Its safe to say the Toronto Raptors have been a pleasant surprise this season, especially since trading Rudy Gay. Authentic Folorunso Fatukasi Jersey . When general manager Masai Ujiri shipped Gay off to the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 8, many thought it was the beginning of the "Tank." They would lose as many games as possible in attempt to grab the first overall pick and select potential superstar – and Canadian – Andrew Wiggins. Well, the complete opposite has happened. Since the move, the Raptors have won 14 of 20 games and sit in third place in the weak Eastern Conference. So with the recent success, has your perception and expectations of the Toronto Raptors changed? Experts and fans alike thought the 2013-2014 Raptors would be a success if they managed to sneak into the playoffs with the seventh or eighth seed and then get steamrolled by the Miami Heat or Indiana Pacers in the first round. But, with disappointing performances from the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto finds itself atop the Atlantic Division with a better than decent shot at not only avoiding the Heat or Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, but earning home-court advantage. Should a second round playoff series be expected from this club now? Over their hot streak, the Raptors have defeated some of leagues elite teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks, both on the road, as well as the East-leading Pacers. They were even able to keep it close against the Heat in South Beach. Theyve shown they can play against the big boys of the NBA so does this mean they can push a series to six or seven games or possibly even upset one of those top teams in the playoffs? It seems head coach Dwane Casey finally has the right players to play his type of defensive basketball. The team is third in the league in opponent points per game with 96. The Raptors are getting all-star performances from DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, whos even getting some MVP consideration. Jonas Valanciunas is averaging close to a double-double in his sophomore season while the players sent over from Sacramento have all contributed, especially Patrick Patterson. At the very least, have the Raptors played well enough to earn respect from around the league? Or maybe Toronto is overachieving and fans should enjoy the success while it lasts, because if Raptors history tells us anything, it may not last long. Let it be known theyre doing all of this in the East where only four teams are over the .500 mark. So with all this considered, has your perception and expectations of the Toronto Raptors changed? As always, its Your! Call. Authentic Sam Darnold Jersey . Abduraimova had not won a tour-level match since 2009 but was a wild-card entry in Tashkent and broke her opponent twice in each set to reach the second round. Second-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania advanced easily by beating Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1, while No. Cheap Jets Jerseys . Saltalamacchia has agreed to a $21 million, three-year deal with the Miami Marlins, two people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday. http://www.cheapnewyorkjetsjerseysauthentic.com/ . - Tiger Woods only made it through 10 holes Thursday — this time because of the weather, not his back.SAN DIEGO -- Nevadas Deonte Burton didnt stand much of a chance against San Diego State. The No. 5 Aztecs held Burton, the Mountain Wests leading scorer, to 11 points, 10 below his average, in beating the Wolf Pack 73-58 on Saturday night. "When you are playing half court and they are doing their pressing, run and jump defence, they really did a good job of helping on him," Nevada coach David Carter said. "Youve got to give them credit, too. He was looking for it but they played good defence and really got us out of rhythm." Xavier Thames scored 17 points, Winston Shepard had 16 and SDSU tied the school record with its 20th straight win. The Aztecs (21-1, 10-0 Mountain West) matched the 20-game win streak by the 2010-11 team, which won its first 20 games before losing at BYU. That team was the first in school history to reach the NCAA round of 16 after getting the programs first victories in the NCAA tournament. It finished 34-3, best in team history. The current Aztecs are the first to open league play 10-0. SDSU was coming off a 67-65 win at Boise State in which it erased a 14-point deficit before winning on a 3-point shot by Dwayne Polee II with four seconds left. The Aztecs only loss was a 69-60 home defeat to then-No. 6 Arizona on Nov. 14. Jerry Evans Jr. scored 17 points for Nevada (12-12, 7-4). After taking control late in the first half, Saan Diego State pulled away in the second half. Authentic Trenton Cannon Jersey. The Aztecs went on a 7-0 run to go up 55-41 with 10:57 left. Aqeel Quinn hit a 3-pointer, JJ OBrien made two free throws after he was fouled hard by Burton and Dwayne Polee had a steal and a layup. After Nevadas Michael Perez made a 3-pointer, Winston Shepard took a pass from Matt Shrigley for a baseline dunk and then made a layup for a 59-44 lead. The Wolf Pack closed to 61-52 on a layup and 3-pointer by Evans before the Aztecs quickly pushed the lead back to 15. Josh Davis had a layup, Shepard a bank shot and Davis a steal and a slam dunk. "They played good pressure defence the whole game," Evans said. "That is a great group and everyone that played contributed. They were too much to overcome tonight. You spend a lot of energy getting the ball past half court. For 40 minutes it is tough to even run a play. "We just gave up baskets at the wrong time and they were getting to the free throw line." The Aztecs closed the first