nt start and play as many minutes (17.8 per game) as some of his competitors such as Andrew Wiggins (30.8 per game) and Nerlens Noel (30.4 per game), I think he

(SportsNetwork. Michael Pierce Jersey .com) - The Houston Rockets will try to go 3-0 Saturday night when they stage their home opener against the Boston Celtics at the Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, both on the road, to start the campaign. Houston won both games by a combined 29 points, marking the first time since the 2007-08 season the Rockets captured the first two games by double digits. Against the Jazz on Wednesday, Dwight Howard scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and two blocks to lead the Rockets to a 104-93 win. James Harden nearly contributed a triple-double, scoring 18 with 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Trevor Ariza finished with 20 points in the win. Kostas Papanikolaou chipped in 12 off the bench. After allowing 50 points to the Jazz in the first half, the Rockets put on the clamps. Utah just managed 43 points over the final 24 minutes and Houston marched to a 2-0 mark. Second half we did a great job of coming out with some defensive intensity, Harden said. Offensively, the Rockets shot 51.9 percent from the field versus Utah and the same percentage from beyond the 3-point arc. Last season, Houston went 26-3 when it shot over 50 percent from the floor, and 25-8 when it converted 10 or more 3-point attempts. The Rockets stop home will be brief. They visit the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat next week. The Celtics opened the season in impressive fashion with a 121-105 home win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Rajon Rondo woke up from a long nap Wednesday afternoon and decided he was ready to go after he missed the entire preseason with a broken left hand. The decision paid off as Rondo went for 13 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Cs to victory. Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points and Jeff Green had 17 for Boston. Eight Celtics reached double figures, and all 10 that took the floor scored at least six points in a balanced attack. I think we still need to do a better job with weakside defense, said Green. We still have things we need to correct. We have to continue to move forward. The Celtics will have to improve defensively just to match up with the Rockets star duo of Harden and Howard. We have to give them different looks, said Green. I think weve done a great job in todays practice as far as communication as far as what we want to do. The Rockets swept the Celtics last season and have taken six of the last eight meetings. Houston has won three straight at home against the Cs, who had previously won four straight in Houston. Jimmy Smith Jersey . -- Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night. Tony Jefferson Jersey . "I had a pretty good year," the soft-spoken Granberg told TSN.ca with a grin from the teams annual rookie tournament in London. A fourth-round selection in 2010, Granberg is worth keeping an eye on with NHL training camps rolling around in less than a week. The six-foot-two, 200-pound defender may not possess the wow-inspiring theatrics of fellow prospect Morgan Rielly, but nonetheless has a chance to contribute with the Leafs when all is said and done this season. http://www.ravensjerseyscheapauthentic.com/ravens-lardarius-webb-black-jersey/ . The Tiger-Cats announced on Friday the linebacker has signed a new contract with the team through the 2016 season.(SportsNetwork.com) - There were plenty of headline-grabbing transactions during the summer with all the major free agent news, highlighted by LeBron James return to Cleveland. We also had the big trade between the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks that resulted in Tyson Chandler going back to where he played a huge role in the Mavs winning their only NBA championship. But there was one deal that drew very little attention and Im guessing not much of a reaction from NBA fans, but it surely has been a huge boost for a defending division champ and a trade that can only be called a major steal at this point. Thats what you call the deal the Toronto Raptors made with the Atlanta Hawks, as they traded a way-past-his-prime John Salmons and a second-round draft pick for Lou Williams along with 21-year-old center Lucas Nogueira. The addition of the nine-year veteran Williams has upgraded the Raptors bench significantly and gives them one of the deepest and most talented backcourts in the league. The 27-year-old suffered a torn ACL in January 2013 and is now only back to the player he was before the injury, and hes played a big role in helping put Toronto atop the East with a 19-6 record. Hes been more than weve expected, coach Dwane Casey said. I knew he was an excellent player, but you go in with reservations coming off the injury. Hes back 100 percent now from injuries. Hes fully healed. Hes stronger from it, so hes been a pleasant plus for us this year. In regards to Williams offensive game, Casey says hes a born scorer, but the big surprise has come at the other end of the floor. One area that was really highly unexpected was his defense, Casey said. Its huge. I was shocked. There were all these stories about, Hes a scorer off the bench, but hes been one of our solid defenders on our second unit - being in right position in the schemes, understanding schemes, being in the right place, pushing the ball as a quasi-point guard/ballhandler - but he has been a great teammate. Williams is averaging 14.6 points in 22.5 minutes per game, and even earned an Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor in November in helping the Raptors go 3-0. During that stretch, he averaged 23.7 points in just 22 minutes per game, which included a huge game in Cleveland as the Raptors routed the Cavaliers. He scored 36 points in 29 minutes, shooting 9-of-19 from the floor, including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers, and an eye-opening 15-for-15 from the foul line. Tim Williams Jersey. The former second-round pick (45th overall) of the Sixers in 2005 has had five games of at least 20 points, and all of them have come in wins for the Raptors. Its amazing how he can go out there and run off the points he can in the short amount of time hes out there, said teammate DeMar DeRozan, who has been sidelined the last nine games as he recovers from a torn tendon in his left groin. The energy with the second unit is definitely amazing. Thats something that was lacking last year and we got a lot better this year and I think thats why were able to close out a lot of games this year that we couldnt last year. Williams presence has certainly eased the impact of DeRozans absence. The Raptors are 6-3 without their All-Star guard, with Williams doing his share to pick up the slack. In those six wins, hes averaged 17.6 points, including a pair of 26-point outings. The road back from his torn ACL was a long, grueling process for Williams, and one in which he wasnt sure hed ever be the same player. But those thoughts can now be put to rest. When youre sitting there and you have a cast on and wheelchair and crutches and cant lift your leg up, you cant ride a bike, you cant run, you cant jog, obviously theres going to be some doubt there, Williams said. Two years later, its great to see some fruits of the labor, to feel myself back to 100 percent, being back healthy and having some success. PARKER INJURY CHANGES ROOKIE RACE Speaking of a player tearing his ACL, what terrible news came out of Milwaukee late Tuesday night regarding Bucks rookie Jabari Parker. He will be out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, which he suffered on Monday in Phoenix in a win over the Suns. Parker was the clear-cut leader for the NBAs rookie of the year, but now the award is up for grabs, in what is probably the weakest field Ive ever seen. I think the Chicago Bulls Nikola Mirotic has been the second-best rookie, and despite the fact that he doesnt start and play as many minutes (17.8 per game) as some of his competitors such as Andrew Wiggins (30.8 per game) and Nerlens Noel (30.4 per game), I think he deserves serious consideration for contributing to a winning situation rather than guys who may have bigger numbers but play for really bad teams. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '