View topic: Crosby did it, Lord

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Crosby did it, Lord

OAKLAND, Calif. – At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Hes on pace to come awfully close. With his health no longer holding him back, Bogut has been a force in the middle for the Golden State Warriors (29-19) entering Tuesday nights home game against the Charlotte Bobcats. He ranks near the top of the league in blocks, rebounds and defensive ratings, and he has begun to silence the chatter that hes a player who is always hurt. "I havent felt this great in while," Bogut said after Mondays practice, then quickly asking not to jinx his good fortune. "Touch wood," he said. The 7-footer from Australia, who has a well-documented history of injuries, has played in 47 of 48 games – with his lone absence stemming from a suspension handed down by the NBA for his role in a scrum against Portland. Bogut had played in only 44 games the past two seasons combined. Boguts presence has been especially big considering his primary backups, Jermaine ONeal and Festus Ezeli, have been out most of the season. "Hes been spectacular, protecting the paint, setting screens, rebounding the basketball, being a leader, being durable," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "If hes not here, youre asking basically a power forward to be a (centre), and to do it for a lengthy period of time is a recipe for disaster. But hes been awesome, and certainly should be in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year." The Warriors took a big risk by signing Bogut to a three-year, $36 million extension in October that could be worth up to about $42 million with incentives. They also took a gamble when they acquired Bogut in a trade-deadline deal in March 2012 that sent guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee. Bogut did not play for Golden State that season while recovering from a fractured left ankle. Bogut battled back and knee injuries while averaging a career-low 5.8 points to go with 7.7 rebounds last season, but he was at his best in the playoffs, making a major difference on defence to help the Warriors advance to the second round. Bogut missed the end of the 2009-10 season with the Bucks when he dislocated his right elbow, sprained his right wrist and broke his right hand in a hard fall to the floor. He also missed significant time with an injured lower back in the 2008-09 season. Bogut has repeatedly called both injuries "freak accidents." "People that label me injury-prone, its fair enough, I understand it," Bogut said. "But to say that theyre chronic injuries, those people are idiots. Two injuries that have hurt my career and probably shortened the length of my career and probably a little bit of my playing ability are completely out of my control." Even still, the setbacks have taken a toll – physically and mentally. At one point while rehabbing his ankle last season, Bogut said he was in a "dark place" and even considered retirement. Instead, Golden States surprising playoff run – and his big role in it – left him rejuvenated. He lost about 15 pounds this off-season, and the only real injury scare cost him some practice time in January after he strained his right knee. Bogut is averaging 10.6 rebounds and two blocks per game, and he has the NBAs third-best defensive rating – which is calculated by how many points are given up per 100 possessions while a player is on the floor. Offence is still something that has eluded Bogut since his elbow injury, though on a Golden State team stacked with shooters, hes not asked to score much. Bogut is averaging 8.2 points, which is sixth on the team, but he leads the Warriors with 64 per cent shooting – with most of his points coming on pick-and-roll dunks or put-back rebounds. Hes also rediscovering his passing ability – once considered among the best for NBAs centres – lately, including tying his season high with five assists in Fridays win at Utah. "Hes talented, man," point guard Stephen Curry said. "Its not often you see a big man get the rebound, push in transition, change directions a couple times, read the defence and make behind-the-back passes and one-handed passes for a backdoor cut. That creativity he has, Ive rarely seen it for a guy his size." Bogut, now 29, has concentrated on becoming a more versatile defender. Hes not just guarding centres near the rim, but often going out against power forwards, including holding down All-Star starter Blake Griffin in a win over the Clippers last week. Bogut believes hes "close" to playing the best defence of his career, and hes making a strong case to be on the first or second All-NBA Defensive teams. The only time Bogut could remember playing this well was before his injury in the 2009-10 season, when he finished second behind Orlandos Dwight Howard in blocks per game but didnt even get a vote for the defensive teams that season. "Hopefully, I can make up for that this season," Bogut said. "But awards are predicated on how the team is, how the success of the team is, so if we go to the playoffs and make some noise, I think all that stuff will take care of itself." Custom Texas Rangers Jerseys .J. - Trying to learn and absorb the new West Coast offence being installed by new offensive co-ordinator Ben McAdoo, the New York Giants wrapped their final organized team activity Thursday before a three-day mini-camp next week. Elvis Andrus Jersey . The 10-horse field of 3-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at approximately 10:14pm et. 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Nicolas Batum had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Wesley Matthews scored 18 points, and the Trail Blazers overcame poor-shooting nights by two of their best players in a 94-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday.Connor McDavid, who is widely considered as the best prospect in hockey since Sidney Crosby, did something earlier this week that is very unusual for a player of his caliber. He got into a fight. To make matters worse he broke his hand and will be out for up to six weeks leaving his participation at the World Juniors for Team Canada up in the air. In his latest column, TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button wrote about his thoughts on the incident and whether McDavid should be fighting at all. Connor McDavid should not be fighting, ever, said Button. A game built on warp-like speed and quickness, brilliant puckhandling abilities and a mind that processes the game at speeds only seen in Silicon Valley, should not include fisticuffs. Button says McDavid is far too valuable as a player and is no help to his teammates when hes sidelined nursing a needless injury. This is what We Said. Here is what You Said. Facebook: LA Roche - Its easy to say he shouldnt have fought after the kid broke his hand. If he didnt break it, youd all be praising him for sticking up for himself. Drew Murphy - If he thinks he can handle his own and is willing to fight then let the kid fight simple as that. Its his choice if he wants to or not. Michael Glazier - I agree totally. If youre going to have a player thats going to be the next Gretzky then you better trade off something so you can get a player and who will protect him by fighting and just ensuring he is not going to get any cheap shots. Jim Goodine - Emotions run high in the game. It will happen at times aand he knows that.dddddddddddd He cant expect someone else to always jump in for him and he cant run from it. Bravo Connor for standing up for yourself! Josh Andersen - Stars shouldnt be fighting, they should have players standing up for them. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do. He made the choice. Now he has to accept consequences. James Rodrigues - Never. Losing him for 5 min while the other team loses anyone of lesser importance isnt a good trade off. Brandon Aspeck - Why not? Iginla did it, Crosby did it, Lord knows that Ovi could if he wanted to at that size, so why not him? Twitter: Patrick Larochelle ?@crosby007 - @CraigJButton I dont know what McDavid was thinking.He shouldt fight.Its not part of his game..Thats a bad news for Team Canada. Morgo ?@Morgo_82 - @CraigJButton hes young, he likely still has trouble keeping his emotions in check. Too bad he had to learn the hard way. TSN.ca Drew Martin - Life lesson for Connor. Hes a game competitor and chose to chuck the knuckles in the heat of a game. He took a big risk and it cost him in the form of a broken hand. In the short term its a bad result for him, bad for his junior club and bad for Team Canada. Hope he heals quickly and gets back out on the ice ASAP. The-Van - So whats he supposed to do it an opponent jumps him? Not fight back and defend himself? I know thats not what happened here, but with the way hockey is getting softer and softer, his team probably doesnt have anyone to step in and fight for him when hes getting picked on. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '