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FIVE NBA THOUGHTS: 1. Wil Lutz Jersey . DEMAR DEROZAN (Raptors): His numbers of late are quite impressive, but more importantly to me, I see a guy who has matured and is very professional. Hes prepared to play and he hates to lose. He has good competitive spirit. His confidence is growing and he knows now what works for him and what doesnt. There have been some stretches this year where I look out on the court and see a guy who is the best player on the court on either team. Can he build that into being a guy who is at that level consistently game to game? Only time will tell, but Im definitely seeing a guy this season from the start of training camp until now who is totally engrossed in his craft and has paid the price in the off-season working on his skills, strength and conditioning to move himself to another peg in the progression of his game. 2. DERRICK WILLIAMS (Kings): The former second-overall pick of the Timberwolves (2011) is shipped to Sacramento. Maybe a fresh start will help him. Hes a combo 3-4 or 4-3, whichever way you want to put it. Hes a guy more comfortable with his game working 15 feet and in, though hes capable of making threes. The bottom line is, when a team that invested heavily in you gives up on you so early, youve got to look in the mirror and ask why and make the adjustments in your game and approach to improve. The Kings need scoring and hell be able to provide that. It goes to show that in todays NBA, you need to bring at least one or two discernable high-end skills to the table and excel at those to carve out your niche. If youre pretty good-to-average at everything and are stuck between positions, you kind of get caught in no mans land. Williams is young player who still has plenty of time to figure it out. This is a wake-up call though. 3. ERSAN ILYASOVA (Bucks): Hes had a disappointing season so far, only averaging nine points per game and four boards per game, but injuries have been a factor. Ive always been a fan of his game because hes a tough competitor who battles on the glass, plays hard and shoots it well from distance. It just seems something always gets out of kilter for him with Milwaukee. Hes a guy, if they sour on him, whos worth a look from a bunch of teams if he gets dangled out there on the market. I firmly believe that hes a good player and with the right point guard situation, could thrive. 4. BRADLEY BEAL (Wizards): Hes now out for a few weeks with a leg injury. I saw him on Friday night in Toronto and I gotta tell you: I love his game. Hes got a beautiful stroke. When I watch him and John Wall together, Im fascinated by their potential as a back court. Hes greatly developed the ability to create his own shot and he and Wall could be an intriguing duo for a long time. Hopefully, this injury doesnt set him back too far, as hes really starting to come into his own. 5. JOSH McROBERTS (Bobcats): With big free agent signee, Al Jefferson being out for most of the start of the season (Hes played in only six games, so far,) coach Steve Clifford has needed steady play in his front court on a back court-dominated team. McRoberts stats (9 PPG, 5 RPG and 4 APG) wont jump off the page at you, but hes been reliable. Hes a good system guy with nice versatility in his game. You dont need to run plays for him and he can shoot threes and is a very clever passer. McRoberts is a good teammate who knows and accepts his role and has allowed his team the ability to keep the floor spaced with his face-up game. Sometimes less is more and McRoberts does what hes supposed to do and keeps his ego in check. Hes a good role player. Patrick Omameh Jersey . But its also a smart game. Theres more to the Kings than banging bodies. They take a toll mentally on their opponents. George Rogers Jersey .C. -- Ryan Sproul scored the winner late in double overtime to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Friday in Game 1 of their American Hockey League playoff series. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom-vaughan-johnson-jersey-large-1672e.html . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North.LOS ANGELES -- Michael Cuddyer is closing in on his first batting title. And he didnt even need to play on Saturday night to help get there. Cuddyer spent the game on the bench with his .333 average and the Rockies beat Zack Greinke and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0. Atlantas Chris Johnson went 0 for 4 against Philadelphia and slipped to .321 -- effectively locking up Cuddyers first batting title in 13 big league seasons with one game remaining. "It means a lot," said Cuddyer, who was a teammate of two-time AL batting champion Joe Mauer in Minnesota. "It takes a lot of hard work, sticking to routines and things of that nature -- and a lot of luck along the way, too. Im not too proud to admit that to do something like that, youve got to get lucky. "I went into the season a career .271 hitter. So to be in a position like this, I never would have thunk it," Cuddyer added. "I never thought that when the season ends, Id be on top. Ive never been in that position before, so I was never assuming that I was going to be there. "Obviously when you get into September and youre in contention, you keep plugging away for it. And fortunately, Ive had a good September. But I never tried to get ahead of myself." The 34-year-old right fielder is the sixth player in Rockies history to win a batting crown, joining Andres Galarraga, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Carlos Gonzalez and three-time winner Larry Walker. Cuddyer is hitting .313 outside of Denver, so hes not just benefiting from playing half of his games at Coors Field. "To lead the league in hitting you have to hit well at home and on the road -- unless you hit like .400 at home," he said. "Ive been in this organization only two years, so Ive never really taken that home-road thing to heart, as far as Coors Field is concerned." Juan Nicasio outdueled Zack Greinke for his first victory in six starts and Nolan Arenado had an RBI double for the Rockies. Nicasio (9-9) allowed three hits over 5 1-3 innings and struck out seven while winning for the first time since Aug. 26 against San Francisco. The last time the 27-year-old right-hander faced the Dodgers on July 12 in Los Angeles, he outpitched Clayton Kershaw with seven scoreless innings for the victory. "Thats the thing about Juan. He can step up and have a performance like that," Roockies manager Walt Weiss said. Latavius Murray Jersey. . "He was trying to find consistency after being out for much of the time over the last two years. Weve seen that from him earlier this year when he matched up with Kershaw and threw much like that." Adam Octavio followed Josh Outman out of the bullpen in the sixth, retiring Juan Uribe on a foul pop and Scott Van Slyke on a fly ball with the bases loaded. Rex Brothers, the sixth Rockies pitcher, got four outs for his 18th save in 20 chances. It was only the fifth shutout win for the Rockies. "Its just good to go out there and play a competitive game like that and end up winning a really tough game against a really good team," Weiss said. "Im proud of the way our guys have played down the stretch. We fight until the last out, and were going to fight until the last out of the season." Greinke (15-4) allowed a run and four hits through six innings. The right-hander struck out seven and did not allow a walk in his 300th major league game. Troy Tulowitzki doubled with one out in the fourth and scored on Arenados two-out double to left-centre. Greinke lost for the first time in eight decisions since July 25 and finished his first regular season as a Dodger with a 2.63 ERA in 28 starts. He is scheduled to start Game 2 of the Division Series. With Andre Ethiers status for the playoffs in doubt because of shin splints, three other high-profile Dodger outfielders also were missing from the lineup. Centre fielder Matt Kemp was a late scratch because of left ankle soreness, and Carl Crawford was rested by manager Don Mattingly. Rookie Yasiel Puig, who fouled a pitch hard off his left shin and left Fridays game after five innings, pinch-hit in the seventh and struck out. "He was begging to get out there tonight once Matt couldnt go," Mattingly said of Puig. "But I felt like there was no reason for it, being that last second. We didnt know about Matt till five minutes before the game." NOTES: Greinke is averaging 1.86 walks per nine innings in his past 16 starts, after tying a career worst with seven bases on balls at Colorado on July 3. He finished with 19 hits, the most by a Dodgers pitcher since 1993, when Orel Hershiser was 26 for 73. ... Kershaw was presented with the teams eighth annual Roy Campanella Award by former manager Tommy Lasorda before the game. ' ' '