On Saturday, the morning before the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors were set to tip off their Eastern Conference play-offs series that night, the Toronto Sun ran its best effort at a trash-talking headline: "Raptors vs Dinosaurs".
The dinosaurs, of course, being the, well, veteran Nets. “Garnett and Pierce are so old the Raptor had to ask his dad about them,” ran the sub-head.
Not bad, as far as good-natured newspaper ribbing goes.
Only problem is Brooklyn went on to win Game 1 away, 94-87.
These Nets may be old, and they may have lost the Atlantic Division title to Toronto, but the last four months have shown that none it will probably matter in this series. It might not matter in the entire Eastern Conference play-offs at large.
If the weekend’s play-off opening tips showed anything, it’s that the East feels surprisingly wide-open, and the team best poised to take advantage of that just might be the Nets.
While the Miami Heat managed to trail the 43-win Charlotte Bobcats as late as into the third quarter on Sunday and the Indiana Pacers actually lost to the 38-win Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, both at home, the Nets led the 48-win Raptors nearly from start to finish on the road.
It was an impressive display from a team that, despite being the conference’s sixth seed, look every bit the third favourite after Miami and Indiana. Considering the Pacers’ late-season slide, they might even be the second favourite.
It’s a far cry from the oft-cited 10-21 start the Nets found themselves mired in as the clock struck midnight on December 31, hours after they’d lost to San Antonio by 21 points.
They went 34-17 to finish the season, giving them a .666 winning percentage that would have trailed only Miami in the East stretched out over a full season. After allowing 106.7 points per 100 possessions during their 10-21 start (third-worst in the league during that time) they brought that down to 103.9 in the final 51 games (12th). They also went from scoring 101.9 points per 100 (18th) to 105.9 points (13th).
Joe Johnson and Deron Williams have figured out how to split primary scoring duties. Paul Pierce has become comfortable in his secondary offensive role. Kevin Garnett is anchoring a small-ball team defensive scheme that’s working.
And if it continues, the inconsistency and general weakness of the rest of the East just might allow for a reign of these dinosaurs.
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
RACECARD
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
The specs: 2019 Audi Q8
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 340hp @ 3,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
