Kritik und Lob » s: 368 Win shares: 21.0 (.057 WS/ga

The Cleveland Indians are in talks to acquire catcher Jonathan Lucroy from the Milwaukee Brewers, according to a source.The Indians lost starting catcher Yan Gomes to a right shoulder injury on Sunday, and rehabbing outfielder Michael Brantley recently suffered a setback.Gomes, 28, was hitting .165 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs when he stumbled running over first base Sunday and suffered a separated shoulder.That left the starting catchers job for the next couple of months in the hands of Roberto Perez, who has just 339 at-bats over three seasons.Brantley had an MRI on Wednesday after developing soreness in his surgically repaired right shoulder while on a rehab assignment with Class AA Akron. He is scheduled for more tests Thursday and the Indians dont expect an update until Friday at the earliest.?Brantley has played in just 11 games this season.Lucroy went into Wednesday with a .305 average, 12 home runs and 45 RBIs for Milwaukee.Sam Mills Panthers Jersey .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. DJ Moore Youth Jersey . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-christian-mccaffrey-panthers-jersey/ . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Curtis Samuel Panthers Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Will Grier Jersey .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday.The NBA has a boatload of attention-grabbing superstars to keep an eye on this season. But for sheer excitement, the player most worth watching this season is Russell Westbrook. No other player can rack up numbers and highlight-reel dunks like he can. A couple of caveats: Yes, Westbrook does have deficiencies. He can be reckless (4.28 turnovers a game last season, second most in the NBA) and overly aggressive (28 offensive fouls, second among all guards). And he is an average defender (42nd percentile in points per play). But that doesnt make him any less fun to watch. Heres why hes a must-see event:He will posterize anyone at any timePart of what makes Westbrook must-see TV? His propensity to roar through a defense for an emphatic dunk. Consider this: Westbrook has nearly as many unassisted dunks in the past five seasons (122) as prolific slashers Dwyane Wade and DeMar DeRozan have combined (131) and more unassisted dunks than the total number of dunks by new teammate Victor Oladipo (116).Most dunks by guards, last five seasonsIn fact, Westbrook is the king of the unassisted dunk. A look at all players with at least 20 dunks in a seasons over the past five seasons shows that Westbrook does it at a higher rate and a higher volume than just about anybody (check out the blue dots below). And his numbers from last season (in which 57 percent of his dunks were unassisted) make him even more of an outlier.Unassisted dunks by all players, last five seasonsDots represent all players single-season totals from 2011-12 through 2015-16, minimum 20 total dunks madeHes a monster in transitionWith the ball in his hands, Westbrook is always looking to create chaos -- and he does it well. Last season, no player had the ball in his hands in transition more often, and nobody produced more points, per Synergy Sports Tech. Westbrooks totals: 374 times as a ball handler in transition, 398 points produced (1.064 points per play). Only a handful of players came remotely close to his numbers: James Harden, John Wall, Isaiah Thomas, Stephen Curry and LeBron James.All players in transition, 2015-16He is remarkably athleticHis speed, power and toughness are widely recognized, as evidenced by the NBAs newest general manager survey released last week. In a league full of eye-popping athleticism, Westbrook is the only player to receive GM votes in all three categories:From 2016 NBA GM SurveyHe will be fine without DurantWestbrook was second on the Thunder last season with 18.1 field goal attempts per game. Oklahoma Citys No. 1 option, Durant, is gone. But Westbrook has done this before, during the 2014-15 season in particular, and hes more than capable of carrying the offense and, yes, playing efficiently. Below are Westbrooks career numbers with Durant (527 games) and without him (61 games). In most instances, his numbers are improved without Durant -- even in categories like turnover rate and defensive rating.Westbrook in games without Durant vs. with himAnd another reason Westbrook wiill be fine: The Thunder have now built a roster specifically to survive the loss of Durant.dddddddddddd True, Oklahoma City might not be as loaded as the Warriors or Cavaliers, but OKCs core is all under 30 and on the rise. Below is a look at projected stats for Westbrooks supporting cast:Projected 2016-17 statsImprovement from 2015-16 in blue, age in parenthesesAll projections from ESPN.com, except Roberson (Basketball-Reference.com)Hes become a triple-double machineWestbrook racked up a league-best 18 triple-doubles last season, tying Magic Johnson for the most in a season since 1967-68. Could that total increase even more this season? Its entirely possible. The Thunder offense will continue to be fast-paced, so theres no reason to think his passing stats will diminish. And as Kevin Pelton points out in his Thunder season preview, Westbrook grabbed a career-high 18.1 percent of available defensive rebounds last season, nearly as much as the average for a power forward (19.2 percent). Below, a look at his totals since entering the league -- notice the recent spike:Triple-doubles by seasonIts his franchise nowThe Thunder franchise has had the remarkable good fortune to draft Durant, Westbrook and Harden in the past decade -- three Hall of Fame-caliber talents. But now that Westbrook is the only remaining superstar on the roster, he is on track to eventually lead the team in total win shares in the OKC era.The top five win share totals in Thunder history (2008-09 to present):1 | Kevin Durant2009-16 Small Forward Games: 561 Win shares: 105.6 (.188 WS/game)2 | Russell Westbrook2009-16 Point Guard Games: 587 Win shares: 67.0 (.114 WS/game)3 | Serge Ibaka2010-16 Center Games: 524 Win shares: 47.6 (.091 WS/game)4 | Nick Collison2009-16 Power Forward Games: 567 Win shares: 28.6 (.050 WS/game)5-t | James Harden2010-12 Shooting Guard Games: 220 Win shares: 21.0 (.095 WS/game)5-t | Thabo Sefolosha2009-14 Shooting Guard Games: 368 Win shares: 21.0 (.057 WS/game)It seems likely that Westbrook will eclipse Durant as long as he sticks around. He has averaged 9.4 win shares per 82 games in his career. At that pace and playing full seasons, Westbrook would surpass KD during the 2021-22 season, when hell be 33.He could join an exclusive clubProjections have Westbrook averaging more than 25 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals this season. How impressive is that? Very, and historically rare. Only once in league history has a player averaged 25/8/8/2 in a season: Michael Jordan in 1988-89 (though keep in mind that steals werent officially tracked until the 1973-74 season). A look at Jordans numbers, along with a composite of Westbrooks projected stats:* Westbrook numbers are averages of his ESPN.com and Basketball-Reference.com projections.Statistics courtesy of Synergy Sports Tech, NBA.com, Basketball-Reference.com, StatMuse and NBA Miner. ' ' '