TORONTO - Fresh off of a season-saving win, Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez stood behind a podium on the third level of the Air Canada Centre and impersonated one of his teammates most identifiable moves. Larry Nance Jr. Jersey . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier. "I love it, he goes like this," he exclaimed without hesitation, busting out his interpretation of what has been dubbed "the DeRozan face". To his credit, it was dead on. DeRozans signature celebration has become a welcomed sight for Vasquez and the rest of the Raptors players. "Its something I can only do in a game after shots or a dunk or something," DeRozan said. "Its just me being intense." After draining an 18-foot fadeaway jumper, his second straight bucket, with just over two minutes left in Tuesdays 100-95 Game 2 win over the Nets, the Raptors all-star guard strutted up the court doing the DeRozan face. "I told him before the game," Vasquez noted. "I said, Youre going to have a great game, I want that face. I get fired up when he starts doing that and he makes that face." "I think you see it in all of us," DeRozan fired back. "Even with Greivis, what he does when he makes a big shot, when he looks up in the air. Im like, ‘whatchu looking at, G? Everyone has their own gestures and we feed off one another when we see somebody else doing that and it just gets us going." Can you do the DeRozan face, Dwane Casey was asked. "I dont know what youre taking about," said the Raptors coach, immediately turning away. So, not everyone was playing along. This was the lighthearted scene following practice on Wednesday afternoon, just two hours before the Raptors shipped off to Brooklyn for Games 3 and 4. Naturally, the conversation turned to the immeasurable chemistry that has held this team together throughout a tumultuous season, the chemistry they feel will work to their advantage as they enter enemy territory this coming weekend. "Its going to be a new frontier," Casey said, preparing his team to face the Nets at Barclays Center with their opening round series tied at a game apiece. "Weve been a good road team in hostile situations, hostile gyms. Our guys have responded." That they have. Their 22 road wins are a franchise record and theyre just one of four teams to knock off the Nets in Brooklyn in 2014. Throughout the season, they have cited their togetherness, a camaraderie on and off the court, as the primary reason for their unexpected success - being a young team - away from home. Both DeRozan and Kyle Lowry referred back to a conversation they shared after Tuesday nights win. Torontos two leading scorers were in full agreement that this is the most harmonious team theyve ever been apart of. "Its just great to have a group of guys who just really get along," Lowry said. "Youd never think a group like that, with so many different personalities, that everyone really just feeds off each other and everyone genuinely likes each other. We really are like a band of brothers. Its cool. Its like, were able to hold each other accountable and we know its not out of spite, its because we want to be better. Its constructive criticism." Chemistry and winning seem to go hand in hand. Youre unlikely to enjoy a sustainable measure of one without the other. Chemistry is a valuable commodity in professional sports, but its fragile and almost impossible to quantify. "Chemistry is a funny thing," Casey admits. "You know it when you got it, but its so easy to lose. Its hard to put your finger on it. I think we have good chemistry, the right pieces, the right guys, the right personalities in the locker room." That togetherness, like defence - Caseys other fixation - tends to travel well. The Raptors have harnessed an us versus the world mentality in the unfamiliar surroundings of the road and will need it more than ever if they hope to take control of this series on foreign soil. The Nets own a record of 22-4 at home since Jan. 1, tops in the NBA over that span. "The reason were here right now in the playoffs is just because we got one of the most healthy locker rooms," Vasquez said. "No egos at all. Everybodys just happy if anybody does well. We care about each other on and off the court and when we go on the road, we get each others back." "The reason we became a good team, [are] on our way to becoming a great team, is just because we care. Chemistry is such a big factor on any team, and we have it. We do have it." Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Jersey . Now he can be had by any team willing to pay his salary. According to a report from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shopping the veteran CB and plan on releasing him Wednesday if they cant find a trade partner. Kobe Bryant Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.The super-sub did it again on Saturday. Kekuta Manneh unleashed a 25-yard bomb that even the cat-like Jaime Penedo couldnt catch up to. The Panamanian keeper wasnt even close to it. The goal earned the Whitecaps a point in a game they had to chase twice. Its becoming a predictable theme; when Manneh is on, things happen. Defenders dont like playing him because they dont know what hes going to do. Heck, even the Gambian teenager might not know what hes going to do. And while those defenders are being twisted into pretzels, players like Mattocks and Miller are getting residual opportunities. It begs the questions then: why cant Kekuta be on from minute one more regularly, and in what role does he give Vancouver the best opportunity to win? When he came on to start the second half Saturday, Manneh lined up in behind the strikers as a number 10. It was a move that may have actually been inspired by Liverpools Raheem Stirling and the Jamaicans performance against Man City the week before. Sterlings goal against Norwich this past Sunday must have looked very familiar to Whitecaps fans; a 19-year old speedster, weaving through defenders before unleashing a canon that seemed to explode off his boot. Manneh also spent part of Saturday on the left side in a proper 4-4-2. Again, he didnt look uncomfortable there. Still in his building phase, Carl Robinson is not going to be anchored to one system or one lineup. Tyler Ennis Jersey. . But its getter harder and harder for the rookie coach to quantify leaving Manneh out from the start. The managers de facto justification is the teenagers defensive liability. Its also hard to argue having an ace up your sleeve in the event your team falls behind, like it did three times in two weeks against the LA Galaxy. I cant help but wonder what the Whitecaps would look like, especially at home, if Miller and Mattocks have Manneh in behind them, with any combination of Morales, Laba and whoever else in the midfield diamond. It would be a high risk, high reward lineup, but one that no team in MLS would want to defend against. Not to mention, it would be darn fun to watch. Maybe, in the context of this past weekends affair, the Whitecaps would have been the team showing the early initiative. Perhaps the Galaxy might have been more sensitive to pushing numbers forward knowing that any turnover could lead to punishing counters. The team poised to win the Premier League seems perfectly comfortable conceding two goals a game, because they know they can score three or more. Were getting to the point where not starting Manneh is like leaving your Ferrari in the garage on a sunny day; especially if you know that Ferrari will eventually be up for sale. Might as well get the most out of it while you can. Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys 2019 China NFL Gear ' ' '
TORONTO - Fresh off of a season-saving win, Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez stood behind a podium on the third level of the Air Canada Centre and impersonated one of his teammates most identifiable moves. Larry Nance Jr. Jersey . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier. "I love it, he goes like this," he exclaimed without hesitation, busting out his interpretation of what has been dubbed "the DeRozan face". To his credit, it was dead on. DeRozans signature celebration has become a welcomed sight for Vasquez and the rest of the Raptors players. "Its something I can only do in a game after shots or a dunk or something," DeRozan said. "Its just me being intense." After draining an 18-foot fadeaway jumper, his second straight bucket, with just over two minutes left in Tuesdays 100-95 Game 2 win over the Nets, the Raptors all-star guard strutted up the court doing the DeRozan face. "I told him before the game," Vasquez noted. "I said, Youre going to have a great game, I want that face. I get fired up when he starts doing that and he makes that face." "I think you see it in all of us," DeRozan fired back. "Even with Greivis, what he does when he makes a big shot, when he looks up in the air. Im like, ‘whatchu looking at, G? Everyone has their own gestures and we feed off one another when we see somebody else doing that and it just gets us going." Can you do the DeRozan face, Dwane Casey was asked. "I dont know what youre taking about," said the Raptors coach, immediately turning away. So, not everyone was playing along. This was the lighthearted scene following practice on Wednesday afternoon, just two hours before the Raptors shipped off to Brooklyn for Games 3 and 4. Naturally, the conversation turned to the immeasurable chemistry that has held this team together throughout a tumultuous season, the chemistry they feel will work to their advantage as they enter enemy territory this coming weekend. "Its going to be a new frontier," Casey said, preparing his team to face the Nets at Barclays Center with their opening round series tied at a game apiece. "Weve been a good road team in hostile situations, hostile gyms. Our guys have responded." That they have. Their 22 road wins are a franchise record and theyre just one of four teams to knock off the Nets in Brooklyn in 2014. Throughout the season, they have cited their togetherness, a camaraderie on and off the court, as the primary reason for their unexpected success - being a young team - away from home. Both DeRozan and Kyle Lowry referred back to a conversation they shared after Tuesday nights win. Torontos two leading scorers were in full agreement that this is the most harmonious team theyve ever been apart of. "Its just great to have a group of guys who just really get along," Lowry said. "Youd never think a group like that, with so many different personalities, that everyone really just feeds off each other and everyone genuinely likes each other. We really are like a band of brothers. Its cool. Its like, were able to hold each other accountable and we know its not out of spite, its because we want to be better. Its constructive criticism." Chemistry and winning seem to go hand in hand. Youre unlikely to enjoy a sustainable measure of one without the other. Chemistry is a valuable commodity in professional sports, but its fragile and almost impossible to quantify. "Chemistry is a funny thing," Casey admits. "You know it when you got it, but its so easy to lose. Its hard to put your finger on it. I think we have good chemistry, the right pieces, the right guys, the right personalities in the locker room." That togetherness, like defence - Caseys other fixation - tends to travel well. The Raptors have harnessed an us versus the world mentality in the unfamiliar surroundings of the road and will need it more than ever if they hope to take control of this series on foreign soil. The Nets own a record of 22-4 at home since Jan. 1, tops in the NBA over that span. "The reason were here right now in the playoffs is just because we got one of the most healthy locker rooms," Vasquez said. "No egos at all. Everybodys just happy if anybody does well. We care about each other on and off the court and when we go on the road, we get each others back." "The reason we became a good team, [are] on our way to becoming a great team, is just because we care. Chemistry is such a big factor on any team, and we have it. We do have it." Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Jersey . Now he can be had by any team willing to pay his salary. According to a report from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shopping the veteran CB and plan on releasing him Wednesday if they cant find a trade partner. Kobe Bryant Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.The super-sub did it again on Saturday. Kekuta Manneh unleashed a 25-yard bomb that even the cat-like Jaime Penedo couldnt catch up to. The Panamanian keeper wasnt even close to it. The goal earned the Whitecaps a point in a game they had to chase twice. Its becoming a predictable theme; when Manneh is on, things happen. Defenders dont like playing him because they dont know what hes going to do. Heck, even the Gambian teenager might not know what hes going to do. And while those defenders are being twisted into pretzels, players like Mattocks and Miller are getting residual opportunities. It begs the questions then: why cant Kekuta be on from minute one more regularly, and in what role does he give Vancouver the best opportunity to win? When he came on to start the second half Saturday, Manneh lined up in behind the strikers as a number 10. It was a move that may have actually been inspired by Liverpools Raheem Stirling and the Jamaicans performance against Man City the week before. Sterlings goal against Norwich this past Sunday must have looked very familiar to Whitecaps fans; a 19-year old speedster, weaving through defenders before unleashing a canon that seemed to explode off his boot. Manneh also spent part of Saturday on the left side in a proper 4-4-2. Again, he didnt look uncomfortable there. Still in his building phase, Carl Robinson is not going to be anchored to one system or one lineup. Tyler Ennis Jersey. . But its getter harder and harder for the rookie coach to quantify leaving Manneh out from the start. The managers de facto justification is the teenagers defensive liability. Its also hard to argue having an ace up your sleeve in the event your team falls behind, like it did three times in two weeks against the LA Galaxy. I cant help but wonder what the Whitecaps would look like, especially at home, if Miller and Mattocks have Manneh in behind them, with any combination of Morales, Laba and whoever else in the midfield diamond. It would be a high risk, high reward lineup, but one that no team in MLS would want to defend against. Not to mention, it would be darn fun to watch. Maybe, in the context of this past weekends affair, the Whitecaps would have been the team showing the early initiative. Perhaps the Galaxy might have been more sensitive to pushing numbers forward knowing that any turnover could lead to punishing counters. The team poised to win the Premier League seems perfectly comfortable conceding two goals a game, because they know they can score three or more. Were getting to the point where not starting Manneh is like leaving your Ferrari in the garage on a sunny day; especially if you know that Ferrari will eventually be up for sale. Might as well get the most out of it while you can. Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys 2019 China NFL Gear ' ' '
