Plauderecke » Hosts of TSN Radio 1050s 1-On-1 With Will & Duane

TSNs Three Man Weave returns for its first run of 2015, with lots of trade talk in Cleveland, Oklahoma City and Memphis. Hosts of TSN Radio 1050s 1-On-1 With Will & Duane, Will Strickland and Duane Watson are joined by ATB News Founder and Editor Don Kingu as they explore the Raptors four-game slide and the Pistons six-game upswing. Can the addition of two new starters and a key reserve right whats going on in Cleveland? Strickland: Not if they dont find chemistry and the secret to playing defence in the NBA. Good chance theres no app for that. Whatever J.R. can offer in his time near Lake Erie will determine his long-term staying power there. Iman Shumpert was the real asset gain and should contribute perimeter defence and young, active legs once hes back from injury. Timofey Mozgov is a serviceable big who can make 15-18 foot jumpers, rebound and offer more resistance at the saucepan than anyone else on the roster. Coach David Blatt now has to show he has the right parts for the job of resurrecting the Cavs season. Kingu: Not completely but itll help address some of their needs, like size on the wing with Smith and Shumpert, who can also help defend the perimeter, more depth and with Varejao out, the addition of Mozgov will help them match up better with the top teams in the East. Watson: If right means get them to the top of the Eastern Conference, no. Cleveland is in panic mode and while the moves can be rationalized, this team has not come together in a way thats been expected. Just as James/Irving/Love have needed time to develop chemistry, the same will be said for the new players. However, J.R. Smith is one untied shoelace away from being JR Smith. The trades also buy head coach David Blatt some time to figure it out and cool off his hot seat some. Whats most alarming about the Raptors four-game losing streak? Strickland: Habits. They are tough to break if you, as a team, have not focused on defensive discipline and defensive integrity, one of the calling cards of this team last season and a necessity to enhance their place within the leagues elite, top tier teams. The increased offensive production has come at a cost and it may be too great to overcome as the season rolls along and the Raps defence remains offensive. Kingu: The defense has gone extinct. In this four-game losing streak, the Raptors are allowing 114ppg on almost 50 per cent FG shooting. Opponents have scored 100+ in 14 of the last 19 games and they allowed 40+ pts in a quarter twice with a whooping 49 points to the Bulls, so the defence is most alarming in my opinion! Watson: I would say the defence, but its been a glaring concern throughout the season. After establishing themselves as a top five offensive unit, the Raptors have simply been outscoring teams, meanwhile their defensive prowess has moved into the bottom third of the league. Its a team-wide issue and needs to be resolved before April or… After winning six games in a row, what got into the Detroit Pistons? Strickland: Detroit vs. everybody and simple math: addition by subtraction. No Josh Smith. No toxic environment. Better team energy, chemistry and floor spacing. Stan Van Gundys building the team in Motown he envisioned with a monster rebounding tandem down low, speedy guards whose dribble penetration on pick and roll offers options of lobs for dunks and wide open threes for their shooters and increased effort and discipline on the defensive end of the floor. See? Simple. Kingu: The disappearance of Josh Smith. With his departure theres more space on the court for Jennings and Monroe to operate and the offence seems to be more fluent now with Smith gone, better shots are being taken by the right players and thats why they won seven of their last eight games. Watson: Josh Smith is the easy answer, but Brandon Jennings could have easily been the player waived. Both had copious spells of poor shot selection, paid fleeting attention to defence and never stepped up as veterans on this ball club. With no one else left to blame, Jennings has embraced Stan Van Gundys philosophy along with his teammates and banded together to show why they were viewed as a team that would make the jump in the pre-season. Who is more likely to turn it around, Waiters in OKC or Smith in Cleveland? Strickland: Despite Waiters success in his first home game in OKC, consider it fools gold. Waiters is insurance for if/when Reggie Jackson decides to leave and test his fortunes as a lead guard on a bad team in the NBA hinterland. Its basically rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, with Dion Waiters and Earl Joseph Smith, Jr. Lets call it a wash. Kingu: Its really a toss up. I like both moves but if I had to choose, Ill give Smith the edge just because I feel hes a better offensive player and with the change of scenery, playing with the best player in the world in LeBron James, that can only change a players approach to the game for the better. Watson: In either situation, youre asking a big if, which is what any team wants when they make deals like this. However, Waiters needed this fresh start more, as he was never going to supplant Irving in Cleveland. The opportunity to provide offence for OKC as the beneficiary of ball movement from Westbrook and Durant gives him the edge. Does Memphis eventual acquisition of Jeff Green from the Celtics bump them to the top of the Western Conference? Strickland: No. Green is a guy who can stretch the floor and is versatile enough to handle the ball occasionally and offer additional rebounding for the Grizzlies, but hes not a game changer. In the long run, his presence will be aesthetic, if nothing else. Kingu: I think so. Since they got rid of Gay, Memphis has been coveting a SF the year they went to the Western Conference Finals. The Grizzlies started the season so well then Gay got shipped and the talk was, What if they never traded Gay? Jeff Green could fill that void on both ends of the floor. Watson: Yes. Memphis was already at the top, but the addition of Green lightens the offensive burden on Conley, Gasol and Randolph, while also opening up the floor as defenders sagged off Tayshaun Prince incessantly. He provides a long, athletic body that can rebound and will fit into the Grizzlies grindhouse system. As a complimentary player that has never excelled at being a number one or two option on a team, hes exactly what this team needs. Follow Will, Duane and Don on Twitter: Will Strickland (@WallStrizzle1), Duane Watson (@duanewatson) and Don Kingu (@atbnews_) Mathew Barzal Jersey . -- The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets will forever be tied together for making the same spectacular misjudgment on budding NBA sensation Jeremy Lin. Brock Nelson Islanders Jersey . - A week after a late-game debacle on defence, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they can finish. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-bryan-trottier-islanders-jersey/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Matt Martin Jersey .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Adam Pelech Islanders Jersey . Therrien would not confirm his lineup for the game, but he did have the same line combinations practicing together for the third straight day which is usually a pretty good indication of what the lineup will be.MONTREAL -- The Montreal Impact has agreed to terms with Argentine attacking midfielder Ignacio Piatti to become a designated player. Piatti, 29, is to join the team in August after playing for Argentine side San Lorenzo de Almagro in the Copa Libertadores. He will be Montreals second DP after striker Marco Di Vaio, who is expected to retire at the end of the season. He replaces midfielder Hernan Bernardello, a DP who left this week to join Cruz Azul in Mexico. "Were excited," said Impact sporting director Nick De Santis, who has been working on landing Piatti for more than a year. "When you go after a player in the prime of his career, who helped his team win a championship and lead them to the semifinals in the Copa Libertadores, for us it exciting.dddddddddddd" DeSantis said it was a long-term deal but declined to reveal Piattis salary or how many years the contract covers. "His strengths are his ability to score important goals, his hunger to score goals, his ability to put defences on their heels, his ability to strike the ball with the right foot or the left," said De Santis. "He gets in a good attacking positions inside the 18-yard box, and hes a two-way player." The five-foot-11 Paitti scored 30 goals in more than 160 Argentine first division matches. He has played for five clubs in Argentina as well as with St-Etienne in France in 2006 and Lecce in Italy from 2010 to 2012. ' ' '