fine line manager Tony Pulis rides as he seeks his primary target of 40 points and safety in the Premier League. West Brom have struggled offensively all season save

Update:?David West and Zaza Pachulia have been included in the projections for Golden State.A team that just won a record 73 games isnt supposed to be able to add a former MVP in his prime.After they fell a game short of their second consecutive championship, thats the historic opportunity the rising salary cap gave the Golden State Warriors, who successfully pitched Kevin Durant on joining forces with two-time MVP Stephen Curry and All-Stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.With Durant, are the Warriors even better than last season? Is this the greatest team ever assembled? And how long can they expect to contend for championships with four stars all in their 20s?What the Warriors might look like with DurantWhile its remarkable that Golden State even had the opportunity to make room for Durant, doing so wont be painless. First, the Warriors will renounce the rights to?Harrison Barnes?and make him an unrestricted free agent -- according to a report from ESPNs Marc Stein --?which isnt a big deal since Durant takes Barnes spot in the starting lineup. Next, they will trade starting center Andrew Bogut?(reportedly to the Mavericks), clearing his $11.7 million salary off the books. Last, Golden State will renounce the rights to restricted free agent Festus Ezeli, according to a report from Marc Spears of the Undefeated.The Warriors will also have to renounce most of their other free agents, though they could keep the rights to one of Ian Clark, James Michael McAdoo and Brandon Rush.After signing Durant, Golden State would then have the $2.9 million room exception available -- used later Monday to sign center Zaza Pachulia as a replacement for Bogut -- and would have to fill out the remainder of the roster with players making the minimum salary. With Pachulia and David West (for the veterans minimum) taking less money, the Warriors no longer appear to be sacrificing so much depth to add Durant.Projecting the 2016-17 WarriorsThe moves necessary to fit Durants max salary would produce a rotation that projects like this based on the multi-year, predictive version of ESPNs real plus-minus (RPM) as well as my college projections for rookies Damian Jones and Patrick McCaw.Adding Pachulia and West means no longer needing to account for any replacement-level minutes under the assumption the team will re-sign McAdoo as a backup center. Golden State now projects to have a net rating of plus-13.7 points per 100 possessions -- far better than last years mark (plus-11.6).Typically, a plus-13.7 net rating would translate to about 70 wins, three fewer than the Warriors won last year with a weaker net rating thanks to their dominance in the clutch and tendency to struggle in the late stages of blowouts. Its certainly possible Golden State could be a better team in terms of advanced stats and win fewer games if those categories regress to the mean.At the same time, its worth noting that the RPM projections are designed to be conservative. Last year, the Warriors had the leagues best projection at an even 60 wins. So Golden State does look far better on paper with Durant than the team that won 73 games.Warriors Kevin Durant Draymond GreenAs the Warriors certainly know, what happens in the playoffs counts more than the regular season. And the ability to extend minutes for their stars while cutting those for the weak bench in the postseason should make Golden State even better than this projection might imply.Im not sure the Warriors are light years ahead of the competition, but adding Durant strengthens their position as heavy favorites to win a second title -- in no small part by neutering an Oklahoma City Thunder team that took them to seven games in the Western Conference finals.Projecting Golden State in 2017-18 and beyondHow dominant the Warriors remain in future years will hinge in part on Durants desire to maximize his earning potential. Because hell have an additional year of experience and the cap is expected to rise again next summer, Durant could opt out -- if he signs a two-year deal with a player option -- and make a projected maximum of $35 million. However, Golden State would have to fit that figure under the cap.Add the guaranteed contracts on the books and Currys cap hold to Durants $35 million and the Warriors would have about $13 million left to re-sign Iguodala and potentially Livingston. Golden State would again have to sacrifice depth to max out Durant. And the Warriors wont have their first-round pick in 2017, which they traded to the Utah Jazz three years ago in order to sign Iguodala.Still, were talking about potentially the greatest assemblage of prime talent in NBA history. Weve seen plenty of big threes before, but never four All-Stars age 28 or younger. According to RPM, Golden State would have three of the leagues top eight players in 2015-16 -- Curry, Green and Durant.Moreover, if used correctly, the Warriors stars should make life easy for the lesser role players around them. Coach Steve Kerr can keep at least either Curry or Durant on the court at all times, an almost unimaginable luxury that allows Golden State to focus on shooting and defense from the other spots on the court without having to worry much about the need to create shots.Meanwhile, age works in the Warriors favor the further out we project. At some point LeBron James age is bound to show in the playoffs, while the San Antonio Spurs will have a tough time maintaining the same elite play as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili near retirement.The next great challenger to the Golden State might be some team too young to even be on the horizon yet, like the Minnesota Timberwolves.Having added Durant, the Warriors figure to be the best team in the NBA for the foreseeable future. And thats a terrifying proposition for the rest of the league.Darius Slayton Youth Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Phil Simms Youth Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black-Saquon-Barkley-Giants-Jersey.html?cat=938 . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Julian Love Giants Jersey . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Julian Love Womens Jersey .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore.For a guy who is enduring the longest winless stretch of his brief yet staggeringly successful managerial career, Pep Guardiola seems unburdened by the lack of results for Manchester City of late.Looking to regroup from being ousted from the EFL Cup, Manchester City try to stop the rot and avoid a seventh consecutive match without a win in all competitions Saturday against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.Though the Citizens (6-2-1) are leading the Premier League on goal difference over both Arsenal and Liverpool, things are not all rosy on the blue side in the north of England. Manchester City have not won since a 3-1 victory at Swansea City on Sept. 24, going 0-3-3 in what is the clubs longest winless spell since 2008.Of course, among the opponents Guardiola did not defeat were title hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur, his former club Barcelona and most recently neighbours Manchester United -- though all three of those matches were on the road. And while winning four trophies is no longer in the cards for City following their 1-0 loss Wednesday on the red side of town at United, Guardiola was pleased with how his youthful side responded to the challenges of derby life.Aleix (Garcia) was outstanding -- Pablo Maffeo as well, fighting with (Marcus) Rashford and (Paul) Pogba, said Guardiola, referring to two of the nine changes he made from last weekends 1-1 draw versus Southampton. We made a good performance, so no regrets. We were fighting until the last minute.We are a young team. Kelechi (Iheanacho) is 20, Leroy (Sane) 20, Pablo 19 -- it is a good experience for them.Guardiola conceded the six-match winless stretch is not a good situation, but the game served as a testament to his long-term vision for the club that was not going to be sacrificed in this competition -- even against Citys archrivals.The manager did make one move as a precaution, replacing oft-injured captain and defender Vincent Kompany at halftime. Teammate Gael Clichy noted the team dipped in form after the talismans departure, but supported Guardiolas decision, noting, Hes been out for quite some time and he played 80 minutes three days ago. He was sensible in not getting injured again.A common thread for Citys struggles has been the lack of scoring from Sergio Aguero, though the Argentina innternational did not play Wednesday at Old Trafford.dddddddddddd Aguero, who fired in 11 goals in his first seven matches in all competitions, has not found the back of the net in 325 minutes over his last five contests.But the danger man for City in this match could be David Silva, who has four goals and three assists in his last eight against the Baggies. Aguero, though, hasnt been a slouch with five goals and three assists in eight lifetime contests versus West Bromwich Albion.West Brom (2-4-3) enter this match 13th in the table, ahead of Burnley and West Ham United on goal difference. They are winless in their last four matches (0-3-1) after dropping a 2-1 decision at Anfield to Liverpool last weekend.The Baggies lone goal came from Gareth McAuley on 81 minutes.The defeat again showed what a fine line manager Tony Pulis rides as he seeks his primary target of 40 points and safety in the Premier League. West Brom have struggled offensively all season save their stunning four-goal outburst last month versus West Ham United. Their defence has been just good enough to keep them in games while posting just two clean sheets thus far.The two goals were more or less errors on our part unfortunately, defender Jonas Olsson told West Broms official website. If we had scored our goal earlier we maybe wouldve had a chance to get a point. We lost to a very good side and thats the way it goes sometimes.Pulis, who received a one-year contract extension this week, will have to make at least one change since midfielder Claudio Yacob will serve a one-match ban after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season. He likely will make a second since centre back Jonny Evans is set to return after serving a one-match suspension at Anfield.The series has been one way of traffic as Manchester City have won nine on the bounce in league play since a scoreless draw on Boxing Day in 2011. The Citizens are 12-1-0 against the Baggies in the top flight since a 2-1 setback Dec. 21, 2008.West Brom have been gracious hosts to City at The Hawthorns, losing the last four there by a combined 11-4 scoreline and taking just one point in the last six league contests. ' ' '