导出博客文章MIAMI -- Happy new NBA season.It starts Tuesday night in Cleveland, where the
champion Cavaliers will raise a banner and the visiting New York Knicks will see
if Derrick Rose can help them start rising back to the upper echelon of the
league.Also this week: Dwyane Wade makes his official debut in Chicago after 13
seasons in Miami, life after the retirements of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and
Tim Duncan begins, and Golden State takes a team that won a record 73 games last
season -- plus led Cleveland 3-1 in the NBA Finals before falling -- and adds
Kevin Durant to the mix.So without further ado, to start off our weekly look at
the NBA, three AP basketball writers offer up their predictions for the coming
season:CHAMPIONJon Krawczynski : Golden State. I wish I had more guts, but there
is just too much firepower there.Brian Mahoney : Golden State. Cant make a much
better case for anyone else.Tim Reynolds : Cleveland. LeBron James chasedown
block in Game 7 is yet another reminder that hes the best player
alive.MVPKrawczynski: Chris Paul. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry will split the
Warrior vote and LeBron will be all about playoffs, so the door is open for
CP3.Mahoney: James Harden. Numbers will be sensational and Rockets will be
improved.Reynolds: LeBron James. He averages 25, 7 and 7 and makes it look too
easy. Besides, hes still owed a trophy from 2011.EAST RUNNER-UP (SINCE CLEVELAND
WILL WIN, RIGHT?)Krawczynski: Boston. Al Horford and coach Brad Stevens are
perfect together.Mahoney: Boston. Same as every year: whoever faces LeBron in
the conference finals.Reynolds: Toronto. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan will be
even better this year.WEST RUNNER-UP (SINCE GOLDEN STATE WILL WIN,
RIGHT?)Krawczynski: Los Angeles Clippers. Theyre desperate for another run,
enough to push past San Antonio.Mahoney: Clippers. Youth gets them past the
Spurs for the right to lose to the Warriors.Reynolds: San Antonio. I thought
about the Clippers, Utah and Portland here as well, but the Spurs still command
respect.SURPRISE TEAMKrawczynski: Minnesota. Young legs plus coach Tom
Thibodeaus intensity will fuel a playoff push.Mahoney: New York. Derrick Rose
has to stay healthy sometime. And Olympic years seem to agree with Carmelo
Anthony.Reynolds: Utah. Coach Quin Snyder is underrated, the Jazz are sneaky
deep and can defend. Good combination.BREAKOUT PLAYERKrawczynski: Karl-Anthony
Towns, Minnesota. First Team All-NBA, here he comes.Mahoney: DAngelo Russell,
Los Angeles Lakers. Bryants final year in L.A. was wrong time, wrong place,
wrong coach for the rookie. Now hell flourish.Reynolds: Damian Lillard,
Portland. Disclaimer: Hes already broken out, but hes the pick here because
people will finally notice this year.---THE WEEK AHEADHeres some of the games to
keep an eye on this week:- New York at Cleveland, Tuesday: Ring night for the
Cavaliers, the NBAs season opener, next door to Game 1 of the World Series.- San
Antonio at Golden State, Tuesday: The Kevin Durant debut for the Warriors, and
the only time these clubs will meet until March 11.- Miami at Orlando,
Wednesday: The post-Dwyane Wade era starts for Miami, and the Magic will honor
Pride nightclub victims and survivors.- Houston at L.A. Lakers, Wednesday: Luke
Walton makes his sort-of debut as a head coach, as the Lakers begin anew without
Kobe Bryant.- Minnesota at Sacramento, Saturday: A first-week big-man showdown
-- the Wolves Karl-Anthony Towns and the Kings DeMarcus Cousins.---NUMBERS
WATCH- Dirk Nowitzki enters 509 points shy of being the fifth 30,000-point
scorer in NBA history.- If the Celtics win 15 more games than the Lakers, they
would take over as the NBAs all-time wins leader. The Lakers have 3,235 wins
coming into this season, the Celtics 3,221.- Stephen Curry has a chance to be
the fourth back-to-back-to-back MVP in NBA history, joining Bill Russell
(1961-63), Wilt Chamberlain (1966-68) and Larry Bird (1984-86). Since Bird
pulled off the three-peat, five other players -- Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan,
Tim Duncan, Steve Nash and LeBron James (twice in his case) -- have won two
straight but saw their reigns end there.---STAT OF THE WEEKJust like when last
season ended, the Spurs have the NBAs active career blocked-shot leader. In
April, it was Tim Duncan (3,020). Now its Pau Gasol (1,777).---Follow AP
Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds
Chris
Tierney Senators Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins
yet again.
Bobby
Ryan Senators Jersey . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames
centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the
eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.
http://www.senatorssale.com/authentic-jean-gabriel-pageau-senators-jersey/
.Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating
officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner.
Custom Ottawa Senators
Jerseys . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds
later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of
Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the
first 10 games of the regular season.
Thomas
Chabot Senators Jersey . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for
Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a
remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the
early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. FRANKFURT, Germany --
Serge Gnabry scored a hat trick in his debut for Germany as the World Cup
champion overwhelmed San Marino 8-0 on Friday in a qualifier for the 2018
tournament in Russia.Defender Jonas Hector added two goals as Joachim Loew won a
record 95th match as Germany coach.Germanys fourth win in four matches, scoring
16 goals without conceding, strengthened its lead atop Group C.San Marino, a
tiny republic surrounded by Italy, did not manage a single shot at Germanys goal
and remained winless in 126 matches.Still, San Marino did better than 10 years
ago, when it lost 13-0 to Germany in a qualifier for the European
Championship.Playing without several regulars on a wet pitch in driving rain at
San Marinos stadium in Serravalle, Loew picked two newcomers for his starting
lineup and one of them, defender Benjamin Henrichs had the first shot at goal,
narrowly missing the target.Sami Khedira then broke the deadlock in the seventh
minute, after picking a chipped pass from Ilkay Gundogan. Gnabry doubled the
lead two minutes later following a sloppy clearance that gifted him the ball.San
Marino crowded its defense and Germany stepped off the gas a bit until Hector
scored the third in the 32nd after a play by Gundogan and Mario Goetze.Gnabry
made it 4-0 after the break with a volley from closee range after another
chipped pass by Joshua Kimmich.dddddddddddd Hector got his second before Gnabry
completed his hat trick in the 76th, with another volley, this time on a pass
from Thomas Mueller.Gnabry, schooled at Arsenal and now playing for Werder
Bremen, became the first player to score three goals in his debut for Germany
since Dieter Mueller more than 40 years ago.Mattia Stefanelli had an own goal
before substitute Kevin Volland completed the rout.Also in Group C:---CZECH
REPUBLIC 2, NORWAY 1In Prague, Michael Krmencik scored in his debut and Jaromir
Zmrhal added the second for the host team, before Norway got on the board with a
late strike by Joshua King.It was the first group win for the Czechs, who now
have five points. Norway is one spot behind in fifth with three
points.---NORTHERN IRELAND 4, AZERBAIJAN 0Northern Ireland moved into second
place in the group with seven points by cruising past Azerbaijan, which also has
seven points in third place.Azerbaijan had not given up a goal in its previous
three matches but was down by two at the break following strikes by Kyle
Lafferty and Gareth McAuley.Conor McLaughlin and Chris Brunt scored in the
second half. ' ' '
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