sxx123: tary leader, and Westbrooks nightly comm

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MIAMI -- Miami Dolphins rookie cornerback Xavien Howard underwent knee surgery to repair his meniscus and is expected to be sidelined several weeks. China Hawks Jerseys .Howard, a second-round pick, missed the first three-plus weeks of training camp recovering from arthroscopic surgery on the same knee. The latest injury occurred in practice Tuesday when he got tangled up with receiver Kenny Stills.Its tough when you just went through this, and now you have to go through it again, coach Adam Gase said. It becomes part mental and physical at this point. Hes a really good young player, and he has brought a lot to our defense.Howard will be replaced in the starting lineup Sunday against Tennessee by Byron Maxwell, who was benched last week for poor play.Cornerback Chris Culliver, recovering from a serious knee injury last Thanksgiving, is on the physically unable to perform list and is expected to begin practicing in Week 7.We have that window to keep evaluating when we can get him on the field, Gase said. When that time comes, then obviously hell be in the conversation very fast.Ruled out against the Titans along with Howard were linebacker Koa Misi (neck) and tight end Jordan Cameron (concussion). Running back Arian Foster (hamstring) is doubtful.Center Mike Pouncey is expected to play. He missed the first four games with a hip injury and returned to practice this week.Left tackle Branden Albert, who has been slowed this week by a virus, is listed as questionable.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and twitter.com/AP-NFL Spud Webb Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Kent Bazemore Jersey . "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. www.cheaphawksjerseys.us/?tag=dennis-schroder-jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. It was a January game last season, and the Oklahoma City Thunder led the Miami Heat by 23 points midway through the fourth quarter. Russell Westbrook, positioned where many superstar players would be near the end of blowout, was sitting on the bench.There was one problem: Westbrook was three rebounds short of a triple-double.To many watchers surprise, Westbrook popped up and walked over to check back in. He quickly grabbed his three boards, and with the Thunder up 22, they took a timeout and Westbrook sat back down, a 24th career triple-double in hand.In was obvious what had happened, and it wasnt the first time Westbrook had apparently worked for the statistical trinity. A year before, he was on a triple-double roll, but went to the bench with two minutes left in the game, one rebound shy of a triple-double.Tip? he said. Tip?From the bench, he was lobbying the official scorekeeper for an offensive rebound, and after reviewing a replay during a timeout, the scorekeeper obliged, giving him the triple-double before the buzzer sounded. Westbrook denied politicking for it after the game.This season, Westbrook is recording triple-doubles at a historic pace, notching 11 such feats in 22 games, maintaining a current streak of six, and averaging 31 points, 10.9 rebounds and 11.3 assists per game.No politicking or late-game stat-stuffing needed.As is usually the case when anything fun or cool starts happening, skeptics emerge, ready to rain on the history parade. For some, whether its by comparisons or discounting the validity of the numbers, Westbrooks near-nightly showcase inspires more questions than admiration.Is he stat-padding? Chasing rebounds? Hunting assists?Westbrook cares about winning first and foremost, but theres no doubt he pays attention to the triple-doubles. Why wouldnt he? Its an impressive achievement, and one to be proud of. Ricky Davis and Andray Blatche embarrassed themselves just trying to notch one. Westbrook racks them up at will, piling up the stats almost like he cant help it.When he does, the Thunder win. In Westbrooks 48 career triple-doubles, the Thunder are 42-6. In his 11 this season, theyre 9-2. The two losses were a two-point loss to the Orlando Magic on a buzzer-beater and an overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers.Theres also this: Via Nylon Calculus, theres evidence to suggest the Thunders best offense comes from a Westbrook defensive rebound.When Westbrook hauls in a rebound, the Thunders pace cranks up, and the team shoots a higher effective field goal percentage (55.3 percent) than when he doesnt grab the board (50.3). One of the Thunders primary struggles this season is in the half court, but they remain lethal in transition. The Thunders best path to transition is getting the ball in Westbrooks hands as quickly as possible.So Westbrook just cuts out the middle man, sometimes at the expense of his big men. But theyre in on the take.Against the Hawks on Monday, Westbrook undercut Steven Adams for a rebound, with Adams literally pulling his hands back as Westbrook snared it.No one cares. Wed rather it be him [getting the rebound], Adams said. I like it because I can actually box out my dude. Its good that he actually gets to come in and take it. I dont mind it.Both Adams and Enes Kanter have joked about needing to box out Westbrook because hess taking their rebounds. Mike Bibby Jersey. Those are big man stats, and Westbrook, a 6-foot-3 point guard, currently resides first on the team in boards, and ninth overall in the league. The Thunder bigs jab Westbrook about taking their rebounds in the film room, recently noting one where he ripped the ball right out of Joffrey Lauvergnes hands.As long as our team gets a rebound, it doesnt matter, Adams said. Theres just some funny ones that we kind of mock him about.Westbrook rebounding isnt some new development, though. Last season, he was only 2.2 rebounds per game away from averaging a triple-double. He has always ranked among the best in the league from the guard position, but this season, he has taken a statistical leap.What makes him a great rebounder, Billy Donovan said, besides the strength and athleticism, he is great at following the flight of the ball. He understands where its going to go and he gets his speed and quickness and athleticism off the floor and into the game because he knows where the ball is going to go.Westbrooks instincts are particularly spectacular. Like this play and this play. He flows to the rebound, and the Thunder are instantly on the attack.It makes everything faster, Andre Roberson said of Westbrook rebounding.Then theres the fact, as Donovan points out, that opposing guards dont try to rebound against the Thunder much because they fear Westbrook in transition. So that gives him free rein to attack the glass.If that was becoming a trend where guards were offensive rebounding against us, wed pay more attention to that, Donovan said. I think because of the player he is in transition, more teams are sending back three [players].Theres concern about Westbrooks ability to sustain this level of play throughout the season. Hes running a monopoly on the Thunders offense, on pace for the all-time high in usage rate (40.2 percent) while also leading the league in assist rate (54.5).Its an astonishing offensive responsibility, on top of everything else. But Donovan is unconcerned. The Westbrook way since his rookie year is to play every game, regardless of opponent, at the highest level of energy possible.I dont see him playing any differently than the way he played last year, Donovan said. Except hes better.Then theres this: Westbrooks season is a welcome respite and distraction from the events of the summer that saw the franchise turned upside down with the departure of Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors. The Thunder arent as good as they were, but Westbrook is still providing every reason to watch. Theyre as must-see as theyve ever been.Westbrooks individual achievement has spilled over to team success, with his teammates feeding off the triple-double run. It has given the Thunder an identity as they rally around their new solitary leader, and Westbrooks nightly commitment is showcased by the numbers he puts up.You want to always appreciate it and not take it for granted, Nick Collison said. It is pretty special. And it would be different if he was out hunting these statistics. Guys can do that. Theres a lot of guys that do that. But hes really not. Hes really just playing the game. And thats whats best about it. China Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys From China China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '