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The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers will face each other Friday night for the first time since a somewhat chippy and intense playoff series last spring that ended in a Cleveland sweep in the first round. But the games were more competitive -- and physical -- than a typical sweep.Pistons forward Stanley Johnson, at the time only a rookie, bragged he thought he was in LeBron James head during the series. And if he wasnt, the Pistons certainly seemed to be targeting it.Andre Drummond clubbed James with a blow to the head during the series, and Marcus Morris caught James with a body shot. The series grew in intensity throughout, although both sides survived without serious injuries.James sat out Wednesdays loss at Indiana to rest, lowering the Cavs record in games without him to 4-16 since he returned to Cleveland three seasons ago. But hell be back in the lineup for Fridays game in Cleveland, and J.R. Smith could return after missing three games with a sore right ankle.The Cavs appear to have a decided edge over Detroit in rebounding. Although Drummond ranks second in the league in rebounding (13.8 per game), he isnt getting much help. The Pistons rank toward the middle of the pack in rebounding, while the Cavs rank fifth and feature two of the best in Kevin Love (10.8 rpg) and Tristan Thompson (9.9 rpg).The Pistons were smashed on the glass during Tuesdays loss at New York, losing the rebounding 52-40 while allowing the Knicks 19 offensive rebounds that led to 15 second-chance points. Given the number of extra looks the Knicks received, that figure shouldve been even higher.Well be able to go in and look at 10 or 12 plays that were just lack-of-effort plays, lack-of-focus plays, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told the Detroit Free Press. You cant afford that on the road and we continue to do that.The Pistons are perfect at home this season, but have just one road win in seven tries. Its a disappointing start for a team that expected to take a big leap after securing the eighth seed last season and pushing the eventual champions despite the sweep.Now the Cavs are rolling despite Wednesdays loss. Theyre among the league leaders in a number of offensive categories and coach Tyronn Lue believes they can play even better.Quickening the pace was a focus for Lue since taking over at midseason last year. He likes the way James pushes when the ball is in his hands, but believes the pace slows a bit when Kyrie Irving is in charge. After lagging near the bottom of the league in pace last season, the Cavs rank just outside the top 10 this year. They are one of 11 teams right now generating at least 100 possessions per game.I think offensively were doing a good job of sharing the basketball. Were trying to play with pace. We need to play even faster, Lue said. At times we play fast, at times we kind of slowly bring the ball up the court. So, if we play with pace were hard to stop.Cheap Air Max 270 Wholesale .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Wholesale Air Max 270 . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. http://www.discountairmax270.com/ . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Air Max 270 Cheap Online .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. Wholesale Air Max 270 China . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position.AMES, Iowa -- Things have gotten so bleak for Iowa State that a three-touchdown defeat is seen as progress.Still, there were signs in a 41-20 road loss at TCU that the winless Cyclones (0-3) are indeed improving.Quarterback Joel Lanning helped jump-start the rushing game, running back Mike Warren ran for nearly 100 yards and Iowa States special teams looked as strong as they have all season.It was clear from the opener, a 25-20 loss to Northern Iowa of the FCS, that 2016 would be a rebuilding year. So as lopsided as the final score was in Fort Worth last weekend, the Cyclones found some positives to build on for Saturdays nonconference finale against San Jose State (1-2).Were continuing to grow and get better and I think you saw that last week, first-year Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said.Lanning retained his starting spot despite a terrible performance two weeks ago, throwing for just 86 yards as the Cyclones were throttled by Iowa 42-3.That doesnt mean Lanning is set to take all the snaps this season.Sophomore Jacob Park, the more accomplished passer of the two, played extensively against the Horned Frogs and threw for 90 yards on 15 attempts.Lanning is much more of a dual threat though, and the Cyclones were able to use that to their advantage. Lanning rushed for two TDs, including an 8-yarder in which he broke tackles from nearly half of TCUs defense to score.Campbell said the quarterback rotation moving forward will be based on practice performances, game-day situations and even feel on occasion.I still think thats an open-eended question, Campbell said of this weekends plans for Lanning and Park.dddddddddddd Well continue to compete at that position. But I really trust those guys to play.Warrens inability to get untracked, an issue caused largely by a leaky offensive line, had been Iowa States biggest problem. But the Cyclones finally committed to getting Warren more involved against the Horned Frogs, and it paid off.Warren ran for 95 yards on 23 carries after gaining just 58 yards in the first two weeks combined.Youre not going to get where you want in a day, and we all realize that its going to take a little more each time to get where we want to go, he said.Iowa States special teams had their moments last week as well after some early stumbles against Northern Iowa and Iowa.Cole Netten hit two short field goals, true freshman Kene Nwangwu had 99 yards on just three kickoff returns and Colin Downing averaged 44 yards on eight punts.Of course, none of them led to a win -- or even a relatively close game.But for a program just three games into a rebuild that could easily take three years or more, signs of progress are encouraging.I think we kind of put things together a little bit more than we have in the first two games. We were going quick and we had success running the ball, and thats what we need to do to be successful, Lanning said. We made some baby steps, and it was good for us.---Online: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '