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Here are five thoughts on the Eastern Conference first-round series between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets following Game 1. Hydro Flask Vattenflaska . 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. Hydro Flask Wide Mouth . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him. Hydro Flask 40 OZ . Griffin scored 13 of his 31 points in the final 7:05 and Dudley got 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter, leading the defending Pacific Division champions to a 112-85 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. "Dud is a shooter. http://www.sverigehydroflask.com/ .Y. -- Mike Zigomaniss goal at 5:53 of the third period stood up as the winner as the Rochester Americans hung on to defeat the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Marcus Foligno looked up at the video board and was moved as the Buffalo Sabres said farewell to two of their most popular players. Jhonas Enroth made 36 saves as the Sabres beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Friday night, a few hours after they traded goalie Ryan Miller and captain Steve Ott. "Im not going to lie. It was pretty emotional watching the tribute," Foligno said. "That was pretty nice what they did during the game, and those are two players that were hugely respected here in the city and respected Buffalo as well." Miller was set to start his 541st career game for the Sabres, but was pulled from the lineup just over an hour before the puck was dropped. The deal made Ted Nolan push Enroth into the starting lineup. "I was sitting in the back, joking around with the trainers about all these trade rumours and I told them hopefully it doesnt happen on game day, especially against the Sharks," Enroth quipped. "Three minutes after, Coach Nolan came up to me and told me I was starting, so I kind of jinxed myself there. "After that, I was a bit more nervous than usual but I told myself I had nothing to lose." Enroth played well and the Sabres got goals from Cody Hodgson, Brian Flynn, Matt Moulson and Tyler Myers. It was Enroths second consecutive win after he snapped a 0-10-4 slump with a 5-4 overtime win against Boston on Wednesday, which was his first home win since April. With the trade of Miller, Buffalo was forced to reach into their new hockey academy staff for a backup goaltender. HarborCenter director of technology Ryan Vinz was Buffalos No. 2 goaltender after being a video co-ordinator at Clarkson University. James Sheppard and Patrick Marleau scored for San Jose. With the trade, Buffalo general manager Tim Murray struck his first major deal since being hired in January, acquiring goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, a 2015 first-round pick and a conditional 2016 third-round pick. Murray later explained that the pick in 2016 could turn into a first-round pick in this years draft if the Blues reach the Western Conference finals or Miller re-signs with St. Louis before the draft. The win gave Buffalo three straight wins for the first time since last April, and Myers said the milestone carries significance. "It feels good,&" he said. Hydro Flask Coffee. "We knew what position we were in going into this game, and we really wanted it. Hearing the news before the game we wanted it that much more." The Sabres opened the scoring on a power-play goal 10:59 into the first period, as Antti Niemi couldnt hold on to Hodgsons wrist shot. It was Hodgsons 15th goal and his first since Jan. 28. Enroth made a glove save of Matt Irwins slap shot through traffic with under seven minutes to play to keep Buffalo ahead. He made another strong glove save 7:22 into the second period when Marleau was left uncovered in the slot. "It was kind of late notice," Enroth said of getting the word he was starting, "but I just told myself to relax, go out there and compete." Moments after Enroth stopped Marleau, Myers beat Niemi off a rush up the right side, but his shot clanked off the cross bar. After another pair of saves, Enroth was beaten when Sheppard forced a puck between the goaltenders legs after a shot rebounded off the end boards. The Sharks finished the second period with a 31-13 advantage in shots on goal. "We knew theyd be ready," Sharks centre Joe Pavelski said. "We had our chances to score early and we didnt, fell behind, climbed back and just didnt turn the corner like we needed to." Buffalo restored its lead 4:33 into the third when Zemgus Girgensons won a faceoff back to Flynn, whose wrist shot beat Niemi. The Sabres doubled their advantage four minutes later when Myers jumped into the play from the right point to feed Moulson in the slot, who scored over Niemis shoulder. Marleau brought the Sharks within one with a one-timer with 1:15 left in regulation. Joe Thornton picked up his 50th assist of the season on the goal. "They played hard," Thornton said of the Sabres. "Obviously, Im sure a lot of feelings over there with two teammates. its a tough business, but they played well tonight." Myers added an empty-net goal with 21 seconds left to give him a goal and two assists on the night. "Tyler Myers is really starting to come into his own," Nolan said. "I thought he was sensational tonight." NOTES: Tyler Ennis missed his second straight game for Buffalo with "undisclosed soreness" ... San Jose LW Raffi Torres was scratched after scoring two goals in his season debut Thursday ' ' '