise history. Toronto won a team-record 59 games. Casey coached the East in the All-Star Game for the first time.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) – Oscar Robertson commends the off-court activism of today’s NBA players, although the Hall of Famer wonders why more white athletes aren’t speaking out, too.

Robertson received the Lifetime Achievement Award from presenters Charles Barkley and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the NBA Awards.

Robertson is the career leader in triple-doubles and was the first player to average one for a season. His antitrust case against the NBA also ushered in free agency for players, which Robertson said was his most important assist.

The 79-year-old former guard who starred at Crispus Attucks High in Indianapolis and in college at Cincinnati before going to the NBA said it’s time for players to speak out about politics and education, among other issues.

”But the only thing that really bothers me is where are the white athletes when this is happening?” he said backstage. ”This is not a black athlete problem. You see injustice in the world. It’s all around you.”

COLLEGE BASEBALL

OMAHA Cheap Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey , Neb. (AP) – Game 1 of the College World Series finals between Arkansas and Oregon State was postponed until Tuesday night because of rain – just the latest in a line of delays caused by the weather this year.

”In my 16 years of being involved with this championship, this has been the most challenging College World Series as it relates to inclement weather,” NCAA director of championships and alliances Randy Buhr said.

Rain fell most of the day, and officials announced late in the afternoon that the game would be delayed. The decision to postpone came 90 minutes after the scheduled first pitch.

Arkansas (47-19) will start Blaine Knight (13-0) against Luke Heimlich (16-2) of Oregon State (53-11-1) on Tuesday.

COLLEGE SPORTS

CHICAGO (AP) – A federal appeals court has backed an NCAA rule requiring most football players who transfer schools to sit out a year.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld a lower-court finding that NCAA transfer rules don’t violate U.S. antitrust laws.

Monday’s decision was in a lawsuit brought by a former punter for Northern Illinois University, Peter Deppe. The ruling focuses on a requirement that most Division I football players who transfer to another school must sit out a year.

Deppe’s lawyers argued the Indianapolis-based NCAA enforces the rule primarily to ensure transfers don’t hurt the quality of the football and thereby cut into lucrative revenues. They say that makes it an unreasonable restraint on trade.

But the 7th Circuit rejected that. Its unanimous opinion accepted the NCAA’s concern that easy player transfers would undermine ”the amateur character of college athletics.”

A statement from the NCAA welcomed the ruling, saying it was consistent with prior court rulings that recognize ”the NCAA’s ability to preserve college sports.”

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

HARTFORD Cheap Mike Hughes Jersey , Conn. (AP) – UConn President Susan Herbst told Kevin Ollie she was upholding his firing because the former men’s basketball coach had a pattern of breaking NCAA rules and committed serious violations, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The school released the June 19 letter from Herbst to Ollie on Monday in response to open records requests from the AP and other news organizations.

Ollie has asserted that the violations which led to his firing in March were minimal and isolated.

Herbst denies that idea in the letter, writing that ”eventually even a series of `isolated’ or `de mimimis’ violations can become a pattern of non-compliance, which is what occurred in the Men’s Basketball program under your leadership.”

TENNIS

LONDON (AP) – Rafael Nadal is back at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, retaking the top spot from Roger Federer after just one week.

Monday’s new order is the sixth change of the year at No. 1, the most since there were eight in 1999.

The record is 10 switches at No. 1 in 1983.

Federer still is expected to be seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon Kurt Suzuki Jersey , where he won his record eighth championship a year ago. The grass-court Grand Slam tournament’s seedings are scheduled to be announced Wednesday. Play begins next week.

Nadal holds a 50-point edge over Federer in the rankings and will hold onto No. 1 for at least the next three weeks.

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Jon Cooper walked into the locker room and didn’t get the sense Lightning players were down in the dumps about losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference final.

”It was more kind of like an anger of like we want to get back – like let’s get Game 3 going here Youth Breeland Speaks Jersey ,” Tampa Bay’s coach said.

Game 3 on Tuesday night in Washington can’t come soon enough for the Lightning, who are in a historically difficult spot after losing twice at home to open the series.

Of the 41 previous times a team lost the first two games in the conference finals, 39 went on to lose the series – including every team that lost its first two at home.

”For us, it’s all about resetting everything,” defenseman Victor Hedman said Monday. ”There’s no panic. We’re obviously not happy with losing two games on home ice, but that is not something that goes into our locker room.

”We’ve got the experience. We’ve got the guys that are in the playoffs for the first time, guys have been through this, and we’re capable of handling that.”

The Lightning under Cooper haven’t lost the first two games of a series since 2014 Christian Yelich Jersey , when they were swept in the first round by Montreal. That was a learning experience players could point to when they went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, but right now it’s just an ugly deficit.

It is the same deficit the Lightning erased against the Capitals in 2003.

”If you just look where you stand in the series, I feel like it’s a big mountain to climb,” said former Lightning captain Martin St. Louis, who was on that team. ”They got to focus on just winning the next game. And I truly believe if they do that, it’s going to be a long series.”

After not allowing Boston to score an even-strength goal in the final three games during the second round, Tampa Bay has been outscored 7-1 by Washington at even strength and 10-4 overall.

Asked what the Lightning needed to do better, three-time Cup-winning defenseman Ken Daneyko responded Youth Tanner Lee Jersey , ”Where do we begin?”

”They were so responsible defensively, making good puck decisions and through the first two rounds they didn’t give up a whole lot,” said Daneyko, now an NHL Network analyst.

”Just mental breakdowns, mental mistakes by Tampa Bay. You never know why it turns so drastically like that when they were so sound against the Bruins. That can’t happen.”

Mistakes are happening in abundance, most notably passing up shots that lead to opportunities the other way. And ill-timed penalties late in periods have led directly to Capitals power-play goals, which definitely can’t continue happening if the Lightning want to make this a series.

”We need to do a better job of not getting in that situation, not letting two games in a row Jhoulys Chacin Jersey , 7, 8 seconds left on the power play and they get one,” defenseman Dan Girardi said. ”That’s something we can definitely control ourselves.”

As clinically as Tampa Bay eliminated New Jersey and Boston in five games apiece, Washington is rolling behind the scoring of Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov and the goaltending of Braden Holtby, who has stopped 52 of 56 shots through two games.

The Capitals are feeling confident right now, but after falling behind 0-2 on home ice in the first round and roaring back to beat Columbus, they understand how fast things can swing.

”We’re off to a heck of a start, but we’ve got to take care of business at home Authentic John Kelly Jersey ,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said. ”If they win one or two here, boy, the momentum switches big time.”

For the Lightning to win one or two games, they’ll need to get better production out of captain Steven Stamkos and winger Nikita Kucherov and better play out of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who hasn’t been at his best.

”He’s going to have to be great,” said Keith Jones, a former NHL forward and current NBC Sports analyst. ”He’s being challenged to look through traffic and stay up. … Vasilevskiy’s going to have to play unbelievably well unless the Capitals take a step back.”

If the Lightning can’t figure out how to fix many of their problems from the net out, it’ll be a short series. Cooper sounded confident of a turnaround.

”There’s a really good group of guys there Authentic Ryan Switzer Jersey ,” Cooper said. ”They’ve got a ton of experience and when their backs have been against the wall, they’ve shown a propensity to fight back. This is a tough one. We lost two at home and it’s definitely not an ideal situation. But we’re not done. It’s not over.”

NOTES: Capitals coach Barry Trotz said C Nicklas Backstrom, who has missed three consecutive games with a right hand injury, remains day-to-day. … Washington D Michal Kempny was fined $2,419 – the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement – for cross-checking Lightning F Cedric Paquette during Game 2.

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LeBron James has been in this playoff position before David Robertson Jersey , just not in the first round.

With Cleveland down 2-1 to the Indiana Pacers in the first round, James was asked if Game 4 in Indianapolis Sunday was a must win.

“It’s the postseason,” said James, who is 10-0 in his career in first-round playoff series with Cleveland and Miami. “Every game is a must win. You want to come in and play well and win no matter what. No matter if you have home-court advantage or if you’re starting on the road, that’s the mindset you have to have. I felt like (Friday) was a must win. We didn’t win, obviously Authentic Jihad Ward Jersey , but it’s the same mindset on Sunday.”

James, who scored 28 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and delivered eight assists in a 92-90 road loss Friday night, rejected what he felt were reporters’ attempts to ask if the other players needed to do more.

“You guys think I’m going to throw my teammates under the bus? I’m not about that,” James said. “Guys just, we have to be better Cheap Rick Leonard Jersey , including myself. Had six turnovers (Friday). I was horrible in the third quarter, couldn’t make a shot. If I had made some better plays in the third quarter, the lead doesn’t skip.”

The Pacers cut a 17-point halftime deficit to six points in the third quarter and finally took their first lead in the fourth quarter.

“We know we all gotta play better as a collective group, no matter who it is,” James said. “We got production to start the game and in the second half there wasn’t much production. We still had a chance to win. We’ve got to regroup and figure how we can be better in Game 4.”

Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said the Cavaliers were limited because George Hill’s back “locked up” in the second half. Hill played only nine minutes in the second half, scoring two of his 13 points. Lue used James and Jordan Clarkson rather than backup point guard Jose Calderon in the fourth quarter. If Hill can’t go Sunday Authentic Dante Pettis Jersey , Lue said he will likely start Calderon.

Hill had an MRI on Saturday, but the results weren’t back. He is listed as questionable for Game 4 with back spasms. Hill was hurt during Game 1 when Trevor Booker set a back screen and felt stiffness before Game 2, but played 20 minutes.

For the Pacers, Bojan Bogdanovic was the difference maker, scoring 15 of his team-high 30 points in the fourth quarter. Bogdanovic struggled shooting the first two games of the series.

Bogdanovic, who made 7 of 9 3-pointers Brock Holt Jersey , kept his focus after two quick fouls in the first quarter and had to leave briefly in the fourth when he picked up his fifth foul. The seven 3-pointers tied a franchise playoff record, also held by Reggie Miller twice, Chuck Person and Paul George.

“I thought it was going to be another poor performance from myself, but in the second half I started hitting shots and started feeling (much) better and I think a did a great job (Friday night),” the Croatian forward said.

Bogdanovic said he was most pleased with his defense against James.

“Everybody thought before this season that I cannot play defense,” he said. “I don’t say that I am playing great defense Authentic Cassius Marsh Jersey , but I am working hard at trying to make it tough for each offensive player that I am guarding.”

Bogdanovic said he tries to push James so he catches the ball far from the basket.

“Against those type of players you just try to stay aggressive on them,” Bogdanovic said.

Pacers coach Nate McMillan was impressed with his ability to produce both ways.

“You’re taking a pounding if you’re on the defensive end of the floor if you’re guarding LeBron,” McMillan said. “But offensively he found some energy. He got some good looks and he knocked them down.”

The Pacers came back to win eight times during the regular season after being down 15 or more points.

“We’ve been resilient,” guard Victor Oladipo said. “We made an adjustment in the second half and it helped us. But it’s only one game; I’m looking forward to Sunday.”

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The Columbus Blue Jackets rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat Detroit in overtime and move within a point of clinching a playoff spot with two games left.

Artemi Panarin put back his own rebound late in the game to tie it Cheap Josh Rosen Jersey , setting up Pierre-Luc Dubois‘ shot from the slot 2:55 into the extra period for a 5-4 win over the Red Wings before a raucous sellout crowd Tuesday night.

Columbus is one point or a loss by Florida shy of clinching at least a wild-card spot. The Panthers beat Nashville 2-1 on Tuesday night.

”I think it says a lot when you’re able to come back like that and keep playing,” Dubois said after overcoming a 4-1 deficit. ”I think we (hit) five or six posts in the first two periods. We’re really confident now, and we want to keep it going.”

The Blue Jackets are trying to get to the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey , and for most of the game it looked as if Detroit would put a crimp in their plans.

”It’s a resilient group that we have, and we’re never out of the fight,” said forward Cam Atkinson Authentic Cordy Glenn Jersey , who scored twice for Columbus.

Sonny Milano also had a goal for the Blue Jackets, who have won 13 of 15. Sergei Bobrovsky had 23 saves. Seth Jones had three assists, and Panarin added two Cheap Arden Key Jersey , claiming the Columbus franchise single-season points record with 80. Rick Nash had 79 in 2008-09.

Jimmy Howard had 36 saves and Tyler Bertuzzi had two goals for the Red Wings, who ended a three-game winning streak. Gustav Nyquist had a goal and an assist, Darren Helm also scored and Henrik Zetterberg had three assists for Detroit.

Bertuzzi put the Red Wings up four minutes into the game when he redirected Zetterberg’s shot from the left corner. Atkinson tied it on a power play a few minutes later when he waited next to the net and stuffed in a pass from Jones.

Detroit went up 2-1 later in the period when Bobrovsky and defenseman Jones got tangled up in front of the goal and a bouncing shot from Helm went into the net off Jones. Bertuzzi got his second of the evening late in the period on a power play Jose Ramirez Jersey , beating Bobrovsky on a rush.

Nyquist gave Detroit a three-goal edge on a power play just 31 seconds into the second period.

Atkinson pulled it to 4-2 later in the period on a power play when he scored from the right circle as Alexander Wennberg screened out Howard. Detroit wanted goalie interference but didn’t the call. Milano poked in a loose puck from the doorstep to make it 4-3 midway through the third, and then Panarin tied it with 2:16 left in regulation.

”They got a couple there and you could see the crowd got them into it,” Bertuzzi said. ”They gained momentum from that Authentic Saquon Barkley Jersey , and we just got away from what we were doing right.”

NOTES: Columbus D Zach Werenski left the ice in the second period after taking a puck to the back of the head blocking a shot from Andreas Athanasiou. He came back later in the period. … Columbus F Alex Broadhurst made his NHL debut. He went to the penalty box in the first period for high-sticking, which led to a Detroit’s third goal. … Detroit C Dylan Larkin has six points in the past three games. … Dubois has seven points in the last four games. … Atkinson has seven goals and five assists in an eight-game point streak.

UP NEXT:

Detroit: Hosts Montreal on Thursday night.

Columbus: Hosts Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

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LeBron James breaks hearts Orlando Arcia Jersey , shatters dreams and delivers joy all in one breath. He carries one city, crushes the other.

With mind-blowing ease, James can take over a quarter, a game, a series, a season and make it his own. His terms.

After being criticized earlier in his career – it seems laughable now – for not being clutch or taking the big shot, James has become the NBA’s pre-eminent closer, the player best equipped to handle pressure and produce excellence when everything is on the line.

Crunch time? He’s captain crunch. Tom Brady in the two-minute drill. Muhammad Ali in the 15th round. Mariano Rivera in the ninth. The fat lady.

It’s over when James says so.

James added to his growing legacy for breathtaking finishes on Saturday night by banking in a shot high off the backboard at the buzzer to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 105-103 win in Game 3 of their semifinal series against the Toronto Raptors Authentic Josh Rosen Jersey , who had the closest view of a moment that all but ended their season.

Dribbling the length of the floor while outmaneuvering a Toronto defense designed to stop him, James got to a spot where he felt comfortable, rose off his left foot and with his right hand softly dropped a shot he’s practiced hundreds of times for this kind of moment.

”That’s just who he is,” said Cavs center Kevin Love.

On the official play-by-play sheet, James’ shot was listed as: ”L.James 10′ Driving Bank Shot.”

It was so much more. It was the 33-year-old’s second game-winner of these playoffs, coming 10 days after he hit a fadeaway 3-pointer in Game 5 in a first-round series to down an Indiana Pacers team that had him on the ropes but couldn’t knock him out.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, James has made five go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of regulation or overtime in the playoffs – two more than Michael Jordan – and he might not be done.

His late-game heroics have become so common that coach Tyronn Lue’s only instructions during late timeouts is to pick which player is going to pass it to James.

”You just get the ball to `Bron at the end of the game, he has been producing for us all season Cheap Leighton Vander Esch Jersey , his whole career,” Lue said Sunday as the Cavaliers got ready for Monday’s Game 4. ”If the game is tied or the game is on the line, we got a great person to go to down the stretch.”

Before the playoffs began, the Cavaliers, who are finally meshing after months of upheaval, were 38-0 when leading after three quarters. Following practice last month, James was asked if there was a reason for the team’s ability to preserve fourth-quarter leads.

”’Cause we got a closer,” he said Jose Quintana Jersey , with zero hesitation.

Big shots. Timely blocks. Perfect passes.

James has done it at both ends in the waning moments of games all season for a team that has only four holdovers from its 2016 title squad. Like he does every year, James has elevated his game in the postseason. He’s averaging 34.8 points, his highest in the playoffs since 2009, with 9.5 rebounds and a career-best 8.8 assists.

The statistics, though, are only part of it.

In his last three home games, James has made two last-second shots and scored 45 points in a win-or-else Game 7.

”Right now, he’s just relishing these moments Authentic Jaleel Scott Jersey ,” forward Kyle Korver said. ”He’s been amazing. I think we are expecting him to win the game in the end when it’s close. We feel like he’s going to make the plays. He’s just done it so many times this year. He makes the right read, he makes the right play, he makes the shot. It’s been impressive to watch.”

Lue has seen another player like James: He was Kobe Bryant’s teammate in Los Angeles. James and Bryant share plenty of physical traits with other players, but it’s the intangibles that separate the scorers and playmakers from the difference makers.

”They want the ball,” Lue said. ”They’re always able to will their team to a win, a victory, making the right pass or play or making the big shot. It’s their will to win and making everyone better.”

And while it’s true that James has carried the Cavaliers for most of his 11 seasons with them, he’s had to shoulder a heavier burden over the past 92 games. When Cleveland relented to All-Star guard Kyrie Irving’s trade demand and shipped him to Boston Authentic Anthony Miller Jersey , it left the team without another proven scorer capable of closing.

It’s not that Love or Korver or J.R. Smith can’t make a big shot in a tough spot when called upon, it’s that James relishes the responsibility of being the one to take it – or defer if the situation demands.

In Miami, James turned to Dwyane Wade down the stretch for help. He doesn’t have that same luxury in Cleveland, but it’s not stopping him.

As he powered up the floor in the final seconds of Game 3, there was no doubt by the Raptors, the Cavaliers or the 20,000 fans at Quicken Loans Arena who was going to take the last shot.

The closer.

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Carlos Dunlap walked into the Cincinnati Bengals locker room and noticed a group of videographers and reporters waiting by his locker in a far corner of the room.

”Y’all looking for me?” he said.

Indeed Authentic Josh Sweat Jersey , Dunlap was the focus on the first day of mandatory minicamp after skipping most of the voluntary offseason workouts in Cincinnati. The ninth-year defensive end chose to work out on his own while his agent negotiated a new deal with the team, costing him $300,000 in bonuses.

Rather than skip the minicamp as well, he decided to catch up on what he’s missed with a new defense being implemented.

Plus Authentic Ryan Switzer Jersey , he’s encouraged by the progress made on a deal that would keep him in Cincinnati well beyond 2018.

”There are no hard feelings between any of us,” Dunlap said Tuesday. ”This is the process. Both sides understand it.”

Dunlap is a key to the Bengals’ hopes of a turnaround this season. They slid to 18th in the league overall and 30th against the run last season while missing out on the playoffs for a second straight year. Coordinator Paul Guenther left to join Jon Gruden with the Raiders, and Teryl Austin was hired as his replacement.

Dunlap has been a game-changer in Cincinnati with his ability to rush the quarterback and bat down passes. He’s second on the team’s career sacks list with 64 , and he’s been the best lineman in the league at batting down passes over the past few seasons.

Coaches have been trying to get him to be more consistent not only from game-to-game Andrew Benintendi Jersey , but within games as well. His number of plays could diminish this season as Cincinnati integrates some of its young pass rushers into the line rotation.

Carl Lawson had 8 sacks last season, the most by an NFL rookie and one sack shy of Dunlap’s team rookie record from 2010.

”They’re very adamant about having a big rotation, and I would too with all this talent on the D-line,” Dunlap said.

Dunlap and tackle Geno Atkins have anchored the line since 2010. Atkins leads the NFL in sacks by an interior lineman over the past few years. Dunlap had a career-high 13 sacks in 2015 Authentic Richard Rodgers Jersey , but slipped to 8 the following season and 7 last year, third on the team.

By working out on his own the past few months, he missed a chance to learn the system implemented by Austin. He said the biggest change is in terminology.

”They’re pretty much similar in scheme – minor tweaks here or there – but they’re things we already had in our defense,” Dunlap said. ”So it’s not like a full spring cleaning or anything.”

Coach Marvin Lewis said Dunlap won’t get much time on the field during the three-day minicamp because he’s missed so much practice time.

”It’s a chance for him to get a preview of what will happen during training camp Authentic Mike Gesicki Jersey ,” Lewis said. ”He’ll get very limited repetitions (in minicamp) just because these guys have been working here for an amount of weeks and he hasn’t been here.”

WOODSIDE CHARGED: Rookie quarterback Logan Woodside – a seventh-round pick from Toledo – practiced Tuesday after arraignment in northern Kentucky. He was charged over the weekend with speeding and driving under the influence in Bellevue, Kentucky, according to information in his case file in Campbell County District Court. The Bengals said they’re aware of the matter and gathering information. Lewis declined further comment.

EIFERT MISSING: Tight end Tyler Eifert was in the locker room but didn’t participate in the afternoon practice. Lewis declined to say why the often-injured tight end wasn’t on the field. ”He was here all morning and then all of a sudden he wasn’t,” Lewis said. ”I’m sure he’s being dealt with in some kind of medical fashion. That’s the only reason a guy wouldn’t be here.”

Eifert was limited to two games last season because of chronic back problems. He signed a one-year deal after the season. Lewis said Eifert has been doing well so far in his latest comeback.

”When we start to play football Authentic Martavis Bryant Jersey , then we’ll have an idea where he is,” Lewis said.

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