Its New Years Day and Jack Armstrong is here with his first thoughts of 2015 on the high-flying Portland Trail Blazers, the Tor

Its New Years Day and Jack Armstrong is here with his first thoughts of 2015 on the high-flying Portland Trail Blazers, the Toronto Raptors current road trip, the return of Kevin Durant, Jared Dudleys impressive first year in Milwaukee and the injury to Al Jefferson. Zapatillas Nike Baratas Spain . Greetings from San Francisco! I can think of a lot worse places to be, thats for sure. Happy New Year! My Best Wishes to each of you and I hope you have a wonderful 2015. FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS: 1. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: Im really impressed. They have a very nice team and a big factor that jumps out at me is that they have four above-average perimeter defenders in Damian Lillard, Steve Blake, Nicholas Batum and Wesley Matthews. All do a solid job in making you earn everything you get. Not many teams in the league that have a perimeter corps that prides itself on being two-way players. This team is sound on both sides of the ball. 2. GREAT CHALLENGES FOR THE RAPTORS: It was a sensational game in Portland on Tuesday night between the #2 and #3 teams in the NBA in overall record. There was a terrific atmosphere and, even though Raps ran out of gas late, it once again proved to me that theyre growing as a team and are capable of playing with anyone. Another awesome test awaits on Friday against the top team in Association and the Golden State Warriors. I cant wait. These are the games that Raptors fans having been waiting to experience for years. Enjoy it - win or lose. Its all part of the journey of this team figuring out how to become a contender. Its not there yet, but this is what shapes and tests you for future improvement. There are many more ups and downs coming, but its nice to have true meaning each time game night arrives. 3. KEVIN DURANT (Thunder): A quiet night for Durant against the Suns on Wednesday with only 44 points, 10 boards and with seven assists. Eh, the guy is decent. The Thunder are only a game-and-a-half back from the final playoff spot in the West. If these guys stay healthy, watch out. Imagine being a top-three seed and having a sensational season and then being stuck having to play the Thunder as a bottom-three seed. Itll be fun to watch the elite Western teams in early April try to avoid a first-round match-up with these guys. Scary opponent. 4. JARED DUDLEY (Bucks): Ive always been a huge fan of his. Dudleys a no-frills, hard-working guy, who gets a lot out of his abilities. He does whatever you need to win. The Bucks second unit has been a huge plus this season and a big reason is his team-first approach. A winning player, Dudleys bounced back from a tough year and Im sure the Clippers miss him. 5. AL JEFFERSON (Hornets): What a nightmare season. Josh McRoberts bolts to Miami (and they miss him), Lance Stephenson has been a bust, chemistry has been shaky and now the big fella is going to miss some time with a groin injury. Jeffersons a force inside that you cant replace. Its a tough blow for Coach Steve Clifford, one of the talented young coaches in our game. Its been a brutal year for Charlotte after such a fun one last season. Winning, health and chemistry are a very fragile thing. Yeezy Baratas Hombre . Observant Muslims avoid food and liquids from dawn to dusk during Ramadan but can, and often do, skip it if travelling or doing hard physical labour. Some devout Muslim athletes choose to fast during training or competition, but it can create selection difficulties for the coaches in team sports. Zapatillas Nike Baratas Hombre . There was little fanfare, though, when the Yankees captain was taken out of his final regular-season Subway Series game in the eighth inning. Jeter watched the last four outs from the bench, pulled off the field during a double switch Thursday night as the Yankees held off the Mets 1-0. https://www.zapatillasbaratasspain.es/zapatillas-yeezy-baratas-spain-d1188.html . His absence against the Celtics comes a day after he scored 43 points in the Heats 100-96 win at Cleveland.MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun stepped into the batters box, admittedly a bit anxious. The sellout crowd at Miller Park quickly put him at ease, showering him with a standing ovation. First day back on the job after a drug suspension was already a day to remember for the Brewers slugger. Then he added another unique footnote to his career. Braun went 1 for 4 and stole a base that helped set up a two-run inning, and later was ruled out in the first call overturned under baseballs expanded replay system as Milwaukee beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Monday in a season opener. The former MVP was returning from suspension for the final 65 games last year in the Biogenesis doping scandal. Played his first game as a right fielder, too. What a way to start the season. "It was special. It was an emotional moment for me," Braun said. Braun said the ovation affected him. He flied out to left. "Swung at some pitches that I typically dont swing at, but its something that Im very thankful for and very appreciative," Braun said. Among the 45,691 people in attendance was Commissioner Bud Selig. Two years ago, Braun became the first MLB player to get a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs overturned. Originally banned for 50 games, he filed a grievance and won. "Fans are fans. Thats the way its supposed to be. Hes their hometown player and it was a wonderful reaction. I wish everybody well," Selig said. Later, Braun had his infield single to lead off the sixth overturned to out after the call was challenged by Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez under Major League Baseballs new replay format. The review took 58 seconds. "I had a pretty good idea that I was out," Braun said, drawing laughs. "For all of us, we just hope they get it right, and they did get it right." Yovani Gallardo (1-0) tossed six shutout innings for the win. He allowed just four hits in becoming the first pitcher in franchise history to make five straight opening day starts. A Braves lineup being relied on to help overcome the adversity to the injury-plagued pitching staff was silenced. Andrelton Simmons finished with two hits. "You go up there, your third at-bat and (Gallardo) will throw you something completely different," said cleanup hitter Chris Johnson, who went 1 for 4 with a double. "Where did that come from?? . Air Jordan Baratas. .. Hes one of the tougher guys in the league." In a bit of a surprise, Francisco Rodriguez struck out two in the ninth for his 305th career save. The veteran righty looked fine about two weeks after accidentally stepping on a cactus during spring training. Manager Ron Roenicke said he turned to Rodriguez because Jim Henderson, who had 28 saves last season, was having a little trouble of late with his stuff. He hoped a couple outings outside the ninth would help Henderson get straightened out. With injuries to pitchers including Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, Atlanta started Julio Teheran (0-1) after a nice spring. He allowed seven hits in six innings. "For his first start, for his first opening day, I thought he did a terrific job," Gonzalez said. But all eyes in Miller Park were on Braun to start after the 2011 NL MVP played his first game since July 21. He was banned the next day. It seemed like all was forgiven for most in attendance. Brauns hit and steal set up a two-run double by Aramis Ramirez in the fourth. "Its special, we all know what he went through last year," Ramirez said. "For the fans to do that, it was very special." Braun and Ramirez also missed time last season because of injuries. With their third- and fourth-place hitters back, the Brewers like their chances with an offence that also features the speedy Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura at the top of the order. If the rest of the starting rotation throws like Gallardo, Milwaukee could challenge St. Louis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the NL Central. NOTES: A trio of Wisconsin-born Olympians from the 2014 Winter Games in Russia threw out the ceremonial first pitches: Brianna Decker and Jessica Vetter were each members of the U.S. womens hockey team that won silver, while Matt Antoine won the bronze in the skeleton competition. ... Injured RHP Gavin Floyd and LHP Mike Minor are on the same rehab program in the minors for the Braves. Both are scheduled to throw Thursday and then go every fifth day barring any setbacks. The Braves plan to shuffle them between Triple-A Gwinnett and Double-A Mississippi. ... With four strikeouts, Gallardo assumed sole possession of second place on the teams career strikeout list with 1,084. Ben Sheets is first with 1,206 strikeouts. ' ' '