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. [url=https://www.fakejerseysfromchina.c

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. Fake Jerseys For 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." Wholesale Jerseys . Fans holding laudatory signs started showing up at Yankee Stadium when the gates opened at 4 p.m. Monday, an hour early in order to give them a chance to watch the New York captain take batting practice. Fake Jerseys . CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. https://www.fakejerseysfromchina.com/ .J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals.PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin remains convinced linebacker LaMarr Woodley is an impact player when healthy. "Hes been solid," Tomlin said. "Not only this season but over the course of his career." Heres something else Woodley has become: injury prone. The Steelers placed Woodley on injured reserve Tuesday with a strained right calf, ending Woodleys season and perhaps his time patrolling the left side of Pittsburghs 3-4 defence. He limped off the field in the first quarter of Sundays 30-20 win over Cincinnati and did not return. Tomlin ruled Woodley out of this weekends game at Green Bay. With Pittsburgh (6-8) all but out of the playoff picture, the team moved Woodley to IR later to the day to give the club some roster flexibility. Pittsburgh signed journeyman linebacker Jamaal Westerman to take Woodleys spot on the 53-man roster, though quickly improving Jason Worilds will start in Woodleys place against the Packers (7-6-1). Woodley is in the third year of a six-year, $61.5 million contract he signed in August, 2011. The 29-year-old is scheduled to be Pittsburghs second-highest paid player next season behind quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, with a salary cap hit of $13.59 million. Considering the teams significant cap issues, the emergence of Worilds and rookie Jarvis Jones and Woodleys spotty healthy history, he could be expendable by the summer. Its a path that seemed unthinkable three years ago. Woodley appeared to be the next great Steelers linebacker after racking up 35 sacks from 2008-10, helping lead Pittsburgh two a pair of AFC championships and one Super Bowl title. The day he signed his extension in 2011, Woodley talked at length about wanting "to leave my stamp when Im done playing here." His work is only half finished. Woodley hasnt played a full 16-game schedule since 2010. He missed six games in 2011 and three more in 2012 with hamstring issues. He appeared back to his usual self early this season, recording a sack in four straight games at one point. It all changed during a 23-10 win over Buffalo last month, when he tweaked his left calf. Despite saying repeatedly he felt optimistic aabout his chances, he spent three weeks on the sideline watching Worilds flourish in his absence. Cheap Jerseys From China. Considered on the way out after the Steelers chose Jones in the first round of last Aprils draft, Worilds instead has blossomed. Following a slow start, he played so well the Steelers decided to make Jones a role player while giving Worilds the bulk of the playing time at right outside linebacker. Worilds moved to the left side, where he played in college, after Woodley went down and his production has skyrocketed. Worilds leads the Steelers with 7.0 sacks and has evolved into more than just a pass rush specialist. When Woodley returned against Miami two weeks ago, the Steelers actually moved him to the right side for the first time in his career so Worilds could continue to work on the left side. Though he will be a free agent after the season, Worilds wont come close to commanding the kind of money Woodley will be due if Woodley stays on the roster in 2014. Throw in the teams significant investment in Jones and Woodley could be part of a sizable roster makeover in the off-season if the Steelers miss the playoffs for the second straight year. While Tomlin agreed Jones needs to work on his upper body strength to deal with left tackles who outweigh him by 50 pounds or more, Tomlin is pleased with Jones progress. Jones has just one sack but has shown an ability to get around the ball. He batted down a Cincinnati 2-point conversion attempt last week, keeping the Bengals two scores behind. "Although his numbers might not be jumping off the page at you, I really think that hes settling in and playing harder and faster and displaying understanding at an increased rate every week," Tomlin said. "I think thats an element of playing well and producing plays. Youve got to know what to do." NOTES: Tomlin said defensive end Brett Keisel, who has missed four of the last five games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, will "definitely" practice on Thursday and could play against the Packers. .... Nose tackle Steve McLendon, who has sat out the last two games with an ankle injury, is also expected to practice at some point. ' ' '