g yards; 1 TDCase for Elliott: Theres no one on this list whose individual success is so completely inter | Forum
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Mär 4 '19
MINNEAPOLIS -- After the latest loss in a season that has been full of them for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns sat at his locker with his face buried in his hands. Freddy Galvis Jersey .For at least the third time this season, the 21-year-old NBA sophomore put the entire blame on himself and his perceived inability to lead a young and promising roster out of the abyss.The more losses we keep accumulating, the more it feels like its my fault, Towns said after the massively disappointing Wolves fell to 5-12 with a 112-103 home loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Ive got to look myself in the mirror and Ive got to play better. Ive got to play a level where we cant lose and help my teammates out the best I can. I didnt do that tonight. I havent done it recently.That kind of accountability can be admirable on its face. It shows that Towns is invested in turning one of the leagues perennial losers into a playoff team for the first time in 13 years. But that pressure can also be crushing, and the team that many observers pegged for a breakout season after adding coach Tom Thibodeau last summer appears to be playing with a weight on its shoulders that has been too heavy to carry as the season nears the quarter pole.With Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio and Kris Dunn, the Timberwolves have one of the most athletic and exciting young rosters in the league. But the enthusiasm and ebullience that so often comes with youth is nowhere to be found on the faces of these Wolves during games. They play with a joylessness that belies their billing as the leagues Next Big Thing, as if 12 years of failure that this core has had little to do with is serving as cement around their shoes.They went into the locker room at halftime on Monday night down just five points. By the looks on their faces and the slumps in their shoulders, one would have thought the deficit was 20.Towns -- the reigning rookie of the year -- is right in one respect. He has struggled mightily on the defensive end after showing so much potential there as a rookie. He must play better and give more consistent effort in that area if the Wolves are going to pull themselves out of the doldrums they reside in at the moment.All these losses fall on my shoulders, Towns said. None of the coaching staff. None of my teammates. This is my fault. I dont think its anyones fault but myself. Its something Ive got to fix. Ive got to change for the better for us. I guess its back to the drawing board tomorrow.Clearly, the responsibility lies more than just with Towns. Their point guard play has been subpar, their bench almost nonexistent and Thibodeau has not yet parlayed his mastery of strategy and Xs and Os into a workable formula for this particular group.He seethed in his postgame remarks after the Jazz loss, calling the second and fourth quarters a disaster and vowing to get to the bottom of the issues that plague them.Its very concerning from the standpoint of you want to be making progress, Thibodeau said. Thats the important thing. Every day make progress, make progress. We didnt make progress today. Thats something that has to be corrected.Players collectively appear to be at a loss.The messages are getting through, but theres a difference between saying something and actually doing it, Wiggins said.Three starters are 21 and the only true veteran playing significant minutes is Rubio, who missed time earlier in the season with a sprained elbow and has not played in three straight fourth quarters. Brandon Rush and Cole Aldrich, the two veterans the Wolves signed in the summer to buttress the young core, are playing scant minutes. That has forced the youngsters to have to grow up even faster from a leadership perspective, which may be an even bigger challenge than rising up against Rudy Gobert at the rim.Its something I know I can carry, Towns said. I never said it was going to be easy. But its something I know I can deal with.It all adds up to a player, and a team, that is too tight. The competitive fire that drives so many of them right now threatens to burn down their own house and has led, Towns said, to many a sleepless night as they search for answers.Its been long, long nights, Towns said. Again, its going to be one of those nights, I guess. Youre just trying to find ways to win.---Follow Jon Krawczynski on Twitter: http://twitter.com/APKrawczynski Rollie Fingers Jersey . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Cory Spangenberg Jersey . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. http://www.padresrookiestore.com/Padres-Allen-Craig-Kids-Jersey/ .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. If you arrived on Earth in a spaceship in Week 14 and knew nothing about what happened in the first 13 weeks of the NFL season, youd think the MVP race was a no-brainer.The future Hall of Famer who took apart the leagues No. 1 defense on Monday night looked like the clear choice, whereas the guy who led our poll each of the past two weeks played his worst game of the year at the worst possible time while the rookies who have been driving the leagues hottest team looked mortal.So theres a change atop our weekly MVP poll with three weeks to go, with a familiar name taking over the lead.Methodology: Each of our 13 panelists nominated their top five candidates.?First-place votes were worth five points, second-place votes worth four, third-place?votes worth three, fourth-place votes worth two and fifth-place votes worth one.Previous polls: Week 14 | Week 131. Tom Brady,?QB | New England Patriots?Regular-season passing:?233-for-340 (68.5 percent); 2,876 yards; 22 TDs; 2 INTs; 82.4 Total QBRCase for Brady:?Hes 8-1 since returning from suspension. Hes playing without Rob Gronkowski. Hes the best player at the most important position on the best team. And if you doubted that, he threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns against the Ravens on Monday night and rescued a game New Englands special teams almost gave away.Case against Brady:?Same as it ever was. If youve played only 69 percent as many games as the other candidates for the same award, your case has to be better than theirs by leaps and bounds. Brady was of no value whatsoever to the Patriots in their first four games, and there are too many other good candidates this season to give it to someone who missed so much time.2. Derek Carr,?QB?| Oakland Raiders?Regular-season passing:?317-for-499 (63.5 percent); 3,492 yards; 24 TDs; 5 INTs; 60.7 Total QBRCase for Carr:?He is the quarterback on a 10-3 team and has delivered that team to most of those wins with a fourth-quarter stat line thats as strong as any other quarterbacks in the league. Carr has been at his best in the biggest moments for one of the leagues best teams.Case against Carr:?His miserable performance in Thursdays loss to the Chiefs could be disqualifying. If you end up losing the division to another team, and you went 0-2 against them while going 17-of-41 passing for 117 yards in the second one, its tough to claim this award. Carrs case is based on the ephhemeral concept of clutch, and that was damaged in his most recent game. Christian Villanueva Jersey. 3. Matthew Stafford, QB?| Detroit Lions?Regular-season passing:?312-for-468 (66.7 percent); 3,447 yards; 22 TDs; 7 INTs; 71.2 Total QBRCase for Stafford:?Why is this years Lions roster better than last years? Stafford is operating in a post-Calvin Johnson universe with no running game and basically the same defense he had last year to pair with a young offensive line. The Lions come back to win every week because of how well Stafford is executing the offense, especially in the most important moments.Case against Stafford:?The Lions sometimes find themselves needing to come back in the fourth quarter because of a Stafford mistake. Sure, he was great on the game-winning touchdown drive Sunday, but they needed one only because he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to end the previous drive.4. Ezekiel Elliott,?RB?| Dallas Cowboys?Regular-season rushing:?287 carries; 1,392 rush yards; 12 TDs Regular-season receiving:?28 receptions; 322 receiving yards; 1 TDCase for Elliott: Theres no one on this list whose individual success is so completely intertwined with his teams success. The Cowboys have to run the ball to win, and Elliott leads the league in rushing by more than 250
