Fragen und Antworten » scrimmage last season, Matt

SACRAMENTO - The Raptors nearly got away with what should have been one of their most lopsided defeats of the season. Down by 22 early in the fourth quarter, the Raptors - on the heels of yet another fierce comeback - had cut their deficit to six as Kyle Lowry launched what could have been a game-changing three pointer. Kings rookie Ben McLemore closed out hard and the two collided just before Lowrys shot dropped and the whistle blew. Had the bucket counted and, assuming Lowry then connects on the subsequent free throw, the Raptors would have been down by two with 25 seconds remaining. Instead, official Eric Lewis called the foul on the shooter. Lowry had kicked out his leg on the jumper, he explained. The call was bold, to put it mildly, and in disbelief, Lowrys reaction earned him his second technical foul of the game. He was done for the night, heading straight to the locker room, and for all intents and purposes so, too, were the Raptors. On the night, the Raptors were assigned three techs. They finished the game with more personal fouls (35) than Kings field goals (32). Lowry, like the rest of his teammates, didnt say much following Wednesdays 109-101 loss in Sacramento. What he did say spoke volumes. "I cant say what I really want to say," Lowry commented, biting his tongue. "Its as simple as that." Theyve all lived through this narrative before, most recently in Portland this past weekend. Questionable officiating aside - theyve seen their fair share of that, too - slow starts followed by one last-ditch effort to save the day have become the norm. Its a bad habit that the likes of Indiana and Miami can get away with because theyre Indiana and Miami. When the Raptors play with fire, more often than not, theyll get burned. Dwane Casey, moments after lacing into his players in the locker room, could have gone after the officials but wisely chose to save his money and direct his angst at the team. Correct what you can control was the mindset, and the Raptors have displayed a few glaring faults worth correcting. "We havent done anything, Ive been repeating this, we havent done anything in this league yet to come out and play in second gear until we try to turn it on," said the Raptors coach, his team giving up 92 points and trailing by 20 after three quarters Wednesday. "Were not that good and, until we have that disposition from start to finish, were going to be disappointed a lot. Ive said that warning, Ive given that warning and like I just told them, they have to decide how they want to live." The emotions of the evening got the better of them. On a night in which seven players - including the Kings Rudy Gay - faced their former team for the first time since Decembers trade, Sacramento came out with the focus that escaped the Raptors. "Its a business" is a phrase that was uttered over and over on both sides leading up to the much-anticipated reunion between Gay and the Raptors, but only one team followed through on it. "Were out hugging, giving [high] fives and all that," said a disappointed Casey. "This is a business and I didnt think our disposition from start to finish was in the fight mode, the hungry-team mode." The Raptors had rallied around Gay as he made his first trip back to Memphis earlier in the season and the Kings did the same Wednesday. The former Raptors forward and leading scorer had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, but he didnt do it alone because he didnt have to. DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 and Isaiah Thomas added 23. Combined, the three Kings accounted for 41 of the Kings 51 free throw attempts. Toronto made just 24 trips to the line. "Its about putting your body on someone," Casey said. "The fundamental box-out, going to get it, getting to rebounds, all the little things that you have to do. And then you put them on the line 51 times because either youre late or out of position." Just like it did in Portland on Saturday, Torontos defence took the first half off. The Kings - a 16-win team going into the evening - scored 30 points in the first quarter and 37 in the second. By halftime, four of their five starters were in double figures. The Raptors are a resilient bunch, sure. Comeback specialist Steve Novak checked in and promptly knocked down three triples. They made a game of it, as theyve been known to do, but when you rely on the miraculous, you leave yourself vulnerable to the unpredictable nature of crunch time in the NBA. Things happen. In Portland, it was a relatively unforced turnover on the games final possession. In Sacramento, it was a bad call. The visitors locker room in Sleep Train Arena - easily the coziest in the league - was filled with frustrated players, packed together like sardines. They had every reason to be frustrated, but as Casey stressed to them, they need to look inward. "We got guys who are going to fight to the end, but we cant let ourselves get down by 20 and think we are going to come back every time," said John Salmons, one of four Raptors who came over in the trade from Sacramento. "Its not going to happen every time." "Like I told the guys in the locker room, it was probably the worst game weve played since I got here," said Chuck Hayes, another former Kings player. "This ones probably going to [cause us to] lose a couple hours of sleep but weve got to get over it." China Shoes Cheap Free Shipping .NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS. China Shoes Cheap . Armstrong was given the rank of "Chevalier" -- or Knight -- in the "Legion dHonneur" in 2005, the last year of his seven consecutive Tour de France victories. http://www.chinashoescheap.com/ . - UFC 178, previously announced for Sept. Shoes From China Online . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). Cheap Shoes China Free Shipping . FLIP SAUNDERS (Timberwolves): Im not the least bit surprised that he appointed himself as head coach after his search concluded.Forever and a day, the cornerstone of fantasy football teams has been the running game, workhorse backs racking up yardage and touchdowns, but the game is changing. Theres more passing, and that means fewer backs taking a primary role in the offence, but that doesnt mean there isnt value to be found. Last season, there were 13 running backs to gain more than 1,000 yards on the ground. In 2012, there were 16; the years before, going back to 2004: 15, 17, 15, 16, 17, 22, 16 and 18. So maybe there arent quite as many runners around which to anchor your fantasy squad, but that decline in depth makes those that are still standing all the more valuable in relative terms. Start with Minnesotas Adrian Peterson, who was over 1,200 rushing yards again last season, for the sixth time in seven seasons and, as always, it was buttressed by double-digit touchdowns. For a team with question marks about its passing game, Peterson will continue to be the No. 1 option and that safety makes him appealing. LeSean McCoy busted out last year, gaining 2,146 yards from scrimmage, and he may well be the best runner on the board, but a players value isnt his career-best season and McCoy figures to at least lose some targets in the Philadelphia passing game to incoming veteran Darren Sproles. Ranking second in yards from scrimmage last season, Kansas Citys Jamaal Charles also tacked on 19 touchdowns last year. Much like McCoy, it was a career-year for Charles, but largely because of the touchdowns. He has gained more than 1,700 yards from scrimmage in three of the past four seasons. There are a number of ways to go beyond the top three, but if youre prepared to live with risk, Arian Foster gained 4,702 yards from scrimmage and scored 47 touchdowns from 2010 through 2012. He only played eight games last season, and while he still accumulated 725 yards in that time, he managed just a couple of touchdowns. A healthy Foster is still a premier threat but, after last year, his value may be depressed somewhat. Moving to Seattle has worked well for Marshawn Lynch, who has 4,775 yards from scrimmage, along with 39 touchdowns, in the past three seasons. He may not have the high ceiling of the guys at the top, but hes a workhorse back on a powerhouse team. After a slow start in the first couple weeks of his NFL career, Green Bays Eddie Lacy still ended up gaining 1,435 yards from scrimmage and scoring 11 touchdowns as a rookie. As a play for upside, Lacy can be worthy of a first-round fantasy pick. One of three backs to gain more than 1,600 yards from scrimmage last season, Matt Forte gained 1,933 yards and scored a dozen touchdowns. Hes had some years with low touchdown totals, but has gained at least 1,400 yards from scrimmage in every one of his six NFL seasons. Beyond that group, we begin looking at fringe first-rounders. Still valuable, productive players, but maybe not quite worthy of being your best option. Tampa Bays Doug Martin was limited to six games last season, but hes averaged more than 111 yards from scrimmage per game in his career. With the Bucs upgrading their offensive line, adding Logan Mankins from New England, Martin is even more appealing. DeMarco Murray has had trouble staying healthy for Dallas, but delivered a career-best 1,471 yards and 10 touchdowns in 14 games last season. With a strong offensive line leading the way, Murray could put up serious numbers over a full season. Looking at a full-time starting gig with his move to Cleveland, Ben Tate averaged 4.7 yards per carry in three seasons as a second-stringer in Houston and while the Browns may not offer much of a supporting cast, Tate can take advantage of a full-time role. After an underwhelming rookie season, during which he gained 704 yards from scrimmage with four touchdowns, Montee Ball looks at a bigger opportunity now that Knowshon Moreno is in Miami. It would be more encouraging if Ball had played so well that he just took the job, but opportunity is opportunity and that Broncos offence offers a great chance to put up points. With more than 3,000 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns in his first two seasons, Alfred Morris seems like a safe option, but there will be some questions concerning the Redskins offence and Morris drop in production from his rookie year to his sophomore season. There isnt much buzz around Buffalos C.J. Spiller after he managed 1,118 yards from scrimmage and only two touchdowns last season, with a high ankle sprain posing problems, but hess averaging 5.dddddddddddd1 yards per carry for his career. If the ankle isnt a problem this year, maybe Spiller lives up to the hype that he had pre-2013. After four seasons spent as Adrian Petersons caddie in Minnesota, Toby Gerhart gets his shot to be The Man in Jacksonville. Hes a powerful runner who can also catch the ball coming out of the backfield. For a Jaguars team lacking weapons, Gerhart ought to get a lot of touches. Detroits Reggie Bush maybe be facing a challenge for playing time from Joique Bell, but Bush has also accumulated 4,172 yards from scrimmage the past three seasons, including a career-high 1,512 last year. Thats still too good to leave on the sidelines for your fantasy squad this year. Gone are the days of Chris Johnson, the 2,000-yard rushing threat, but even in his current state of declining production, he has put up more than 1,400 yards from scrimmage in each of the past three years and scored 10 touchdowns last year. Its possible that expectations may have even over-corrected on Johnson, who does get something of a new lease on life with the Jets this year. Last years 1,269 yards from scrimmage counted as Frank Gores lowest since his rookie season (2005) and hes always facing challenges for playing time, with second-round pick Carlos Hyde the latest leading contender but, since 2006, no one has more yards from scrimmage than Gores 12,000, so a little respect is due, even if his time as the Niners number one back is nearing an end. Though he started only one game as a rookie, Andre Ellington still picked up 1,023 yards from scrimmage, on just 157 touches, for the Cardinals. In his second season, as the featured back in Arizonas offence, there are expectations that Ellington will take a leap forward, even is his production isnt going to keep that efficiency. Zac Stacy took control of the Rams starting running back job last year and accumulated 1,114 yards from scrimmage. Naturally, there are expectations that he can improve in his second season, but the Rams had a shaky attack even before Sam Bradford was injured and Stacy is still facing challenges for playing time from Benny Cunningham. Theres upside here, but some downside if expectations start running too high. Mostly a spare part early in his career in Jacksonville, Rashad Jennings burst through when injuries opened the door for him with the Raiders last season, gaining 1,025 yards from scrimmage. As the number one back for the Giants this year, there is a good chance that 29-year-old Jennings could have a career-best season. Last season was supposed to be so different for Steven Jackson, who moved to Atlanta after years of productivity in St. Louis. He played only a dozen games and managed a career-low 734 yards from scrimmage as the Falcons season fell apart. Nevertheless, Jackson is Atlantas best backfield option this year and while 31-year-old running backs arent exactly in the primes of their career, Jacksons depressed value after last season does mean he could provide value this time around. The third overall pick in 2012, Trent Richardson saw his production dip dramatically last year from a rookie season that was already disappointing. The Colts can hope that Richardson rebounds and can make it as a power runner capable of handling a heavy workload, but the risk that Richardson just isnt suited to be a big-time runner in the NFL ought to make for cautious draft day decisions. When seeking value in later rounds, consider strong second-stringers, like Bell, Fred Jackson or Ahmad Bradshaw, but there will also be veterans in time-shares (Shonn Greene, Maurice Jones-Drew, LeGarrette Blount) that should be interesting as well. Among rookies, Tennessees Bishop Sankey will have a chance to see lots of action, provided he can hold the ball. Otherwise, the likes of Hyde, Jeremy Hill (Cincinnati) and Tre Mason (St. Louis) all seem to need an injury to become valuable fantasy contributors. Its important to get quality runners in your draft, but its not the end of the world if you dont. There will, invariably, be players that dont start in Week One, that end up gaining 1,000 yards from scrimmage, so its vital to monitor the waiver wire in order to keep your backfield up to speed with the competition. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Fantasy Football Report powered by Coors Light. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '