FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS 1. RAPTORS FINAL FULL PRESEASON WEEK: Games vs. Maccabi at the ACC and the New York Knicks in Montreal (Always an awesome trip and atmosphere at the Arena) to close out a solid preseason so far. Opening night vs. Hawks right around the corner - cant wait! Major week in terms of tightening up the offensive and defensive system and adding various looks on both sides of the ball to make sure theyre ready to roll when it really counts. So far the second unit depth and ball movement/chemistry have stood out to me as strengths that are nice to see. This group has the potential to have a good season. Now its about paying the price during the drudgery of preseason practices to get things right for showtime. Once it starts with lots of games at home early - theyve got to come out of the gate ready to make an early statement before the schedule turns the other way on them. 2. 44-MINUTE GAME: Worked out well as a good experiment between the Nets and Celtics. Would like to see this looked at a lot more next preseason. Not sure if it will ever become part of the NBA regular season landscape but any and all attempts to improve the quality of the games is beneficial for all. 3. BLAKE GRIFFIN (Clippers): Hes getting tired of guys committing hard fouls on him and I dont blame him one bit. Hes one of the fabulous young players in this league and we dont need him getting hurt for the referees to do a better job of letting folks know that this wont be accepted or tolerated. There is plenty of room for tough/physical play and Im all for it, yet its got to be clean. The fact that hes big, athletic and talented doesnt mean that folks can take liberties with him. 4. MIRZA TELETOVIC (Nets): You can ask Raptors fans from last years playoff series about this guy. He can play. Great opportunity this season for him with Kevin Garnett fading and Paul Pierce gone. Hes going to have to consistently produce. Hes a wonderful shooter with range and plays with great purpose. His ability to stretch the defence opens up lots of space for the Nets guards to operate. His defensive approach on the perimeter having to guard in space will be tested early and often with the extra minutes hell play - that will be the challenge for coach Lionel Hollins. He gives it to you on the offensive end and now hes just gotta be sound enough to hold his own on the other end. 5. JOEL ANTHONY (Pistons): Didnt look like he was in the plans at all in Boston. Hopefully, this is a solid reserve opportunity for the Montreal native in the Motor City. Obviously with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond playing major minutes, time and touches will be few and far between. With former Raptor Aaron Gray missing training camp this is a smart fit for both sides. Kelvin Benjamin Jersey . The 25-year-old Brazilian player has only made four Premier League appearances for United this season and underwent a medical test in Italy on Friday. Trent Murphy Jersey . Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron scored in the first period after the Red Wings had miscues on the ice and Tuukka Rask finished with a 23-save shutout, giving Boston a 3-0 win over the Red Wings and a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series. http://www.thebillsgearshop.com/Bills-Thurman-Thomas-Draft-Jersey/Chris Ivory Jersey . The 33-year-old defender has spent his entire career at Chelsea, scoring 57 goals in 621 appearances. He regained his regular starting place under Jose Mourinho in the season that ended at the weekend without Chelsea winning a trophy. Patrick DiMarco Jersey . Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.Coming off one of the best starts of his young career, Marcus Stroman will try to pitch the Toronto Blue Jays to a series victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Wednesdays finale of a three-game set. A 23-year-old rookie, Stroman is 4-2 with a 3.44 earned run average in 12 games this season, the past seven of those being starts. He logged the first scoreless outing of his career on Friday versus Oakland in a no-decision. Stroman scattered three hits and three walks over seven frames, logging a career-high 115 pitches while matching a personal best with seven strikeouts for the third time on the season. However, Toronto went on to lose 1-0 in 12 innings. "I feel comfortable, I feel like Ive gotten into a pretty good groove," Stroman said on Torontos website. "Just trying to help the team win each and every start up here." The lack of run support wasnt anything new for the righty, who has seen the Blue Jays plate more than three runs in just one of his last six outings since he won his first career start 12-2 on May 31. Stroman faced the Angels in relief on May 11 and was tagged for four runs over 1 2/3 innings. The struggling C.J. Wilson counters for Los Angeles and though he has not lost in his past three appearances, he has posted an 11.08 ERA over that time. Wilson even managed to record a victory over Minnesota on June 24 despite allowing six runs over five innings and has recorded back-to-back no-decisions since. That includes Friday versus Houston as he allowed six runs on seven hits -- including three homers -- over 4 1/3 frames. "Hes trying to make adjustments, theres no doubt about that," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said on his teams website. "C.J.s on a tough run right now." Thee 33-year-old southpaw is 8-6 on the year and his ERA has risen to 4.dddddddddddd23. Wilson had a chance to pitch the Angels to a four-game road sweep of the Blue Jays back on May 12, but took the loss in that series finale after allowing five runs over six innings. He yielded a three-run homer to Jose Bautista and a two-run shot off the bat of Brett Lawrie in defeat. Los Angeles has won 11 of its last 14 versus Toronto, but the Blue Jays drew even in this set with last nights 4-0 victory. Jose Reyes sparked a struggling offense with four hits, one a two-run homer, and three RBI, while R.A. Dickey logged seven scoreless innings. Dioner Navarro knocked in the other run for the Blue Jays, who pounded out 14 hits en route to snapping a five-game slide in which they had scored only six runs. Dickey, meanwhile, allowed four hits and a walk while fanning five before Dustin McGowan and Aaron Loup followed with scoreless innings of relief to cap the five-hitter. "Changing speeds with the knuckler kept them guessing all night. I tried to throw first-pitch strikes as much as I could," said Dickey after helping Toronto end the Angels 11-game home win streak that was one shy of the club record. Tyler Skaggs gave up three runs on 11 hits across 6 2/3 frames for the Halos, whose five-game win streak came to an end. "Tyler pitched a good ballgame, except for the changeup to Reyes that ended up in the bullpen," said Scioscia, referring to Reyes seventh-inning homer. The Angels lost for just the fourth time in their last 18 games, but still trail the Oakland Athletics by 4 1/2 games for first place in the AL West. Toronto moved to within 2 1/2 games of first-place Baltimore in the AL East. 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