Moderatoren » he said. “Tonight, we were off

Giants coach Pat Shurmur says he expects Odell Beckham Jr. to attend offseason workouts when they start in April.

Trade rumors are surrounding the controversial star receiver and there has been strong speculation Beckham will hold out during training camp because he doesn’t want to play the fifth and final year of his rookie deal without a new contract.

”All reports are he will be ready to go as we get going Raiders Johnny Townsend Jersey ,” Shurmur said Tuesday morning at the NFL meetings. ”There are steps he has to take. All indications are he will be back healthy by the time we start playing in September.”

Beckham is recovering from a broken left ankle that forced him to miss the last 12 games in 2017. Giants owner John Mara on Sunday expressed his disappointment in Beckham, saying no player is untouchable.

”That’s another way of saying we’re going to try to do everything we can to make our team better,” Shurmur said. ”I understand that. It’s sort of refreshing to know that we’re going to look under any rock and turn over every stone that we can to make sure we make the New York football Giants the best team we can make it.”

Beckham recently was seen in a video in bed with a woman and what appeared to be white powder, though the timing of the video and its content is uncertain. Mara said Beckham uses ”bad judgment” too often.

”I think it’s important that you get all the information,” Shurmur said. ”Who knows how that video appeared? We all understand that there are certain ways we need to act and certain things we don’t want to be doing.”

Shurmur met with Beckham in Los Angeles earlier in the offseason when he went to California to visit college prospects.

”He’s a very charismatic guy. I think he really cares. I’m looking forward to working with him,” Shurmur said. ”It’s important as coaches and players and anybody who is working together to visit and get a chance to know one another. I really don’t think you can know somebody by seeing reports, reading reports, hearing what people think and say. I think it’s important, especially in the player-coach relationship Cheap Sam Darnold Jersey , to get to know him.”

Beckham was the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been New York’s best offensive weapon when healthy. In his first three seasons, he had 288 receptions for 4,122 yards and 35 touchdowns. But he’s known as much for his highlight-reel catches as incidents that are distractions.

”We always want weapons,” Shurmur said. ”He’s been an outstanding player, especially his first three years. We want really, really good players. We want guys who are passionate about playing the game. We want guys that understand the importance of relationships, which means they want to be coached. And we want guys that understand what it is to be a good teammate.”

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OAKLAND, Calif. — Two teams that could be first-round opponents in the upcoming NBA playoffs square off Saturday night when the New Orleans Pelicans take on the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors (57-22) are locked into the No. 2 seeding in the Western Conference. They will have the home-court advantage against the seventh seed in the first round starting next weekend.

The Pelicans (45-34), meanwhile Logan Cooke Jersey Jaguars , are among six teams battling for the final five playoff spots in the West. They will begin the day Saturday tied with San Antonio (45-34) and Oklahoma City (45-34) for fifth place, with Minnesota (45-35) and Denver (44-35) close behind.

One of the five won’t make the postseason.

New Orleans, which is seeking its first playoff spot since 2015, will be playing the second day of a back-to-back, having won 122-103 at Phoenix on Friday.

The Pelicans have lost three straight to Golden State this season by an average of 11 points.

New Orleans has a tough finishing schedule. The Pelicans will visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, then host San Antonio in a game that could have huge playoff implications on Wednesday.

In a virtual must-win against their final weak opponent, the Pelicans took care of business on Friday night, riding 33 points from Anthony Davis and 31 from Nikola Mirotic without burning any starter for more than 35 minutes.

Davis has averaged 30.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in two straight wins for the Pelicans after they had slipped in the playoff chase with four consecutive losses.

The Most Valuable Player candidate insisted recently that having meaningful games in April is enjoyable.

“I haven’t been to the playoffs in three years,” he noted. “This whole process is fun for me and the whole team http://www.buccaneersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-vita-vea-jersey , knowing that we, one, control our own destiny, and, two, have a chance to go in the playoffs and make some noise.”

New Orleans could certainly help its chances and send a message at the same time with a win Saturday. The Warriors have dominated the matchup, winning 10 straight and 20 of 21.

And that doesn’t count the 2015 playoffs, when the Warriors swept the Pelicans in four straight.

This time around, the Warriors almost surely will open their first series without star point guard Stephen Curry Cheap P.J. Hall Jersey , who is out with a sprained MCL. He is scheduled for a re-examination on the eve of the start of the playoffs next week.

The Warriors have had their other three All-Stars — Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green — healthy for their last four games. But while they’ve won three of those four, coach Steve Kerr was especially bothered by a 126-106 drubbing his club suffered Thursday night at Indiana, labeling the effort “pathetic.”

Veteran Shaun Livingston agreed.

“We’ve got to be better,” he said. “Tonight, we were off. But we can’t be off as far as our effort, our intensity. That’s what we’re playing for going into the playoffs.”

The Warriors do have one piece of unfinished business in the regular season. They are currently tied with Toronto (57-22) for the second-best record in the league.

Regular-season records would determine the home-court advantage should the Warriors and Raptors meet in the NBA Finals.

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