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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 6:16 am Post subject: ,” Golden State coach Steve |
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The Jacksonville Jaguars unceremoniously dumped the longest-tenured player on their roster Tuesday [url=http://www.brownscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-corey-coleman-jersey]Corey Coleman Jersey[/url] , and he wasn't happy about it.
The Jaguars released veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis after 12 seasons to save $3.5 million in salary-cap space. The move came the same day Jacksonville parted ways with receiver Allen Hurns to save $7 million.
Both players are now free agents and can sign with any team that wants them.
Hurns' future had been in doubt since Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole emerged as big-play receivers late last season. Hurns really became expendable when the Jaguars signed two receivers last week, bringing back Marqise Lee and adding Donte Moncrief in free agency.
Lewis thought his spot was safe, even after Jacksonville signed Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Niles Paul last week. The Jaguars picked up an option in Lewis' contract last month.
Lewis told The Associated Press he felt "disrespected" by the timing of the move. It came a week after free agency began.
"I wish they would have done it sooner," he said. "I think I deserved a little better than this."
The 33-year-old Lewis, a first-round draft pick in 2006, played in 170 games with Jacksonville. His 375 receptions and 4,502 yards receiving both rank third in team history. His 33 receiving touchdowns are second-most in franchise history, trailing only Jimmy Smith (67).
He said he hopes to continue playing and would prefer to stay closer to his home and daughter in Los Angeles. Lewis has ties to former Jaguars coach and current Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, and his college position coach, Jon Embree, is tight ends coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Also [url=http://www.ramscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-greg-zuerlein-jersey]Greg Zuerlein Jersey[/url] , former Jaguars offensive coordinator Greg Olson now holds the same position with the Oakland Raiders.
"I've still got a few more years left in me," Lewis said. "Any team that gets me will get a guy who does everything the right way on and off the field and with 100 percent effort. That's all I did in Jacksonville. I always did what they asked me to do, which is why the way they let me go is annoying in that sense."
Hurns would have been behind Lee and Moncrief on the depth chart, and Jacksonville felt his salary was too high for a backup who has missed 11 games the last two seasons.
Hurns has 189 receptions for 2,669 yards and 21 touchdowns in four years since signing with the Jaguars as an undrafted rookie from Miami. But he caught just 74 passes for 961 yards and five scores the last two years while dealing with a sports hernia in 2016 and a high ankle sprain in 2017.
Something has got to change, and in a hurry, if the San Antonio Spurs are going to get back into their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors.
The Spurs will get that chance when they host the Warriors in Game 3 on Thursday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
San Antonio will do it with a heavy heart. On Wednesday night, the Spurs announced that Erin Popovich, the wife of San Antonio coach Greg Popovich, died early Wednesday. She was 67 and had been battling an illness for an extended period.
The couple had been married for four decades and had two children, Jill and Mickey [url=http://www.jaguarscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-dede-westbrook-jersey]Dede Westbrook Jersey[/url] , and two grandchildren.
“We mourn the loss of Erin,” said Spurs general manager R.C. Buford in a statement released late Wednesday. “She was a strong, wonderful, kind, intelligent woman who provided love, support and humor to all of us.”
The organization asked media and fans to respect the family’s privacy during the difficult time.
It is not known whether Popovich would be with the team on Thursday for Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round series. He did conduct practice on Wednesday.
“The whole NBA family is supporting him, got his back through it all. Feel so bad for Pop,” Warriors star forward Kevin Durant told reporters Wednesday night.
Assistant coach Ettore Messina would likely step into the head coaching role for the Spurs if Popovich were to miss Game 3.
Golden State, the defending NBA champs but just the second-seeded team from the West after an uneven and injury-plagued regular season, did what it was expected to do in the first two games of this series — the Warriors held their home court in decisive fashion, winning 113-92 last Saturday and 116-101 in Monday in Oakland.
Now it’s up to the Spurs [url=http://www.billscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-phillip-gaines-jersey]Phillip Gaines Jersey[/url] , who had the third best home record in the NBA during the regular season, winning 33 of the 41 games in their building while earning their 21st straight appearance in the postseason.
The two teams are without star players — Golden State guard Stephen Curry is out while rehabbing a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, and San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard is still in recovery mode from a left quad injury that’s kept him out for all but nine games this season.
Both squads still have plenty of star power, but through the first two games, the Warriors have just played better, especially on the defensive end.
Game 2 came down to the fact that Golden State made more shots than the Spurs, with Durant scoring a team-leading 32 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and Klay Thompson adding 31 points on a 12-of-20 clip.
“You chase Klay all over the place, and you give him half an inch, he gets it off,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said about Thompson. “Same with Kevin. They are good. When they can do things like that [url=http://www.bearscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-john-timu-jersey]John Timu Jersey[/url] , everything is harder.”
The Spurs countered with 34 points and 12 rebounds from LaMarcus Aldridge despite Golden State’s defense that surrounded him and tried to force the ball out of his hands. Patty Mills added 21 points for San Antonio, and Rudy Gay — earning his first playoff start since 2012 — added 12 points.
Durant missed his first five 3-point attempts but steadied himself and the team by scoring 13 points while going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc in the second half.
“We were just patient throughout the game,” Durant said. “We knew they were going to be physical. We weren’t going to get the same looks that we were getting for Game. 1 So we just tried to just keep the movement up. When we get the rocks, just try to be as forceful as we can with it and exploit the matchups.”
Golden State took a solid punch from the Spurs in Game 2 and still won, handily in fact. The Warriors know that winning in the Alamo City will be no easy task.
“We knew what was coming,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “This is the NBA. Those guys are talented. They’re great players. This is what you expect. But I’m proud of our guys for staying with it.”
Including the regular season and playoffs, the Warriors have won 10 of the last 11 meetings against San Antonio.
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