On this weeks Three Man Weave, Will Strickland and Duane Watson of TSN 1050s 1 On 1 With Will and Duane draft, #1On1 occasional guest co-host and Canadas first female pro sports play by play announcer in Canada - Brampton As mic boss Meghan McPeak. Jordan 4 Sale Cheap . With the conference finals set and the coaching carousel spinning, they Weave To Achieve on Steve Kerr, the threat of Donald Sterling in 2014-2015 and the NBAs Final Four. With Steve Kerr accepting the job to coach Golden State, who does Phil Jackson hire in New York? Watson: While all roads lead to the man in the mirror, I think the Zen Master will look towards a pupil who understands the triangle offense and one that he can also puppeteer from afar. Not that hes not his own man, but Derek Fisher is a name that sounds like a fit. Its not like Kerr was coming to the Knicks with coaching experience, so clearly thats not an issue. My dark horse pick is Mark Jackson making a return to New York, with something to prove. McPeak: I think Phil is definitely going to go for someone who he coached as a player, or was part of his coaching staff while he was in Los Angeles. Derek Fisher, Tyronn Lue and Kurt Rambis have been some of the names thrown around since Kerr signed with Golden State. The tough job will be getting someone who is willing to deal with the front office meddling that we have seen and with the personality of Knicks owner James Dolan, who said Phil was going to have complete control but then reportedly said he didnt think Kerr was "the right fit". Rambis would be the best fit because he has experience coaching and has coached alongside Jackson in The Triangle offence. If you go away from the triangle offence and just allow the coach to implement their style, I wouldnt be surprised if Lionel Hollins name was in the mix also, because he has experience both as a head coach and assistant. But I have a feeling and wont be surprised if in the end, the Zen Master himself ends up on the sideline again. Strickland: After Kerr spurned the cold of Gotham, the short money and coaching term of James Dolans offer, because yes, it is he and not Phil Jackson who signs the check, the Zen Master is in quite the conundrum. The natural fit, aesthetically at least, would be former NBA Rookie of The Year, native New Yorker and former Knickerbocker himself, the displaced Mark Jackson. But coming out of a meddlesome and distasteful ownership situation in Golden State and into one of the worst in The Association wont bring him home. OKC Thunder ageless backup PG Derek Fisher won five rings with Phil and knows The Triangle, which Jackson wants to run in New York. Fisher would be a decent fit despite lacking coaching experience and what seems to be an overwhelming desire to be more a front office guy than bench boss. Congrats to Kurt Rambis, new patsy... ahem… head coach of the New York Knicks! After Being Ousted From The Playoffs, Whats Next For The L.A. Clippers? Watson: Aside from the Donald Sterling drama, this team needs to retool. Not necessarily blow it all up, but the Clippers have witnessed the growth of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin this season, in addition to the likes of veterans J.J Reddick, Danny Granger, Hedo Turkoglu and Glenn Davis and it still wasnt enough. "The best point guard in the game" cant get them over the hump and without a conference finals appearance to speak of, its clearly not enough. Doc Rivers has a busy summer in front of him. McPeak: Honestly, its hard to say for certain. The Clippers have been through a lot within a short period of time with the Donald Sterling saga. They should take some time for themselves to think about what they want to do about next season. We already know that Sterling is going to try and drag this out as long as possible. Does that mean that the players and coaching staff opt out and take Commissioner Silver on his word and try to work something out to play elsewhere? Do we see them stay together and try to piggy back off this season, take the momentum into next season for another run? If the league does everything within its legal powers regarding Sterling and its then left to the judicial system, maybe we will see the Clippers make another run at the Larry OBrien trophy. Strickland: Adam Silver and the other 29 owners of the NBA are either dragging their collective feet or bracing for years of litigation while exercising what may be necessary due diligence to get this Donald Sterling thing right. Whatever the case, time may not be in their side or the Clippers. It could get ugly quick. With the Draft and impending free agency coming in the next six-plus weeks, the face of Clipper franchise cant have Donald Sterling stains on it or the results could be cataclysmic not only for LA but the entire NBA. Eastern Conference Finals: Pacers-Heat - Who Wins and Why? Watson: No easier question has been asked since the inception of the Three Man Weave. This is far from the same Pacers team that played in the NBA Playoffs last year. The Pacers cant get it together, even struggling against the Wizards. Miami is in fine playoff form and ready for a fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. Heat in five. McPeak: Pacers. Yes they have been very inconsistent. Yes they plummeted the last eight weeks of the regular season. Yes there was a national manhunt for Roy Hibbert until Game 7 of the Hawks series. But they managed to play through all of that to get what they wanted all along: a repeat matchup with the Heat and another shot at the NBA Finals. Indy has the ability to hit the reset button and play the way many expected them to play all playoffs. They can rise to the occasion and go chest to chest with the two-time defending champs. But to do that, the Pacers need Roy Hibbert to be ROY HIBBERT. He cant shy away. Big Roy needs to dominate the paint the way he did in the first four months of the season. Lance Stephenson, when he isnt making bonehead plays, is a great facilitator. If he can get the ball to the right people in the right places at the right time, Stephenson can also be big for the Pacers. At the end of the day, the Pacers just need to give the effort many expect from them. Strickland: Heat in six. The Pacers are just too emotionally fragile to believe they can beat the Heat four times in a seven game series. On paper and in reviewing last years Eastern Conference Finals, sure, Indy has a shot. Thats it - a shot. Paul Georges uneven playoff performances vs lesser competition in Atlanta and Washington, as well as rumours of infighting, dysfunction and The Invisible Man Act of Roy Hibbert have hurt this team. Miami has championship pedigree, has taken care of their business with relative efficiency... and they still have the biggest x-factor in the game: LeBron Raymone James. Western Conference Finals: Spurs-Thunder - Who Wins and Why? Watson: This series goes seven games, although Im not quite sure for who. The balance and steadiness of the Spurs is a definite advantage, however the energy and drive of the Thunder is too compelling for me. KD, the MVP is playing like one and Westbrook is competing at just as high of a level. If Parker is slowed with this hamstring injury it makes him mortal and puts a little more work on the Coach of the Year. The Thunder have continually found ways to win and I dont think its going to stop in the Western Conference Finals. McPeak: Spurs. As good as the Thunder are, I dont think they can win long term with Westbrook playing with a score-first mentality. When he takes more shots than Durant, OKC struggles to win. When you break down what the Thunder do offensively, they dont actually run anything. When the play completely breaks down and becomes stagnant, the Thunder dont look good. Serge Ibaka suffered a calf injury and is questionable to play. The Thunder need him because he can extend the defence and knock down the long two and occasional three-pointer. Tony Parker is dealing with the hamstring injury so it will be interesting to see how he comes out, however the Spurs have played and won without him this season. San Antonio has things rolling so well in the way they execute on both ends that it will be tough for the Thunder to get four wins. Strickland: The Spurs lost all four games in the regular season to the Thunder... and it means absolutely nothing right now. With news that OKC starting PF and third-leading scorer Serge Ibaka will be out for the remainder of the playoffs, that sweep means even less. MVP Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will have to summon four of their greatest games of the season, along with help by committee from their entire roster. It probably wont matter as the Spurs are peaking at the right time, in relative good health and solid from Man one to Man 12 on their roster. Spurs in six. Watching the first round of the NBA Playoffs, did you think the #1 and #2 seeds from each conference would be playing in their respective conference finals? Watson: The first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs was easily the best ever witnessed. While I had little doubt the Heat would be here, the Pacers and Spurs both provided scares. Ultimately, this is how it was set out to be and there have been challenges along the way for all top seeds, which makes this upcoming showdown all the more compelling. Good job Adam Silver! McPeak: Spurs, Thunder and Heat were expected. The Pacers I did not expect to be in the Eastern Conference Final based on how they finished the regular season, and the first two rounds of the playoffs. Indy was just flat out bad and were lucky to get past the Hawks and Wizards, eventually resembling something more like the Pacers we saw start the season so well. Strickland: Indeed. Despite all the hand wringing, wishing and praying in Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta and Washington, the NBA Playoffs are not a live version of Hoosiers or March Madness. The cream more often than not rises to the top over a seven game series and this dictum rings true here with these four teams, the last standing in the quest for the 2013-2014 Lawrence OBrien Trophy. Good luck to them all! The Three-Man Weave contributors are co-hosts of TSN Radio 1050s 1-on-1 with Will and Duane , Will Strickland (@WallStrizzle1) and Duane Watson (@byDuaneWatson) and guest point goddess Meghan McPeak (@meghanmcpeak). Cheap Jordan 4 Retro . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide. Authentic Air Jordan 4 Cheap .Y. -- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff had an opportunity to experience an entire range of emotions in his first trip back to Buffalo to face his former team. http://www.cheapairjordan4.com/ . -- The Green Bay Packers have signed quarterback Graham Harrell to the active roster from the practice squad and placed tight end Andrew Quarless on injured reserve.WASHINGTON D.C. – The hole was three goals deep after just eight minutes and 44 seconds. And it would ultimately prove too daunting for the Maple Leafs to overcome in the U.S. capital. Doomed by the drudge of a sleepy start they fell in regulation Sunday afternoon for just the fifth time in the past 23 games (15-5-4), their comeback attempts sullied a 4-2 loss to the feisty Washington Capitals. Coming off a successful swing through the California triangle – they won twice – Toronto mustered just two shots in a stunted opening 20 minutes back east, down 3-0 before the frame was even halfway over. Washington scored twice on its first two power-play attempts, adding another from Jason Chimera at even-strength. “It looked like we were still in for our afternoon nap,” mused head coach Randy Carlyle of the period with some frustration afterward. “We werent good enough in the first 10 minutes,” added James Reimer, appearing in his third straight game. “You cant spot a team three goals. We just werent sharp, myself included, and it cost us. I thought we dominated the second and the third was anyones game, we just couldnt quite climb out of the three-goal hole.” The Leafs did dominate the middle period with the same emphasis as the Capitals did the first. They outshot the home-side 10-1 in the opening 11 minutes and 20-6 overall. But with three power-play opportunities and a slew of chances to score they could only get one by Jaroslav Halak, the eighth this season from Dion Phaneuf. David Clarkson had maybe the best opportunity to even the proceedings at three. Stuck with just one goal in the past 21 games and only four this season, the 29-year-old thought hed beaten Halak only to see the puck trickle off the goaltender and out. “Thats been the story this year,” Clarkson said. “I think even if I didnt celebrate it was still laying there for me to poke in.” Never coming closer he and the Leafs fell for the second time on a season-long road trip that wraps up Tuesday in Detroit against the hurting Red Wings. The momentum of emphatic wins in Anaheim and L.A. failed to carry over on the road back east. Knowing that first place in the Atlantic division is lost – Boston is up 15 points – Toronto has set its sights now on securing second spot and home-ice advantage in the first round. With 13 games to go they have 80 points, one up on Tampa and Montreal, who each carry games in hand. “If we wouldve won this one we wouldve been in a great spot,” said Carl Gunnarsson of the road trip at large. “Weve got a big one coming up here in Detroit to make it a good one.” Five Points 1. First Periods A nemesis on Sunday afternoon and all season for that matter, first periods have been a regular sore spot for the Leafs. Washington scored three unanswered in the opening frame on this day. Troy Bodie added a late goal to cut the deficit to two, just the second of two shots in the period for Toronto. Utterly displeased with his teams performance, Carlyle gathered the entire team for a chat during the second TV timeout. “It was more or less just get going,” Bodie said of Carlyles message. “We didnt have our feet going. We werent ready to play.” The Leafs boast a minus-15 goal differential in first periods this season, by far the worst of the three stanzas. Scoring their second of the night while out-shooting the Capitals 20-6, they improved to plus-13 in second periods. “I think finally we got our legs under us,” said Clarkson. “We started going and we kind of put them back on their heels a little bit.” 2. PK Stumbles The rising Leafs penalty kill entered the day with an 88 per cent success rate in the previous 14 games, turning the corner from an awful first half. “We knew we couldnt give up on it,” Jay McClement told the Leaf Report before the game. “We just had to keep working and wed get better because virtually its the same group of us from last year. I dont know what the reason was [for our struggles], but now it seems like weve got the confidence back.” That is until they faced the second best power-play unit in the league at the Verizon Center. Shadowing Alex Ovechkin, who leads the league with 19 power-play goals, the Leafs gave up a pair on Washingtons first two opportunities with the man advantage, once from an open Troy Brouwer in the slot, a second from Joel Ward on the back-door. “We missed assignments on our coverage,” said Carlyle. “You cant let Troy Brouwer shoot the puck from 10 feet in front of your goaltender. Theres obviously a missed assignment and missed coverage in that situation. Wholesale Jordan 4 From China. .” 3. Man Advantage Yields Little Boasting just two goals now in the past 11 games – 7 per cent in that span – the Toronto power-play meanwhile continued its dry spell. The Leafs grappled with three consecutive power-plays in the middle period, but failed to score even once. “We believe in our power-play,” said Joffrey Lupul prior to the game. “And theres going to be stretches when you dont get those goals, but as long as we keep doing things right with some of the scorers we have on the team eventually the power-play opportunities are going to turn into goals.” Punch-less on many recent nights, the Leafs did have their opportunities against the Capitals, mustering eight shots. Sneaking in from the right point Cody Franson had maybe the best opportunity to beat Halak, but was ultimately turned aside. The unit currently sits in a four-way tie for third overall at 20.7 per cent. 4. Goalies James Reimer made his third straight appearance Sunday, starting in place of the injured Jonathan Bernier. Fighting the puck early, Reimer yielded three goals on the first five shots, but settled as the night wore on. He made key stops in the final frame, including one on Jason Chimera breaking in partially alone.Citing the now 26-year-olds rebound trouble in that opening frame, Carlyle said he considered pulling Reimer in favour of Drew MacIntyre after the third Washington goal. “We did think about that,” said Carlyle. “But I didnt want to throw Drew into that type of situation without giving him a heads up …Weve got Reims here and weve got to show the confidence for him to fight through some of those situations. We know that Reims is going to start the next game in all probability.” Carlyle had little to offer as far as an update on Bernier, who remained with the team in Washington Sunday ahead of the trip to Detroit. Its clear the 25-year-old will miss his second straight game against the Red Wings Tuesday, the clarity of lower-body injury yet to be fully revealed. 5. Kadris Evolution Nazem Kadri said recently that “I want to become a complete player that this team can trust” and among coaches and teammates that desire for evolution has been seen on the ice. “I think hes maturing as a player,” said Carlyle of the 23-year-old, who established a new career-high for points in Los Angeles this past Thursday night. “I still think theres some room for Nazzie to grow. But I still think youve got to give the kid credit. Hes under a microscope. Hes under a lot of pressure to come in as a young player and play those minutes. We have all kinds of confidence [in him]. [But] maybe not as much confidence as he has if you know what I mean.” “Hes better in his defensive zone for sure,” added Lupul. “Just positioning and using his body and his stick down low. I think everyone probably saw the offensive talents [which] have always been there, but now – Ive been playing on his line for a while now – hes pretty reliable defensively. And as a winger he gets in a spot where youre able to find him, get him the puck.” For Lupul, thats the indicator for when Kadri is at his best. “I think thats one thing for me that when hes playing really well thats what I notice about being on his line is hes putting himself in a spot where hes basically demanding the puck and that he gets it. That shows his confidence and thats how you can kind of tell when hes on the top of his game.” Kadri finished with two shots in 20 minutes against the Capitals. Stats-Pack 35-40 – Toronto penalty kill over 14 games preceding Sunday in Washington. 54 – Consecutive games missed by Dave Bolland, who is still recovering from a left ankle injury, his return status as yet unknown. 15-5-3 – Leafs record in the past 23 games. 2-28 – Toronto power-play over the past 11 games. 29 – Points this season for Dion Phaneuf, eclipsing the mark he set in 48 games last season. Fighting the flu, Phaneuf had a goal and an assist in defeat against the Capitals. 42-57 – Goal differential for the Leafs in first periods this season, favouring the opposition. 8-15-4 – Leafs record this season when trailing after the first period. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 20.7% (T-3rd) PK: 2-4Season: 78.4% (28th) Quote of the Night “It looked like we were still in for our afternoon nap.” -Randy Carlyle, on his teams performance in the opening period Sunday. Up Next The Leafs conclude their five-game road trip with a division battle against the Red Wings on Tuesday. ' ' '