TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Metta World Peace, Brian Shaw, Eric Bledsoe, Trey Burke, and Jerry Sloan. 1. METTA WORLD PEACE (Lakers): The Lakers decided to exercise his $ 7.7 million player option for this upcoming season. Watching him play this past year, I see a guy whose skills are in decline and his best days are behind him. It will be interesting to see if the Lakers use their Amnesty Provision on him; wouldnt surprise me. 2. BRIAN SHAW (Nuggets): Shaw was hired as the Nuggets new head coach. Hes walking into a good situation with solid talent level. Questions about the return of Andre Iguodala, who opted out of his deal, and the health of Danilo Gallinari make the situation a little more challenging. Add to the fact that theyre coming off a 57-win season when they fired George Karl and the expectations will be high. Karl only got the Nuggets to the second round of the playoffs one time. The key for Shaw will be lots of regular season wins and better playoff success than Karl. I like Shaw and think hes got the potential to be a good head coach. He paid his dues with the Lakers and Pacers after his playing days were over; hes ready. He walks into a situation that is a much more positive one than most young coaches get a chance at. He knows all about expectations from his Lakers days and will be able to handle it. 3. ERIC BLEDSOE (Clippers): Bledsoes name is being tossed around in trade talks. A lot of teams are big fans of his and in the likely case that Chris Paul returns to LA, I see a new location being the best thing for him in his young career. Hes ready to take the next step as a player and needs to be in a situation where hes counted on to play major minutes and produce as a top-flight point guard. The only way well find out what his true potential is, is if he gets the opportunity to be the lead guard for a team. 4. TREY BURKE (U of Michigan): Burke will likely be drafted somewhere in the first eight spots tomorrow evening in the NBA Draft. In spite of his lack of size, he has off-the-charts quickness; I like his game. Hes sound fundamentally and a consistent player who knows how to play the game. Hell be a good pro. Very good or great? Im not sure about that, but hell be a good fit for the team that drafts him. This is a weak draft and as long as teams are realistic about players ceilings and upside rather than looking at the draft slot he was picked in, youll get the proper return on investment. Burkes a winning player. 5. JERRY SLOAN (Jazz): Sloan re-joined his old team as a consultant. Its a good move by the team. Hes an outstanding coach and person. Im a bit surprised that he wasnt hired as a coach by a team looking for a new boss. He obviously didnt want to deal with the frustrations of coaching a team not ready for primetime. Hell be a terrific mentor for his former assistant coach, Tyrone Corbin in Utah. The NBA needs older coaches with great wisdom to help. More teams should tap into men like this with great leadership ability to serve as consultants and advisors.Cheap Air Max 270 Wholesale . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Air Max 270 Cheap Online . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. http://www.airmax270shoescheap.com/ . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Cheap Air Max 270 Sale . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Air Max 270 Clearance . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout.COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After a 62-52 loss to North Carolina Central Monday night, Missouri coach Kim Anderson required his players to practice the entire week without wearing team athletic gear.He didnt wear any either.However unorthodox the method, it would appear the message got through.Frankie Hughes had 18 points and four rebounds as Missouri narrowly escaped Western Kentucky in a 59-56 victory Saturday.Kevin Puryear had 12 points and five rebounds, including 8 points in the second half, and Russell Woods scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, tying a team high.The Tigers (4-3) held a 10-point lead near the 12-minute mark, but the Hilltoppers whittled it away, mounting a 14-5 run while Missouri missed its final eight field goal attempts.Pancake Thomas missed a 3-pointer with :04 seconds remaining and Missouri guard Cullen VanLeer secured off the rebound before being fouled. He sank two free-throws to extend the Tigers one-point lead before the Hilltoppers last-second half-court shot fell short. Thomas finished with nine points and five rebounds on 3-for-12 shooting.Hughes stressed the impact of this win on the teams morale.Its most definitely a confidence booster, Hughes said. Of course, coming off the disappointment from last game, we were coming in with a locked-in mindset, just trying to basically focus in on what (the opponents) do, and just trying to get stops and let our defense create our offense.Anderson discussed the details of motivating his players following Mondays loss.They worked hard all week, Anderson said. They worked hard in white cotton t-shirts and black cotton shorts that we bought from a local department store. They didnt wear Missouri gear all week.Western Kentucky (3-5) jumped out to an early 9-3 lead while Missouri shot 3-for-13 from the field to start the game. Hughes was the only Missouri player to score for a 5:09 window of the first half, scoring 12 points, including three consecutive 3-pointers.The Hilltoppers missed their finaal four shots of the first half, allowing Missouri to close on a 7-0 run.dddddddddddd By halftime, the Tigers led 33-30 despite shooting 29-percent to the Hilltoppers 43.3.Justin Johnson led the Hilltoppers with 14 points and five rebounds, and Que Johnson added 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds.The Tigers outrebounded Western Kentucky 44-30, their largest rebounding margin since their season-opening 99-44 victory when they outrebounded Alabama A&M 43-29.?Probably a couple years ago, Missouri wouldnt have won a close game, so give them some credit, Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury said. Theres no question this is Kims best team hes had. Hes doing a really good job with them. When you win some close games like that, it gives your kids a lot of confidence, too.HIGHLIGHT REELWith 12:04 seconds remaining, VanLeer stole the ball in the low post from Que Johnson and threw a full-court lob pass over several Western Kentucky players, finding Hughes in stride for a two-handed breakaway dunk.HALFTIME HEAVEMissouri undergraduate student Aaron Brown won $5,000 during the halftime show after sinking a half-court shot. Brown made more free-throws than another eligible contestant in order to advance to the grand prize opportunity.BIG PICTUREWestern Kentucky: The Hilltoppers are in the midst of a seven-game road stretch. They last played at home on Nov. 22 in a 77-56 win over North Carolina A&T and will return to E.A. Diddle Arena to host Ohio Dec. 21.Missouri: Jackson is the Tigers leading scorer through seven games, averaging 14.1 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game. Puryear is the second leading scorer on the team, averaging 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Puryear led Missouri in scoring as a freshman in 2015 with 11.5 points per game.UP NEXTWestern Kentucky visits Indiana State Dec. 11.Missouri hosts Miami (Ohio) Monday. ' ' '