Dein erstes Forum » Encarnacion doesnt want to compete and neither

INDIANAPOLIS -- Atlantas Jeff Teague demolished the Pacers grand playoff plan. As his teammates set up around the 3-point line, Teague simply blew through open lanes to the basket repeatedly. The Pacers didnt have an answer. Teague scored a playoff career-high 28 points, Paul Millsap added 25 and the eighth-seeded Hawks won their first road playoff game in three years, shocking top-seeded Indiana 101-93 to take a 1-0 lead in the first-round series. "I just wanted to win," the Indianapolis native said after beating his hometown team. Perhaps thats why Teague finally cracked a hesitant smile in the locker room before stepping to the podium. Or it could be that Teague remembers the frustration Indiana caused when it clinched last years 4-2 first-round win on Atlantas home court. As one of the few remaining links to that team, Teague wasnt about to let something like that happen again. This time, surrounded by a mostly new group of 3-point shooters, a first-year coach and a game plan that the Pacers never adapted to, Teague kept getting to basket. He wound up 9 of 19 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line with five assists and three rebounds on a night the Hawks snapped an eight-game road losing streak in the playoffs and became the first team to beat Indiana on its home court twice this season. Atlanta won its first road playoff game since Game 1 of the 2011 Eastern Conference semifinals at Chicago, and theyll have a chance to do it all again Tuesday in Game 2 before the best-of-seven series movies to Atlanta, where the Pacers have won only two times since December 2006. "I think getting off to such a good start against such a good team is important," coach Mike Budenholzer said after his fifth win in six games. "Its really not something we talked about. Theyre the No. 1 seed for a reason." Meanwhile, the Pacers stunning struggles showed no sign of abating. Indiana was just 5 of 19 from the field in the decisive third quarter and shot just 35.6 per cent in the second half, a 24-minute span in which it spent most of the time trying to dig out of a double-digit hole. Paul George had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Lance Stephenson finished with 19 points and seven rebounds and George Hill added 12 points. But the Hawks ability to spread the floor essentially nullified All-Star centre Roy Hibbert, who had eight points and eight rebounds, and David West, who had eight points and three rebounds. And Indiana wasted no time in giving back the home-court advantage it spent the entire season chasing. "Its frustrating. Its frustrating, but its a long series," George said before explaining he believes the Pacers can regain the upper hand -- if they figure out how to defend better. "Its just one game and thats the way we have to look at it." That wont be easy against this team. Atlanta set a franchise playoff record with 30 3-point attempts and matched the franchises second-highest playoff total for 3-pointers made (11). Both were set May 10, 1996, when the Hawks were 12 of 27 on 3s in a 26-point loss to Orlando. "I thought our ball movement was great," Kyle Korver said after scoring 12 points. "Thats one of the things weve tried to play to all year and tonight it kind of worked out." They made it look easy, too. Korvers buzzer-beating putback, following an Indiana turnover in the closing seconds of the first half, tied the score at 50. Atlanta then opened the third quarter with eight straight points and when the Pacers rallied to get within 60-58, Teague and Millsap took control. Millsap opened the decisive 14-0 run with two free throws. Teague followed that with a driving layup, his only 3 of the game, another layup and two free throws. And when Millsap ended the run with a three-point play, the Pacers trailed 74-58. They couldnt even cut the lead to single digits until Stephensons 3 made it 99-91 with 33.6 seconds left and by then it was too late for the leagues best home team to rally. "All year, weve encouraged Jeff to be aggressive," Budenholzer said. "When hes aggressive, it just creates opportunities for himself and opportunities for his teammates." And headaches for everyone else. Notes: Atlanta made eight of its first 12 shots in the third quarter. ... Indiana hasnt reached the second round of the playoffs in consecutive years since 2003-04 and 2004-05. ... The Game 1 winner has won each of the five previous playoff series between Atlanta and Indiana. ... Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll has 12 points and 10 rebounds. Air Max 95 Sale Canada . Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford each scored 19 points, Bass added 15 points and had a game-saving block in the closing seconds Saturday, and the Celtics held on for a 103-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cheap Nike Air Max Canada .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air...a-sale.html.com) - Guess whos back, back again? Josh Gordons back, tell a friend. Nike Air Max Fury Canada . Best has been bothered by concussion problems and hasnt played since Oct. 16, when the Lions lost to San Francisco. After starting 5-0, Detroit has lost four of six, beginning with that game against the 49ers. Nike Air Max Uptempo Canada . The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year.The good news is that, heading into Canada Day, the Toronto Blue Jays are still in first place in the American League East. The bad news is that with 78 games left to play, they have removed almost all of their margin for error. After winning their first five games in June, injuries and a cooling offence caught up with them. They only won seven of their next 22 and finished the month at 12-15, exactly their record in April. In other words, thats two losing months out of three so far this season. Two things are saving them, the general mediocrity of the entire AL East and that brilliant month of May that saw go 21-9. If you go back to 2002, only twice have the Jays headed into July with a better record than the one they have now. In 2006, they were 45-34 and, in 2003, they were 46-37. In the latter, they tailed off to 42-41 the rest of the way and finished at 87-75, while in the former, they went 42-39 down the stretch and finished at 86-76. Both were in the era before the extra Wild Card and, in 2003, they wound up in third place in the division, 15 games back of the Yankees in the East and seven-and-half games out of the Wild Card spot taken by the Boston Red Sox. They didnt fare much better in 2006, finishing three games back of the Chicago White Sox for the Wild Card. Even if there had been a second Wild Card, they would have missed it by a game to the Angels. The Blue Jays will have to go 45-33 the rest of the way to finish with 90 victories, which figures to be around the number they will need to put themselves in the conversation for a post-season berth, division title or a Wild Card. The AL East will probably be won within the division. The Baltimore Orioles have the best record within the East at 22-16, while the Jays and Yankees are both 17-15. The trouble part for the Blue Jays is they are only 3-6 against the Yanks this season and havent won in New York so far this season or in all of last year. Seven of the Jays remaining 10 games against the Yankees are in the Bronx. On the plus side, theyve split with Baltimore thus far in 2014 and six of their remaining nine against the Os are at Rogers Centre. Boston, though still a long shot, is slowly entering the equation again, as well. The BoSox are six out in the East and six out in the Wild Card race. The Blue Jays still have 13 left with Boston, seven at home and six at Fenway. Tampa Bay is pretty much an also-ran now. The Jays still have 12 left with them, including six in September, but Joe Maddons teams arent know for packing it in in the final month. So the Jays will play 44 of their final 78 games in the East, 22 at home and 22 away. Going 26-1) over than span just might be enough to put them in the playoffs if they hold their own in their other 34 games. To break it down even further though, the Blue Jays and T-Bay have the fewest number of home games left of the teams in the East with 37 apiece. The Yankees have the most with 43 and Baltimore has 41. Although the latter two have stumbled a bit in their own parks this season, being at home and travelling less and playing meaningfuul games in their own facilities could be a sizeable edge in a close race.dddddddddddd Boston, too, has a favourable home/road split at 42-38. Then there is the matter of strength of schedule down the stretch. The Blue Jays play 40 of their 78 against teams that currently sport winning records and 38 against teams with losing records. The Yankees, on the other hand at my count, play only 38 against teams above .500 and 44 games against teams below .500. Again, that gives them an edge. The Orioles, though, play 48 games against teams with winning records and only 33 against teams with losing marks. So, the Blue Jays and the Yankees get the edge there. For the Blue Jays, the next five weeks could ultimately tell the tale. In July, they play only nine of their 17 games at home, broken up in the middle by the All-Star Game. After the next two games at home to the Milwaukee Brewers, they hit the road for 10 in 11 days including four at the Oakland Athletics, three at the Los Angeles Angels and, after an off-day, three at Tampa Bay. Then, after a seven-game homestand, they go on another 10-game journey over 10 days that includes three in New York versus the Yankees,three at Fenway against the Red Sox, culminating with four at Houston against the Astros. If they are still in it at that point, the Blue Jays will at least have a shot. Somewhere near the end of that span, Brett Lawrie should be back, as well. - With Milwaukee hitting town, its interesting to compare the numbers of the two guys who were disgraced by PED suspensions that, this year, have been key factors in getting their teams into first place in their respective divisions. The Brewers Ryan Braun, coming off his 50-game suspension of last season, is batting .290 for the N.L Central leaders with 11 homers, 46 RBI, an .849 OPS and 18 walks versus 52 strikeouts. Braun also helped the Brewers cause by agreeing to move to right field this season. Melky Cabrera is having a stand-out season in his own right and has put up almost identical numbers, hitting .299 with 11 homers and 42 RBI, an .809 OPS and 23 walks to 46 strikeouts. Cabrera is playing some strong left field, as well. Both have a decent shot at being at the All-Star game two weeks from Tuesday at Minnesota. - Speaking of the All-Star game, isnt the Home Run Derby starting to feel like the NBA Slam Dunk Contest? Every year it seems many of the bigger stars opt out. This year, American League captain Jose Bautista has to deal with the fact his own teammate Edwin Encarnacion doesnt want to compete and neither does Orioles slugger, Nelson Cruz. Then, White Sox rookie Jose Abreu, who slugged two dingers at Rogers Centre Friday night against the Jays and is one of baseballs emerging stars, isnt inclined to take part either, though, he apparently hasnt entirely closed the door. Good on Jose Bautista for agreeing to be part of this again. But if most of the other sluggers the fans really want to see dont want to be part of it all, then whats the point? ' ' '