Join us » . The Belgium youth team keeper was stretchered off in

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. 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." Marvin Williams Hornets Jersey . Buffalos defensive co-ordinator had his second interview with Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner on Tuesday night, a person familiar with the Browns plans told The Associated Press. Kemba Walker Hornets Jersey .? It was his second straight start for the Jets; he suffered a 1-0 loss against Minnesota Monday. So this season Hutchinson has now won games in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was perfect three- for-three in the shootout to nail down the win. https://www.hornetslockerroom.com/Customized/ .Just like old times.Only this time, just one got to enjoy a victory.James return to Miami as an opponent was a success — for the Heat, that is. Wade scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, Luol Deng had 25 points and dogged James defensively all night, and the Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91 in a hyped Christmas matchup Thursday. Nicolas Batum Jersey . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value.BERLIN -- Eintracht Braunschweig grabbed a lifeline in its fight against Bundesliga relegation with a 3-0 win over rival Hannover in the Lower Saxony derby on Sunday. "They were three very important points from a game of high emotions," Braunschweig coach Thorsten Lieberknecht said. "Weve shown that we want to hang on like limpets (in the Bundesliga)." Domi Kumbela got the home side off to a good start in the 14th, scoring after Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler could only parry Ken Reichels cross to his feet. Havard Nielsen made it 2-0 with a fine finish inside the far post in the 21st, and Hannovers fate was effectively sealed when Andre Hoffmann was sent off for kicking Mirko Boland from behind in the 62nd. Hannover supporters responded by calling for the clubs management to step down. Hannover president Martin Kind had already described his sides performance as "unacceptable" during the halftime break. Jan Hochscheidt completed an afternoon to forget for the visiting fans by scoring in the 89th, after Orhan Ademi eluded two defenders and Karim Bellarabi laid the ball back. Braunschweig is still bottom but within touching distance of Nuremberg, Hamburger SV and Stuttgart with five games of the season remaining. "Weve simply found our way," Lieberknecht said after his sides fifth consecutive home game without defeat. "Were last, weve made up a bit on the others, but nothing more." Hannover is jusst two points clear of Stuttgart after four consecutive defeats with the clubs management under pressure following the decision to release Mirko Slomka as coach in December.dddddddddddd. Slomka returns with current club Hamburg next week. Sundays late game, a 1-1 draw between mid-table sides Hertha Berlin and Hoffenheim, was overshadowed by a serious injury to Hoffenheim goalkeeper Koen Casteels. The Belgium youth team keeper was stretchered off in obvious pain midway through the second half after landing badly in a challenge with Adrian Ramos for a high ball. "It looks like its a lower leg fracture," Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol said. Sami Allagui opened the scoring for Hertha in the 11th, when he eluded Jannik Vestergaard with a clever trick and then curled the ball beyond Casteels. Sloppy defending allowed Kevin Volland set up Eugen Polanski for Hoffenheims equalizer on the half hour. Following Casteels injury, substitute goalkeeper Alexander Stolz made two crucial interventions in the final minutes, before his counterpart, Thomas Kraft, produced a stunning save to deny Volland from a free kick with the last kick of the game. "We deserved the victory," said Kraft, who prevented what would have been Herthas fifth loss in a row. Bundesliga champion Bayern Munichs record 53-game unbeaten run ended in a 1-0 loss at Augsburg on Saturday, when second-placed Borussia Dortmund came from behind to defeat Wolfsburg 2-1. ' ' '