TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Game 7 in the Pacers-Heat series, the road ahead for new Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, the new head coaches in Charlotte and Sacramento, the abilities of Knicks head coach Mike Woodson and the distinguished career of Grant Hill. 1. Game 7 - Pacers at Heat: Im thrilled. A little drama and suspense. We havent had as much as wed like this spring in the NBA Playoffs. Got it for this one. Lots of talk (deservedly so) about the offensively inept play of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, the play of the Pacers inside and of course, LeBron James. With all that being said, to me the area I will zero in on Monday night above all else will be the Pacers offence vs the Heat defence in a do-or-die road Game 7. Im a huge believer in the fact that your defence and rebounding carry you consistently throughout the season because offence comes and goes. The Pacers defence and rebounding has been sound. The Heat, when theyre at their absolute best, play defence with a purpose that defines quickness, ball pressure, organized help and recovery, tight rotations and dont let you get comfortable at all. They force you to take low percentage shots, force turnovers and get the high-octane running game going with dunks and 3s on the back end. I havent seen enough of that. If Im the Heat, its all about the defence and rebounding, grit and energy and the offence will feed off that. If they do that at home, theyve got a great chance to win. The Pacers must exhibit offensive toughness. To win huge road games, you have to take care of the ball, control the tempo and have wonderful shot discipline and shot-making ability late in the shot clock. This is the game within the game that will give me the sense throughout the night of how the personality of the event will be defined. Enjoy! 2. Masai Ujiri (Raptors): Congrats to the new Raptors GM. Lots of heavy lifting ahead. In his brief career as the Nuggets GM, he has shown the willingness to be a bold/aggressive executive, yet has the attributes of a thoughtful and patient makeup that suits him well. Hell need to plot a course that benefits the organization in the years to come, getting it on a consistent playoff path (in the weaker Eastern Conference compared to the West that he dealt with in Denver) rather than worrying about short-term gratification that feels good but doesnt lay the proper long-term foundation. Simply put, decisions are made with the best interests of the organization in the long-term at all times and gradually you begin to get it turned around. Do whats right in your mind and heart after careful deliberation and never cave into the need for popularity and approval. Those characteristics are vital and having known him for a while, my sense is that he will stay very focused on what his vision is and not allow himself to lose his way. As Ive said it countless times before, its a tough job but the Toronto franchise has immense potential as an NBA city and has greatly under performed for 18 years. Do it right and it will get right. 3. Steve Clifford (Bobcats) and Michael Malone (Kings): Both guys hired as NBA head coaches this past week. Ive known both of them for a long time and consider them friends. I was thrilled for both of them. Theyve paid their dues big-time and are more than ready. As is the case most times when youre 0-0 as an NBA head coach, you normally dont get a good job, you get a challenging one that will do a number (not a good one) on the start of your career W-L record. The way I judge performance is how they lay the groundwork/foundation for gradual/incremental improvement that sets their franchises up for the turn-around in a few years. Rome wasnt built in a day and the Bobcats and Kings surely wont be either. Thats not an excuse in any way, shape or form for Clifford and Malone, instead its the reality of the uneven, and many times unfair, business of coaching. Certain jobs are a lot more messed up than others. Im a huge believer in the fact that you see if its working or not in Year 3. Im convinced that these two guys will absolutely work their tails off and so will their players (or theyll be traded/waived) and youll start to see the process of creep-crawl-walk-run in front of you. Doubt theyll be off and running in two years but by Year 3, theyll be on their feet and competing with folks. They will impact positive change. They wont be out-worked by anyone nor will they be out-coached, I can assure you of that. Good basketball men. 4. Mike Woodson (Knicks): Knicks fans are obnoxious. Some folks are wondering if hes the right coach for them. Seriously? 18 wins and only six losses last year after taking over for Mike DAntoni and 54 wins and Atlantic Division Title this Year. Havent had one of those since the 90s. Back-to-back playoff berths. He built in Atlanta and hes built in New York. Is he Phil Jackson or Red Auerbach? No. Is he a good coach/leader? Definitely. Does he have a championship roster? Far from it. Miami, Indiana, Chicago (when healthy) and possibly Brooklyn (with a stable coaching situation) are better. He might be in a similar situation in New York that he was in Atlanta; yery good team for short stretches but not good enough over the long haul. 5. Grant Hill (Clippers): Announces his retirement. Awesome NCAA player at Duke. Terrific early career with Detroit and then injuries did him in. Battled back and had a nice finish to his career. Class act - gentleman - team player - professional. Great Run. Has lots to be proud of. Im sure hell be heard from in a big way in retirement. Has got it. Sharrif Floyd Jersey .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Pat Elflein Jersey . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. http://www.officialauthenticvikingsshop.com/authentic-chuck-foreman-jersey.html .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Nick Easton Jersey . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Chris Doleman Jersey . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Although Adrian Beltre hasnt played for the Dodgers since 2004, he still lives in Los Angeles. Maybe thats why the Texas Rangers slugger feels so comfortable just down the I-5 freeway at the Big A.Beltre broke a tie with his 440th homer in the eighth, and Yu Darvish pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning of the Rangers second win in six games, 2-1 over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.The AL-leading Rangers (84-58) are coasting toward their fourth division title and fifth playoff berth in seven seasons, but they emerged from a five-game lull with a strong effort in Anaheim.After the clubs traded runs in the seventh to break up a scoreless duel between Darvish and Tyler Skaggs, Beltre connected for his 27th homer off J.C. Ramirez (1-1), sending a line drive over the fence in left-center.I was looking for a pitch I could drive, and that was exactly what I got, Beltre said. It was pretty much middle.Beltres homer was his 38th against Los Angeles, the sixth-most by an Angels opponent. Only Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro have more RBI at Angel Stadium as an opponent than Beltres 69.Home cooking, Beltre said.Mitch Moreland doubled and scored on Elvis Andrus seventh-inning single to break open a scoreless game for the Rangers, who boosted their AL West lead to 9 1/2 games over Houston.Andrelton Simmons drilled a tying triple in the seventh for the Angels, who have lost three straight.Matt Bush (7-2) struck out Jett Bandy to strand Simmons on third. Sam Dyson pitched the ninth for his 33rd save, giving up a leadoff single to Mike Trout before retiring Simmons on a groundout with two Angels on base.Darvish and Skaggs traded zeros for the first six innings in the opener of Los Angeles 10-game homestand.Darvish bounced back sharply from a rough start last week, limiting the Angels to two singles in the first six innings while striking out nine.When I was warming up, I wasnt feeling good, Darvish said. When I got deeper iinto the game I was able to make adjustments.dddddddddddd Im very happy about that.Skaggs had one of his best starts since his return to the majors from Tommy John surgery, giving up two hits and two walks over six scoreless innings. The left-hander struck out eight and allowed just one runner to reach third base.Ive been out for so long, so this is kind of the middle of the season for me, Skaggs said. I need to get up to 100 pitches (and) seven or eight innings. I need to stop throwing as many pitches as I do. But theres progress.Texas finally broke through against Mike Morin in the seventh, but only because Angels fill-in left fielder Jefry Marte took an unadvisable route on Morelands leadoff fly and allowed an apparently catchable ball to land for a double.Simmons evened it moments later with an exceptional nine-pitch at-bat. He battled out of an 0-2 count before sending Darvishs 95th and final pitch to the wall in right-center for a triple, scoring Marte from first.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: 2B Rougned Odor left the game with hamstring tightness. Texas manager Jeff Banister called the move precautionary, and said he hasnt decided whether to rest Odor on Saturday. ... OF Shin-Soo Choo made the trip for Texas, taking batting practice Friday. His left arm was broken by a pitch last month.Angels: RHP Garrett Richards could throw off a mound within two weeks. The Angels former ace hasnt pitched since May, when an injured elbow ligament was discovered. He has managed to avoid Tommy John surgery so far.UP NEXTRangers: Cole Hamels (14-5, 3.25 ERA) has given up 13 runs in his last two starts, raising his ERA from 2.67.Angels: Daniel Wright makes his debut with the club. Los Angeles claimed the right-hander off waivers from Cincinnati last Sunday. He went 0-2 with a 7.62 ERA for the Reds this season, his first in the big leagues. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '