Nasri toe-poked against the bar before Negredo s

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Nov 4 '16 | By mary123 | 146 Profile Views | support user content | Comments: 0
TORONTO - Dwane Casey was more composed than you might expect after his team surrendered 101 points in defeat on home court Wednesday night. Team USA Basketball Jersey . The reason being; this loss - 101-89 at the hands of Minnesota - came in the second game of the exhibition season, a time of trial and error for the Raptors. "[We are in] no way a finished product," Casey said after the loss. "I dont think you can talk to a coach in the NBA now that is where they want to be. Were definitely not where we want to be defensively." "Weve got to fight through things, weve got to fight through adversity and I like it," he continued, stressing that a night like this, at this stage should be used as a learning experience. "I like that it showed us tonight what we have to work on, especially defensively." Casey and his staff will go back to the drawing board on Thursday, as they do after each preseason game - win or lose. For them, October is a month-long chess match, a card game thats all about gathering information, utilizing it in the gym and choosing how much of it they wish to reveal before the games count. Its a month of experimentation and tactical development. "In preseason you stick with your coverage," Casey said, pointing out that through two games the team has yet to switch into the zone defence theyve been working on. "You dont try to do anything tricky, you dont try to game plan. Were still trying to learn our defensive fundamentals." Zone coverage is expected to be a big part of what the Raptors do defensively this season -- or better yet, what they can do when the situation deems it necessary. Whether theyre using a small lineup or simply masking some of their weaker second-unit defenders, it is a trick theyd like to have up their sleeve. But for now it remains in the sleeve. "You dont want to show them too much in the preseason," said Rudy Gay, who scored 11 points in the losing effort to Minnesota. Defensive Slippage For Casey the message is, has been and will remain focused on defence. After holding the Celtics to 89 points on 40 per cent shooting in Mondays preseason victory, the teams recommitment on the defensive end took a step in the wrong direction, most notably in the third quarter where they were outscored them 28-16. "We had a lot of mental breakdowns on the defensive end that were going to come in here tomorrow and watch and try to correct," admitted DeMar DeRozan, who was a standout on the offensive end with a team-high 17 points. The Wolves shot 47 per cent from the field and 37 per cent from three-point range, where they burned Toronto in the second half. The Raptors frontcourt had their hands full all night, as expected, bodying up against a slimmer but always physical Kevin Love (20 points, nine rebounds) and Nikola Pekovic (12 points, eight rebounds). "We just have to start with the mindset that we have to do everything right," Gay put bluntly. "Were honestly not good enough to lack in any category. So we have to try to [be] as perfect as possible." A Determined DeRozan With Corey Brewer preoccupied on Gay, DeRozan took advantage of the smaller guards Minnesota threw at him. After the newly signed Kevin Martin left the game (he played six minutes and was pulled as a precaution with a sore Achilles) DeRozan began attacking the paint, routinely posting up or driving right by Alexey Shved and company. DeRozan scored all but two of his 17 points in the paint or from the line, finishing six-of-seven from the floor and five-for-six from the stripe. He and Gay combined to shoot 14 free throws, making 12, each playing around 20 minutes. "It puts pressure on the defence," Gay said of the duos ability to draw fouls in the lane "The more we can do that the better were going to be." "Now we just [have] to start hitting shots," he joked. "Itll come, its just preseason." Another Efficient Night for the Starters Although they havent been effective from beyond the arc, an area of emphasis for that unit, the Raptors starters havent had much trouble hitting their shots. For the second straight game the starting unit shot above 50 per cent from the field and continued to build on the chemistry they developed towards the end of last season. "I thought they played solid minutes, the minutes they were in there," Casey said of the starters who, with the exception of Jonas Valanciunas, sat out the fourth quarter. Rotation Roulette Again, Casey experimented with different combinations, specifically in the second half. More than wins and losses, the Raptors coach has emphasized the importance of experimenting with his rotation and finding the groupings that work best going into the season. Casey used a couple variations of his small lineup late in the first half with Gay slotted at the four and matching up with Love. "I gained the weight he lost," Gay joked after facing a slimmed-down Love. After sitting out on Monday Steve Novak was also used as a stretch four, playing 20 minutes in place of Austin Daye, who was used in that role against Boston. Novak scored nine points off the bench, knocking down his first three triples in his Raptors debut. "We know what Steve is," Casey said. "We know who he is [and] what he can do. We wanted to give him a turn tonight." Novak, a 45 per cent three-point shooter over the last two seasons in New York, is as automatic as they come in the corner but the challenge for Casey will be masking him on defence and surrounding him with players he will complement. "From a distance you may not see exactly whats going on, but some nights some guys are playing, other [nights] guys arent," Novak said of the preseason. "I think a lot of it is for the coaches to see what theyre comfortable with, where they want to play guys [and] just see how guys react." Fallen Comrade Raptors fans received disheartening news prior to Wednesdays preseason home opener when it was reported that the teams beloved mascot, the Raptor, tore his Achilles tendon during a community visit in Halifax this weekend and will be sidelined for the season. Widely considered the best mascot in the NBA, the Raptor - and the man wearing the suit - has been with the organization, entertaining fans since the inaugural season in 1995-96. "I was disappointed," Casey said of his reaction when he heard the news. "My daughter cried. She was upset." "Hell bounce back. Hes in good hands with the physicians. The Raptor will be back, he will be back. We need his spirit and hes in our thoughts and prayers." Up Next Andrea Bargnani will make his highly-anticipated return to the Air Canada Centre with his new team, the Knicks, who make the first of two preseason visits to Toronto on Friday. TSN Radio 1050 Toronto has the game live at 7pm et. Draymond Green USA Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Charles Barkley USA Jersey . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. http://www.teamusaolympicsshop.com/Olympics-Kevin-Love-Usa-Jersey/ . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester City delivered a devastating attacking display to humble Tottenham 6-0 on Sunday, sending a warning to its title rivals by condemning Spurs to their joint heaviest Premier League defeat in 17 years. Jesus Navas bookended yet another huge home win for City by scoring after 14 seconds and again in second-half stoppage time, with Sergio Aguero also netting in each half to add to an own goal by Sandro and a brilliant strike by Alvaro Negredo. "We have to be ashamed of a result like this," Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas said. "To lose 6-0 is extremely embarrassing." City, which stayed six points behind leader Arsenal after 12 games, was 5-0 ahead after 56 minutes and has now scored 18 goals in its last three home games in all competitions. If Manuel Pellegrinis side can sort out its dreadful away form, it will surely be favourite to land a second league title in three years. "It is impossible to play better than we did today," Pellegrini said. Tottenham is languishing in ninth place despite spending more than 100 million pounds (now $160 million) on mostly attacking talent in the summer. And with Manchester United up next weekend, they could yet find themselves even further out of the title picture in a season that had initially promised so much. With just nine goals in 12 league games, scoring has become a serious problem since the summer departure to Real Madrid of Gareth Bale, who saved them so often last season. Not since a 7-1 loss to Newcastle in December 1996 have they been beaten by a six-goal margin -- and it could have been a lot worse. City, meanwhile, remains the enigma of the season. Flawless in six matches at the Etihad, they have picked up just four points so far from a possible 18 on their travels. As so often at home, City exploded out of the traps -- Spurs midfielder Sandro was sick on the pitch, such was the intensity of the opening minutes -- and had the game sewn up at halftime. And the hosts were given a helping hand by Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Spurs approach is to play the ball out from the back through the France goalkeeper but the tactic backfired here before mmany fans had settled in their seats. Anthony Davis USA Jersey. Lloris weak clearance went straight to Aguero and although Lloris saved the Argentines curling shot, the ball fell to Navas, who curled a clever shot over the keeper into the top corner for Citys fastest ever goal in 21 seasons of the Premier League and the second quickest this campaign. "It was a difficult start for us," Villas-Boas said. "After that, everything you had in mind goes down the drain." Spurs enjoyed some early possession, with Erik Lamela having a shot cleared off the line by Martin Demichelis, but they always looked vulnerable at the back and Lloris was at his best to deny Aguero chipping in for the second after seven minutes. Lloris was his own worst enemy for the second goal too, making another tame kick to spark a City attack that saw Samir Nasri feed the ball to Aguero, whose effort was parried away to Negredo. The Spain strikers volley from eight yards deflected off Younes Kaboul onto the leg of Sandro and into the back of net. Aguero wrapped up a perfect first half for the hosts by steering in a textbook cross from Navas and Spurs were on their knees. It was to get much, much worse. Yaya Toure had cantered through the first 45 minutes but he burst into life in the 50th by exchanging passes with Negredo and storming into the box, where he crossed unselfishly for Aguero to sidefoot home for his 15th goal in 13 games. "For me, Kun (Aguero) is just after (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo as one of the best three players in the world," Pellegrini said. Nasri toe-poked against the bar before Negredo span his marker from Fernandinhos through-ball and fired a brilliant finish into the top corner. 5-0 and still more than half an hour left. Mercifully for Tottenham, Aguero and Nasri were taken off soon after the hour mark but the introduction of forgotten man Emmanuel Adebayor for his first appearance of the season failed to spark Spurs. And after starting the rout, Navas finished it after more dreadful defending by Spurs. A raking pass by James Milner failed to be cut out by Jan Vertonghen and Navas ran through to slip a finish past Lloris. Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '

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By mary123
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