Nets-Raptors is the first-round series both teams asked for

CLEVELAND — When Raptors guard Terrence Ross was asked a few weeks ago in an Internet chat what team he would like to face in the playoffs, the second-year guard had a definitive answer.

“I want Brooklyn, personally,” Ross wrote.

Now Ross will get his chance, after the combination of the Nets losing to the Cavaliers and the Wizards winning in Boston Wednesday night meant the Nets, who dropped to the sixth seed, will face the third-seeded Raptors beginning Saturday afternoon in Toronto.

The Nets haven’t forgotten what Ross said.

“Ross asked for this,” Andray Blatche said after Wednesday’s 114-85 loss to the Cavaliers, in which coach Jason Kidd sat all his starters. “So now, first of all, they’ve got to back up their words.

“Right now, we’re going to go home, get prepared for Toronto. … We were able to rest some of our key guys, so we’re going to start practicing and going over our strategy tomorrow.”

The series likely will be an extension of an entertaining four regular-season games between the two franchises that were split evenly, with three decided by a total of seven points and the fourth close heading into the fourth quarter before the Raptors won it with a late surge.

Toronto’s success this season has been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises. Initially expected to be a contender for a high lottery pick in general manager Masai Ujiri’s first season after being hired away from the Nuggets, the Raptors instead took off after trading away Rudy Gay early in the season in exchange for four role players — Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, Chuck Hayes and John Salmons.

As a result, Toronto finished with a franchise-record 48 wins and claiming their second Atlantic Division title, giving the Raptors their first playoff appearance since 2008.

“They’re well-coached,” Kidd said with a smile, having played for Raptors coach Dwane Casey when Casey was an assistant in Dallas. “I know they’ll be well-prepared.

“It will be a very hostile environment, they have great fans, and they’ve got a great team, a team that won the Atlantic and we had four pretty good games against them. We split the series with them, so it should be an exciting series.”

The Raptors have the ingredients necessary to give the Nets’ small-ball look fits. Between an explosive backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and a pair of capable big men in Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto has the two things — quick guards and a big frontline — that give the Nets problems.

But the key to their team has been Lowry, who has blossomed into an elite point guard this season, and particularly after Gay was dealt, averaging 17.9 points and 7.4 assists while giving the Raptors a toughness and edge they didn’t have previously.

“I think one of the keys to their success is Kyle Lowry,” Andrei Kirilenko said. “He’s really blossomed this year really organizing their team, and DeRozan is playing at an unbelievable level this season. Those guys are going to be the main threats, but they’re very well-supported.”

That being said, the Nets have the vast edge in playoff experience, and they enter the postseason confident they have what it takes to make a deep run in what appears to be a much more wide open Eastern Conference than was expected for most of the season thanks to the late swoons by both top-seeded Indiana and two-time defending champion Miami.

“It’s like a new season starts right now,” Kirilenko said. “From the fan perspective, you’re playing just for the chance to make the playoffs. Right now, it’s different.

“Right now, every game counts. Every possession, every set you play on the floor is important. It’s going to be important for us to keep concentrated, keep our heads in the game and not drop.”