Some trade deadlines are interesting for their
OAKLAND, Calif. - Steve Kerr knew he had a lot of expectations on him after taking over a Golden State Warriors team that Mark Jackson led to a 51-win season and back-to-back playoff appearances.In less than two months, Kerr has built on his predecessors success and eclipsed every rookie coach that came before him.Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry shook off slow starts to finish with a flurry, and the Warriors extended their franchise-best winning streak to 14 games by beating the Houston Rockets 105-93 on Wednesday night.Golden State improved its NBA-leading record to 19-2 and helped Kerr carve out a slice of history. Kerr became the first rookie coach to win 19 of his first 21 games.It means Im the luckiest coach in NBA history, Kerr said. Because I inherited a team that was already really good.And apparently made them even better.Thompson scored 21 points and Curry added 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds to power an 11-0 run in the final minutes and turn a tight game into another comfortable win. About the only thing Kerr said he could complain about was the postgame meal, and he even laughed that off.You just want to pile up wins in the West, Kerr said. Keep putting some numbers in the win column because theres 61 games left.James Harden played through back pain to finish with 34 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who had won four straight and seven of eight despite centre Dwight Howard being sidelined.Howard (strained right knee) and Warriors big man Andrew Bogut (right knee tendinitis) both sat out with injuries, and the smaller lineups worked in Golden States favour in the end.The Warriors outscored Houston 32-17 in the fourth quarter.Theyre a good team and they broke us down a little bit, Harden said. We got too spread out on defence.The teams traded baskets for most of the game, and anytime one side began to pull away, the other followed with another spectacular play — until Golden States final push.Harden hit a tying 3-pointer with 4:45 remaining, and the Warriors answered in dramatic fashion: Draymond Green roared down the lane for a soaring dunk, Harrison Barnes started a three-point play with a driving layup over Harden and Thompson blocked Patrick Beverly from behind and finished a finger-roll layup on the other end.But the Warriors still werent done.After the Rockets called timeout, Green came up with a steal and passed ahead to Curry for a layup. The Warriors got another stop and Thompson hit two free throws to give Golden State a 100-89 lead.You lose probably one of the top centres in the league (without Bogut), so we tried to make up for that by being quick and scrappy, said Barnes, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.Trevor Ariza and Donatas Motiejunas each scored 18 for the Rockets. Golden State outshot Houston 49.4 to 41.6 per cent, and each team had 15 turnovers.They attacked us off the dribble and we didnt handle that very well, Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. They got some open stuff, and when they went small, it bothered us.TIP-INSRockets: Howard has missed 10 straight games. He hopes to return Saturday at home against Denver. ... Francisco Garcia (strained right calf/Achilles), Isaiah Canaan (sprained left ankle), Terrence Jones (nerve inflammation in left leg) and Kostas Papanikolaou (strained right knee) also sat out.Warriors: Al Cervi had the previous best start for a coach, winning 18 of his first 20 games with the Syracuse Nationals in the 1949-50 season. ... Kerr said he doesnt expect Bogut to miss additional time with tendinitis. ... David Lee, who has played in just one game because of a strained left hamstring, is scheduled to practice Thursday and will travel with the team on its upcoming trip.RODMANS RANTDennis Rodman made headlines the past couple days when he said Kerr, his former teammate with the Chicago Bulls, is basically just sitting on the bench while his players and assistants do most of the work. Asked about Rodmans comments, Kerr joked: Well, thats actually pretty accurate.NEXT UPRockets: At Sacramento on Thursday.Warriors: At Dallas on Saturday. Brett Hundley Packers Jersey . Appearing on TSN 1050 on Monday, Steve Simmons and Darren Dreger weighed in on whether Brendan Shanahan is considering keeping his bench boss, despite earlier statements from Tim Leiweke that the team needed a change in culture. Quinten Rollins Jersey . -- Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins made official Monday what hes been telling folks all along: Hes headed to the NBA after his only season with the Jayhawks. http://www.packersstore.us.com/Black-66-Ray-Nitschke-Womens-Jersey/. Hes got everything thats needed to be a top midfield player. His attitude is first class, hes got strength, he can play, he can pass it and he can score goals,” prophesized Harry Redknapp. Ty Montgomery Jersey . He took whatever spirit the sagging New York Knicks had left. The good feelings created last month by Jeremy Lins emergence -- along with Lins best play -- seem long gone now. Jordy Nelson Youth Jersey . -- Rakuten Eagles President Yozo Tachibana says no decision has been made on whether star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka will be made available to Major League Baseball teams.TORONTO – General manager Alex Anthopoulos was evasive on the subject of the Blue Jays budget parameters as baseball moves closer to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. “Were having dialogue with teams,” said Anthopoulos. “Ultimately what we end up doing, if we do things or get things done, well never get into specifics. I dont think weve ever given out a number when it comes to payroll and things like that.” Getting down to the nitty-gritty, the answer to the question on fans minds: can the ballclub add salary? Can it take on an increase in payroll? Can it make a small dent in the bottom line in order to improve the team? “We can add players,” said Anthopoulos. “We have the ability to have that dialogue at any time. I dont see any reason why we wont be able to add players and obviously players make money. No one plays for free.” What about the belief that any deal must be dollar in-dollar out? Also known as revenue neutral? “I would never get into the specifics of that in terms of how we would make things work and where things fit in our payroll projections. Those are things we keep in house,” said Anthopoulos. “I understand why you guys are asking. I totally respect it. Its just things that we keep that stuff internal.” The proof will be in the actions of the ballclub, not just in the next 11 days leading up to the first trade deadline but also through August, when deals can still be made but not without the players involved first clearing waivers. In most cases thats a formality. “I think you could see, this is just a feeling, I think theres potentially going to be more activity in August this year than in years past,” said Anthopoulos. “You saw last year guys like (Justin) Morneau and (Marlon) Byrd got moved, (Alex) Rios got moved after (July) 31, I think thats where,, from a contractual standpoint and because of the extra wildcard, some clubs just need to wait a little while longer.dddddddddddd” According to baseball-reference.com, the Blue Jays have $135.4 million committed to player salary in 2014. A quiet trade deadline will lead to finger pointing at Anthopoulos, which would be unfair. There will be blame to go around; ownership would be at the top of the list. The general manager is aware there are holes in his lineup. Theres a need to acquire an infielder. Theres a need to upgrade the bullpen, an attempt at which will be made internally with the likely promotion of top prospect Aaron Sanchez. There are few teams in baseball that wouldnt add an arm to the starting rotation. Anthopoulos, with support of ownership, changed the course of the franchise in the offseason of 2012 when he made blockbuster trades with the Miami Marlins and New York Mets. The Blue Jays went from a franchise with a large haul of prospects building with youth to a win-now ballclub thanks to acquisitions of the likes of R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle. Now, with a veteran laden lineup, the Blue Jays could use an acquisition or two to cement the clubs footing in the pennant picture. But with ownerships new CEO, who inherited a multi-billion dollar investment in another sports property, the landscape has changed. Anthopoulos finds himself with a win-now lineup. If his jobs on the line, as has been suggested, it would be strange for ownership to fire the general manager if it stood in the way of moves Anthopoulos would and could have made. Ownership needs to be win-now, too. Some trade deadlines are interesting for their activity, some not so much due to inactivity. For Blue Jays fans, the next five weeks, regardless of the degree to which the ballclub is active, will be quite intriguing. cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '