|
|
ke and his lint roller, and the huge crowds that packed
in Here is your first Forum Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:34 pmby sakura698 • 1.245 Posts
TORONTO -- Dave Bolland is skating again. Brooklyn Nets Shirts . Thats significant progress more than two months after Zack Kassians left skate blade severed a tendon in the back of Bollands left ankle. But the Toronto Maple Leafs centre still doesnt know when hell return to practice, let alone game action. "Who knows?" Bolland said Saturday after skating solo for the fourth time this week. "I want to be out there with the guys, and I want to skate with them. Thats the next goal." Thats a reasonable goal but not one the Leafs are going to rush toward, even though Bolland will miss his 35th game Saturday night and likely several more. Toronto is 14-15-5 since Bolland went out, but coach Randy Carlyle affirmed that the 27-year-old wont be back until hes 100 per cent. "We cant afford to take any type of risk with this type of injury," Carlyle said. "We all know that its a tough one to come back from. Its a long, tedious process, and specifically where it was in the tendon that was injured, its pretty dramatic." Bolland knows all too well just how long and tedious this process has been. He wasnt able to put weight on the ankle for a long time and only this week was able to get his foot in a specially-designed boot and get back on the ice. "Its a slow rehab," Bolland said in his first comments to reporters since November. "Its not like any other rehab when you break an ankle and you can just say six weeks and youre back and its healed. You cut a tendon and its got to re-heal itself. Youve got to do the rehab, do the movements in with the trainers and in at the gym. Its not fun. Its gruelling." The gruelling part isnt just physical pain, its the mental anguish of the man who scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Chicago Blackhawks knowing he cant help his hometown team while sitting out. Bolland said he has gotten "a little mentally broken down" along the way. "When youre watching and youre off the ice it does screw with your head a lot, mentally, because I think when you cut a tendon, its a big deal," he said. "You never know." Bolland still doesnt know. All that he can recall is how Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson returned 10 weeks after having his Achilles tendon sliced and the struggles Mike Modano dealt with when he had a similar injury. The Toronto native didnt consult with Karlsson or Modano about their experiences, but he knows what they went through. "I remember (Modano) saying that it wasnt fun coming back from that," Bolland said. "I could feel that pain, too." Physically, Bolland still feels the pain. He hopes the good days outweigh the bad as he works back. "It gets sore once in a while when Im on the ice," Bolland said. "When youre skating, youre doing cross-overs, youre stopping, when youre using that tendon, youre going to feel the pain and youre going to have some situations like that." Bolland said hes learning how to do everything all over again because of how long he has been kept off the ice. While away, he was able to do off-ice workouts, but nothing compares to skating. Skating with teammates would put him another step closer. Its possible Bolland goes on the Leafs upcoming Western Conference road trip, but Carlyle said that decision had not been made yet. Bolland, who had six goals and four assists in his first 15 games with the Leafs, wants to go. But he understands the need for caution. "You want to be out there," he said. "You think some days you can push it and you push it too much and you set yourself behind. Youre just hurting yourself. I think for myself its being patient and being ready when Im ready." Notes -- Leafs centre Peter Holland wasnt feeling well and was given Saturdays morning skate off. Carlyle said he expects Holland to play against the Montreal Canadiens. ... Toronto recalled forward Troy Bodie from the AHL, and hes expected to replace the injured David Clarkson in the lineup. Nets Jerseys 2020 . When Reyes signed a US$106-million, six-year deal with Miami last month, there was speculation Ramirez was unhappy about being supplanted at short. But new manager Ozzie Guillen sold Ramirez on the idea. Stitched Nets Jerseys . The thunderous cheers quickly changed to an appreciative chant: "Ma-son! Ma-son! Ma-son! Headed to New York with new life, Mason sure earned this curtain call. https://www.cheapnetsonline.com/ . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result.BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. It turned out, the Toronto coach had good reason to be. The Raptors couldnt overcome a horrible first quarter -- their worst 12 minutes of the series -- en route to a 97-83 loss to Brooklyn Nets on Friday, sending the series back to the Air Canada Centre tied at three games apiece. "Any Game 6, a team is going to come out with a desperate mindset," Casey said. "This team they built to win a championship this year. Theyre going to come out and give you their best shot. . . knew that coming in and tried to warn our team. "Guys who havent been in Game 6 before, its one of the toughest things to do. Again, experience is the best teacher. Now were going into Game 7, its our first time at that. Luckily we have it at home." DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points but got little help from the rest of the Raptors who trailed 34-19 at the end of the first quarter against a Nets team that was facing elimination. Now its down to one game for Toronto to make the second round of the post-season for just the second time in the franchises 19-year history, and a date with the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat. "Yeah, its Game 7," Kyle Lowry said. "We all grew up watching Game 7s and want to be a part of Game 7s. Weve still got to go out there and not be too over anxious. Weve still got to go out there and do what we need to do. "Me personally, Im not going to be all amped up. Its going to be a game that we have to go home and win." Theyll clearly need a better effort than they gave Friday. Lowry was the only other Raptor to score in double figures with 11 points. Jonas Valanciunas had nine points and nine rebounds, while Greivis Vasquez added nine points. "We just didnt come out with the competitive nature that we needed tonight," Lowry said. "They did an unbelievable job of forcing their will on the game tonight, but we have to find a way to match that intensity." Deron Williams, playing on a bad ankle for the better part of the second half, led the Nets with 23 points, while Joe Johnson added 17 points, Kevin Garnett finished with 13 and Paul Pierce added 12. "We were at home. Brooklyn. You cant come in here and get a win, not when its like this," said Garnett. "It was all on the line and thats what we did. I had to go into my vintage bag of tricks. Its the same thing in Game 7. Stay aggressive." Coming off victories in Games 4 and 5, the Raptors were outhustled and outplayed by the Nets from the outset Friday, looking much like the fourth-quarter Raptors in Game 5 on Wednesday that coughed up a 26-point lead yet still managed to hold on to win. The Nets -- who assembled an all-star squad this season, trading for Pierce and Garnett with sights set on an NBA title -- played easily their best basketball of this series. "We started the game out with the opposite disposition that we wanted to, I thought they came out in a desperate mode and we didnt," Casey said. "We didnt start to play that way until we got knocked down in the second half. Thats what the playoffs are about, your start probably tells you how youre going to finish. And tonight, they got their foot on the pedal a lot quicker than we did." Toronto trailed by 26 points midway through the third and went into the fourth down 79-59. The Raptors pushed back in the fourth, opening with a 17-7 run to pull within 10 on a three-pointer by Lowry with 5:02 to play. With the fans at the Barclays Center on their feet, Williams drained a three with 1:13 to play that put the Nets up by 13 and secured the victory for Brooklyn. The fans chanted "U-S-A!" as the final seconds ticked down. A grinning Garnett high-fived Jay-Z. DeRozan who, along with starters Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross, had never pplayed in the post-season before this, said the Raptors werent ready for the intensity of a Game 6. Fake Nets Jerseys. "We didnt really realize, we had Brooklyn against the wall and we didnt take advantage of it like we should have," he said. "We should have known they were going to come out throwing haymakers, and we werent ready for it until the second half." Outside the Barclays Center, there were tongue-in-cheek missing person posters taped to posts of Williams, that read: "MISSING Have you seen this person?" above Williams mug shot. Reward was listed as $63,128,400 -- the amount remaining on the point guards contract. Williams showed up Friday, but the Raptors didnt. Despite spraining his left ankle early in the third quarter, Williams made good on 8-of-16 shots from the floor and dominated his matchup with Lowry, who shot 4 for 16. The Nets shot 47 per cent from the field, while the Raptors shot 38 per cent on the night. Toronto was outrebounded 45-42. With the Nets cobbling together their star-studded lineup with its payroll plus taxes of more than US$180 million, experience was a theme early in the series -- Pierce alone had almost as many post-season appearances as the entire Raptors roster prior to Game 1. And it reared its head again Friday with the Raptors response to Game 6. Pierce said he cant wait for Game 7. "Its going to be fun," Pierce said. "This is what the NBA is all about -- these pressure-type moments. These are the types of games that elevate good players to great players. We have so many of them coming up this weekend, its an exciting time, and were going to enjoy it. Its a hostile environment -- win or go home. "Hey, this is the type of situation that I love and want to be in. I love our chances." Casey, however, doesnt believe this loss will affect his teams confidence in its win-or-go home game on Sunday. "To listen to some of this (talk of losing momentum), we may as well not play Game 7," Casey said. "Every game is different and I know our team will bounce back. Weve got to come out of the gates a lot fresher, a lot harder, especially starting on the defensive end of the floor." The sellout crowd of 17,732 included Drake, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Rosie ODonnell, Ellen Pompeo -- Meredith on "Greys Anatomy", New York Giants receiver Mario Manningham, and Brooklyn rapper Fabolous, who announced the Nets lineup. There were numerous pockets of red-clad Raptors fans who stood out against the Nets fans, wearing white T-shirts as part of a giveaway. This series has been drama-filled since Game 1 when Raptors GM Masai Ujiri dropped his famous F-bomb about Brooklyn -- earning him a US$25,000 fine -- and the shot clocks malfunctioned at the Air Canada Centre. There was Drake and his lint roller, and the huge crowds that packed Maple Leaf Square for every game, home and away. Several thousand braved the chilly temperatures again Friday to watch the game on the big screen outside the Air Canada Centre. Nets coach Jason Kidd was fined US$25,000 earlier Friday by the NBA for public criticism of officiating. The New York Daily News back cover photo Friday morning was of the Brooklyn coach, under the headline "Whiny Kidd." When asked about the fine prior to tipoff, Kidd replied: "Fine? Its a beautiful day today isnt it? Did it rain?" The Raptors trailed by double digits less than eight minutes into the game. DeRozan scored 10 points in the first, but got little help from his teammates, and the Raptors trailed 34-19 heading into the second. It was more of the same in the second, a putback layup by Andray Blatche giving the Nets a 21-point advantage with four-and-a-half minutes left in the half. Former Raptor Alan Anderson drained a 17-foot step-back jumper with less than a second on the clock to put the Nets up 60-41 heading into the halftime break. A three-pointer by Pierce gave the Nets a 26-point lead five minutes into the third quarter, and the Nets took a 79-59 lead into the fourth. ' ' '
« Sidney Powell responds after Trump campaign says she is not part of legal team: | t out the Thunders 92-84 win over Minnesota on » |
|
Board Statistics
The forum has 1816
topics
and
1816
posts.
|