FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS: 1. Walt Tkaczuk Jersey . NBA GMs PICK RAPTORS TO WIN THE ATLANTIC DIVISION: Hows this for some earned respect? Can they do it? Yes, but far from easy. The Nets and Knicks will be the main competition, yet I think if they stay healthy and humble, they can win the division in back-to-back years for the first time. Bottom line, this year is all about improvement and getting back to the playoffs and peaking at the right time (mid-April 2015) to make a run at winning a series and then let it all hang out from there. Keep getting better. Hopefully, an enjoyable ride. 2. JABARI PARKER and ANDREW WIGGINS: On Wednesday, they hook up for a preseason game and the first of many NBA meetings between these two potential stars. I like Parker to win the Rookie of the Year. I think his game is more polished and refined at this stage of his career but I think Wiggins has more long-term potential. Its not where you start but where you finish 10, 12 years from now. Both will be a blast to watch. 3. NIKOLA VUCEVIC (Magic): Smart move getting this youngster locked up to a long-term deal. I like how hard he plays and his effectiveness both facing up and with his back to the basket. Hes a major bright spot and recipient in the Dwight Howard trade. Gotta get value back in those transactions and I feel that hes a good fit for this young squad. 4. KEVIN DURANT (Thunder): Patience is key. I like what hes saying. Steady as she goes. He loves to play so much hes the classic guy that rushes back but Im glad hes going to make sure that hes right before returning to action. His team will hang around and stay competitive in his absence - the keys is having him for the last 75-80 per cent of the season and the playoffs. Might be a blessing in disguise for him. 5. NBA LOTTERY REVISION REJECTED: Lots of chatter out there that the League was going to change the format and it makes complete sense to me. Something has to be done to make sure that teams arent giving it their best to improve. Im surprised that the vote failed. Usually a league as smart as the NBA doesnt have a vote on something like this until its got all the votes it needs to make this happen. Odd decision. Mats Zuccarello Jersey . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday. Brian Leetch Jersey . Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks were proof of that on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapnewyorkrangersjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-jimmy-vesey-jersey . -- D. J. Williams finally has his packing strategy down.SACRAMENTO - The Raptors nearly got away with what should have been one of their most lopsided defeats of the season. Down by 22 early in the fourth quarter, the Raptors - on the heels of yet another fierce comeback - had cut their deficit to six as Kyle Lowry launched what could have been a game-changing three pointer. Kings rookie Ben McLemore closed out hard and the two collided just before Lowrys shot dropped and the whistle blew. Had the bucket counted and, assuming Lowry then connects on the subsequent free throw, the Raptors would have been down by two with 25 seconds remaining. Instead, official Eric Lewis called the foul on the shooter. Lowry had kicked out his leg on the jumper, he explained. The call was bold, to put it mildly, and in disbelief, Lowrys reaction earned him his second technical foul of the game. He was done for the night, heading straight to the locker room, and for all intents and purposes so, too, were the Raptors. On the night, the Raptors were assigned three techs. They finished the game with more personal fouls (35) than Kings field goals (32). Lowry, like the rest of his teammates, didnt say much following Wednesdays 109-101 loss in Sacramento. What he did say spoke volumes. "I cant say what I really want to say," Lowry commented, biting his tongue. "Its as simple as that." Theyve all lived through this narrative before, most recently in Portland this past weekend. Questionable officiating aside - theyve seen their fair share of that, too - slow starts followed by one last-ditch effort to save the day have become the norm. Its a bad habit that the likes of Indiana and Miami can get away with because theyre Indiana and Miami. When the Raptors play with fire, more often than not, theyll get burned. Dwane Casey, moments after lacing into his players in the locker room, could have gone after the officials but wisely chose to save his money and direct his angst at the team. Correct what you can control was the mindset, and the Raptors have displayed a few glaring faults worth correcting. "We havent done anything, Ive been repeating this, we havent done anything in this league yet to come out and play in second gear until we try to turn it on," said the Raptors coach, his team giving up 92 points and trailing by 20 after three quarters Wednesday. "Were not that good and, until we have that disposition from start to finish, were going to be disappointed a lot. Ive said that warning, Ive given that warning and like I just told them, they have to decide how they want to live." The emotions of the evening got the better of them. On a night in which seven players - including the Kings Rudy Gay - faced their former team for the first time since Decembers trade, Sacramento came out with the focus that escaped the Raptors. Jesper Fast Jersey. "Its a business" is a phrase that was uttered over and over on both sides leading up to the much-anticipated reunion between Gay and the Raptors, but only one team followed through on it. "Were out hugging, giving [high] fives and all that," said a disappointed Casey. "This is a business and I didnt think our disposition from start to finish was in the fight mode, the hungry-team mode." The Raptors had rallied around Gay as he made his first trip back to Memphis earlier in the season and the Kings did the same Wednesday. The former Raptors forward and leading scorer had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, but he didnt do it alone because he didnt have to. DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 and Isaiah Thomas added 23. Combined, the three Kings accounted for 41 of the Kings 51 free throw attempts. Toronto made just 24 trips to the line. "Its about putting your body on someone," Casey said. "The fundamental box-out, going to get it, getting to rebounds, all the little things that you have to do. And then you put them on the line 51 times because either youre late or out of position." Just like it did in Portland on Saturday, Torontos defence took the first half off. The Kings - a 16-win team going into the evening - scored 30 points in the first quarter and 37 in the second. By halftime, four of their five starters were in double figures. The Raptors are a resilient bunch, sure. Comeback specialist Steve Novak checked in and promptly knocked down three triples. They made a game of it, as theyve been known to do, but when you rely on the miraculous, you leave yourself vulnerable to the unpredictable nature of crunch time in the NBA. Things happen. In Portland, it was a relatively unforced turnover on the games final possession. In Sacramento, it was a bad call. The visitors locker room in Sleep Train Arena - easily the coziest in the league - was filled with frustrated players, packed together like sardines. They had every reason to be frustrated, but as Casey stressed to them, they need to look inward. "We got guys who are going to fight to the end, but we cant let ourselves get down by 20 and think we are going to come back every time," said John Salmons, one of four Raptors who came over in the trade from Sacramento. "Its not going to happen every time." "Like I told the guys in the locker room, it was probably the worst game weve played since I got here," said Chuck Hayes, another former Kings player. "This ones probably going to [cause us to] lose a couple hours of sleep but weve got to get over it." Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Indians Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Astros Jerseys Cheap Royals Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '