06-18-2019, 12:53 AM
(SportsNetwork.com) - One of the so-called contenders in the West is off to a shaky start. Lets take a closer look at that team along with a few others who have stumbled out of the block. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS I dont have a good feeling about this team, which I think has looked even worse than a 5-4 record would indicate. For a club with championship aspirations and a very bad taste in its mouth from last years tough playoff exit, I wouldve thought wed see the Clippers play with a lot more intensity and urgency. The two areas where effort really matters-defense and rebounding-is where weve seen Doc Rivers team come up short. Despite the fact that DeAndre Jordan is leading the league in rebounding at 12.4 per game, the Clippers have been the worst rebounding team along with the Miami Heat, pulling down 37.4 per game. Thats nearly six rebounds less than what they averaged last season. The Clippers defense is also nowhere near where it needs to be as they rank 21st in points allowed, giving up 102.7 per game, and opponents are shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from downtown. All these numbers aside, it just looks like they dont have enough talent to be serious title contenders. I believe the combination of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin isnt strong enough to put the Clippers in contention, and I also think the supporting cast isnt on par with the elite teams in the league, especially with Darren Collison departing via free agency. DETROIT PISTONS The Pistons were one of the biggest disappointments last season with a 23-59 record, and new leadership hasnt made much of difference so far this year. Stan Van Gundy was hired as the coach and team president with the hope that he would change the franchises culture, but with little change to the roster it seems the players are more of a problem than the coach. The front line of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith is continuing to have problems playing together, with Smith struggling more than he did last season as hes averaging 13.6 points and shooting just 36.8 percent from the field, while Drummonds play has dropped off considerably to start the season. The third-year center has been horrible offensively and has hurt the team on the defensive end too. Drummond was second in the NBA in field goal percentage last season at 62.3 percent, but is shooting only 41.4 percent this season. The Pistons are scoring just 93 points per game after averaging 101 last season, and Drummonds drop in scoring from 13.5 to 8.7 points per game is a big reason for the fall off. The 21-year olds recent struggles led to a conversation with Van Gundy last Thursday, and they both decided that his offensive game should take a back seat for now. Stan and I got a chance to sit down this morning and we all know the offense hasnt really come around for me at this start of the season yet, and its really been frustrating for me, Drummond said. So Stan and me really just talked and we just decided to go out and get on the rebounds, because Im one of the best rebounders in the league. So I decided to really just focus on the defensive end today and let the offense come to me. And speaking of the defensive end, hes got to be a lot smarter there. Drummonds constant foul problems have kept him off the floor way too much. Hes averaging 4.3 fouls per game and has fouled out twice. In last Saturdays 95-88 lost at Memphis, Drummond was limited to 20 minutes due to foul trouble, and his absence allowed Zach Randolph helped dominate in the paint with 17 points and 22 rebounds, including 13 offensive rebounds. Beyond the struggles of Drummond and Smith is the big question if they and Monroe can thrive playing together. It looks more and more like the answer is no. BROOKLYN NETS The Nets have stumbled to a 4-6 start and are lacking the crisp ball movement we saw last season when they played a smaller lineup following Brook Lopezs season-ending foot injury. Brooklyns four wins have come against opponents who are currently all under .500 (Pistons, Thunder, Knicks, Magic) while theyve also lost games to the Celtics and Timberwolves. As for Lopez, his return has seen its ups and downs, and he doesnt feel totally comfortable yet. I think getting back in the game has been a slower process than I thought, Lopez said after scoring 21 points in Saturdays loss in Portland. Im slowly trying to chip away at it, and just get out there and play. If the Nets hope to be at least as good as they were last season, Lopez will have to stay healthy and play near an All-Star level, because Brooklyn lost a lot of firepower and some depth with the departure of Paul Pierce, Shaun Livingston, Andray Blatche and Marcus Thornton. DENVER NUGGETS The Nuggets 3-7 start is due in part to the major struggles of Danilo Gallinari and Nate Robinson, both of whom are trying to rebound from major injuries. Gallinari, who tore the ACL in his left knee in April 2013 and missed all of last season, looks nothing like the player we saw prior to the injury. There is a tentativeness in his movement and he seems to lack confidence in his game. I used to go to the paint and have a couple of dunks, said Gallinari after losing to his former team, the New York Knicks on Sunday. Im not doing that right now. The 6-foot-10 forward, who was the center piece of the deal that brought Carmelo Anthony to New York, is averaging 6.2 points in just under 17 minutes, and his shooting touch has disappeared as hes connected on just 26.8 percent of his shots. Robinson, meanwhile, is also making his way back from a torn ACL which he suffered last January and has also had to deal with a hamstring injury that occurred on November 7 in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The former slam dunk champ hasnt been the usual spark plug off the bench yet, as hes playing limited minutes (13.9 per game) and also struggling with his shot, hitting 38.1 percent from the field. With the competition in the Western Conference being so tough, the Nuggets will need bigger contributions from Gallinari and Robinson a lot sooner than later if they dont want to fall out of the playoff picture way too early. Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys Outlet . 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Philadelphia Eagles Andre Dillard Jersey . - Connor Brown and Dane Fox both scored in regulation and in the shootout, as the Erie Otters extended their win streak to 10 games by defeating the London Knights 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Philadelphia Eagles Shareef Miller Jersey . Heather, the first Gaiter to win the award, set a Canadian Inter-university Sport record with 3,132 passing yards in eight league games, an average of 391.5 yards per game. That beat the mark of 3,047 set only one week earlier by Westerns Will Finch, a Hec Crighton finalist.Wimbledon, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Australian Open champion Li Na, former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and former world No. 1s Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams posted first-round victories on opening day at The Championships, Wimbledon. The second-seeded Li bested Polands Paula Kania, making her WTA-level debut, 7-5, 6-2 on the famed Centre Court, while the sixth-seeded 2011 Wimbledon winner Kvitova cruised past fellow Czech Andrea Hlavackova 6-3, 6-0, and the eighth-seeded Azarenka handled 32-year-old Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 7-5 on No. 1 Court at the venerable All England Club. The 32-year-old Li has reached at least the semifinals at all of the majors except for Wimbledon, where shes a three-time quarterfinalist, including last year. Her second-round opponent will be Austrian Yvonne Meusburger. The left-handed Kvitova has reached at least the quarterfinals here four straight years and will meet German Mona Barthel on Wednesday. Azarenka fought to get past the 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist Lucic-Baroni, winning on her fifth match point. The Belarusian struggled with her serve, with eight double faults, but made the most of her opponents 29 unforced errors. The two-time Australian Open champion just returned to tour action last week after being sidelined with a foot injury for three months. Monday marked her first match win since the fourth round at the Aussie Open in January. Azarenka reached back-to-back Wimbledon semifinals before pulling out of her second-round match here a year ago because of an injury. Next up for the Belarusian star will be Serbian Bojana Jovanovski. The 30th-seeded Williams picked up her first Wimbledon win in three years with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor. The 34-year-old Williams owns seven major tiles, including five Wimbledon crowns, and shes now 72-11 lifetime at Wimbledon. Her second-round opponent will be Japans Kurumi Nara. Tenth-seeded Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, of Slovakia, whipped Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-2 on Centre Court; 12th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta drubbed Slovak Jana Cepelova 6-2, 6-3; oft-injured former U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer, who has been working with fellow Belgian and former world No. 1 star Kim Clijsters, dropped 17th-seeded former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-4; and Russian Maria Kirilenko doused 18th-seeded American Sloane Stephens 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). Stosur struggles mightily on grass, having suffeered six first-round exits in 12 trips to the All England Club and never advanced beyond the third round here.dddddddddddd Stephens saved five match points against Kirilenko before play went to a second-set tiebreak. Stephens had reached at least the fourth round at the last six Grand Slam events, including a run into the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year. Stephens is still a solid 31-13 at the majors, but a pedestrian 55-54 everywhere else. In other action involving seeds, No. 22 Russian Ekaterina Makarova overcame 43-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; No. 23 Czech Lucie Safarova edged out German Julia Goerges 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3); hot American Coco Vandeweghe converted on her 13th match point in taking out No. 27 Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; and No. 32 Russian Elena Vesnina took care of Austrias Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-0, 6-4. Vandeweghe corralled her first-ever WTA title, on grass, in The Netherlands just two days ago. Muguruza shocked Serena Williams in the second round at the French Open last month. Several other women advanced, including Meusburger, Jovanovski, Barthel, Nara, Aussie Casey Dellacqua, and American Lauren Davis. Rain forced the suspension of some action, as fourth-seeded 2012 Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska was leading Andreea Mitu 4-2; 14th-seeded former French Open runner-up Sara Errani was tied with Frances Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-7 (3-7); 16th-seeded former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was ahead of Israeli Shahar Peer 6-3, 2-0; and Portuguese Michelle Larcher de Brito was leading 28th-seeded two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-1 when rain started to fall just after 8 p.m. local time. The current world No. 1 Serena will open her fortnight Tuesday against Georgian Anna Tatishvili. The American great is a 17-time major champion, including five Wimbledon championships, just like her older sister, Venus. Meanwhile, third-seeded French Open runner-up Simona Halep will face Brazils Teliana Pereira and fifth-seeded Roland Garros champion Maria Sharapova will take on Brit Samantha Murray. Sharapova captured her lone Wimbledon title by upsetting Serena in the final here 10 years ago. Also on Tuesdays schedule will be seventh-seeded former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, 11th-seeded former top-ranked star Ana Ivanovic, 13th-seeded two- time 2014 Grand Slam semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard, and 19th-seeded Sabine Lisicki, who was last years Wimbledon runner-up to since-retired Marion Bartoli. 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