Die Macht » defenses are giving.I feel like we

The Cleveland Cavaliers reached the quarter-pole of the season, which is typically when teams begin to make self-evaluations, but coach Tyronn Lue isnt ready to do that quite yet.Despite being the defending champions and holding the best record in the East, Lue still doesnt think the Cavs are a finished product. Therefore, now isnt the time to make any grand assessments.Its going to take more than (20 games), Lue said. Until we get a backup point guard. When we get a backup point guard, we can understand what our rotations going to be. We dont have to switch it on a night-to-night basis, so our team can get in a better flow.Cleveland enters its home game against the Miami Heat on Friday muddling by just fine. The defensive problems seem to be fixed, with the team allowing a total of 60 points in the paint the last two games after averaging more than 51 allowed in the previous five.The Cavaliers set a season-high with 22 3-pointers in their win Wednesday at the New York Knicks, and theyre doing it all without J.R. Smith, whom Lue has referred to as his best perimeter defender and is their best 3-point shooter.Smith remains sidelined with an injured left knee. He missed the game against the Knicks because of it and isnt expected back against the Heat.Miami is dealing with its own injury concerns. Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and former Cavs guard Dion Waiters all remain sidelined with injuries. Rookie Rodney McGruder twisted his ankle in Wednesdays loss at Atlanta and needed to get the ankle re-taped, although he was able to return.All the injuries cleared a path for Tyler Johnson, who scored a career-high 27 points in the Heats loss at Atlanta on Wednesday.Johnson is tough, physical and fearless when hes driving to the basket.Thats the way hes always been, coach Erik Spoelstra told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Look at his grill. Thats why hes missing teeth. Hes going to put his chin in there at all times on both ends of the court. That does give your team confidence. You want as many guys on your basketball team that just love competition, that love to lace them up and not think about any type of excuses or anything.This will be the first time LeBron James will see his old team without Dwyane Wade on the other side. At 7-15, the Heat are already fading out of the playoff picture in the East and the days of the Heatles seem a distant memory.This trip will serve as a reunion tour for Udonis Haslem, the last remaining member of those championship teams. After playing James and the Cavs, the Heat will face Wade and the Bulls on Saturday.Its always easy for me to think about how special that time was, Spoelstra told the Sun-Sentinel. Look, I think its 20-plus years Ive been with the Heat. Every single one of those years, we approached the season to contend for a title. But youre also experienced to know that doesnt always happen. When you do have a team thats special like that, you know pretty quickly that its different. So when we get to Cleveland, Ill think about those thoughts. Onitsuka Tiger Serrano Womens . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Onitsuka Tiger Clearance Sale .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. http://www.asicsshoesoutletstores.com/cheap-asics-gel-lyte-mt-sale.html .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Asics Gel Lyte III Mens Sale . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Onitsuka Tiger Womens Sale . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Julio Jones is still Atlantas go-to receiver.No doubt about that.But Jones has been getting plenty of help in the Falcons passing game.Mohamed Sanu, Taylor Gabriel and Justin Hardy have bulked up a receiving group that, beyond Jones, was a big question mark at the start of the season.Running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman are frequent targets. Tight ends Jacob Tamme, Austin Hooper and Levine Toilolo have chipped in as well.The fact that we get everybody involved is a very important part of our offense, coach Dan Quinn said Tuesday. Were at our best when we keep attacking and different guys get the ball.This past Sunday may have been the best example yet.Sanu caught five passes on a game-winning drive against the Green Bay Packers, including an 11-yard touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. Three others players also had receptions on the 75-yard possession. Jones was not among them, though he did draw double-coverage that left Sanu matched up with a linebacker on the scoring play.I have all the belief in the world that those guys are going to make those plays, Jones said. Weve got a lot of ballers in our room.The Falcons (5-3) have done a good job turning to other players when Jones is drawing double- and even triple-coverage. When hes left in man-to-man, quarterback Matt Ryan is quick to take advantage.That is the conundrum facing the Buccaneers (3-4) when the NFC South rivals meet Thursday night in Tampa Bay.Theyre throwing it around the yard, said Mike Smith, Tampa Bays defensive coordinator and former head coach of the Falcons. Youve got to try to pick your poison when you play a team that has got the weapons that they have.Jones leads Atlanta with 43 receptions for 859 yards and four touchdowns, but hes far off his pace from a year ago when he led the NFL with 136 catches for 1,871 yards.Seven other players have double-figure receptions, including Sanu (32 catches, 342 yards, three TDs), Freeman (26, 192, 2) and Tamme (22, 210, 3). In all, 10 players have at least one touchdown reception.Tamme went down with a shoulder injury on the opening possession against the Packers, but Hooperr, a third-round pick out of Stanford, stepped in to make five receptions for 41 yards.ddddddddddddColeman didnt play at all last Sunday because of a hamstring problem, but Terron Ward filled his versatile role.Its pretty cool to have a number of guys step up, Hooper said. Defenses cant key on one person. Any given rep, anybody could get the ball.Midway through the season, Sanu is just one catch off his total for all of last season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Hes on pace to eclipse the career-best 56 receptions he had in 2014.Weve got the greatest receiver in the NFL, but weve got other great guys in that room, too, Sanu said.Jones said he doesnt mind sharing the load, especially when defenses are overloading their coverages to stop him.In four games, hes been held to a total of 10 catches for 140 yards. In the other four games, he piled up 33 receptions for 719 yards -- including a 300-yard performance against Carolina, which paid a huge price by sticking with single coverage most of the way.Ryan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan have done a splendid job taking advantage of what the defenses are giving.I feel like we feed off each other, Gabriel said. If its not Julios day, it can be Sanus day. If its not Sanus day, it can be my day.Game notes Jones (right knee) was limited in practice for the second day in a row after going out briefly in Sundays game. It seemed to be merely a precautionary step given the short week. Im good, Jones said. Theres no need to even talk about it. Nothing is going to hold me back. ... Held out of practice were Tamme, Coleman and DE Dwight Freeney (quadriceps). Quinn said its too soon to determine if Coleman will be able to play against the Bucs. Hes making progress, the coach said. His strength is back, but weve got to find out if he can explode on it.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '