Raptors unfazed by talk of Nets 'tanking'

The Toronto Raptors won the Atlantic Division and set a franchise record with 48 wins. They've still been labelled the weakest of the top four playoff teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets may think so. Brooklyn dropped four of its last five games, with head coach Jason Kidd resting his regulars in a 29-point loss to Cleveland on the final night of the season, as the Nets slid from fifth to sixth in the conference standings, earning a first-round meeting with the Raptors and avoiding fourth-seeded Chicago.

"I like right where we are, a good place," Kidd said after the seeding was confirmed.

The Nets may be happy, but the third-seeded Raptors aren't too pleased at the portrayal.

"It would tick me off if that was the case," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said, when asked for his opinion on Brooklyn's alleged strategy of tanking.

"If they did, sometimes, you have to be careful what you wish for."

Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri was also feisty, saying he and his team "haven't lost one second of sleep worrying about the Brooklyn Nets."

"They can do whatever they want," Ujiri said. "We'll be right here."

Toronto (48-34) and Brooklyn (44-38) split four meetings during the regular season, with each team winning once on the opponent's court.

Kidd insisted health, not seeding, was the motivation for his lineup choices late in the season, and Brooklyn forward Paul Pierce played down the topic of tanking and hurt feelings after the Nets practiced Friday.

"If we angered them or whatever, that's for them to figure out," Pierce said. "Everybody's going to try and use something for bulletin board motivation. To me, the motivation is a championship."

Here are five things to watch in the series between the Nets and Raptors:

Are you experienced?

Brooklyn has the overwhelming edge in playoff experience. Three Toronto starters - all-star guard DeMar DeRozan, second-year guard Terrence Ross, second-year centre Jonas Valanciunas - have never played in the post-season. Pierce alone has started 136 playoff games, while the Raptors combined roster has played in 156. "They're a veteran team," Casey said of the Nets. "They've seen it all. They've seen every scheme and coverage you can throw at them. We're going to have to mix it up."

Push the tempo 

Brooklyn's experience can also be a disadvantage. Pierce is 36 years old and Kevin Garnett is almost 38. Toronto's oldest starter is 28-year-old point guard Kyle Lowry, while DeRozan is 24, Ross, 23, and Valanciunas, 21. Casey said his team's biggest edge is in "speed, athleticism and energy," and DeRozan agreed. "It's hard to keep up chasing a guy like Terrence Ross off two, three screens," he said. "We've got to use our youth to our advantage."

Coaching connection 

Casey and Kidd, both making their playoff debuts as head coaches, have a championship history together from their days in Dallas. Casey was an assistant coach and Kidd the star point guard for the Mavericks team that upset Miami in the 2011 Finals. The two men remain friends. Casey said Friday that he wasn't surprised to see Kidd reach the playoffs in his first season as an NBA head coach, saying, "Jason was always a step ahead of the curve." Kidd was equally complimentary when asked about his former coach, the architect of Dallas' formidable defence. "He's a great teacher," Kidd said of Casey. "He's as good as they come, on and off the court."

Good guards

Casey calls Lowry the most important player on the Raptors' roster and he's got a compelling matchup with Nets point guard Deron Williams. "He's our engine, he's our spirit, he's our toughness," Casey said. "He sets the tone for everything we do on both ends of the floor." Lowry counts himself as a fan of Williams' game. "I like everything he does," Lowry said. "He can score. He can shoot, pass, handle. He's creative."

We meet again

This is a rematch, under strikingly similar circumstances, of a first-round series from the 2007 playoffs. That year, the sixth-seeded New Jersey Nets upset the third-seeded Raptors, surprise winners of the Atlantic Division, in six games, with Kidd averaging a triple-double for the Nets. Neither team has won a playoff series since, both losing in the first round in their lone appearance.