Inland Waterways » t last year after a season

Here are five thoughts on the Eastern Conference first-round series between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets following Game 1. 1. NETS DEFENSE: Im giving Brooklyn credit. Their offense can sometimes betray you on the road but the D is always a constant. Its ironic; just recently an advance scout who I have a lot of respect for gave me his quick thoughts on how hed defend the Raptors. Extend your pickup point and really pressure their guards. Get out and challenge threes and chase them off the line at all cost. Keep the ball out of DeMar DeRozans hands with very physical denials. Body up to their people - they dont like contact and theyll turn it over. If you allow them to have flow theyll punish you. Its interesting in the last two games that the Raptors played versus the NY Knicks on April 11 and 16; the Knicks used this strategy to force the Raptors into a combined 38 turnovers in those games. The Nets came in and did a terrific job in their coverage and forced the Raps into 17 turnovers and never allowed them to get comfortable. Raptors half-court offense needs to toughen up and get sharper. 2. RAPTORS OFFENSE: I say this a ton of times - playoff offense is like having to go five-on-six against an opponent. Some teams will even use this in practice to toughen their teams up and require even higher-end execution. Its that hard, plain and simple! You could see it on Saturday afternoon that the inability to execute their schemes and go to counters/pressure releases when they got taken out of what they wanted was evident. The ability to establish a consistent paint presence with post-ups and penetration was inconsistent. Overall, the level of offensive toughness that you must have to succeed in the playoffs was lacking. Am I surprised? No. A young team in their first playoff game and it looked it. Theyll steadily improve and fight through that and begin to establish their style of play. They looked at their best when they were able to run off their defense and have space to do their thing. A key to the Raptors offense - pick up the defensive pressure and get the Nets on their heels more. Creator of circumstance vs. creature of it - choose your approach. 3. NETS 3-POINT SHOOTING: They were abysmal, shooting 4-24, which is uncharacteristic for them. Raptors brought good energy in trying to defend the line, yet some of the shots that Brooklyn missed were just plain decent looks that didnt go down. Will be important for Toronto to stay after it and not allow the Nets to get comfortable with the long range game. 4. PLAY BETTER: (DeMar DeRozan / Terrence Ross / Amir Johnson / John Salmons): Just look at their numbers. Theyd all be the first to tell you that they have to play a whole lot better. Theyre all good players whove been significant to the success of this team and they cant win without each of them playing at the level theyre capable of playing at. Bounce back time for each in Game 2 and beyond. Cant force it yet - come in with that approach thats made you successful all year and get after it. 5. MATCHUPS: Im concerned with the Joe Johnson (24 Points) and Paul Pierce (a very difficult cover at the four-spot) matchups. The Raptors struggled with this and have to do a better job in both instances. Johnson hurt them with his physicality and efficiency in the mid and low post, while Pierces outstanding ball skills and smarts along with his three-point shooting ability at the four-spot are a tough scenario for traditional power forwards to cover. Better effort in these two matchups, along with improved defensive assistance to help the guy having to guard those guys counter the issues will help, yet it cant compromise the ability to rebound and defend the three-ball. Energy level, communication, multiple effort, help/recovery and tight rotations will be things to watch. Just a first guess here; I try not to second guess a whole lot and try to put out there a thought to consider as we go forward. I have no issues with the defensive approach in Game 1. Dwane Casey and his staff are excellent and are on top of the details. They know their team better than anybody else. Not even close. Just a thought as a respectful first guess; in my opinion, I think Landry Fields is someone to consider if the current players in the Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce matchups arent able to get the job done. Hes got the size, athleticism, smarts, defensive range and toughness to hold his own in both instances. Any time you call on him, hes ready to go and does a nice job. I understand the concerns with his lack of perimeter shooting but in the playoffs, matchups become even more important to try and counter. Johnsons size, strength and physicality are an issue and Pierces mobility and distance shooting are a problem. Im confident that if he were ever called upon he could hold his own against both. Its just something to consider, again, as a respectful first guess. Adidas Shoes Clearance Sale . - Robert Griffin III has a sprained throwing shoulder that limited him in practice Wednesday as the Washington Redskins prepared for their season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. Wholesale Adidas Cheap Shoes .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. http://www.adidascheapshoes.com/ . He chirped to the caddie of Brandt Snedeker about their money game, a Mickelson tradition at the majors. Lefty was in good spirits Monday at the British Open, except for having to return the claret jug. Adidas Cheap Shoes Online . Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami. Adidas Cheap Shoes China . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday.(SportsNetwork.com) - After a rough start to their weekend, the Vancouver Canucks were able to secure a hard-fought victory that left head coach John Tortorella pleased. The Canucks, who will be without Alex Burrows with a broken jaw, look to conclude a four-game road trip with another victory on Tuesday night as they visit the Nashville Predators. After beginning its swing with a victory in Ottawa, Vancouver dropped a 5-2 decision to the New York Rangers on Saturday in John Tortorellas return to the Big Apple. The Canucks didnt get much rest after that emotional battle as they made a quick turnaround to visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Vancouver was able to secure just its third victory in 11 games (3-5-3) with a 3-2 decision over the Hurricanes. Ryan Kesler and Tom Sestito scored in the first period for the Canucks before the Canes tied the game early in the second on goals just 10 seconds apart. Kesler, though, netted his second goal of the game less than a minute later and backup Eddie Lack notched 29 saves in the win. "We had a tiny lapse there in the second period, but we closed it out. Good win for us," said Kesler. Tortorella agreed, especially after his club held Carolina scoreless on its six power-play chances. "For us, playing a back-to-back, it was a good wake-up call," Tortorella said. "Itts about getting tougher, grabbing a hold of ourselves and finding a way.ddddddddddddquot; Vancouver will play the first of five straight at home starting on Friday and should have Roberto Luongo in net for the finale of this road trip. He is 15-12-0 with three ties, three shutouts and a 2.23 goals against average in his career versus the Predators. Nashville is 5-2-1 in its last eight games and is coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Rookie Marek Mazanec made 22 saves, bested for the game-tying goal with 6:54 to go in regulation before yielding the lone shootout tally. Mike Fisher and Colin Wilson scored in regulation, though Wilson had a few chances to score in overtime and failed to convert. That included a breakaway with less than a minute to go in the bonus frame. "We should have won the game, but we didnt," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "We couldnt hold onto the lead." The Preds did earn a point despite playing without a pair of defensemen in captain Shea Weber and Kevin Klein. Weber took a puck to face in Thursdays 3-0 loss to Edmonton, while Klein is battling a lower-body issue. Neither skater is expected to play tonight. The Canucks won all three of their meetings with the Predators a season ago and have won nine of their last 12 in Nashville. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '