Kritik und Lob » and were not like an extremely veteran team.

Every few years, a prospect like Andrelton Simmons -- or more recently Francisco Lindor -- arrives in the majors and makes a tremendous defensive impact that validates everything the scouts were saying about them. But sometimes, former backups, non-prospects or other players with lesser expectations surprise everyone with their defensive success. This year provided many great examples of those players, many of whom went from fighting for a job in spring training to near the top of the defensive runs saved leaderboards in late summer. Lets celebrate those breakout defensive players at every position. Milwaukee Bucks Pro Shop . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. Milwaukee Bucks Store . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. https://www.cheapbucksonline.com/ . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Milwaukee Bucks Shirts . PETERSBURG, Fla. Bucks Jerseys China . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night.TORONTO -- Masai Ujiri wants to remake the image of the Toronto Raptors, and with the expected addition of physical power forward Tyler Hansbrough, its easy to see what he has in mind. Its all about toughness. "Im tired of all this, people come here and everybody calls the team soft or call the team pushovers or all the stupid names," Ujiri said Wednesday. "You come to Canada and you come to play. Thats the identity were trying to build here. We are in Canada, and this is our team. Were going to be tough out there." The general managers declaration came the same day the deal became official that sent much-maligned centre Andrea Bargnani -- known for his lackadaisical play -- to the New York Knicks for perimeter shooter Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, 39-year-old centre Marcus Camby and draft picks. "Im very excited to be in Toronto, its the only team that has the entire country behind it," said Novak, who was officially introduced to the Toronto media on Wednesday. The hard-nosed Hansbrough is known for his all-out effort, and toughness around the rim. While Ujiri said the Raptors and Hansbrough had come to an agreement, he wouldnt confirm the deal was completely signed and sealed. "Were hoping, its one of those things in the NBA is youve agreed and you hope," Ujiri said. "Theres no holdup, nothing at all, weve agreed. Its business, until you sign I dont want to talk about it, because you never know." Hansbrough became a unrestricted free agent when the Indiana Pacers opted not to re-sign the 27-year-old after four seasons with the club. The hard-nosed University of North Carolina product was drafted by the Pacers 13th overall in 2009, and averaged seven points and 4.6 rebounds last season. As for Bargnani, Ujiri said the time had come time that the team and big Italian centre parted company. "He allways had spurts where he showed brilliance, where he showed a complete game, but then sometimes he struggled, so it just became a point in time where we decided to move on and start all over again," the GM said.dddddddddddd Novak is also a long-range shooter, and calls himself a "floor-spacer." "I shoot the ball, so I give guys room to work," Novak said. Ujiri called Novak "one of the better shooters in the NBA, and the way the game is played now, you stretch the floor and it opens a little more for the guys we have, the athletic players we have, guys who attack the rim." Novak said hes looking forward to suiting up for a team that he believes has a lot of potential. "You see the team and were not like an extremely veteran team. . . this is up-and-coming, a team with potential," Novak said. "I dont think anybody knows exactly what it is yet but there definitely should be a lot of excitement." Novak, wholl play for the Raptors next at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, said hes also keen to play for coach Dwane Casey -- he knew Casey from the days the coach was an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, and called him "just a smart coach." Camby, meanwhile, has said he doesnt want to play for Toronto, and Ujiri said the Raptors were still weighing their options. "Obviously we dont know what trades might come up in the next few days, a buyout. . . well weigh all those options, and make a decision thats best for the Raptors," Ujiri said. Novak said he cant blame his former Knicks teammate for his decision. "You have to respect a guy who is 39 years old and been through things," Novak said. "Hes a guy who said: Look, its either a championship team in his mind or hes going to hang them up. A guy like that, you cant question the elders in this league." ' ' '