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TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on the Spurs being back in the mix, the bench strength of the Raptors, the Pacers and Heat not being ready for prime time, the compete level of Kemba Walker and the Warriors coaching situation. 1. SAN ANTONIO SPURS: Have won 15 straight games and suddenly here they are again in the mix regarding the discussion of what teams can be in the Finals in June. Dont beat you ever with flash but man, oh man lots of substance when you talk about this team. Wednesday night against Denver, they had five players in double figures and had 30 assists on 43 field goals. Thats quite impressive. The commitment to the team and playing the game together is a principle that has served them well over the years and will make them a tough out in the playoffs. The sum is more important than the parts. 2. RAPTORS BENCH: Its pretty evident that in spite of the Raps being 6-5 in the absence of Patrick Patterson, they miss his presence big-time in a variety of ways. Hes a wonderful perimeter defender on screen and roll sequences, gets after it on the glass, defends in the post and can give you both scoring inside/out as well as intelligent team play on offence. He and Greivis Vasquez are the two major contributors off the bench and when you look at the Boston game Wednesday night with less than 10 points coming off the bench, its an area of concern to say the least as you prepare for the playoffs. Pattersons absence has clearly affected the defence as well with teams putting the Raptors in screen and roll scenarios and the nightly battles on the boards without one of your sturdier post guys. John Salmons has struggled of late and is a solid veteran player. When hes going good, this team has another gear. Getting Patterson back and healthy and an on-track Salmons will go a long way towards getting this team ready for the playoffs. Digging themselves early holes that they have to battle back from are an issue that has to be corrected along with tightening the screws again with the defence. They do that and Im confident that they can compete quite well in a first round series. 3. PACERS VS. HEAT: Watched the game Wednesday night and I must say I was underwhelmed with the quality of play. Yes, it had great playoff intensity but it appeared to me that both of these teams have needed a game like this for a while to get that next gear back in their playing style. Both looked like they need to work out some kinks in the final weeks with offensive flow/execution to be ready to roll in mid/late April. A long season combined with injuries, etc. have a way of messing up your chemistry and neither looked as fluid as when theyre at their best. The Raptors see both of them next week with the Houston Rockets sandwiched in between (what a week!) which will be a good test of their playoff readiness as the Heat have been able to knock off the Raptors this season three times while the Pacers are 2-1 and the Rockets won their game in Houston vs the Raps. The good teams start to take that next step here in the final 10 games to get everything humming and in sync. Always fun to watch as teams gear up for the second season. 4. KEMBA WALKER (Bobcats): Al Jefferson (35 and 15) was awesome in the overtime win vs. the Nets Wednesday night. Coach Steve Clifford has done a terrific job with that team. Its about time the folks in Charlotte get behind their team and support them for a change; this is a team you can root for. Love Kemba - what a gamer, scoring 20 points and five rebounds along with 12 assists. There are certain guys that you just throw out the stats some night because they just play so hard and have amazing pride and competitive spirit and do whatever it takes to win. From his days at UConn to now, he personifies what it means to give it his all. Hes been in a tough situation there with a poor roster, shaky coaching and questionable management decisions and Im happy for him that some of the proper decisions have been made around him and things are coming together. This team has become fun to watch and Walker is the heart and soul of that. 5. BRIAN SCALABRINE (Warriors): Assistant coach gets demoted to the D-League by head coach Mark Jackson. This is right out of the book of Jason Kidd/Lawrence Frank differences that took place early in the season. Jackson was adamantly supportive of Kidds move in the fall with Frank and now he does the same thing. Ive been both an sssistant coach and a head coach and I always felt that loyalty to the boss was #1 and if you disagree, you do it behind closed doors and it never gets picked up by the players, media, etc. At the same time, its vital that the assistant coaches cant be Yes Men that have to supress their opinion as opposed to express their opinion. Healthy dialogue is important yet at the end of the day, the head coach makes the call and we all march together in unison. (Hes also got to be open to suggestions and not have all the answers.) Jason Kidd got past this controversy and has done a good job with the Nets and it will be significant for Jackson to get past this as well by the performance of the team. Expectations are high in the Bay Area and results will be needed. Never an easy situation for any coach to be in and I can relate to the feeling of both. Jackson has a healthy ego and high opinion of his coaching acumen which is good to a degree, yet its time to get this team to the next level and the playoffs will be a major stage for him and his team to show that they can do it. Hes got major potential to be an outstanding coach in this league for a long time and this is another of the many tests young coaches go through in their development. Youre paid to make the tough calls and many times you have to be ruthless in this results-oriented business because at the end of the day, it all falls back on you and your record. Jackson is nobodys fool and is as competitive as they come. Its his show - plain and simple. Never easy or fair. In one word, you have to produce. .2 million in 2012, according to tax returns the league has submitted. . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No. . Halak did not get the start in the Washington Capitals Tuesday night game against the St. . The Rays hope to stay alive for the postseason and salvage the finale of this series Sunday at Rogers Centre, where they dropped a 7-2 decision Saturday. Chris Archer lasted 2 1/3 innings in the no-decision, charged with a run and five hits, and Alex Torres suffered the loss in relief. . -- The Atlanta Braves added to their extensive wave of long-term deals with their young stars on Sunday by agreeing to a $42 million, four-year contract with All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel.ATLANTA -- The San Francisco Giants put together quite a mind-boggling statistic in their first three-game sweep at Turner Field. San Francisco did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position, but still won three straight over the Atlanta Braves. Credit belongs to strong pitching and seven home runs. Brandon Crawford hit two home runs and Madison Bumgarner helped the Giants beat Atlanta 4-1 Sunday, handing the Braves their sixth straight loss. The Giants were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position on Sunday and 0-for-7 in the series. Still, the NL West leaders left town with a five-game winning streak. "Thats incredible," manager Bruce Bochy said. "What a job our pitching did here. ... The long ball, thats what won it for us because we couldnt get a hit. They had great pitching as well." It was San Franciscos first sweep in Atlanta since 1988 -- long before Turner Field opened in 1997 and before Bumgarner was born in 1989. "Thats a big series for us," Bumgarner said. The Braves skid is their longest skid since an eight-game slide in May 2012. Atlanta, which leads the NL East, was held to one run in each of the losses to San Francisco. "Weve been struggling," said Dan Uggla, who was 0 for 4 and is hitting .190. "Weve got to turn the corner and just turn this thing around. Like, now." Bumgarner (3-3) allowed one unearned run and three hits in six innings, striking out nine. Improved control allowed Bumgarner earn his first win since April 11. He walked only one batter after issuing a combined eight passes in his last three starts. "I still felt like I got behind a lot of times when I wanted to get ahead, but its a big step forward," Bumgarner said. Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his first save. Closer Sergio Romo was rested after recording saves in two straight games. Crawford gave the Giants a 2-1 lead with his homer off Alex Wood (2-5) in the fourth. Crawford hit a two-run shot off Jordan Walden in the eighth for his first career multihomer game. He began the day with only one homer this season.dddddddddddd Wood lost his fourth straight start, again receiving almost no run support. The one run scored by Atlanta on Sunday is the only offence Wood has received in that span, which included back-to-back 1-0 losses. The left-hander has a 3.00 ERA after allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk in five innings. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who hinted he may tweak his slumping lineup, said an offensive turnaround is coming. "Somebodys going to have to pay for it," Gonzalez said. "Sooner or later somebodys going to come in here and were going to score 10 runs a game for two or three weeks. Thats my mindset Ive got going on right now." The Giants only runs in their first two wins of the series came on five solo homers. They found another way to score in the first when Hunter Pence hit a one-out double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Buster Poseys grounder to first base. Atlantas Evan Gattis was called for catchers interference on Poseys grounder, and the umpires initially ruled Posey was safe at first and Pence had to return to third base. Bochy took advantage of Rule 6.08c, which allows a manager to take the live play instead of the interference ruling. Jason Heyward hit a sacrifice fly in the Atlanta third. The Giants reclaimed the lead on Crawfords homer to right-centre with two outs in the fourth. NOTES: Bumgarner has allowed only one earned run in winning three straight starts against the Braves, including two wins in 2013. ... Gonzalez said SS Andrelton Simmons was held out for personal reasons and is expected to start on Monday. ... Braves RHP Gavin Floyd (elbow surgery) came off the 15-day DL and will start on Tuesday against St. Louis as RHP Ervin Santana has his scheduled start skipped due to swelling below his right thumb. Gonzalez said he expects Santana to start on Saturday against the Cubs. ... The Giants open a series at Pittsburgh on Monday as RHP Matt Cain starts. ... The Braves homestand continues on Monday night with RHP Aaron Harang facing Cardinals RHP Shelby Miller. ' ' '
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