TORONTO - With recent history heavily favouring the visiting team, the Raptors (6-![8)]( "8)")
will welcome the Miami Heat (12-3) back to the Air Canada Centre tonight in the hopes of knocking off the defending champions for the first time in nearly four years. Adidas Superstar II Black Suede / White . Dont miss a single shot, live on TSN beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. Winners of their last eight games, the Heat return to Toronto for the second time in the month of November. After beginning the season 4-3, allowing 100.9 points on 47 per cent shooting, Miamis resurgent defence has vaulted them back to the top of a weak Eastern Conference. Teams are scoring just 91.9 points, shooting 42 per cent against the Heat during their streak. "Its significant in the fact that youre playing against the championship team," Dwane Casey said of a match-up with the Heat, who have won their last 12 meetings with the Raptors - including six straight in Toronto - most recently a 104-95 victory on Nov. 5. "You can measure yourself a little bit, see where you are as a player, see where you are as a team but its not going to define our season, win or lose." The Raptors havent defeated Miami since Jan. 27, 2010, the winter before LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami. Although each of their scoring averages are down from a year ago, all three of the Heats all-stars are shooting above 50 per cent this season. Toronto nearly clawed back from a 15-point deficit in the final three minutes of Tuesdays contest at home to the struggling Nets. Instead, a missed Amir Johnson three-point attempt at the buzzer sealed the teams disappointing 102-100 loss. "We take two steps forward and we take a half a step back," Casey said, his team allowing Brooklyn to shoot 51 per cent Tuesday. "Thats the mark of a young team, trying to find themselves. But you can say that about a lot of teams in the league." "Its a trend in the NBA, period," he continued. "Theres probably three-to-four teams that can say, this is who we are and [are] playing that way. Theres a lot of teams, for whatever reason and specifically in the Eastern Conference, that are trying to find who they are and what they want to be." One month into the season, the Heat are one of only two Eastern Conference teams with a record above .500 and one of four teams - including the Raptors - with a positive point differential. "I dont think anybody really saw it coming," Chris Bosh said of the weak conference. "A lot of teams have struggled early. Its down a little bit but its a long season, Im sure a lot of teams will turn their fate around and start playing better basketball." Bosh is averaging 19.6 points in seven career games against the Raptors, his former team. He didnt play in the first meeting this season following the birth of his daughter. Trends and Tidbits DeMar DeRozan has led the Raptors in scoring in four of the last five games. Averaging 28.6 points in those contests, the Raptors guard leads in the NBA in scoring since Nov. 5. DeRozan is shooting 52 per cent from the field and 13-of-25 beyond the arch over that stretch. He has hit three or more treys in three of the last five games, a feat he has accomplished six times in the last 17 contests - dating back to last season - after doing so just twice in the first 311 games of his career. Kyle Lowry has led the Raptors in assists in each of the last six contests. He has recorded 49 assists with just 10 turnovers during that stretch. The Raptors can finish with seven wins in October/November for the first time since 2009 with a victory on Friday. What to Watch For Defending home court With perhaps their most complete efforts coming on the road - in Memphis and Philadelphia - the Raptors have struggled to maintain their focus on home court this season. They have an identical record at home (3-4) as they do away from Toronto and they have lost three of their last four at the ACC. "Our focus is not where it needs to be at home," Casey admitted after practice on Thursday. "Its hard to say [why]. I think its easy and kind of human nature to relax at home a little bit, thinking home is going to take care of you but the main thing is, you need to take care of home." Taking care of the ball The Raptors trailed by just four points after three quarters in the previous meeting with Miami before nine fourth-quarter turnovers - they had six in the first 36 minutes - ignited the Heat, who began to pull away. "We didnt take care of the ball," Casey said of that game. "They fuel their offence off of turnovers and that was our Achilles heel against this team the last time we played them." "You should be on high alert the entire time," he continued. "I think teams get fired up to play them, you lose a little focus whether they turn it up or not. I wouldnt say they take possessions off but they know when to turn it on and off and thats a characteristic of a good team. They know what possessions are important and what possessions arent important and believe me, theyre dialled in when they need to be dialled in." Who to Watch For Rudy Gay Immediately after Tuesdays loss to Brooklyn, a game in which he shot 3-of-12 and deferred to Johnson on the deciding possession, Gay went up to the teams practice facility where he spent the evening shooting. "The only thing I could do after that game was just go in and shoot some jump shots, get it off my head and also work on my game," said Gay, who is averaging just 14.7 points on 34 per cent shooting in his last three games. Although the Raptors forward generally gets up for match-ups opposite top tiered wing players and played well against James and the Heat last season, he struggled in defeat earlier this month. Gay was just 3-for-10, scoring 13 points and registered four turnovers - he leads the team with 48 total - in the Nov. 5 loss to Miami. "Ive never questioned Rudys commitment, not at all," Casey said. "Is he shooting the ball the way he wants to? No. But thats what he has to do, is work at that pace. Ive mentioned it to him, youve got to shoot at that fourth-quarter tempo when you work on your game at night time. Youve got to shoot it like its the game winning shot." LeBron James James has been dominant in every facet of the game during Miamis winning streak. Over the last eight games, the four-time MVP is averaging 27.6 points, connecting on 61 per cent of his field goals. Guarded primarily by Gay, James tallied 35 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against the Raptors earlier in November. "We know what LeBron likes to do," Johnson said. "The focal point is going to be on him. We might throw different looks at him, double teams." Injury Report Raptors forward Quincy Acy will be a game-time decision with a sprained right ankle that has kept him out of the last three contests. Grey Michael Kors Tote Bag . (July 22, 2012) – D. Adidas Neo Trainers Womens . Fontaine, Minnesotas seventh shooter, went wide on Canucks goaltender Eddie Lack and slid the puck under him. Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper preserved the win by denying Vancouvers final shooter, David Booth, as he attempted a spin-o-rama shot. http://www.bestdealstoreuk.com/adidas-superstar-shoes.html .Y. -- Dont rule out Niagara Falls as a potential future home of the Buffalo Bills.TORONTO -- A reflective J.P. Arencibia says he has been his own worst enemy in the past. "A lot of my struggles were from doubts and trying to do too many things," the former Blue Jay told reporters Friday upon his return to Rogers Centre with the Texas Rangers. The 28-year-old Arencibia also admitted he had heaped pressure on himself by worrying about all the permutations of what might happen when he stepped into the batting box. Now he has come to the realization that simple is best, it seems. "God gave me abilities to do something special on the field. What are those?" he said. "So I can say All right, I need to work on those things. And not worry about everything else. And when I get into the plate, think of one pitch at the time. Not hey, if I take this pitch, is it going to affect this pitch?" Arencibia endured a horror show of a 2013 season with Toronto, hitting .194 with 148 strikeouts in 474 at-bats. He did hit 21 homers and 54 RBIs. He said it was a year of pressure, his mind going a mile a minute. "Fortunately I was able to put the ball in play at times but I wasnt good," he said. "I was fighting myself," he added. "I was in my own way. That was the biggest thing. I had to go down (to the minors) and kind of get out of my own way." It seems to be working. He slammed a three-run homer off R.A. Dickey in the seventh inning Friday. Arencibia signed with Texas as a free agent, hitting .133 with a .182 on-base percentage in 20 games before being sent to the triple-A Round Rock Express in mid-May. He was recalled Thursday. With three other catchers (Robinson Chirinos, Chris Giminez and Geovany Soto) on the Rangers active roster, Arencibia has been getting a crash course in playing first base. He hit .279 with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs in triple-A. He got the start Friday at first base, becoming the eighth Ranger this season to start there. Asked if he was a first baseman or catcher now, he said that wasnt his decision. "Obviously they know I can catch and they have a lot of catchers on the roster. So right now if playing first is best for the team, thats what Im doing. Ill work hard to be the best first baseman I can be." The stint in the minors helped slow the game down, he said. "I 100 per cent needed it," Areencibia said. Michael Kors Hamilton Bag Uk. . "It was something that was necessary. I went back and had to iron something out and be who I can be. "That was really the main thing -- changing my mentality and really understanding myself ... Obviously you dont want to be down there, and at the beginning it was tougher but more and more as I was down there, I realized there was good purpose behind it. And I was proud of myself to get past that and bounce back." Arencibia said his struggle was to be himself. "A lot of times I tried to be somebody I wasnt. I tried to be maybe what baseball or whatever I thought needed to do statistically to be a better player. And by doing that, by not being myself, I went backwards. "Im the player I can be (now). I went back to triple-A and really tried to be that." That mindset included being aggressive at the plate "and looking to do damage as opposed to worrying about swinging at a pitch in the first or making this mistake or that mistake." Arencibia was warmly received by some of the Rogers Centre staff before the game, with hugs and handshakes. He said he was not worried about how the crowd might react. "I know the people that cared about me and the people I impacted," he said. "Whatever may be the reaction, good or bad, I wish everybody well. Obviously I cant control that stuff." He received a smattering of boos when the Rangers starting lineup was announced. The fans were far more vocal at his first at-bat -- a strikeout that turned the boos to cheers. Arencibia was far more cutting in Texas in May when quizzed by the Toronto Star about his time in Toronto. "I learned the media controls a lot of things and the only question that you guys were writing in the off-season was what they were going to do behind the plate, when obviously the pitching was something that needed to be addressed," he told the newspaper. "But I was the only question because I was the villain of the team." Asked Friday whether he regretted such comments, he said: "Im not really here to talk about any of that stuff. We all said what we needed to say. Im excited to be back in the major leagues." Arencibias life has also changed off the baseball field. In June, he married Band Perry singer Kimberly Perry in Greeneville, Tenn. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
will welcome the Miami Heat (12-3) back to the Air Canada Centre tonight in the hopes of knocking off the defending champions for the first time in nearly four years. Adidas Superstar II Black Suede / White . Dont miss a single shot, live on TSN beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. Winners of their last eight games, the Heat return to Toronto for the second time in the month of November. After beginning the season 4-3, allowing 100.9 points on 47 per cent shooting, Miamis resurgent defence has vaulted them back to the top of a weak Eastern Conference. Teams are scoring just 91.9 points, shooting 42 per cent against the Heat during their streak. "Its significant in the fact that youre playing against the championship team," Dwane Casey said of a match-up with the Heat, who have won their last 12 meetings with the Raptors - including six straight in Toronto - most recently a 104-95 victory on Nov. 5. "You can measure yourself a little bit, see where you are as a player, see where you are as a team but its not going to define our season, win or lose." The Raptors havent defeated Miami since Jan. 27, 2010, the winter before LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami. Although each of their scoring averages are down from a year ago, all three of the Heats all-stars are shooting above 50 per cent this season. Toronto nearly clawed back from a 15-point deficit in the final three minutes of Tuesdays contest at home to the struggling Nets. Instead, a missed Amir Johnson three-point attempt at the buzzer sealed the teams disappointing 102-100 loss. "We take two steps forward and we take a half a step back," Casey said, his team allowing Brooklyn to shoot 51 per cent Tuesday. "Thats the mark of a young team, trying to find themselves. But you can say that about a lot of teams in the league." "Its a trend in the NBA, period," he continued. "Theres probably three-to-four teams that can say, this is who we are and [are] playing that way. Theres a lot of teams, for whatever reason and specifically in the Eastern Conference, that are trying to find who they are and what they want to be." One month into the season, the Heat are one of only two Eastern Conference teams with a record above .500 and one of four teams - including the Raptors - with a positive point differential. "I dont think anybody really saw it coming," Chris Bosh said of the weak conference. "A lot of teams have struggled early. Its down a little bit but its a long season, Im sure a lot of teams will turn their fate around and start playing better basketball." Bosh is averaging 19.6 points in seven career games against the Raptors, his former team. He didnt play in the first meeting this season following the birth of his daughter. Trends and Tidbits DeMar DeRozan has led the Raptors in scoring in four of the last five games. Averaging 28.6 points in those contests, the Raptors guard leads in the NBA in scoring since Nov. 5. DeRozan is shooting 52 per cent from the field and 13-of-25 beyond the arch over that stretch. He has hit three or more treys in three of the last five games, a feat he has accomplished six times in the last 17 contests - dating back to last season - after doing so just twice in the first 311 games of his career. Kyle Lowry has led the Raptors in assists in each of the last six contests. He has recorded 49 assists with just 10 turnovers during that stretch. The Raptors can finish with seven wins in October/November for the first time since 2009 with a victory on Friday. What to Watch For Defending home court With perhaps their most complete efforts coming on the road - in Memphis and Philadelphia - the Raptors have struggled to maintain their focus on home court this season. They have an identical record at home (3-4) as they do away from Toronto and they have lost three of their last four at the ACC. "Our focus is not where it needs to be at home," Casey admitted after practice on Thursday. "Its hard to say [why]. I think its easy and kind of human nature to relax at home a little bit, thinking home is going to take care of you but the main thing is, you need to take care of home." Taking care of the ball The Raptors trailed by just four points after three quarters in the previous meeting with Miami before nine fourth-quarter turnovers - they had six in the first 36 minutes - ignited the Heat, who began to pull away. "We didnt take care of the ball," Casey said of that game. "They fuel their offence off of turnovers and that was our Achilles heel against this team the last time we played them." "You should be on high alert the entire time," he continued. "I think teams get fired up to play them, you lose a little focus whether they turn it up or not. I wouldnt say they take possessions off but they know when to turn it on and off and thats a characteristic of a good team. They know what possessions are important and what possessions arent important and believe me, theyre dialled in when they need to be dialled in." Who to Watch For Rudy Gay Immediately after Tuesdays loss to Brooklyn, a game in which he shot 3-of-12 and deferred to Johnson on the deciding possession, Gay went up to the teams practice facility where he spent the evening shooting. "The only thing I could do after that game was just go in and shoot some jump shots, get it off my head and also work on my game," said Gay, who is averaging just 14.7 points on 34 per cent shooting in his last three games. Although the Raptors forward generally gets up for match-ups opposite top tiered wing players and played well against James and the Heat last season, he struggled in defeat earlier this month. Gay was just 3-for-10, scoring 13 points and registered four turnovers - he leads the team with 48 total - in the Nov. 5 loss to Miami. "Ive never questioned Rudys commitment, not at all," Casey said. "Is he shooting the ball the way he wants to? No. But thats what he has to do, is work at that pace. Ive mentioned it to him, youve got to shoot at that fourth-quarter tempo when you work on your game at night time. Youve got to shoot it like its the game winning shot." LeBron James James has been dominant in every facet of the game during Miamis winning streak. Over the last eight games, the four-time MVP is averaging 27.6 points, connecting on 61 per cent of his field goals. Guarded primarily by Gay, James tallied 35 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against the Raptors earlier in November. "We know what LeBron likes to do," Johnson said. "The focal point is going to be on him. We might throw different looks at him, double teams." Injury Report Raptors forward Quincy Acy will be a game-time decision with a sprained right ankle that has kept him out of the last three contests. Grey Michael Kors Tote Bag . (July 22, 2012) – D. Adidas Neo Trainers Womens . Fontaine, Minnesotas seventh shooter, went wide on Canucks goaltender Eddie Lack and slid the puck under him. Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper preserved the win by denying Vancouvers final shooter, David Booth, as he attempted a spin-o-rama shot. http://www.bestdealstoreuk.com/adidas-superstar-shoes.html .Y. -- Dont rule out Niagara Falls as a potential future home of the Buffalo Bills.TORONTO -- A reflective J.P. Arencibia says he has been his own worst enemy in the past. "A lot of my struggles were from doubts and trying to do too many things," the former Blue Jay told reporters Friday upon his return to Rogers Centre with the Texas Rangers. The 28-year-old Arencibia also admitted he had heaped pressure on himself by worrying about all the permutations of what might happen when he stepped into the batting box. Now he has come to the realization that simple is best, it seems. "God gave me abilities to do something special on the field. What are those?" he said. "So I can say All right, I need to work on those things. And not worry about everything else. And when I get into the plate, think of one pitch at the time. Not hey, if I take this pitch, is it going to affect this pitch?" Arencibia endured a horror show of a 2013 season with Toronto, hitting .194 with 148 strikeouts in 474 at-bats. He did hit 21 homers and 54 RBIs. He said it was a year of pressure, his mind going a mile a minute. "Fortunately I was able to put the ball in play at times but I wasnt good," he said. "I was fighting myself," he added. "I was in my own way. That was the biggest thing. I had to go down (to the minors) and kind of get out of my own way." It seems to be working. He slammed a three-run homer off R.A. Dickey in the seventh inning Friday. Arencibia signed with Texas as a free agent, hitting .133 with a .182 on-base percentage in 20 games before being sent to the triple-A Round Rock Express in mid-May. He was recalled Thursday. With three other catchers (Robinson Chirinos, Chris Giminez and Geovany Soto) on the Rangers active roster, Arencibia has been getting a crash course in playing first base. He hit .279 with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs in triple-A. He got the start Friday at first base, becoming the eighth Ranger this season to start there. Asked if he was a first baseman or catcher now, he said that wasnt his decision. "Obviously they know I can catch and they have a lot of catchers on the roster. So right now if playing first is best for the team, thats what Im doing. Ill work hard to be the best first baseman I can be." The stint in the minors helped slow the game down, he said. "I 100 per cent needed it," Areencibia said. Michael Kors Hamilton Bag Uk. . "It was something that was necessary. I went back and had to iron something out and be who I can be. "That was really the main thing -- changing my mentality and really understanding myself ... Obviously you dont want to be down there, and at the beginning it was tougher but more and more as I was down there, I realized there was good purpose behind it. And I was proud of myself to get past that and bounce back." Arencibia said his struggle was to be himself. "A lot of times I tried to be somebody I wasnt. I tried to be maybe what baseball or whatever I thought needed to do statistically to be a better player. And by doing that, by not being myself, I went backwards. "Im the player I can be (now). I went back to triple-A and really tried to be that." That mindset included being aggressive at the plate "and looking to do damage as opposed to worrying about swinging at a pitch in the first or making this mistake or that mistake." Arencibia was warmly received by some of the Rogers Centre staff before the game, with hugs and handshakes. He said he was not worried about how the crowd might react. "I know the people that cared about me and the people I impacted," he said. "Whatever may be the reaction, good or bad, I wish everybody well. Obviously I cant control that stuff." He received a smattering of boos when the Rangers starting lineup was announced. The fans were far more vocal at his first at-bat -- a strikeout that turned the boos to cheers. Arencibia was far more cutting in Texas in May when quizzed by the Toronto Star about his time in Toronto. "I learned the media controls a lot of things and the only question that you guys were writing in the off-season was what they were going to do behind the plate, when obviously the pitching was something that needed to be addressed," he told the newspaper. "But I was the only question because I was the villain of the team." Asked Friday whether he regretted such comments, he said: "Im not really here to talk about any of that stuff. We all said what we needed to say. Im excited to be back in the major leagues." Arencibias life has also changed off the baseball field. In June, he married Band Perry singer Kimberly Perry in Greeneville, Tenn. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '