TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the Raptors need for a good start, a healthy Anderson Varejao, the return of Danny Granger, the improved De Andre Jordan and the Rockets juggling free agent addition Asik with Howard. Custom Cleveland Indians Nike Jerseys . 1. Raptors open pre-season action: Last season, the Raptors only lost one game in the pre-season and played really well before having a disastrous 4-19 start to the regular season and for all intents and purposes, the season was over. Getting off to a good start come Oct 30 and beyond is what matters. I was one of the ones lured in by the impressive pre-season only to be disappointed by the early season play. This season, whatever works for head coach Dwane Casey and his staff in their preparation for the Oct 30th opener vs. Boston is paramount. They know exactly what they need to work on, what they have to put into their offensive and defensive systems and, most importantly, how they want to experiment with roles/playing time so you know your team well enough when the games count for real. The Ws are nice at any time, yet a cohesive/prepared group at the end of the month is the goal. Here we go. 2. Anderson Varejao (Cavs): Having him healthy and in the lineup will be huge for the Cavaliers. He was having a very nice season (14ppg and 14rpg) last year before he got injured. You have him out there and you get some minutes from Andrew Bynum and this team will be tough to play against. Ive already heard the discussion that Varejao will be trade bait since hes got an expiring contract. Maybe so, but developing a winning team that makes the playoffs is huge for an organization hoping to take the next step and maybe lure Varejaos old teammate (some guy in Miami) back to Ohio next summer. Varejao helps the Cavs have a better chance at winning and, unless they get blown away by a trade offer for him, concentrate on getting Ws. 3. Danny Granger (Pacers): Good to see him back on the court. Real curious how he will adjust to Paul Georges increased role/profile on the team and his role possibly changing. Hes a good professional scorer who will add a new element of firepower and depth to the Pacers attack. Over the course of a long season, having a guy like Granger is quite a luxury. It will be very interesting to see how head coach Frank Vogel handles the situation on a daily basis and whether president Larry Bird stays with Granger or tries to dangle him in the trade market. Either way, a healthy Granger helps the organization. 4. De Andre Jordan (Clippers): I found Doc Rivers comments about him to be encouraging. Rivers alluded to the fact that he would have loved having Kevin Garnett in LA yet not at the expense of Jordan and also emphasized that hes a very valuable defender and much improved. Obviously, Rivers is trying to pump up Jordans tires and let him know that hes a significant piece to the new-look Clippers. Hes a guy that can protect the paint, rebound on both ends, get you garbage points in the lane and play with energy. Can he be a consistent post player and free-throw shooter? Can you have him on the court in crunch time? Only time will tell but its clear that Rivers wants to see it through for a while and figure out whether hes got more room for growth. 5. Omer Asik (Rockets): They made a run at him, luring him away from the Bulls as a free agent last year and now hes trying to figure out where hell fit with the new free agent, Dwight Howard. Do I see the two of them being able to play extensively together? Highly unlikely. How Kevin McHale sees this through will be important for this potential trade chip. If given minutes, hes a player that can be a consistent double/double guy for you. Asik has already expressed concern about how it will all unfold. My guy tells me that GM Daryl Morey is a bold/forward thinking operator and wont let this fester for long. If its not working, theyll be swinging a deal. Better to be proactive than reactive. Custom New York Mets Nike Jerseys . His brother — Red Lake chiropractor Richard Radford — is en route to Sochi to cheer on his younger brother. "Ive been getting texts from Eric and he just says the atmosphere is amazing, its special,” he said. Custom Kansas City Royals Nike Jerseys .What they got was a bevy of players chipping in to pick up the slack.Josh Smith scored 18 points and James Harden added 17 as the Rockets used a balanced scoring effort to outlast the Mavericks for a 99-94 victory. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/?tag=custom-san-francisco-giants-nike-jerseys .com) - James van Riemsdyk had two goals with one assist to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Zemgus Girgensons scored the tying goal in the second period and added a score in the 10th round of a shootout to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Ryan Miller made 35 saves for the Sabres, who snapped a three-game losing skid. Matt Moulson, Brian Flynn and Steve Ott also scored for Buffalo in the shootout. With his 46th shootout win, Miller took sole possession of the record for most shootout wins in NHL history. The Rangers Henrik Lundqvist has 45. Milan Michalek scored Ottawas goal and Robin Lehner made 35 saves. The Senators shootout scorers were Mika Zibanejad, Kyle Turris and Michalek. Buffalo is 4-0 in games decided by a shootout. Jamie McBain appeared to give the Sabres a second-period lead at the 15:30 mark when Lehner pushed a loose puck into his own net, but referee Tom Kowal ruled that the whistle had blown. The play was reviewed and fans were treated to a replay with the on-ice volume amplified that showed the puck crossing the line before the whistle blew. The NHL released a statement saying there was a delayed penalty on Ottawa which shouldve stopped play when Ottawa touched the puck. The Sabres hadnt played since Saturday and controlled much of the first two periods against a Senators team playing a third game in four nights. Ottawa scored first on a 2-on-1 rush 6:25 into the first period, when Michalek beat Miller for his fifth goal of the season.. Custom Cincinnati Reds Nike Jerseys. Buffalo nearly tied it when Erik Karlsson took a hooking call at the 9:14 mark of the second period, but Lehner made four saves on Buffalos first power play of the night to protect the 1-0 lead. Girgensons had the game-tying goal. Christian Ehrhoff took a wrist shot that Lehner kicked to his right and Girgensons swatted at the loose puck. It beat Lehner between the legs, hitting each skate before crawling over the goal line. The Sabres had a season-high 18 shots in the second period, and their 29 shots through two periods were more than theyve had in 21 full games. Ottawa controlled the third period as it outshot Buffalo 13-6. Overtime had free-flowing play with scoring chances for both teams. Miller made a sprawling stop on Chris Phillips before McBain was unable to convert two chances in the Ottawa end. Tyler Myers was led off the ice in overtime after taking a Jason Spezza shot to the face. Ehrhoff nearly put the Sabres in front early in the third on a breakaway attempt that fooled Lehner, but went wide of the goal. NOTES: Sabres LW Ville Leino was a healthy scratch for Buffalo. "He didnt practice all that well," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said of Leino, who is goalless in 19 games. "I think were part of our environment. If we dont practice hard, how are you going to play hard?" ... D Eric Gryba and C Mike Hoffman were scratched for Ottawa. ... Mike Weber was again scratched for the Sabres. ' ' '