as soon as you can." "Hopefully its something we c

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers dont like the view from the NL West basement, and Saturday night they did something about it. Cheap Celtics Jerseys . Andre Ethier had a pair of doubles among his season-high four hits, Dee Gordon hit a rare home run and Los Angeles snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 7-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. "It feels great to shake hands after a game," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "Every win is important and every win counts. And when youre in the midst of a losing streak, you definitely want to break it as soon as you can." "Hopefully its something we can build on. Having great at-bats, getting guys on and moving guys up and getting guys in has been our struggle this year. So tonight was good for us," he said. The Dodgers have had four losing streaks longer than eight games since moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958. Two of them were nine games (1973 and 1987), the others 10 games each (1961 and 1992). The franchise record is 16, which occurred in 1944. "It all starts with one win," centre fielder Matt Kemp said. "Right now everybodys having fun, and the kids are laughing and running around in the clubhouse. We missed that. I dont think anybody wanted to be around kids until they got home, because of the way the locker room has been the last week." "We want to see everybody happy. I think a lot of us looked good at the plate tonight and Im just glad we got a win. Weve just got to keep grinding this thing out and take it game by game," he said. Hyun-Jin Ryu (4-2) allowed one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander took a three-hit shutout into the seventh before Miguel Olivo homered. Ethiers four-hit game was his first since last Aug. 24-25, when he had back-to-back four-hit efforts against the Marlins at Dodger Stadium -- each of which included a home run. The two-time All-Star is batting .403 against the Marlins in during his eight-year career. "Hes been grinding and working so hard in the cage to get his swing right," Ellis said. "I was with him today down there with (coaches) Mark McGwire and John Valentin, and they really put a good session in. They had a new plan of attack and he was able to execute. Those were four great at-bats and four great swings. "One of the highlights for me as a player is hitting behind Andre at Dodger Stadium and being in the on-deck circle while hes hitting. Its such a pretty picture for me to see that open side when hes squaring the ball up and doing that. Its fun to watch," Ellis said. Kevin Slowey (1-3) gave up five runs, 11 hits and three walks in 4 2-3 innings. "We just went in there against him being ready to hit," said Adrian Gonzalez, who got two hits. "Hes got a sneaky fastball, and we knew it going in from the guys that have already faced him. Dont let the radar gun fool you. Even though its in the 80s to low 90s (mph), it feels harder. It plays harder. Hes not the kind of guy you want to let get the ball deep on you because itll be by you. So you have to treat him like a hard thrower." Slowey, who pitched seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball against Philadelphia last weekend, hasnt won consecutive starts since Sept. 12-18, 2010 with Minnesota. He acknowledged that it was a battle for him. "There will be those games over the course of the season, and you hope to survive it probably a little better than I did today," Slowey said. "I made some good pitches that they were able to fight off into the outfield. And when I left the ball over the plate, they hit it pretty well. I had opportunities to get out of some innings, and work around some walks. I just have to execute a little better earlier in counts." Ethier led off the Dodgers second with a double, ending a drought of 30 at-bats between extra-base hits. He advanced on Ellis first sacrifice bunt of the season and scored the games first run on a broken-bat bloop single by Skip Schumaker. Gordon led off the third with a drive that just cleared the fence in right-centre. It was his second homer in the big leagues and first since May 1, 2012. "Slowey has been great," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "Today, you could tell he was battling from the start. But he went out there and continued to compete and tried to keep us in the game. Thats what hes done. Hes done a great job for us. Today was a little bump in the road. Offensively, we didnt really get anything going either." Schumaker, starting at second base for the sixth time in 13 games while Mark Ellis has been sidelined with a right quad strain, turned in the defensive play of the game in the fifth -- robbing Matt Diaz of hit with a diving stop in the hole and throwing him out with runners at first and second to end a Marlins threat. "(Dodgers third base coach) Tim Wallach moved me the pitch before. Hes always looking at charts and hes right on top of everything," Schumaker said. In the bottom half, Schumaker singled home a run and Juan Uribe hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Dodgers lead to 5-0. The Dodgers tacked on two more runs in the seventh against A.J. Ramos with Uribes RBI single and a passed ball by Olivo that let Ethier score. NOTES: Ethier, a 2011 Gold Glove winner in right field, robbed Diaz of extra bases in the eighth with a diving catch in the alley. ... Olivo has three home runs in his last four games against the Dodgers. ... Kemp is two hits shy of 1,000. Cheap Boston Celtics Jerseys . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Cheap Celtics Jerseys China . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. http://www.cheapcelticsjerseys.com/ . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. Lets bounce around the NBA again as we do each week.10 things I like and dont like1. Kevin Love, looking like himself againPsst. Kevin Love is playing almost like Minnesota Love again -- you know, the guy most people in the league considered a top-10 player. He doesnt play as much, but the per-minute numbers this season are similar to peak Love. The Cavs work to get him post touches, and have him do lots of stuff beyond standing in the corner like a glorified James Jones.I perked up when I saw Love drain this triple during another inevitable Cleveland win over the Drakes last week:That looks very much like the gorgeous elbows-centric action Rick Adelman ran for Love in Minny. Love starts it with an off-ball screen for J.R. Smith, an innocent decoy with a nasty effect: Loves man, Pascal Siakam, has to spend a precious second patrolling Smiths cut toward the rim. Thats all Love needs to mosey up to LeBron, snag a dribble handoff, and let fly before Siakim can recover.Squint, and you see seen Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic flitting around Love on an ugly two-toned court:Lets not exaggerate this. The Cavaliers still fall apart whenever LeBron hits the bench, and Love is still a third banana. Hes dropping dimes at the lowest rate since his rookie season. He gets only about 3.5 elbow touches per game, the same as last season, and way, way, way, way down from the nearly dozen per game hed snag with the Wolves. (The notion that he got more once Tyronn Lue took over for David Blatt is a myth.) He will spend a lot of time calling for the ball in the corner.But even when hes just doing that, there is comfort in the knowledge that he can do more. There is a lot of truth to the idea that you could plug a bunch of one-dimensional stretchy bigs into Loves spot, save some luxury tax money, and lose very little production in the aggregate. The Cavaliers have investigated this in some depth.Love is just better than those guys. Want Ryan Anderson instead, since hell be content spotting up? Cool. Hes a worse defender than Love, and hes not in the same universe as a playmaker.Love is really good, and as these Cavs grow together, they should dust off more of Adelmans playbook.2. Jamal Murray, wanting that ballMurray is not shy, including in demanding the ball when hes open. But there is no Dion Waiters-esque greed in his requests, or shoulder-sagging despair if a Nugget teammate doesnt oblige. Murray is just so damn excited to be open, he cant help but express himself. He jumps, and claps, and hollers -- and if no one sees him, hell zoom someplace else where he might spring open again.There is a caffeinated joy to Murrays game. Mix in the brash confidence of a quick-release gunner, and you have the most exciting rookie outside Philadelphia.3. Miami, going starlessThe Heat barely have an NBA rotation right now, so its hard to nitpick any of Erik Spoelstras substitution patterns. But I get queasy anytime Miami plays with both Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic on the bench -- even if the numbers dont necessarily support my anxiety.Miami has played opponents about dead even during those minutes, per nbawowy, and teams have destroyed them with both their stars on the floor. The to stagger or not to stagger? question is trickier than critics imagine. The Dragic-Whiteside pick-and-roll is the fulcrum of Miamis offense, so do you milk it by maxing out the minutes those two play together -- hoping to ride out some bench mob droughts with good defense? Or stagger them more, and see how each functions independently?There is a ton of noise in all those early-season lineup numbers. It just feels rickety when Miami tries to magic up points without both its stars.4. Larry Nance Jr.s touch-pass reboundsThe first time Nance did this, I thought it might have been an accident. Then he did it again, and again, and it became clear the rebound touch-pass was a thing -- another way in which Nance thinks one step ahead of most players.That is a genius alternative to a wild, no-chance-in-hell putback attempt falling out of bounds.Nance has exceeded the Lakers sunny Year 2 expectations, especially after knee issues nagged at him most of last season. He has been an explosive jack-of-all-trades for a five-man bench crew that outscored opponents by almost 10 points per 100 possessions -- a mammoth margin -- before injuries busted up Luke Waltons rotation.Nance looks healthy and bouncy again; hes shooting a preposterous 81 percent in the restricted area,?fifth best among 271 players who have attempted at least 20 such shots, per NBA.com. He moves the ball, cuts hard, and generally does all the gritty things that make the people around him better.He still needs to buff some rough spots. His jumper is unreliable, and he never gets to the line. Scouts drooled over Nances vaguely Draymond-y ability to switch across multiple positions on defense, but he has been inconsistent chasing guards; lineups pairing Nance and Julius Randle have hemorrhaged points after a promising start.Nance is just getting started in the NBA, but hes almost 24; the Lakers must hope for progress soon. If it comes, theyll have a clear starter-level player -- and some interesting bigger-picture choices.5. Al Horford, full extensionHorford is still finding his way in Boston after missing almost half the season so far. Hes been conservative picking his spots to score as he feels out his new teammates, and his defensive rebounding -- a team-wide crisis -- has sunk to a new low.Horford has never been the most assertive player, but it feels like hes waiting to exert whatever level of assertion hell provide for when Boston needs it. In the meantime, hes contributing in other ways. Hes thrived in facilitator mode, and hes emerged almost out of nowhere as a premier shot-blocker.Horfoord is rejecting 2. Cheap Larry Bird Jersey. 6 shots per game, double his career average, and hes been unnerving jump-shooters with mad dash full-extension close-outs:Normally, only Anthony Davis-level super-athletes emerge from that far away to get a fingertip on long jumpers.Horford has a knack for caulking gaps, and hes so adaptable, he can stretch different parts of his game (except rebounding, natch) depending on roster needs.6. Sponsoring things that suckHold on a second while I close the screen door, ease myself into a tattered chair, crack a beer and yell at the impolite children on my lawn.I get that weve lost this battle, but do we really need to sponsor every trivial event in an NBA game? In Utah, a law firm sponsors official in-game replay reviews. Seriously. While the referees huddle around a TV monitor, the giant overhead screen flashes a message: Officials review presented by Siegfried & Jensen.Official reviews suck! Everyone hates them! Sponsoring an official review makes me less likely to purchase your product! Can I just have a moment of peace and quiet?7. Richaun Holmes, with touch!For the normals: Richaun Holmes is an NBA player for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is their fourth-string center. When the other three centers are healthy -- and sometimes even when just two are -- he might not play at all. Hes a little undersized in some matchups, and he has struggled horribly on the defensive glass for most of his two seasons.But hes an athletic rim-runner who dabbles with a 3-pointer, and he has shown glimpses this season of a refined touch on floaters:Even Andre Drummond-style dive-and-dunk guys need some bankable moves to escape crowds in the paint. Sometimes, you catch the ball too far from the rim to slam it. Sometimes, the next layer of defense is in your grill the moment you grab the ball.Some smart team will try to poach Holmes from the Sixers overcrowded frontcourt while its still overcrowded. But Holmes has two cheapo years left on a Sam Hinkie Special, and the Sixers may keep him as a hedge against trades sending out Nerlens Noel (sooner) and Jahlil Okafor (later, provided Joel Embiid stays healthy).8. The vanishing Ben McLemoreRemember Ben McLemore, 2013 lottery pick, selected over C.J. McCollum, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Steven Adams, and Giannis Antetokounmpo? The NBA is my obsession, and when the Kings started McLemore out of the blue against Dallas on Tuesday, my initial reaction was something like: Hey, Ben McLemore! I forgot about that guy! Kawhi Leonard murdered his soul in Sacramentos second game of the season, when he just straight-up grabbed the ball out McLemores hands -- twice!McLemore promptly went 3-of-11 in the Kings win over the ravaged Mavs.This is why trading DeMarcus Cousins would be so painful. The cupboard is bare. The Kings have whiffed on so many lottery picks. The jury is out on Willie Cauley-Stein (and his hands) and Georgios Papagiannis, but the (very) early returns dont suggest either is a foundational player. Sacramento owes various future picks to Chicago, Philadelphia, and Orlando.Trading Cousins for a bounty of young guys and first-rounders would not give Sacramento extra bites at the lottery apple, or a half-dozen intriguing prospects. It would give them a ground-zero level amount of those things -- a normal amount. To trade a star and end up with that? Egads.9. Ish Smiths careful snakeryDetroit hung in a little better than expected during Reggie Jacksons absence. The Jackson-Andre Drummond pick-and-roll constituted almost all of Detroits offense last season, and without Jackson, negative nellies envisioned defenses stalling out the Pistons by ducking under every Drummond screen -- and daring Smith to brick away.Opponents did that, of course. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes Smith zipped into the lane before his defender could slither around Drummond. Stan Van Gundy also diversified the offense, adding a ton of sets on which Caldwell-Pope flies up from the corner, grabs a dribble handoff and continues into a turbo pick-and-roll.Smith also managed the offense with care, especially during a hot streak just before Jacksons return. Hes sporting a minuscule turnover rate, and one way to survive on offense is to make sure you at least get a shot off every time down.Hes also chilled a bit, and added a crafty change-of-pace zigzag to his game:Smith loves to snake the pick-and-roll -- NBA parlance for dribbling one way around a pick, and then quickly veering back the other direction. He even canned enough midrange jumpers out of this action to keep defenses honest.Detroit is 12-12, with a league-average offense and a top-five defense. They would have signed up for that once Jacksons knee started aching.10. Maurice Harkless, not harmless in the postHarkless has emerged as Portlands most dependable wing beyond the star tandem of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Hes shooting a tidy 37 percent from deep on a career-high number of attempts, and playing with a palpable confidence. He doesnt need an acre of space to launch from deep anymore.When Lillard and McCollum swing the ball to him, Harkless is attacking off the bounce with zero hesitation. Hes even posting up smaller players, and hes been so good at it, the Blazers will look for him down low in a favorable matchup. He has a new mean streak to his game.Harkless is 15-of-25 on post-ups so far this season after going 20-of-47 combined over his first four seasons, per Synergy Sports.Harkless is a solid defender prone to blips of hazy confusion, but he does not look out of place as a heavy-minutes starter on a solid team. Not bad for a wayward soul Portland swiped from the Magic for free. ' ' '