The Toronto Raptors are having one of the best seasons in franchise history - in a year when nobody expected it. [url=https://www.fakebasketballjerseys.com/]Basketball Jerseys For Sale[/url] . Many believed sneaking into the final playoff spot would be a success for the Raptors this season, but even t

The Toronto Raptors are having one of the best seasons in franchise history - in a year when nobody expected it. Basketball Jerseys For Sale . Many believed sneaking into the final playoff spot would be a success for the Raptors this season, but even that wasnt guaranteed. But with only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Toronto (40-31) sits in third place in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for tops in the Atlantic Division and a postseason spot all but official. This will be the first time since 2008 that the Raptors will play in the NBAs second season. With all of the good fortunes the Dinos have seen this year, who has been most integral to the teams success? DeMar DeRozan is the face of the franchise and is one of the longest tenured members of the Raptors. The 24-year-old made his first All-Star Game this season and is leading the team in points scoring 22.7 per game. This is DeRozans fifth year in the Association and he signed a four-year deal last season to stay north of the border for the foreseeable future. Will the team only go as far as DeMar will take them? Kyle Lowry has quickly become a fan favourite in only his second season in Raptors colours. The rugged point guard has shown bulldog-like toughness on a nightly basis, playing considerable minutes and being the man the team has looked to when they are in need of a spark. Analysts and fans alike thought the 28-year-old should have been in New Orleans for the All-Star Game. Averaging 17.6 PPG (scoring over 20 points in eight consecutive games) along with 7.7 assists per game makes a good case for that argument. His future is uncertain in Toronto with Lowry hitting the free agent market this summer, but the Raptors are glad to have him for the time being. Is he the one to thank? Then theres Amir Johnson. At only 26, he can be considered a veteran, already playing in his ninth NBA season and is an important part of the Raps front court. He averages 11.1 PPG, 6.9 rebounds per game and is a strong force on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe the key success is coming from the sidelines. Head coach Dwane Casey is in his second year in charge of the Raptors and seems to have finally gotten through to his players. Toronto has gotten much better defensively only allowing 97.6 PPG, good enough for fifth in the NBA. Is the coachs defence-first mindset the reason the Raptors are headed to the post-season? The success could be attributed to General Manager Masai Ujiri. The Nigerian hasnt brought in a lot of highly touted talent since he took the job last off-season. Instead hes used the method of addition by subtraction to improve on the court. First, he shipped the much-maligned Andrea Bargnani off to the New York Knicks followed by sending Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings during the season. Toronto is 34-19 since Gay was traded out west. With the offence no longer going through Gay, the Raptors have been able to score more efficiently. Not to mention the players coming back to Toronto - namely Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez – have helped the Raptors to get where they are today. Do we have to look to the front office for the reason behind the sudden improvement? So, who do you think is the most integral to the Raptors success this season? As always, its Your! Call. Basketball Jerseys China . Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood tall with 41 saves between the pipes, but it was defenceman Ryan McDonagh who got the first star of the game as he had a goal and an assist and now has two goals and four assists for six points in two games. Wholesale Basketball Jerseys .Y. - OK, it is done. https://www.fakebasketballjerseys.com/ . Globo TV and other news outlets said early Monday that Scolari will not remain as coach after the national teams failure to win the World Cup at home.ANAHEIM, Calif. - The width of Alec Martinezs shin guard was the difference between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in their playoff series opener. Corey Perry had the puck on his stick with a nearly open net early in overtime, but Martinez managed to block the shot by the Ducks best goal-scorer. It happened in an instant, but both players were still thinking about the pivotal play a day later as they prepared for Game 2 on Monday night. "I guess I channeled my inner goalie, playing in the driveway when I was younger," Martinez said Sunday after the latest round of congratulations for his game-saving block. "I just tried to get in front of it, and maybe got a little bit lucky, too." No hockey game turns on one play, and the Kings wouldnt have even made it to overtime without Marian Gaboriks tying goal with 7 seconds left in regulation in their 3-2 win. Several minutes after Martinezs big save, Gaboriks game-winner put the Kings up 1-0 in the second round with their fifth consecutive playoff victory. Both teams expect a long, taxing series between evenly matched opponents with a thorough mutual familiarity. They wont be surprised if more games in the series come down to one blocked shot, one extra pass or one big save. Perry still wont soon forget his missed opportunity to put the Ducks in front in the series. "Ive seen it a few times," said a grimacing Perry, who scored 43 goals in the regular season and two more in the first round against Dallas. "I was up for a while. You think about what it could have been. "He made a great play," Perry added. "I thought I had an open net, and obviously I tried to put it in, but he just got his leg on it, and I missed the rebound. Hopefully its a different bounce next time." Even before the late theatrics, the Southern California rivals first playoff meeting was every bit as entertaining as expected. The Kings have little trouble winning on the road, while the Ducks were a dominant home team this season — but neither team is likely to have a distinct hoome-ice advantage. Custom Basketball Jerseys. "I thought the atmosphere was great," Kings forward Justin Williams said. "A lot of times when youre on the road, all you want to hear is silence. But there wasnt even much silence when we scored. There was a lot of Kings fans there and a lot of support for us, so that was the extra added element to the game. Usually when you score an overtime goal, its crickets in the building, and we heard a little something, so Kings fans are making their way down the freeway." Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne all had big moments for the Ducks, who controlled play for long stretches and got a strong performance from new starting goalie Jonas Hiller. Anaheim still couldnt capitalize on its opportunities to pull away, failing to crack the NHLs best defence with its habitually struggling power play. The Ducks might have more offensive ability than the Kings, but they also know it wont matter unless it leads to goals. "We didnt bury our few chances," Getzlaf said. "I dont think theyve changed much. Theyre still the team we know. Theyve just upped their intensity, and weve got to match it." The defence-minded Kings have been impressive offensively during their playoff winning streak. Los Angeles has 21 goals in its last five games, and Anze Kopitar has become the post-seasons leading scorer so far. The Kings are scoring well, but their defensive depth became even shallower in victory: Veteran defenceman Jeff Schultz could make his debut for Los Angeles in Game 2 if injured Willie Mitchell and Robyn Regehr must sit out. Down to five healthy defencemen for much of Game 1 at Honda Center, the Kings still managed to limit the Ducks to two goals. "I had a little chat with (coach Darryl Sutter), and he said, Just go out there and play," said Schultz, who played for Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau in Washington during his 399 games of NHL experience. "Its hard to replace a guy like Robyn, but I feel like Im capable of doing a similar job to what he can do." ' ' '