Duane Brown's future a year ago at training camp was filled with uncertainty during a holdout. Ever since his trade to Seattle in the middle
of last season
Nate Solder Jersey Elite , he's been "at peace" with whatever was going to take place.
"Last year at this time I was very anxious and uncertain," Brown said Sunday, a day after signing a three-year contract extension with the Seahawks. "This
whole year I've been at peace. I wasn't worried about anything when I showed up
for workouts or OTAs. I wasn't worried about what was going on behind the scenes
and just controlling what I could control."
The extension means the big left tackle will likely be protecting Russell Wilson's blindside for the rest of Brown's career. He'll turn 33 next month and
has spoken repeatedly of wanting Seattle to be the final stop of his career.
Brown's current deal was set to expire after this season, part of the reason he was a holdout from the Houston Texans until Week 8 of last season before
being traded to Seattle. Brown said it became clear soon after arriving in
Seattle the intensions were to make sure this was his last stop. Those
indications were part of why Brown was committed to being part of Seattle's
offseason program.
"They communicated that early on and there was no doubt in any of our minds that we would get it done," Brown said. "I wanted to show my commitment to the
team and our future by being here. Coming here halfway through the season you
want to be here during the offseason, for me, to learn the team more, to have my
impact in the locker room, my leadership skills and it was great to do
that."
Brown was the first to get an extension among a number of key contributors whose contracts expire after the 2018 season. That group includes linebacker
K.J. Wright, defensive end Frank Clark and, most notably, holdout safety Earl
Thomas. There have been no signs of a softening between Thomas and the Seahawks
as the former All-Pro has sought either a new deal in Seattle or a trade from
the Seahawks.
NOTES: Seattle signed WR Marvin Bracy on Sunday. Bracy represented the United States in the 100 meters at the 2016 Rio Olympics and is a three-time U.S.
indoor champion in the 60 meters. Bracy returned to football last year signing
with Indianapolis during training camp but was released before the season.
LeBron James saved a game. Russell Westbrook and Paul George saved a season.
And now, Game 6 awaits them all.
A trio of possible series-ending games are on Friday night’s NBA playoff schedule: Cleveland at Indiana, Toronto at Washington and Oklahoma City at Utah.
For the Cavaliers and Raptors
Jarvis Landry Jersey , the scenario is they advance with a road win or head back home for Game 7 on Sunday. The Thunder don’t have such a safety net;
they must win in Salt Lake City, or it’ll be the Jazz going to the second
round.
James went from goaltending to game-winning in a matter of seconds in Game 5 on Wednesday night, his straightaway 3-pointer at the buzzer giving Cleveland a
three-point win and a 3-2 series lead. Westbrook and George looked well on their
way to summer vacation in their Game 5 matchup with the Jazz , before they
combined for 54 points in a 61-28 Oklahoma City run that rallied the Thunder
from a 25-point second-half deficit.
The stars carried the Cavs and Thunder.
The Raptors, they have a 3-2 lead thanks to a more unsung hero. Delon Wright was fantastic for Toronto in the fourth quarter of Game 5 against Washington ,
and the Raptors held serve by beating the Wizards to reclaim the lead in their
series.
What James did was stunning in Game 5, and his final half-minute was memorable to say the least. He went from potential goat (turning the ball over,
which the NBA said was a bad call) to hero (blocking Victor Oladipo’s layup,
which the NBA later said was also a bad call and should have been goaltending)
to hero by hitting the game-winner.
”He’s the best player in the world,” Cleveland’s Kyle Korver said. ”He’s on our team, he’s going to give us a chance every single night. We all have to do
our part but he is that good.”
Oklahoma City was finished, done, ousted – except no one told Westbrook and George. Those players alone shot 20 for 35 (and 6 for 9 from 3-point range) in
the final 20 minutes of Game 5 against Utah, while the Jazz shot 11 for
36
Seahawks Cheap Jerseys , 1 for 16 from 3-point range. So a 25-point hole in the third quarter ended up as a
eight-point win, and now Utah will inevitably feel pressure in Game 6.
In Toronto, Wright scored 11 points in the fourth as the Raptors pulled away.
Some other things to know going into Friday’s Game 6 matchups:
RAPTORS AT WIZARDS
Toronto leads 3-2. Game 6, 7 p.m. EDT, NBATV.
NEED TO KNOW: The Wizards have been so much better at home than on the road, winning eight consecutive playoff games in Washington, so pushing this to a Game
7 is not out of the question. But another fourth-quarter collapse like in Game
5, when coach Scott Brooks’ team gave away a lead and went more than 3 minutes
without a point, could spell the end of what would amount to a disappointing
season for the No. 8 seed Wizards. ”We’re having trouble closing out games in
Toronto,” Brooks said Thursday at the Wizards’ arena. ”We’ve done a pretty good
job of closing out games here.”
KEEP AN EYE ON: DeMar DeRozan. He has been the unquestioned star of this matchup for No. 1 seed Toronto, putting up 28.8 points and 5.0 assists, with
three games of at least 30 points apiece.
PRESSURE IS ON: Washington’s trio of max-contract players. While PG John Wall has been mostly terrific all series, averaging 26.6 points, 12.2 assists and 5.8
rebounds
Falcons Calvin Ridley Jersey , his minutes (38.8) might be catching up to him. He faded late in Game 5, as did SG Bradley Beal, who was great in Games 3
and 4 at home, less so on the road. The biggest issue for the Wizards is a lack
of production from their third-best player, SF Otto Porter Jr., who is scoring
only 10 points per game and has made five 3s all series. As a whole, the Wizards
need to be better from beyond the arc than in Game 5, when they went 5 for 26, 1
for 10 in the fourth quarter.
INJURY UPDATE: Porter sat out the last regular-season game with a strained right calf and his playoff problems could be connected to that. … The leader of
Toronto’s second unit, PG Fred VanVleet, has played a grand total of three
minutes in the series because of a hurting right shoulder.
CAVALIERS AT PACERS
Cleveland leads 3-2. Game 6, 8 p.m., ESPN.
NEED TO KNOW: When James gets a chance to land a knockout blow, he delivers. The last 11 times a James team has gotten to 3-whatever in a series
Authentic Evgeny Kuznetsov Jersey , it has closed out the matchup in its very first opportunity. That’s not a great sign for the Pacers.
KEEP AN EYE ON: How Indiana responds. It’s very simple – after the NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report on Thursday for Game 5, the Pacers can very easily get lost in
how Oladipo’s layup should have counted. Would James have gone for a 3-pointer
if the Cavs were down by two in that situation? The Pacers need to regain focus
and not worry about what’s already done, since calls were missed both ways in
that game.
PRESSURE IS ON: Oladipo. He’s had a great year, and will likely be the league’s Most Improved Player. And he’s had a strong first five games, as well.
But if he’s going to be thought of as someone who’s gotten to that next level,
staring James down and fending him off in an elimination game would probably
help his cause.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Pacers are 27-2 this season when holding opponents under 98 points, and 2-0 in this series when that happens.
THUNDER AT JAZZ
Jazz lead 3-2. Game 6, 10:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN.
NEED TO KNOW: Westbrook finally broke out in Game 5 and took over. Oklahoma City got Utah post players Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors in foul trouble,
allowing Westbrook to play his normal aggressive style. Westbrook scored 33 of
his 45 p.
