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TORONTO - Fresh off of a season-saving win, Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez stood behind a podium on the third level of the Air C
TORONTO - Fresh off of a season-saving win, Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez stood behind a podium on the third level of the Air C
in Weihnachts-Forum von Planet Xmas 06.11.2019 08:41von jokergreen0220 • 1.635 Beiträge
TORONTO - Fresh off of a season-saving win, Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez stood behind a podium on the third level of the Air Canada Centre and impersonated one of his teammates most identifiable moves. Fake Yeezy 350 V2 . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier. "I love it, he goes like this," he exclaimed without hesitation, busting out his interpretation of what has been dubbed "the DeRozan face". To his credit, it was dead on. DeRozans signature celebration has become a welcomed sight for Vasquez and the rest of the Raptors players. "Its something I can only do in a game after shots or a dunk or something," DeRozan said. "Its just me being intense." After draining an 18-foot fadeaway jumper, his second straight bucket, with just over two minutes left in Tuesdays 100-95 Game 2 win over the Nets, the Raptors all-star guard strutted up the court doing the DeRozan face. "I told him before the game," Vasquez noted. "I said, Youre going to have a great game, I want that face. I get fired up when he starts doing that and he makes that face." "I think you see it in all of us," DeRozan fired back. "Even with Greivis, what he does when he makes a big shot, when he looks up in the air. Im like, ‘whatchu looking at, G? Everyone has their own gestures and we feed off one another when we see somebody else doing that and it just gets us going." Can you do the DeRozan face, Dwane Casey was asked. "I dont know what youre taking about," said the Raptors coach, immediately turning away. So, not everyone was playing along. This was the lighthearted scene following practice on Wednesday afternoon, just two hours before the Raptors shipped off to Brooklyn for Games 3 and 4. Naturally, the conversation turned to the immeasurable chemistry that has held this team together throughout a tumultuous season, the chemistry they feel will work to their advantage as they enter enemy territory this coming weekend. "Its going to be a new frontier," Casey said, preparing his team to face the Nets at Barclays Center with their opening round series tied at a game apiece. "Weve been a good road team in hostile situations, hostile gyms. Our guys have responded." That they have. Their 22 road wins are a franchise record and theyre just one of four teams to knock off the Nets in Brooklyn in 2014. Throughout the season, they have cited their togetherness, a camaraderie on and off the court, as the primary reason for their unexpected success - being a young team - away from home. Both DeRozan and Kyle Lowry referred back to a conversation they shared after Tuesday nights win. Torontos two leading scorers were in full agreement that this is the most harmonious team theyve ever been apart of. "Its just great to have a group of guys who just really get along," Lowry said. "Youd never think a group like that, with so many different personalities, that everyone really just feeds off each other and everyone genuinely likes each other. We really are like a band of brothers. Its cool. Its like, were able to hold each other accountable and we know its not out of spite, its because we want to be better. Its constructive criticism." Chemistry and winning seem to go hand in hand. Youre unlikely to enjoy a sustainable measure of one without the other. Chemistry is a valuable commodity in professional sports, but its fragile and almost impossible to quantify. "Chemistry is a funny thing," Casey admits. "You know it when you got it, but its so easy to lose. Its hard to put your finger on it. I think we have good chemistry, the right pieces, the right guys, the right personalities in the locker room." That togetherness, like defence - Caseys other fixation - tends to travel well. The Raptors have harnessed an us versus the world mentality in the unfamiliar surroundings of the road and will need it more than ever if they hope to take control of this series on foreign soil. The Nets own a record of 22-4 at home since Jan. 1, tops in the NBA over that span. "The reason were here right now in the playoffs is just because we got one of the most healthy locker rooms," Vasquez said. "No egos at all. Everybodys just happy if anybody does well. We care about each other on and off the court and when we go on the road, we get each others back." "The reason we became a good team, [are] on our way to becoming a great team, is just because we care. Chemistry is such a big factor on any team, and we have it. We do have it." Fake Yeezy 350 v2 Womens .Jeff Green, playing in his second preseason game after missing the first four because of a calf strain, had 18 points. The Celtics (3-3) shot 47.2 per cent from the floor and made 15 of 37 3-point attempts. Wholesale Yeezy 350 v2 Static . on the 15-day disabled Monday list because of a strained right hamstring. http://www.yeezys350cheap.com/ . - The Washington Redskins have signed free agent offensive lineman Mike McGlynn. PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns and point guard Eric Bledsoe have reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million contract, capping a long, sometimes-tense negotiation to keep him in the desert. The deal Wednesday is considerably more than the four-year, $48 million the Suns initially offered but well below the five-year, $80 million-plus maximum contract Bledsoes agent, Rich Paul, sought for the restricted free agent. The sides didnt budge in the negotiations until talks finally progressed in the last few days. "All summer, I knew that I really would be most comfortable coming back to Phoenix because of the great fans, my Suns teammates and our coaches," Bledsoe said in a statement released by the team. "I am very happy it was able to work out this way." Bledsoe faced an Oct. 1 deadline to sign a $3.7 million qualifying offer to play for the Suns this season, then become an unrestricted free agent. "I learned long ago that it doesnt matter how stormy the sea is as long as the ship comes in, and today we are thrilled that the ship has come in and Eric will remain a Sun for a long time," Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby said in a statement. "He will be an integral part not only of our basketball team, but our Phoenix community." The Suns see Bledsoe as a critical part of their double point-guard system. He missed much of last season after undergoing his second surgery to repair a meniscus in his right knee. When Bledsoe teamed with fellow point guard Goran Dragic last year, the Suns won two-thirds of their games. But injuries kept the duo apart, most significantly the knee surgery. While the Suns coveted Bledsooes skills -- particularly his drives to the basket and defence -- as well as his obvious upside, they balked at giving the 24-year-old guard a max contract but felt highly enough of him to give a rich deal. Cheap Yeezy 350 Citrin. "We are thrilled Eric Bledsoe will be in a Phoenix Suns uniform for years to come," general manager Ryan McDonough said. "Eric is one the most exciting and dynamic two-way players in the league. He played very well for us on both ends of the floor last season and we feel he is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the elite players in the NBA." Despite Bledsoes knee injury, the Suns won a surprising 48 games and just missed the playoffs. Bledsoe was the backup to Chris Paul with the Los Angeles Clippers before the Suns acquired him and Caron Butler in a three-team trade that sent journeyman forward Jared Dudley to the Clippers and a second-round draft pick to Milwaukee. Bledsoe had knee surgery in October of 2011, then again last January. Injuries limited him to 43 games last season, 40 as a starter. He averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists. "Lon, Ryan and the Suns have shown confidence in me, and I am looking to take that responsibility and help our team get better from last year and position ourselves to win an NBA championship," Bledsoe said. "Its why I came back to Phoenix. Dragic, carrying a bigger load when Bledsoe was out, had a breakout season, averaging 20.3 points and 5.9 assists, shooting 50.5 per cent from the field, 41 per cent from 3-point range. The Suns added a third point guard to the mix in the off-season, signing high-scoring free-agent Isaiah Thomas. ' ' '
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