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. Barry Church Jersey . 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." Joseph Randle Womens Jersey . Heading into the final round with a two-stroke lead, Donald had seven birdies and two bogeys at the par-71 Phoenix Country Club to finish at 14-under 270 on the Japan Tour.Brandon Weeden Womens Jersey . 1 and No. 2 in womens golf at the World Ladies Championship. Park closed with a 6-under 67 for a five-shot victory over Suzann Pettersen in a Ladies European Tour event.BOCA RATON, Fla. -- All talk and no major changes didnt make this a dull NHL general managers meeting. A handful of GMs considered the three-day get together an excellent use of time because of the amount and quality of ideas that were discussed, including expanded video replay, coachs challenges and three-on-three in overtime. "Theres been a lot of discussion about a lot of different aspects of the game," Mike Gillis of the Vancouver Canucks said. "In my six years now, I think its one of the most productive meetings weve ever had." Ultimately only three things are set to be recommended for consideration to the competition committee: changing ends in overtime for a longer change, making faceoff violators move back instead of being tossed out and altering the faceoff circles to push players on the outside further away from each other. Those must go to the competition committee in June and then potentially to the board of governors for approval. A more liberal interpretation of kicked-in goals - allowing them to count if a players skate blade is on the ice - does not need to be approved by those parties. Commissioner Gary Bettman says the recommendations made represented the best ways to tweak a game that got rave reviews this week at Boca Beach Club. The feeling was that GMs didnt want to make changes just for the sake of it. "Were not looking at any core fundamental problems," Bettman said. "Thats a testament to the work the general managers do on an ongoing basis. In a meeting like this you can have a good, candid discussion, you can raise ideas and talk about why they work and why they dont work." Figuring out why a lot of ideas dont work, or at least bringing up unsolved issues that could lead to unintended consequences, was a large part of what the general managers did. Three-on-three in overtime, longer overtimes, video review, a coachs challenge system and goaltender interference engendered plenty of conversation and debate, but there was no consensus to move ahead with immediate changes in those areas and others for next season. Bettman said more "homework" can be done on those issues before the competition committee meets in June and then the GMs re-convene during the Stanley Cup final. But even though not much came of this meeting, count Craig MacTavish of the Edmonton Oilers as someone who believes one of the best changes was one that wasnt made. "I am happy there wasnt more done about video review," MacTavish said. There could be tweaks in thhat area in the not-too-distant future, including giving the situation room in Toronto more leeway on goals and possibly even putting video monitors in penalty boxes so that referees can make a better determination of goaltender interference. Larry Allen Elite Jersey. A last-minute goal by the Philadelphia Flyers against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night was waved off and likely could have been reviewable in that process if it were available. Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke wondered if that might get a look during the pre-season. Hes all about ideas being discussed and tried out. "I just keep putting the stuff on the agenda, and I figure sooner than later some will pass," he said Tuesday. The lockout eliminated one opportunity to throw scenarios and possibilities around, as the GMs didnt have their normal three-day Florida meeting last year. Kevin Cheveldayoff of the Winnipeg Jets thinks thats why this was such a productive meeting. "I think theres lots of maybe pent-up thoughts from the last time that were able to have a multi-day discussion like this," Cheveldayoff said. George McPhee of the Washington Capitals thinks these meetings are always productive because of the exchange of ideas. "Even if we dont implement a new rule theyre productive because youve had comprehensive discussion about it and you do whats right for the game," McPhee said. The GMs dismissed a few things that they dont think need to change, such as goaltender fights. That was a hot topic at Novembers one-day setup meeting, which came soon after the incident involving Ray Emery of the Flyers and Braden Holtby of the Capitals. There simply wasnt enough support to even consider changes there after one event. "The rules are what they are and from a whole variety of constituencies, including the players, there doesnt seem to be any change in the consensus right now," Bettman said. "To effectuate a change there would have to be a change among the constituent groups and Ive been told is that if you ask the players it would be 99 to one that you leave it the way it is. So, it is something well continue to look at it, but there was nothing to report." There wasnt much to report overall. Thats not necessarily a bad thing. "There are no major announcements or major changes," Bettman said. "There will be some recommendations, some things people will look at ... but you should continue to enjoy the game principally the way its being played." cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' '