s dressing room while Pittsburgh threw one last bash with the

NEW YORK -- Jeremy Lin will be urged to become a better leader. Brook Lopez will be challenged to rebound and defend better.Kenny Atkinson believes in being direct and honest with his players, but theres one thing the new Brooklyn Nets coach wont discuss with them.After all, the players already know some people dont think very much of them.I think those guys are aware of it, so as a coach I dont think I need to be putting stuff up in the locker room and motivating them that way, Atkinson said Tuesday.Expectations are low for the Nets, who open training camp next Tuesday. While they could be better than last seasons 21-61 record, they also could be the worst team in the Eastern Conference, now that the Philadelphia 76ers will be interested in trying to win.Odds makers, media members and even some of their own fans dont expect much from the Nets, and some players already have made clear they wont be as bad as critics say.I dont think we look at is as bulletin board material, general manager Sean Marks said. I mean, youve read probably a couple of pieces that some of our guys have said that they dont agree with those odds and thats great. Thats exactly what we want ... thats the competitor in them.Marks, a former assistant general manager with San Antonio, begins his first full season after he was hired last February. He hired Atkinson from Atlanta, where he helped the Hawks reach the second round of the playoffs as an assistant to Mike Budenholzer.They made a number of additions over the summer, but not the splashy types the Nets favored during their first few years in Brooklyn, when they were trying to win new fans while also winning games. That led to trades for players such as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Joe Johnson, and they reached the postseason in their first three seasons after moving from New Jersey.But the mindset has changed now, with the bold predictions of Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov giving way to tempered talk from Marks, a New Zealand native. Prokhorov wanted to win fast -- time expired on his goal of winning a championship within five years of buying the team -- but now is backing a plan to build slowly.Well, it depends on what your definition of slow is, Marks said. Our owners know exactly what the expectations are, so theyre 100 percent on board. Theyve been on board all summer long.Lopez is the teams best player and the Nets hope Lin, back in the city where he was briefly a star with the Knicks in 2012, can build on a strong season as the backup to Kemba Walker in Charlotte. Atkinson was an assistant under Mike DAntoni in New York during the Linsanity days and believes Lin is ready to handle the responsibilities of running this team.Its a heck of a challenge for him, but I think hes prepared for it, Atkinson said. I think its the right time in his career.The Nets were encouraged by the play this summer of guard Bojan Bogdanovic, who was Croatias leading scorer as it qualified for the Olympics, then surprisingly reached the quarterfinals. And they have high hopes for youngsters such as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris McCullough, Sean Kilpatrick and rookie Caris LeVert, even though none of them have played a full NBA season yet.Thats why Marks said success for the Nets wont be measured only in wins and losses, but by how those players improve during the season.This is not going to be something thats going to turn around in two, three months, he said. As weve said before, we want something thats done strategically and systematically that builds a strong foundation and not something thats a fleeting moment.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BriancmahoneyAir Max 97 Valentines Day 2019 . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Air Max 97 Clearance . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. http://www.outletairmax97.com/air-max-97-plus-cheap.html . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Air Max 97 China Wholesale . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Air Max 97 Undefeated Fake . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said.PITTSBURGH -- Marc-Andre Fleury spent the better part of the Pittsburgh Penguins push to a fourth Stanley Cup watching from the bench while rookie Matt Murray backstopped the franchise to a title.Yet rather than trade the winningest goaltender in team history in the offseason, the Penguins hung onto him, confident they could find a way to make their two-goalie tandem work.Maybe theyre right.With Murray out with a broken hand, Fleury made 39 saves in regulation and overtime then stuffed Washington star Alexander Ovechkin in the fourth round of a shootout as the Penguins edged the Capitals 3-2 in the season opener on Thursday night.Fleury had a chance to end things after three rounds but let Nicklas Backstrom slip the puck past him and extend the game. Pittsburghs Phil Kessel then beat Braden Holtby with a wrist shot initially ruled no goal before being overturned on replay and Fleury stuffed Ovechkin to help the Penguins improve to 5-0 all-time against Washington in openers.I didnt finish it out, so I was a little mad, Fleury said. It was nice to see (Kessel) put that in and I had a chance to redeem myself and finish it out.Patric Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin scored as the Penguins capped a celebratory night in which they lifted their latest Stanley Cup banner to the rafters during an electric pregame ceremony by tripping up one of their biggest rivals.It felt like a midseason game where youre in position and you pull one of those great wins off, Hornqvist said.Andre Burakovsky scored twice for Washington and Holtby made 28 stops but allowed three goals in the shootout.Obviously they have a lot of energy coming off the ceremony and weve been waiting to play some meaningful games for a while here, said Holtby, who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHLs top goaltender last season. Two good teams and it always ends up in a pretty good game against them.The Penguins began their 50th year with one final nod to their 49th, as Sidney Crosby carried the Stanley Cup onto the ice one last time and placed it on a table at center ice before joining his teammates to watch the banner slowly raised to join others the organization earned in 1991, 1992 and 2009.ddddddddddddNo team has repeated since the Detroit Red Wings did it nearly 20 years ago, and Pittsburgh will begin its second defense of the Crosby-era without their captain, who is out indefinitely while dealing with a concussion. Considering the slog the six-month, 82-game regular season provides, theres no sense of urgency for Crosby to return. The two-time MVP and Conn Smythe winner of last years playoffs he is skating with his teammates and described himself as day to day.The Capitals began the season where they ended their last following a six-game loss to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was another bitter setback that took some of the shine off winning the Presidents Trophy for having the best record in the league.Washington stayed in its dressing room while Pittsburgh threw one last bash with the Cup and Burakovsky wasted little time providing a buzzkill to the yellow glow-stick waving crowd. He finished an end-to-end rush by taking a feed from Nicklas Backstrom and beating Fleury between the legs just 59 seconds into the game.Hornqvists power-play tip-in 8:47 into the second tied it and Malkin put the Penguins in front when a Washington giveaway and a setup pass from Conor Sheary allowed Malkin to deke his way by Holtby, the puck smacking off the post then off Holtbys left pad and into the net.Burakovskys second 6:13 into the third tied it and set up another taut finish, fitting considering five of their six playoff meetings were decided by a goal.I swear we had six chances to put the puck in the back of the net 3-on-3, so give full marks to Fleury, Washington coach Barry Trotz said.Game notesPittsburgh improved to 95-49-18 in 162 regular-season games without Crosby in the lineup, including 53-19-9 at home. ... Pittsburgh went 1 for 2 on the power play. The Capitals were 0 for 3.UP NEXTWashington: hosts New York Islanders in home opener on Saturday.Pittsburgh: welcomes Anaheim on Saturday night. ' ' '