MIAMI -- Before the season started, a poll suggested that the Miami Heat were the overwhelming favourite to win the NBA title, collecting a whopping 76 per cent of ballots cast. Timo Werner Jersey . The voters werent some know-nothings, either. No, this was a polling of NBA general managers. Things seem quite a bit different now. The Heat dont seem like locks for a third straight title anymore. San Antonio and Indiana are top seeds. Brooklyn, Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Houston, Portland and the Heat all figure to have a legitimate chance at being the club to hoist the Larry OBrien Trophy in a couple of months. Usually, the NBA playoffs arent so wide open. Things might change over the next couple of months. "There are 16 teams that have a chance to win it," said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, whose team is seeded No. 2 in the West. "If youre in the playoffs, you have a chance. There are some good teams. Any team can beat each other. The West is deep. There are two teams that are really good that didnt make it and had great years. Its definitely open. Theres a lot of good basketball teams that are fighting for the championship." For as good as San Antonio and Indiana were all year -- well, for most of the year in Indianas case, before the Pacers faltered down the stretch -- its never a certainty that the No. 1 seeds reach the NBA Finals. Its happened that way only 11 times in the last 35 years. Then again, the last time that there wasnt either a No. 1 or a No. 2 in the title series was 1978. So while upsets can happen, its not all that common to see bracket craziness -- akin to a No. 7 and No. 8 seeds Connecticut and Kentucky playing for the NCAA title earlier this month -- happening in the same NBA playoff season. "It is going to be tremendous from a fans standpoint, watching," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "It going to be a lot of fun." Brooklyns Jason Kidd has plenty of post-season experience as a player. He believes the NBA championship is up for grabs, but also probably knows history doesnt favour his sixth-seeded club. Since 1979, only five teams seeded No. 4 or lower in their conference have reached the finals. But Kidd sees reason for hope. "Its always wide open," said Kidd, the first-year coach of the Nets -- a veteran-laden team put together to win a title this season. "You guys sometimes limit it to just two teams but guys that are playing on a daily basis in the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference feel like theyve got a chance." This year, that doesnt just seem like coach speak. Take the East. On paper, the biggest mismatch is No. 1 Indiana against No. 8 Atlanta, especially because the Hawks are the only sub-.500 team in the playoffs. And just a couple weeks ago, the Hawks went to Indianapolis and absolutely embarrassed the Pacers, running out to a 32-point halftime lead in one of the more stunning games of the entire NBA season. "Theres some good teams out there," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Every team in the playoffs have given us some problems. Weve been able to win against them as well. But its certainly shaped out to be a good conference." No. 5 Washington won the season series over No. 4 Chicago. Out West, the third-seeded Clippers and sixth-seeded Golden State split four meetings. Memphis ousted Oklahoma City a year ago and those clubs meet in the first round. And San Antonios quest to avenge last years loss in the NBA Finals starts against Dallas -- the last team to beat Miami in a seven-game series, winning the title in 2011. So there are some good stories, and theres intrigue with every first-round series. That doesnt mean everyone in the league thinks itll be a year laden with surprises. Philadelphia coach Brett Brown put it simply -- to him, the game changes in the playoffs, period. "The regular season and the playoffs are like two different sports," Brown said. "If you put me in a bubble and you drag me out in May, I can say this is different than the game Im seeing in November. Its just entirely different." Thats why Brown, a former Spurs assistant, thinks theres a very small number of teams capable of winning it all. "To be the last man standing is so ridiculously hard," Brown said. "People have no idea what its like to play in June." Amin Younes Jersey . "Right now were kind of looking at him at the end of the rotation right now," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Not indicative of how hes doing or how hes feeling. Its just, it seems like the spot we want him right now. Matthias Ginter Jersey . Abduraimova had not won a tour-level match since 2009 but was a wild-card entry in Tashkent and broke her opponent twice in each set to reach the second round. Second-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania advanced easily by beating Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1, while No. http://www.germanysoccerpro.com/Lars-Stindl-Germany-Jersey/ . According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, the Maple Leafs have trade offers on the table for the 26-year-old, but none have been deemed acceptable by the team.BOSTON -- Dustin Pedroia spent the first month of the season just one home run shy of 100 in his career. Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. "I was pretty excited to hit a home run. Its been a while," said Pedroia, who had gone 160 at-bats without one. The skid ended when the Red Sox truly needed it, clinging to a 2-1 lead on a night when both clubs were failing to drive in runs. Pedroia drove an 0-2 pitch out to left field in the sixth inning for his second career grand slam and first homer since Sept. 17. "Honestly, I was just trying to drive one run in," Pedroia said. "As a team, weve been scuffling a little bit with guys on." The grand slam put Boston up 6-1 and the cushion was plenty for Clay Buchholz (2-2), who shut down the team with the top record in the American League. Buchholz pitched 6 1-3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out five. He walked three and got himself out of several jams as the As left five on base and were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against Buchholz. "We hit some balls hard. We hit a lot of balls hard, actually -- right at people and then didnt get some hits when we did have some guys on base," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. John Jaso scored Oaklands only run, coming in on a wild pitch after leading off the third with a triple. Boston was having its own struggles with runners on before Pedroia came through in the sixth off of reliever Ryan Cook. Xander Bogaerts and A.J. Pierzynski started the sixth with back-to-back singles off Dan Otero, who began the inning. Otero struck out Will Middlebrooks, then walked Bradley to load the bases with one out. Cook relieved Otero and got Pedroia down 0-2, before he cleared the bases with a shot that just cleared the Green Monster. As manager Bob Melvin challenged whether thhe ball cleared the yellow line before a fan touched it and lost the appeal. Germany Jerseys. The milestone homer put him in elite Red Sox company as only the second player in franchise history with 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases. Pedroia, who stole his 121st career base in the first inning, joins Carl Yastrzemski (452 home runs, 168 steals). "They told me that after the game. Thats crazy," Pedroia said. "I guess Im getting old. But just having your name anywhere said with his is an accomplishment." Boston hadnt scored since getting a pair of runs in the second inning off starter Dan Straily (1-2). Grady Sizemore led off with a double and scored on Pierzynskis single with one out. Jackie Bradley Jr. added a two-out double to drive in Pierzynski and Boston led 2-0. Straily pitched 4 1-3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He struck out three and walked three. "I felt like every single time, every batter I was behind 2-0. Thats just not the way to pitch," Straily said. "Its just a frustrating day." Bradley ended a potential rally for the As in the eighth with a leaping catch at the centre field wall, then hitting Pedroia with a strong relay throw. Pedroia threw to Mike Napoli as Josh Donaldson scrambled to get back after rounding second before seeing Bradley make the catch. Notes: The series continues Saturday afternoon with Boston LHP Jon Lester (2-4) scheduled to face Oakland lefty Tommy Milone (0-2). .. Oakland played its first game in May after tying the franchise record for wins in April at 18-9. ... Buchholz allowed 12 runs on 20 hits over 6 2-3 innings in his first two starts at Fenway Park this season. ... Boston rookie SS Xander Bogaerts has reached safely in 14 straight games. ... Boston C A.J. Pierzynski was played his 1,700th career game behind the plate. ... Pedroia could catch Yastrzemskis steal total of 168, but Yazs 452 homers are probably out of reach for Bostons pesky second baseman. Jerseys From China Jerseys NFL China Jerseys NFL China Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Jerseys NFL China Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '