FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS: 1. Alex Smith Jersey . RAPTORS STRUGGLING: The bottom line is the true test in sports isnt just how you handle failure, but how you handle success. This team has gotten off track from the formula that it was using beautifully of late. The games against the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Mondays loss to the Charlotte Bobcats all had major stretches where this team looked like they acted as if they had already "arrived" and didnt have to do the dirty work anymore and just wanted to win pretty instead of grinding it out and laying it on the line with great effort and passion. I felt bad for coach Dwane Casey in Charlotte. Its a helpless feeling as a coach when you have a team that thinks that they can beat folks with talent and not have to do the work to win. He was scrambling, trying to mix and match combinations and burn timeouts to give wake up calls, yet in the end, a terrific desperate effort came up short. As you can tell, I havent even mentioned Xs and Os once and dont have to or plan to - thats not the issue here, nor is it talent. To sum it up, winning is really, really, really hard to do, but losing is really easy. Youre a 20-20 club. Do you want to be mediocre or average or do you want to accomplish something? Its gut-check time and theres a very simple solution to the problem: Respect your opponent, have top-notch attention to detail, compete with great passion and stay committed to the team concept. You do that and youll be fine. If you dont, there will be changes. The trade deadline is 30 days away. You dont want to get stuck in no mans land. You gave away three games in the past six days to teams that are banged up with slightly inferior talent levels and you have to wonder about the direction you want to take this. I love what general manager Masai Ujiri has done with this whole thing, being patient with the process. Its all on the players now. Its time to produce and, more importantly, learn from this experience and, if you do have success again, dont let these things happen again. You cant stay like this - either cross the line and be a consistently good team with great habits or make changes. The clock is ticking now. 2. HERE THEY COME: Hearing footsteps yet? Im sure youve all noticed that the Atlanta Hawks have gotten the third seed back in its possession and the Brooklyn Nets are now breathing right down the Raptors backs with Deron Williams back in the line-up, as well as a huge game on Monday between the Raptors and Nets in Brooklyn coming up. And dont sleep on the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls, either. Theyre both 20-20 and not going away. The Raptors had a chance to make hay against weak competition and didnt do it. Things get tougher and tougher now. Can they still win the Atlantic? Sure. Can they get the #3 seed? Sure. If, and its a big if, they play the way theyre capable of playing. Excellence is a habit, not an act. This is a nice test coming up and well all find out in the next few weeks what theyre all about. I think they can do it. Its a good group of guys with enough talent that get more than a good share of the coaching and leadership they need to be successful. Theyve now put themselves into a "backs are against the wall" scenario and maybe thats what this team needs and I cant wait to find out. The middle part of the schedule is when the distancing starts to happen. Who will fight and contend and who will fade away and make plans for golf and the beach for mid-April? The Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat already know what their spring plans are, but the rest of the East is in complete flux. It is all starting to take shape now and the competition is on. 3. NICK YOUNG (Lakers): This guy can flat out score. He torched the Raptors on Sunday with some ridiculous shots and then drops 31 against a terrific Bulls defence on Monday. Hes one of those guys that will always have a job because its hard to find guys who can heat up like him and bring you back into a game. His defence and maturity are areas you wonder about sometimes, but he is a talented guy who has some high octane ability. He creates his own shot quite well and shoots it from distance effectively. Hes able to get to the foul line and has good creativity with his ball skills. He seems to wear out his welcome eventually, but while you have him, he gets you the numbers, thats for sure. 4. RICKY RUBIO (Timberwolves): Hes an exceptional defender and a wonderfully entertaining and creative passer and playmaker. With that said, for his game to truly get to the next level, he has to become a guy who is a consistent long range shooting threat in order to open up his impact in the screen and roll game and space the defence out, because youve got to come out and guard him rather than sag off him. Hes a point guard who can make all the plays with amazing vision and reflexes, yet for him to reach that upper tier, he needs to get his shot mechanics in order. He has great work habits, so Im sure hell pay the price. If he gets that together, he can make that next step. 5. JOAKIM NOAH (Bulls): You gotta love this guy. Hes already had three 20 and 15 games this season and had 17 and 21 against the Lakers last night in an OT win. Since the Bulls traded Luol Deng, hes been on a mission and hes playing angry and with amazing energy. Hes a winner in every sense and doesnt get enough credit for this, but hes a really good passer. Hes a smart player who makes the right play next in your offensive sequence. Hes got a bigger piece of the puzzle in the Bulls scheme now with Deng in Cleveland and hes responding. Noah is not a bad guy to bank on. And, by the way, Im happy for former Raptor DJ Augustin. Hes found a home with this Bulls team and playing pretty well. Hes a good guy who has the talent to help you win.Im glad its worked out for him. Anthony Sherman Red Jersey . The 25-year-old Spaniard, who joined United from Chelsea in January, scored twice, including directly from a free kick, to take his tally to three goals in his last two games. "I think he has made us better," United manager David Moyes said. Husain Abdullah Red Jersey .C. -- Colorado goaltender Dillon Ward made 41 saves and John Grant Jr. SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- For two teams that only face each other twice a year, Sacramento and Boston sure played like longtime rivals. Kings centre DeMarcus Cousins and the Celtics Kris Humphries were hit with technical fouls after tussling for a rebound in the first half, part of a game-long battle between the two big men that at times looked more suitable for a rugby field. Sacramentos Carl Landry was called for a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter after sending Jerryd Bayless crashing to the floor to stop a fast break. At least Bayless and Sacramento guard Isaiah Thomas kept their cool, a change from when the two teams met in Boston earlier this month. Thomas scored 21 points and matched his career high with 12 assists, Rudy Gay added eight of his 22 points over the final six minutes and the Kings beat the Celtics 105-98 Saturday night. "We were poised down the stretch and thats really the thing that sealed the game," said Cousins, who had 13 points and seven points after sitting out Wednesdays 101-92 loss to Golden State. "They beat us on the offensive boards a lot, our turnovers hurt us a lot ... but through it all what I think saved the game was the more poised team, and that was us tonight." Not all the time. At one point in the second half, Cousins crashed into Humphries as the two men were running down the court and then gave the Celtics centre a hard shove. "Guys were playing very physical, but thats just how it is sometimes," Thomas said. "The only time it was a little chippy in Boston was me and Bayless. But today it seemed like it was everybody, even the refs. We played through it the best we could." The Celtics, playing without starters Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger, struggled to keep their cool. Bostons frustrations boiled over late in the fourth quarter, when Gerald Wallace and coach Brad Stevens were ejected with 35 seconds left to play. "It was a long game, a lot of possessions and a lot of things happened," Stevens said. "We still had a chance to win." Despite being short-handed, the Celtics managed to keep it close and tied the game at 85-all following Kelly Olynyks free throw with 6:23 remaining. Rudy Gay helped Sacramento pull away. After a free throw from Cousins broke the tie, Gay made a pair of long jumpers, sank a pair of free throws then scoreed on a layup to make it 99-91. Eric Berry Jersey. Jeff Green stopped the run with two free throws, but Thomas made six straight free throws down the stretch to secure the win. "Its a physical game and we cant let people get under our skin and get in the way of what were trying to do," said Sacramento coach Michael Malone, whose team had 18 turnovers. "Well take the win, but we have to get a lot better." Derrick Williams and Carl Landry scored 10 points apiece off the bench for Sacramento. The Kings never trailed and limited the Celtics to one basket over the final 7 1/2 minutes after Boston tied the game midway through the fourth quarter. Green scored 29 on 7-of-25 shooting for the Celtics. Humphries added 19, while Bayless had 16 off the bench. Rondo was resting on the tail end of a back-to-back while Sullinger -- who had 31 points against Sacramento earlier this season -- is experiencing from concussion-like symptoms after getting hit by an elbow from the Los Angeles Lakers Chris Kaman on Friday night. Down to nine players, the Celtics got off to a slow start and couldnt catch up. Sacramento held Boston to 16 points in the first quarter, led by as many as 16 and limited the Celtics to 34 per cent shooting before the break. Sacramento also was short-handed. The Kings announced before the game that Jason Terry will spend the remainder of the season rehabilitating his left knee. The announcement came two days after the Kings got Terry and Reggie Evans from the Brooklyn Nets for guard Marcus Thornton. The Kings led the entire first half and were up 49-33 with 2:28 left following a pair of free throws by Cousins. Green, who missed 10 of his first 13 shots, made a pair of mid-range jumpers and added a 3-pointer to cut the gap to 51-43 by halftime. NOTES: Cousins said his hip is continuing to bother him. "I had to do a couple of exercises on the sideline just to loosen it back up," he said. "It tightened up on me during the game a few times. Its bothering me a lot right now. Just running up the floor was tough." ... Thomas double-double was his sixth of the season. ... Gay scored 20 or more points for the 18th time in 31 games since being traded to Sacramento. ... Boston remained winless on its four-game road trip. ... Green missed his first nine shots from the field but made a career-high 13 free throws. ' ' '
