Its the day before the NBAs trade deadline and TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Amir Johnsons return, Randy Wittmans

Its the day before the NBAs trade deadline and TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Amir Johnsons return, Randy Wittmans influence on the Washington Wizards and what may be in store for Kyle Lowry and Rajon Rondo. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Store . 1. AMIR JOHNSON: Nice to see him back in the lineup Tuesday night in Washington DC. Played with great energy and purpose. Its amazing when a guy gets those few precious days to recover what it does to the bounce in their step and overall game/confidence. They need him big time in the final 29 games and the fact that he missed the two games prior to the All Star break due to injury could end up being a blessing for their team. When he and Terrence Ross are going good, this team can compete at a high level with anyone. 2. RANDY WITTMAN: I said it Tuesday night on the telecast and Ill say it again. A coach has to get run from a game to light a fire under his team - thats a joke. The ultimate motivation and leadership has to come from the players. More leadership is needed in that locker room. The Wizards have more than enough talent to not only be a playoff team, but a winning playoff team. Felt bad for Wittman. Coaches get the blame all the time. I get that - been there and done that - yet at some point to take that next step it truly has to be a conscious decision on the part of your core players that youre going to be a good team and not allow yourself to be outplayed at home. 3. RAJON RONDO: Love the hard bargain and market that GM Danny Ainge is trying to create for him. As he gets healthier, his play will improve significantly. On the other side, its pretty evident that Rondo will be playing for another team in the next few days - or at the very latest a year from now. He wants to play on a winner and it will take a little longer in Boston for that to happen. 4. KYLE LOWRY: Watch him in the third quarter last night? He was brilliant. How does a guy establish his value in a contract year? Play big when your team needs you the most. Believe me, GMs and scouts are watching and realize hes doing it on a winning team thats one of the pleasant surprises in the league and hes a big reason why. Whether its with the Raptors or somewhere else, it will all work out if he continues to play at this high level. The obvious concern is after he gets a significant contract will his level of play stay the same and/or improve to justify it or will it dip? Thats the toughest thing to gauge for decision-makers. These final regular season games and potential playoff games will help set the bar for him. So far, hes setting himself up very nicely. 5. JARRETT JACK: His name is involved in trade rumours and hed be a good pickup for a contender. His former team - the Warriors - really misses his clutch play and great leadership skills. Unfortunately, he hasnt been able to impact the climate in Cleveland as well as he did in Golden State. Hes more of a complimentary player and when hes in that position hes quite effective. Can play both guard spots and makes the good high percentage play. Will be interesting to see if he sticks around, considering the Cavs have won five in a row and are right back in the playoff race in the East. Custom Nike Washington Nationals Jerseys . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Sale .com) - Thursday marks the official debut of a new dirt racing surface at Meydan Racecourse. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/ .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season.TORONTO – Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is still waiting for his first win under Major League Baseballs new challenge system; the skipper is 0-3 in the regular season, 0-6 including Grapefruit League play. Still, hes a supporter. "I think in the long run it will be good," said Gibbons. Gibbons didnt challenge a play in Wednesday nights win over the Astros, which, upon further review, may have been overturned. Ryan Goins was picked off first base in the sixth inning but it appeared first baseman Marc Krauss glove swept the dirt and tagged Goins high on the shoulder after the runner had touched the bag. The Blue Jays didnt have access to all replay angles; the angles they had were inconclusive. Gibbons has previously expressed regret that the challenge system has sapped the intensity of manager/umpire arguments. Hes worried about the in-game delays and the effect on pace of play. Rather than just complaining, Gibbons proposes a solution. "Keep it the way it is but dont give the teams the benefit of being able to look at it behind the scenes," he said. "I think if, itd be like the old days, you could go out and argue if you think the guy missed it that bad you go out and argue. Of course theyre not going to look at it. This way, then they can say, Okay, you think I missed it that bad, check it out. I think what happens when you have the ability to look at it behind the scenes, you can go out there on every close play there is. "In a lot of ways youre guessing. I think that slows the game down. If youre that serious about a particular call and you think he missed it, roll the dice without the benefit of looking at it." Gibbons incorrectly challenged a call in the fifth inning of Thursday nights game against Houston when the replay system confirmed Melky Cabrera was out on a bang-bang play at first base. WAGNERS LONG DAY Neil Wagner threw two scoreless innings in Torontos 7-3 win over Houston on Wednesday night. It was the culmmination of a long day of travel for Wagner, who was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. Custom Nike Houston Astros Jerseys. Wagner was in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where the Bisons were getting ready to play the LeHigh Valley Ironpigs. He took an hour and a half taxi ride to the Philadelphia airport, flew to Toronto and arrived at the stadium 10 minutes before first pitch. "It was actually just kind of easy," said Wagner. "I just woke up, did my normal thing in the morning and then instead of going through the normal pre-game routine I was just travelling, got here and I was able to play a little catch." Wagner got his arm loose playing catch with left fielder Melky Cabrera at the start of each defensive inning. Casey Janssen and J.A. Happ are both expected to come off the disabled list sooner rather than later, which will create a logjam in the bullpen. Wagner is in his final option year, the reason he got sent down last month, and knows he could again fall victim to the business of the game. "Options are the one thing for free in this game that you dont want," said Wagner. "I cant control having them, I cant give them to other people so I have them and if I get optioned against at some point, so be it. Just keep doing what I do and hopefully at some point, be back." DELABAR RESTS Reliever Steve Delabar was in good humour one day after taking a line drive off the outside of his right leg, below the knee. The ball ricocheted to Edwin Encarnacion at first base, who stepped on the bag for the easy out. "That was the plan," said Delabar. "When I came out of the bullpen they said, if you get hit with a line drive make sure your leg is angled." Delabar is using the RICE treatment method with the bruising: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. While Delabar wont pitch on Thursday, he doesnt expect to miss any time. "I could go, yes," said Delabar. "But I think theyre going to be cautious with it." ' ' '