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TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Game 7 in the Pacers-Heat series, the road ahead for new Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, the new head coaches in Charlotte and Sacramento, the abilities of Knicks head coach Mike Woodson and the distinguished career of Grant Hill. 1. Game 7 - Pacers at Heat: Im thrilled. A little drama and suspense. We havent had as much as wed like this spring in the NBA Playoffs. Got it for this one. Lots of talk (deservedly so) about the offensively inept play of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, the play of the Pacers inside and of course, LeBron James. With all that being said, to me the area I will zero in on Monday night above all else will be the Pacers offence vs the Heat defence in a do-or-die road Game 7. Im a huge believer in the fact that your defence and rebounding carry you consistently throughout the season because offence comes and goes. The Pacers defence and rebounding has been sound. The Heat, when theyre at their absolute best, play defence with a purpose that defines quickness, ball pressure, organized help and recovery, tight rotations and dont let you get comfortable at all. They force you to take low percentage shots, force turnovers and get the high-octane running game going with dunks and 3s on the back end. I havent seen enough of that. If Im the Heat, its all about the defence and rebounding, grit and energy and the offence will feed off that. If they do that at home, theyve got a great chance to win. The Pacers must exhibit offensive toughness. To win huge road games, you have to take care of the ball, control the tempo and have wonderful shot discipline and shot-making ability late in the shot clock. This is the game within the game that will give me the sense throughout the night of how the personality of the event will be defined. Enjoy! 2. Masai Ujiri (Raptors): Congrats to the new Raptors GM. Lots of heavy lifting ahead. In his brief career as the Nuggets GM, he has shown the willingness to be a bold/aggressive executive, yet has the attributes of a thoughtful and patient makeup that suits him well. Hell need to plot a course that benefits the organization in the years to come, getting it on a consistent playoff path (in the weaker Eastern Conference compared to the West that he dealt with in Denver) rather than worrying about short-term gratification that feels good but doesnt lay the proper long-term foundation. Simply put, decisions are made with the best interests of the organization in the long-term at all times and gradually you begin to get it turned around. Do whats right in your mind and heart after careful deliberation and never cave into the need for popularity and approval. Those characteristics are vital and having known him for a while, my sense is that he will stay very focused on what his vision is and not allow himself to lose his way. As Ive said it countless times before, its a tough job but the Toronto franchise has immense potential as an NBA city and has greatly under performed for 18 years. Do it right and it will get right. 3. Steve Clifford (Bobcats) and Michael Malone (Kings): Both guys hired as NBA head coaches this past week. Ive known both of them for a long time and consider them friends. I was thrilled for both of them. Theyve paid their dues big-time and are more than ready. As is the case most times when youre 0-0 as an NBA head coach, you normally dont get a good job, you get a challenging one that will do a number (not a good one) on the start of your career W-L record. The way I judge performance is how they lay the groundwork/foundation for gradual/incremental improvement that sets their franchises up for the turn-around in a few years. Rome wasnt built in a day and the Bobcats and Kings surely wont be either. Thats not an excuse in any way, shape or form for Clifford and Malone, instead its the reality of the uneven, and many times unfair, business of coaching. Certain jobs are a lot more messed up than others. Im a huge believer in the fact that you see if its working or not in Year 3. Im convinced that these two guys will absolutely work their tails off and so will their players (or theyll be traded/waived) and youll start to see the process of creep-crawl-walk-run in front of you. Doubt theyll be off and running in two years but by Year 3, theyll be on their feet and competing with folks. They will impact positive change. They wont be out-worked by anyone nor will they be out-coached, I can assure you of that. Good basketball men. 4. Mike Woodson (Knicks): Knicks fans are obnoxious. Some folks are wondering if hes the right coach for them. Seriously? 18 wins and only six losses last year after taking over for Mike DAntoni and 54 wins and Atlantic Division Title this Year. Havent had one of those since the 90s. Back-to-back playoff berths. He built in Atlanta and hes built in New York. Is he Phil Jackson or Red Auerbach? No. Is he a good coach/leader? Definitely. Does he have a championship roster? Far from it. Miami, Indiana, Chicago (when healthy) and possibly Brooklyn (with a stable coaching situation) are better. He might be in a similar situation in New York that he was in Atlanta; yery good team for short stretches but not good enough over the long haul. 5. Grant Hill (Clippers): Announces his retirement. Awesome NCAA player at Duke. Terrific early career with Detroit and then injuries did him in. Battled back and had a nice finish to his career. Class act - gentleman - team player - professional. Great Run. Has lots to be proud of. Im sure hell be heard from in a big way in retirement. Has got it. Air Max From China . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Air Max Outlet . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. https://www.airmaxchina.us/ . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale Air Max .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Discount Air Max . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. SEATTLE -- Breanna Stewart scored 18 points, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 16 and the Seattle Storm clinched the seventh seed in the WNBA playoffs with an 88-75 victory over the Chicago Sky on Sunday night.Seattle will play at Atlanta in the opening round of the playoffs. Stewart also grabbed 11 rebounds, including her 277th defensive one of the season to pass Lisa Leslies WNBA record of 276 set in 2004.The Storm had just a 63-61 lead at the end of the third after Allie Quigley hit Chicagos first 3-pointer of the game with 1.3 seconds left in the quarter. But Mosqueda-Lewis made back-to-back 3-pointers and Stewart added another 3 as Seattle opened the fourth on a 16-2 run to take a 79-63 lead much to the delight of the 12,186 fans. Chicago only scored six points through the first eight minutes of the fourth.ddddddddddddSue Bird had 14 points and five assists for Seattle (16-18). The Storm needed to win to secure the seed after Phoenix beat the San Antonio Stars earlier. The Mercury will be the No. 8 seed.Stewart made two free throws early in the third quart to pass Candace Parker for third place on the WNBAs rookie scoring list. She has scored 621 points and only trails Seimone Augustus (744) and Cappie Pondexter (624).Jamierra Faulkner and Jessica Breland each scored 14 points for Chicago (18-16). The Sky played without star Elena Delle Donne for a fifth straight game. ' ' '