could be an attractive veteran addition for many teams as they push towards

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. Custom San Jose Sharks Jerseys .J. -- While Martin Brodeur wasnt willing to say he stole one for the New Jersey Devils against the Columbus Blue Jackets, almost everyone else was. Tim Heed Jersey .Do you have to be that close? Federer snapped at a TV cameraman hovering nearby as he received medical advice after losing a set on Wednesday.For Nadal and Sharapova, the nuisance was coming from the lowly-ranked qualifiers across the net. http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/brent-burns-jersey/ .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Logan Couture Jersey . NORRIS COLE (Heat): Its funny, you watch a guy play and now really produce and it just jumps off the page at you - why? You put a young player with potential in a winning environment where there is veteran leadership, outstanding coaching and management and a way that things are done and its a wonderful environment for growth, improvement in a climate of constant accountability and expectation of achievement/production. Evander Kane Jersey .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday.PHILADELPHIA -- The Montreal Canadiens got bigger in Saturdays NHL draft but couldnt resist the allure of five-foot-eight Sherbrooke centre Daniel Audette. Its other five picks were all six foot or better, with three at 6-1 or above. Third-round pick Brett Lernout stands six foot four and weighs 206 pounds. "Hes a big strong strapping defenceman," Trevor Timmins, Montreals director of amateur scouting, said of Lernout. "Hes tough as nails and has a heavy shot." Timmins had talked prior to the draft about the Habs wanting to "get bigger, stronger, faster." "But at the same time if theres a player thats undersized there and hes a good hockey player, then hes hard to pass. Thats the situation here with Daniel -- similar to a Brendan Gallagher in his draft year. You simply cant go by a player with that much ability." Gallagher is five foot nine and 180 pounds but plays much larger. The 175-pound Audette had 21 goals and 55 assists in 68 games last season. Audette, the son of Habs amateur scout and former NHLer Donald Audette, went in the fifth round. Timmins said Audette Sr. had not been involved in any of the pre-draft discussion on his son. In fact, Donald was told to spend the afternoon in the stands with his wife and son until Daniel got drafted. Donald collected 260 goals and 249 assists 735 career NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Montreal and Florida Panthers. The Canadiens traded up to get Lernout, a Swift Current defenceman. They gave up their third-round pick (87th overall) and fourth-round pick (117th overall) to get Arizonas third-rounder (73rd overall). "I looked at the team picking in front of us and I thought there was a good chance that he wouldnt be there (by Montreals pick) ... We wanted to add some ssize on defence and he was a good fit for us there," said Timmins.dddddddddddd Montreal took AJHL defenceman Nikolas Koberstein (125th overall) and Audette (147th overall) in the fifth round, USHL goalie Hayden Hawkey (177th overall) in the sixth round and Ontario Junior Hockey League forward Jake Evans (207th overall) in the seventh round. Montreal used its first-round pick Friday to take Russian forward Nikita Scherbak of the Saskatoon Blades 26th overall. Thanks to reaching the Eastern Conference final, the Canadiens draft position was well down this year. "If you take a look at our picks in every round, theyre pretty late. So the asset value of the picks we had wasnt near as high as last year or the year before," Timmins said. "Thats why we had to make that trade in the third (round) to move up. "We had to wait out turn pretty long in each round. Ill tell you (how we did) a few years down the road. But were happy with the guys we got. Theyre the guys we targeted and we still had guys left on the list that we wanted to draft." The Habs went "under the radar" on Koberstein, according to their scouting director. "I think this guy has good upside and long-range projection," he said. "Hes a great kid and has tons of character but hes a good hockey player too." Koberstein is committed to play at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks after one more year with the Olds Grizzlys of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Timmins sees him as a five-year player, meaning he has one year at Junior A and four at college. Hawkey, USHL goalie of the year, is committed to play collegiate hockey at Providence. "Hes like money in the bank," said Timmins. Evans is headed to Notre Dame. "Hes a skilled centre with great playmaking ability," said Timmins. 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