TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the agressiveness of Paul George, the struggles of LeBron James in Game 5, the prospects of Billy Donovan as an NBA head coach, the swagger of Cory Joseph and the maturation of Russell Westbrook. Wholesale Shoes China . 1. Paul George (Pacers): Brilliant fourth quarter Wednesday night as he saved his team from elimination. Unfortunately, we havent see that from him enough in the playoffs and surely in the second half of the regular season. He let it rip in Game 5 and loved his aggressiveness and the attack mode that he took. When he plays like an elite player, it settles the rest of the roster down and guys are able to play their games. Still dont like their chances though; their bench has been a huge bust and though the defence was a bit better Wednesday, it hasnt been up to par in this series. I like Miami to close in Game 6 at home. 2. LeBron James (Heat): Played less than 25 minutes due to foul trouble! How often do you ever hear or see that? An aberration to say the least. Obviously, that helped the Pacers immensely. I tend to doubt youll be hearing that phrase too often the rest of the playoffs for Mr. James. When its time for the spotlight to shine brightest, hell be out there. 3. Billy Donovan (University of Florida): Where there is smoke, there is fire. Keep hearing his name when you talk about NBA jobs. Hes a terrific head coach and has done a wonderful job with the Gators. Already took the Orlando Magic job and then backed out years ago when Stan Van Gundy ended up taking it. Worked out great for both guys. Talking to a number of college coaches of late, many of them are getting tired of the one and done mentality that many players have and the concept of the free agent mentality that many players have today regarding transferring out each offseason. I know, I get it, its a two-way street for both sides yet I think when you coach at the highest level in top-notch leagues and have constant movement each year, you say to yourself, might as well get to where everyones trying to get to and not have to deal with recruiting and academics and the goofy NCAA rules and deal totally with why you do it in the first place: basketball - the game - and not the other nonsense. Like many college coaches, Im sure Donovan has had those thoughts. If he comes to the NBA, I have no doubt hed be good. 4. Cory Joseph (Spurs): Loved the swagger he played with in Game 4. Came in and looked like he belonged. Love the dunk on Serge Ibaka; posterized him! Hes a passionate competitor and you cant discount that playing in San Antonio has greatly helped his development as a young player. Hes had nice stints of play at times this year and with a guy like Patty Mills in front of him behind Tony Parker, minutes are tough to come by. When youre called upon, be ready. He has shown me that when that happens, hes ready to get after it. Good for him. 5. Russell Westbrook (Thunder): What a Game 4 performance with 40 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals. When you look around the NBA right now, there arent many more talented guys than this guy out there. Yes, at times, he can drive you crazy with his self-absorbed play but you cant discount his ability. Hopefully, the consistent maturity and professional/team-oriented approach becomes a part of his daily persona. I see a young guy that is maturing and still figuring it out; a guy you definitely stick with because there is so much there and he really wants to win. Just still learning how to go about it the right way, but its coming. Cheap Shoes From China Online . Jeter doubled high off the left-field wall and scored on Jacoby Ellsburys first hit in pinstripes in the fifth. Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) pitched 6 1-3 sharp innings in the Yankees 112th opener in New York. In what manager Joe Girardi said would be a season-long lovefest for Jeter, the shortstop was cheered every step of the way by an adoring crowd of 48, 142 -- even when his double-play grounder back to Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2) scored Solarte in the third inning for the first run. Cheap Shoes Wholesale Free Shipping . However, the intensity and physicality that has characterized the postseason so far has caught Gretzky by surprise. "Its a little bit risqué right now," Gretzky told Philadelphia radio station 97. http://www.shoescheap.us/ . The 21-year-old Wickham headed Sunderland into a 26th-minute lead --to add to the double he scored at Manchester City and his strike in last weekends win at Chelsea -- and then sealed the win with a late header.ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Tucked in the warmth on the surrounding grounds of the Big House, Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis made one point urgently clear as he announced the signing of Torontos captain through 2021. "We signed Dion to this deal because he deserved it," said Nonis on the eve of Wednesdays Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. But the success of the seven-year extension between the Leafs and Dion Phaneuf wont just be about the 28-year-old defender, but the ability of Nonis and the organization to surround him and the Toronto core with capable talent. Right now that core includes at least six players; Phaneuf along with Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul, David Clarkson and Tyler Bozak – all signed until at least 2017. And while that group must remain productive – and increasingly so from a generally disappointing first half – the overall team success is likely dependent on the quality of talent the club adds in the coming years. "Weve added these pieces because we think that they can help us win long-term," said Nonis of that core group. "Its now going to be up to us to add players around them. We feel we have some pieces coming, but were not where we need to be yet. We still need to add some pieces around players like Dion and Phil and [Lupul], JVR. Those are players that will help any team in this league win, but we need to continue to add to that group." No team has done a more efficient job of surrounding their impressive core than the Chicago Blackhawks (though the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins could make equal argument). "I think theyre a model for the league, not just our hockey club," Randy Carlyle said of the defending Stanley Cup champions earlier this season. Chicagos core is among the more dynamic in the league – much of it built through the draft – but the organization has done well in surrounding that group with wave upon wave of helpful young players and outside talent. In recent years, the likes of Andrew Shaw (fifth round pick), Marcus Kruger (fifth round), Bryan Bickell (second round), Corey Crawford (second round) and Brandon Saad (second round) all proved invaluable toward the Blackhawks capturing their second Cup in four years last season. For the Leafs that means improved drafting and development. It means finding more capable assets through the draft, ever an important tool in todays cap age. "Theres still only three ways to do [build around the core] – trade, free agency or the draft," said Nonis. "We have to do a better job in all three areas. But the draft is going to be more and more important as players start to earn six, seven, eight, nine, 10 million – who knows what the numbers are going to end up being. "If you have players that are entry-level players or just coming out of entry-level that are earning substantially less that can contribute youre going to have a better chance of winning. We need to try to find some of those players." Not only does that mean the continued development of young players like Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri, Peter Holland and Jonathan Bernier, but success here and there from a solid and yet unspectacular prospectt pool that features Matt Finn, Connor Brown, Petter Granberg, Dominic Toninato, and Josh Leivo. Discount Shoes Online. It also means finding more useful players to contribute right now. Chicago found help for example in the form of veterans like Johhny Oduya and Michal Handzus. Uneven all season, Torontos patchwork defence – which featured no major additions last summer – is a source requiring definite upgrading in the summer of 2014 and beyond. As for Phaneuf, he may be an imperfect first defender, but is a capable first defender no less in a league where commodities of such kind are difficult to find and then keep. More and more teams are locking up their most talented players long-term leaving the free agency pool increasingly weak and short of high-impact options, especially on defence. Among the top unsigned defenders for the summer of 2014 are 37-year-old Dan Boyle, 35-year-old Andrei Markov, and 29-year-old Dan Girardi. Internally, the Leafs have promising long-term options for the top of their defence in the 19-year-old Rielly and 23-year-old Gardiner, but neither is near ready to assume the difficult duties Phaneuf holds at the moment. And while the likes of Finn, Granberg, Stuart Percy, and Tom Nilsson offer prospective hope further on down the line, they are suitably unknown commodities. "If youre signing players because you dont have anyone to replace them youre making mistakes," said Nonis. "Hes going to play at this level and beyond, I feel, for seven years and maybe beyond that. Its not that you dont have anyone to replace Dion, its that hes done enough to prove to us that he is a player that is near the top of the league in terms of how he stacks up against the top defencemen." The difficulty of his minutes is easy to overlook. His role on a generally unstable Toronto defence requires him to match up nightly against the most difficult competition in the league. In Wednesdays Winter Classic for example, that tall challenge will include large quantities of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. "I dont think you can look beyond the situations and positions that Randy puts him in," said Nonis. "Theyre not always the best situations. He plays some pretty tough minutes." In fact, no defender in the league has faced more challenging competition in the past two seasons than the Leafs captain, this according to ExtraSkater.com. And though hes struggled to produce offence this season – 15 points in 39 games – Phaneuf has ranked amongst the top-20 at his position in offensive production in each of the past two seasons. The Leafs were in a surprise in 2013, finishing fifth in the conference while nearly upending the eventual Cup finalist Bruins in the first round. But theyve fallen under considerable strain this season – just four regulation wins since Nov. 1 – and have proven a poor defensive contingent again after struggling in that regard a year ago. Phaneuf is more solution than problem. The Leafs simply need better players around him. "You see some of the best players around the league," said Nonis, "if you put them on a team by themselves theyre going to have a hard time winning. We think were adding pieces that will help us win." 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