hiladelphia 76ers, Gregg Popovich, Ro

[lw789]

TORONTO -- Kyle Lowry addressed his teammates after the Toronto Raptors concluded the regular-season Wednesday night. While Torontos point guard wouldnt repeat his speech for reporters -- "Thats for me and my guys to know" -- any words of wisdom are much appreciated by this young Raptors playoff team. "I think theyre going to lean on us (veterans) a lot," Lowry said of his less experienced teammates. "But were all going to help. Were all going to be in this together. "Were 15 deep so weve got guys who are very experienced, inexperienced, weve got a coach who has a ring. So everyone is going to lean on everybody." Experience is the early theme of the Raptors opening-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets. Toronto hosts the Nets in Game 1 on Saturday and Game 2 on Tuesday before the series shifts to Brooklyn. The Nets expected starting five -- Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett -- have 417 post-season starts between them. The Raptors starters -- Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas -- have none. Lowry and Johnson at least have some post-season experience -- Lowry played 13 playoff games as a backup point guard for Houston in 2009 while Johnson played in 11 post-season games with Detroit in 2008 and 09. As for the rest of the starters, they dont know quite what to expect. But theyre about to find out. "Well figure it out Saturday," the 23-year-old Ross said. Ross said hes been told the big difference is intensity. "The one thing that stuck out to me the most is the seasons all about repetition," Ross said. "When you get to the playoffs, its all about its your chance to prove what youve been doing the whole season. "The seasons about repetition but when you get to the playoffs, its either win or go home." DeRozan said its important to remain calm. "Dont overhype anything, go out there and take it one game at a time," DeRozan said. "Thats how weve all got to treat it. "Weve got to treat it like its another big game but we understand whats at stake." Johnson said the mood in the locker-room has taken on a decidedly more serious tone. "(Im) just telling everybody its a brand new season," the forward said. "Weve just got to pay attention to detail. "Were doing that in practice, were going through a lot of film. Its a very serious approach." The 26-year-old said the team is making a conscious effort to not become swept up in the playoff excitement thats gripping Raptors fans. "Theres a lot of stuff coming at us. Family, fans, media," Johnson said. "Its basically just us as a team and we have to stick together and stay focused and just look at the bigger picture." Raptors coach Dwane Casey, whose defensive expertise helped the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat for the 2011 NBA title, has been preparing his players for the more intense post-season game. "Theres a higher level of being specific on each play, attention to detail. Youve got to challenge the shot, youve got to box out and rebound -- second shots are a no-no. Physicality, no layups," Casey said. "A lot of different things change in the playoffs that weve talked about." Asked if his young players will adapt quickly to the post-season style of play, the coach said "Well, we better. "We better in a couple possessions. Again, its basketball. I dont want to say its day and night. Youre still putting the ball through the hole and keeping your guy from scoring, as basic as you can get. I dont want to overhype it to scare our guys. Its still basketball. "Again, guys will see the difference and theyll feel it. . . the pace of the game, theyll feel that as soon as they walk on the court." Still, Casey said there can be too much emphasis placed on playoff experience. "Its important, but its not the only thing, youve still got to play the game," Casey said. "I go back to Dallas, we were an underdog in every series. We had experience, but we were still an underdog. Its important, but its not the only thing you measure it by." Coaching is where the Raptors do win the experience game. Brooklyns Jason Kidd is in his rookie season as a coach. Kidd was the point guard for that Mavs team that beat LeBron James and the Heat back in 2011. "Jason, Im sure hes prepared himself pretty well to handle the situation," Casey said. . The NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year will be named at the NFL Honours Award show on February 1. The 23-year-old 2013 second-rounder out of Oregon becomes the third Bills linebacker to win the honour after Jim Haslett (1979) and Shane Conlan (1987. . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. http://www.baseballyankeesmlb.com/authe ... es-jersey/. Millsap will miss Wednesday nights game against the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks say Millsap also will be held out on Thursday at Boston. . Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil. . This week they discuss the Philadelphia 76ers, Gregg Popovich, Royal and Ancient Golf Club and Bill Belichick.Canadas Sports Leader heads to Hollywood for the biggest awards event in sports, The 2014 ESPYS, hosted by Toronto-born Grammy Award-winning platinum-selling recording artist Drake from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Throughout The 2014 ESPYS, Drake will be joined by a slate of celebrity presenters including Kiefer Sutherland, Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, and Jim Parsons. The ceremonies have been hosted variously by comedians, television and actors and sports personalities over its 22-year span. American film actor Samuel L. Jackson is the only individual to have hosted four times - 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2009, while Dennis Miller, Jamie Foxx and Seth Meyers are the only others to have hosted the awards ceremonies more than once. In addition to Drakes numerous and notable accomplishments in music and beyond, he also is the global ambassador on the executive committee for his hometown Toronto Raptors. He had previously hosted the 2011 Juno Awards. Past Hosts of the ESPYs 1993-94 Dennis Miller 1995 John Goodman 1996 Tony Danza 1997 Jeff Foxworthy 1998 Norm MacDonald 1999 Samuel L.dddddddddddd Jackson 2000 Jimmy Smits 2001-02 Samuel L. Jackson 2003-04 Jamie Foxx 2005 Matthew Perry 2006 Lance Armstrong 2007 LeBron James/Jimmy Kimmel 2008 Justin Timberlake 2009 Samuel L. Jackson 2010-11 Seth Myers 2012 Rob Riggle 2013 Jon Hamm 2014 Drake TSN2s exclusive Canadian coverage begins Wednesday at 7pm et/4pm pt with The 2014 ESPYS Countdown followed by The 2014 ESPYS at 9pm et/6pm pt. TSN subscribers can also access live and on demand coverage of The 2014 ESPYS via TSN.ca and TSN GO. ' ' '