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Ive been around and Ive coached
TORONTO - On Saturday afternoon, less than three years after winning an unlikely
championship together in Dallas, Dwane Casey and Jason Kidd will sit on opposite
ends of the Air Canada Centre sideline, getting set to make their postseason
debut as head coaches. Adidas ZX Flux Sale . Just ahead of tip-off,
as their teams stretch, shoot around and a sellout crowd - draped in white -
files into the building, the two coaches will meet at centre court. Theyll shake
hands, exchange a few words then return to their respective benches in the hopes
of sending the other home for an early summer vacation. They havent spoken since
finding out that the Raptors and Nets would face off in round one of the Eastern
Conference playoffs, which isnt to say theres a lack of mutual respect between
the two. On the contrary, theres actually a whole lot of it. Friendship is for
the offseason, Casey always boasts. Until then, these former colleagues have a
job to do, and theyre in each others way. Theyve traveled down dissimilar paths
to get to this point. Casey, who celebrated his 57th birthday on Thursday, has
been coaching in the NBA for over two decades. After serving as a long-time
assistant under George Karl in Seattle, he spent a couple seasons as the head
man with the Timberwolves, where he coached Nets veteran and future hall of
famer Kevin Garnett. In 2011, his third season as Rick Carlisles lead assistant
in Dallas, Casey helped guide the experienced Mavericks to an unexpected
championship, with Kidd starting at point guard. Kidd, now 41, was in season 17
of his illustrious 19-year career. He was a retired NBA player for 10 days
before becoming a head coach this past summer. "First of all, I texted him and
[asked] him if hes lost his mind," Casey joked, asked about Kidds move to the
bench earlier this season. The Nets controversial decision to hand the reins
over to Kidd, fresh off his final campaign in New York, was met with more
criticism than any coaching hire in recent memory. When his first season as a
bench boss got off to a rocky start many called for his head, but he had a
steadfast supporter in Casey, who knew it was only a matter of time before Kidd
and his veteran Nets team rocketed back to top of the East. "Hes going to be a
good coach because he was a computer on the floor and he just has to transfer
that to his players," Casey said ahead of a late November meeting between the
two teams. The Nets were 3-10 going into that game. "It takes time." "Hes one of
the toughest minded guys Ive been around and Ive coached, and Ive been around
some strong minded guys, but he was definitely one of them," Casey added prior
to their next meeting, two months later. The Nets, 10-21 on Jan. 1, had won five
in a row before losing in Toronto that night. "I knew mentally he was going to
stay strong and stay into it and it would be a matter of time." Brooklyn would
go on to finish the campaign with the second best record among Eastern
Conference teams in 2014 and Kidd became a two-time Coach of the Month winner.
As Casey met with the media Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before Game 1,
the Raptors coach was caught off guard when one reporter pointed out that he and
Kidd would be sharing their playoff head coaching debuts. "I never thought about
that," he said in earnest, but hes not the least bit surprised to see his
counterpart in the position that hes in. "Jason was always a step ahead of the
curve," said Casey, the Easts Coach of the Month for December. "I think point
guards are coaches on the floor, they should be. Theyve gone through their whole
career figuring out things on the fly, on the court. So I think thats the
difference in Jason. Jason has been a thinker his whole career and hes doing a
good job with Brooklyn." For these old friends, this series should turn into
something of a chess match. The Nets rookie coach has a veteran-laden roster at
his disposal. A big factor in his teams 2014 reversal of fortunes has been Kidds
commitment to a small lineup, starting a couple of point guards in the backcourt
and using Paul Pierce as their mobile, perimeter-oriented power forward. "I
think they established an identity, much like we did," Casey told TSN.ca in an
exclusive conversation Friday. "I think putting Pierce at the four position was
a huge turnaround for them. Solidifying the smaller lineup really helped them."
Casey has the benefit of a versatile roster. With Amir Johnson and
Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors can go against the grain and put pressure on the
visiting Nets with a size and strength advantage or they can match-up using
their own version of the small lineup. "Philosophy is personnel driven," Casey
wisely pointed out. With Johnson and Patrick Patterson - two versatile forwards
who can rebound and also step out and defend on the perimeter - Torontos coach
is confident his team can utilize both their small and big units with success in
this series. "Its going to be huge," he said of that versatility. "If we stay
big weve got to really pound the boards and take advantage of it if they stay
small but at the same time theyre such a lethal three-point shooting team. Its
hard for our bigs, with our mentality to get out and guard the three-point line
in those situations so were going to have to figure that out as far as when we
do go small, who has the advantage. If we have an advantage on the boards or
inside well try to do that but if were getting killed with three-point shooting
then well have to make some adjustments." Caseys quiet confidence and poise has
rubbed off on his team all season but those characteristics have never been more
important than they are now. By now youve heard of their inexperience, Caseys
embraced it because, what choice does he have? They cant pretend like theyve
been somewhere they havent, they wont pretend to be something theyre not. If you
want to count them out because of it, Casey understands, but he doesnt advise
it. "I dont want to diminish [experience], its very important," he said. "In any
walk of life its important if youre going to do a job at a high level to have as
much experience as you can possibly have. We are who we are, we cant change it.
The way our guys get experience is to go through this. But at the end of the day
you still have to go out and play the game. Theres been a lot of young teams
that beat older teams in the history of the game and were ready for that
challenge. I think were better with a chip on our shoulder, being the desperate
team. I think we struggle when were the favourite so I like that part about it.
I dont even talk about it to our players, about experience. Hey, they dont know
any better, so lets go play the game." Nike Air Max 90 Dames Sale . The 29-year-old
scored once and assisted on another as Colorado edged the host Calgary Flames
3-2 on Friday. Nike Air Max Sale . -- Kansas City Royals
right-hander Luke Hochevar likely will miss at least the first two months of the
season because of a sprained ligament in his right elbow.SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs
forward Kawhi Leonard will miss 3-4 weeks with a broken bone in his right hand.
The team said Leonard underwent a CAT scan Thursday and the results confirmed a
non-displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal. The 6-foot-7 Leonard is one of
the teams top defeensive players. Nike Air Max 90 Essential Sale. He was
injured Wednesday night in the first half of a game against Oklahoma City.
Leonard joins starting centre Tiago Splitter (sprained right shoulder) and
former starter Danny Green (broken left index finger) on the injured list. cheap nfl jerseys cheap soccer jerseys ' ' '
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