NEW YORK - The basketball gods have spoken, with an assist from Jason Kidd. Stitched Jerseys . The Toronto Raptors will open their first playoff series in six years at home to the Brooklyn Nets at 12:30 PM et Saturday afternoon. The Raptors learned their fate early in the second half of Wednesdays season final - a 95-92 loss to the Knicks - when Chicago fell to Charlotte in overtime, assuring Toronto would finish with the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn had been red-hot, winning 33 of 46 games - the second best record in the East since Jan. 1 - until they dropped four of the last five contests, conceding a division title to the Raptors and ultimately falling to sixth place. Their last stand in Cleveland suggests that the late-season collapse, or at least the latter half of it, may not have been an accident. Kidds Nets squandered a couple of opportunities to lock up the fifth seed, setting up a likely matchup with the surging Bulls, on the final two nights of the campaign. On Wednesday evening, with four teams jockeying for playoff seeding, the Nets rookie head coach opted to sit all five of his starters, suiting up only seven players in a winnable game against the lowly Cavaliers. They would go on to lose by 29. "In my experience, youve got to be careful what you wish for," Dwane Casey cautioned ahead of Wednesdays finale. "You think you want to play a certain team then you start preparing for them and say, wow that teams pretty good. Then youve got a dogfight. I think the best way to approach it is let the basketball gods decide." Faced with a similar decision, Casey - who was an assistant in Dallas when he and Kidd won a championship together in 2011 - chose to play his stars against the Knicks and compete to win. Thats just one of the factors that separate these two teams, that creates a trace of animosity going into this weekends first-round matchup. Whether they care to admit to it or not, the Nets took their foot off the gas in the hope of maximizing the odds of facing an inexperienced Raptors team. Whether Torontos players or coaches care to admit it, thats a slap in the face, or at least it should be. Do they feel slighted? "No, man," Lowry responded, after the game. "They rested their players. Thats what they did." They shouldnt need added motivation, Casey wisely posted out. The Raptors have been underestimated and theyre about to be again. They will be lost in a sea of publicity surrounding the compelling storylines of a big market team with a payroll exceeding $100 million. "Weve played all season as the underdog, as the small guy trying to come up, whatever you want to call it," said DeMar DeRozan, who is one of three Raptors starters slated to make his postseason debut Saturday. "We always play with a chip on our shoulder and we understand going into the playoffs, we havent done nothing. We havent made it to the playoffs in six years. So weve got to go in there with a chip on our shoulder and understand its going to be a dog fight every single game, just like the season was." Their starting lineup goes into the series with 24 games of playoff experience to Brooklyns 399. The average age of the Nets first unit - complete with veterans and future hall of famers - is eight years older than Torontos. Its a clash of old and young, the battle-tested versus the unproven soldiers. "Experience is one thing but youve got to go play," said Casey, who is also venturing into uncharted waters, his first postseason as a head coach. "You have to go out and compete, its why they play the games. Our guys are going to be ready." "Theyve got a lot of older veterans that have been in the league 10-plus years so thats an advantage that we have," DeRozan said. "We understand that theyre experienced and everything but hey, who isnt? Once you come in this league youre going against players all season that are experienced in some way. You just have to find a way to win." The Raptors and Nets split a four-game season series, with each team winning one on the road. Perhaps it was fate. In a redditt AMA chat last month, Terrence Ross identified the Nets as a preferred playoff matchup, to which Brooklyns Andray Blatche took issue and responded, "Ross asked for this, so theyve got to back up their words." These teams faced off in the 2007 playoffs - Toronto the third seed, the Nets, then in New Jersey, the sixth - after the Raptors won their first and only other division title. It was the first postseason experience for the likes of Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker, among others. That inexperience against a veteran Nets team - led by Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson - proved costly, as inexperience tends to be in the playoffs. This Raptors team believes theyre different, that they have something special. They may be right. As most observers - both devoted and casual alike - are aware and will continue to be force-fed ad nauseam ahead of their first postseason game since 2008, the Raptors rapid return to relevance in the East was unexpected. Generous prognosticators billed them as a conference wild card, a fringe playoff team, at best. Division winner? No chance. Not with a pair of entitled New York-area giants and their gargantuan payrolls occupying the Atlantic. Internally, expectations were being tempered, justifiably so. After years of false promises, the word "playoffs" was quickly dismissed in place of a new goal; "growth". They were indeed a wild card in the East. A newly structured front office, an expiring head coach and starting point guard, an $18 million experiment inherited from the previous regime. "We didnt go into the season thinking we were going to be division winners," Casey admitted. "That was our goal but we knew that was going to be a lofty goal. We always go in trying to swing for the fences. Once the trade happened, no one knew. The guys kept working, kept working, kept working and [it] kind of came together." The Raptors were 6-12 before that fabled evening in Los Angeles, the night Rudy Gay was shipped to Sacramento and the fortunes of a long-suffering franchise began to turn. From that point on they would finish the season with a record of 42-22, tops in the East. Some will shrug them off as the poster team of a historically weak Eastern Conference and at one point, early in the season, that may have been the case. However, they made it here on their own merit. Theyre one just four teams, in either conference, to finish in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Their 22 road wins, a franchise record, tied Miami and Washington for the best mark in the East and they finished with 16-14 against the superior Western Conference. Their individual and collective accomplishments seem countless. Their starting five has won more games than any other in team history, each player putting up career highs in minutes logged and scoring. On Monday they hung their second division championship banner and set a new franchise mark in wins. Six months ago that would have been more than enough. Now, its an appetizer. Theyve tasted success and they want more. No one is satisfied. "When I first got here that was one of my biggest goals, to get this team back to the playoffs," said Kyle Lowry. "Im happy to be there but Im not satisfied. I want to go out there, I want to make some noise and show that were really a good team." Cheap Nike Jerseys .com) - Rajon Rondo turned in a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists as Dallas claimed a 102-98 win over the Lakers on Friday. Fake Jerseys From China . -- Nelson Cruz has only two hits in 15 at-bats against the Kansas City Royals this season. https://www.fakejerseyswholesale.com/ . Although the deal cannot be made official until the free agent moratorium period is lifted on July 10, Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $18 million extension to remain in Toronto, sources confirm to TSN.Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The following is a list of inactive players for tonights game. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, 1:00 PM (ET) San Diego - WR Keenan Allen, DT Ryan Carrethers, CB Greg Ducre, DE Cordarro Law, RB Ryan Mathews, DE Damion Square, G Chris Watt Kansas City - WR Donnie Avery, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, CB Phillip Gaines, OL Eric Kush, QB Alex Smith, DT Nick Williams CHICAGO BEARS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS, 1:00 PM (ET) Chicago - QB Jimmy Clausen, S Chris Conte, DT Brandon Dunn, K Robbie Gould, DE Austen Lane, OT Charles Leno, CB Al Louis-Jean Minnesota - OT Carter Bykowski, DB Ahmad Dixon, LB Chad Greenway, RB Henry Josey, CB Shaun Prater, LB Brandon Watts, G David Yankey PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT NEW YORK GIANTS, 1:00 PM (ET) Philadelphia - S Jerome Couplin, CB Bradley Fletcher, QB Nick Foles, DE Taylor Hart, OT Dennis Kelly, WR Jeff Maehl, C Julian Vandervelde NY Giants - TE Jerome Cunningham, OL Adam Gettis, DT Dominique Hamilton, G Eric Herman, CB Jayron Hosley, LB Devon Kennard, WR Corey Washington DALLAS COWBOYS AT WASHINGTON REDSKINS, 1:00 PM (ET) Dallas - DT Josh Brent, OT Doug Free, S Jakar Hamilton, OT Donald Hawkins, LB Rolando McClain, QB Dustin Vaughan, LB Dekoda Watson Washington - LB Steve Beauharnais, WR Leonard Hankerson, G Rishaw Johnson, G Josh LeRibeus, DB Kenny Okoro, DT Travian Robertson, RB Chris Thompson CLEVELAND BROWNS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS, 1:00 PM (ET) Cleveland - WR Phil Bates, DB Justin Gilbert, QB Brian Hoyer, LS Charley Hughlett, OT Andrew McDonald, DL Ahtyba Rubin, OG Ryan Seymour Baltimore - DL Chris Canty, NT Terrence Cody, CB Chris Greenwood, DE Steven Means, OT Eugene Monroe, TE Phillip Supernaw, S Brynden Trawick NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 1:00 PM (ET) New Orleans - OT Terron Armstead, WR Brandon Coleman, LB Moise Fokou, LB Jerry Franklin, CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, WR Seantavius Jones, S Kenny Vaccaro Tampa Bay - OT Anthony Collins, LB Mason Foster, CB Isaiah Frey, WR Robert Herron, RB Mike James, WR Solomon Patton, DE George Uko NEW YORK JETS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1:00 PM (ET) NY Jets - DT T.J. Barnes, WR Percy Harvin, S Jaiquawn Jarrett, OL Wesley Johnson, C Nick Mangold, WR Walter Powell, QB Matt Simms Miami - CB Walt Aikens, C Sam Brenner, DT Deandre Coleman, WR Matt Hazel, RB LaMichael James, WR Rishard Matthews, G Dallas Thomas BUFFALO BILLS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, 1:00 PM (ET) Buffalo - RB Bryce Brown, DT Marcell Dareus, CB Stephon Gilmore, WR Marquise Goodwin, TE Chris Gragg, LB Randell Johnson, OT Cyrus Kouandjio New England - CB Brandon Browner, OL Dan Connolly, WR Julian Edelman, RB Jonass Gray, TE Rob Gronkowski, LB Donta Hightower, OT Sebastian Vollmer INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AT TENNESSEE TITANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Indianapolis - TE Dwayne Allen, OT Gosder Cherilus, LB Jerrell Freeman, NT Zach Kerr, CB Sheldon Price, G Joe Reitz, LB Bjoern Werner Tennessee - OT Terren Jones, OT Taylor Lewan, QB Zach Mettenberger, LB Dontay Moch, DE Ropati Pitoitua, WR Rico Richardson, DB Jemea Thomas JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT HOUSTON TEXANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Jacksonville - S Matt Daniels, CB Jeremy Harris, DT Roy Miller, QB Stephen Morris, OG Tyler Shatley, DE Chris Smith, WR Tommy Streeter Houston - LB Jason Ankrah, DB Josh Aubrey, TE Garrett Graham, LB Mike Mohamed, WR DeVier Posey, QB Tom Savage, OG Xavier Sua-Filo CAROLINA PANTHERS AT ATLANTA FALCONS, 4:25 PM (ET) Carolina - CB James Dockery, OT David Foucault, LB A. Fake Jerseys Online. J. Klein, S Robert Lester, DT Kyle Love, G Amini Silatolu, RB DeAngelo Williams Atlanta - CB Ricardo Allen, FS Charles Godfrey, RB Steven Jackson, DE Stansly Maponga, QB Sean Renfree, OT Jonathan Scott, LB Tyler Starr DETROIT LIONS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS, 4:25 PM (ET) Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, CB Josh Thomas, DE Larry Webster Green Bay - LB Carl Bradford, DT Bruce Gaston, C Garth Gerhart, RB DuJuan Harris, CB Davon House, WR Jeff Janis, TE Justin Perillo ST. LOUIS RAMS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, 4:25 PM (ET) St. Louis - TE Alex Bayer, DE Alex Carrington, TE Justice Cunningham, CB E.J. Gaines, G/C Barrett Jones, G Brandon Washington, DE Ethan Westbrooks Seattle - DE Demarcus Dobbs, TE Cooper Helfet, WR Jermaine Kearse, OL Keavon Milton, CB Tharold Simon, C Max Unger ARIZONA CARDINALS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, 4:25 PM (ET) Arizona - SS Chris Clemons, G Jonathan Cooper, LB Larry Foote, WR Brittan Golden, DE Kareem Martin, QB Drew Stanton, G Anthony Steen San Francisco - CB Tramaine Brock, LB Ahmad Brooks, CB Perrish Cox, RB Carlos Hyde, QB Josh Johnson, WR Stevie Johnson, S Eric Reid OAKLAND RAIDERS AT DENVER BRONCOS, 4:25 PM (ET) Oakland - OL Tony Bergstrom, WR Vincent Brown, CB T.J. Carrie, CB Chimdi Chekwa, DT Stacy McGee, WR Denarius Moore, OT Menelik Watson Denver - T Paul Cornick, TE Dominique Jones, LB Brandon Marshall, OT Michael Schofield, RB Juwan Thompson, DT Mitch Unrein, SS T.J. Ward CINCINNATI BENGALS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 8:30 PM (ET) Cincinnati - OT Tanner Hawkinson, C T.J. Johnson, WR Greg Little, QB A.J. McCarron, CB Terence Newman, DT Devon Still, WR James Wright Pittsburgh - WR Justin Brown, DE Clifton Geathers, G Chris Hubbard, QB Landry Jones, TE Michael Palmer, S Troy Polamalu, CB Ike Taylor ' ' '