The pair had been rivals for many years. First competing for the Ligue 1 Golden Boot award, but also for a few seasons as part of one of the biggest derbies in French football, Lyon vs. Saint-Etienne. It was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang vs. Alexandre Lacazette or Lacazette vs. Aubameyang. Opponents first and foremost, but also nice to each other when together off the pitch.

"There has always been a lot of respect between us," Lacazette said.

After all those years of playing against each other, they are finally playing for each other at Arsenal -- and they are a large reason why the Gunners are preparing for the Europa League final in Baku on Wednesday night.

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This season, Unai Emery has found the right way to make them perform up front together. At the start of the campaign, the manager was keen for the Gabon international to play wide on the left, with the Frenchman on his own up front. Little by little, Emery has worked things out to find the right tactical structure that allows them to line up next to each other in and around the box.

Emery's 3-4-1-2 formation became really efficient at the turn of the year. Since Jan. 1, Lacazette has 11 goals and five assists in all competitions, with 16 goals and four assists for Aubameyang over the same span. In total, they have 50 goals in all competitions between them. When Arsenal faced their toughest opponents -- Napoli in the quarterfinals and Valencia in the semifinals -- the duo virtually knocked both sides out by themselves.

"It was just a matter of time. They clicked as soon as they met in the dressing room 19 months ago. They get on so well together in their social lives that it was just a matter of time before it spilled over onto the pitch," Laurent Koscielny, the club's captain who has seen the partnership blossoms, told ESPN.

The off-field element is crucial to their partnership, as well. Being around those two is a joy. You can hear them laugh from afar at each other's jokes ... or at each other's expense. They are always planning things or cracking jokes. Their amusing celebration at Mestalla against Valencia during the Europa League semifinal second leg was prepared before the match. The atmosphere was hot in the stadium and they could not wait to cool it down with a goal. So once they scored, they pretended to be chilly on the pitch like if they had put the air con on!

"They are always laughing," said Matteo Guendouzi, a midfielder they've both taken under their wings. "You can see how natural their relationship is. They are great friends off the pitch and understand each other so well on the pitch. They complement each other well."

Lacazette is the one who likes dropping deeper and taking part in the buildup play. He has all the attributes to be a second striker. Aubameyang likes to run in behind, playing on the shoulder of the last defender.

At 27, Lacazette is a bit younger (Aubameyang will turn 30 next month), and Lacazette also is a bit shorter (5-foot-7 versus 6-foot-1), but he can do things with the ball that Aubameyang can't. They now find each other on the pitch with their eyes virtually closed, as we saw against Valencia. Of Lacazette's 11 this season in all competitions, five have been for his strike partner. Going the other way, Aubameyang has set up three goals for his best friend at Arsenal.

Their rapport extends to social media too: Most of Aubameyang's recent posts on Instagram contain Lacazette! Although they don't mix too much of their private lives, they are inseparable whenever they're on Arsenal duty. They're never far from each other on the plane, at the hotel or in the dressing room.

"It's like they are two brothers," Guendouzi said. "They are perfect for each other. They tease people a lot, they are always in good spirits and they bring so much to the team with their attitude. They also deliver on the pitch, as well."

With Wednesday's Europa League final, the pair are one step from greatness and achieving something that some of the greatest strike partnerships in Arsenal history, like Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, failed to do: bring back a European trophy to North London.

"It has been too long since 1994," said Lacazette, referencing the year Arsenal won their last -- and only -- major trophy outside England. "We want it to be our turn now, and we both want to help the team [get there]."

Yorkshire 181 and 5 for 0 trail Hampshire 235 (Fuller 54*, Northeast 50, Coad 4-41) by 49 runs

The best games of cricket are strewn with the evitable. Annihilations by teams untouched by fallibility rarely make good watching. Seldom, though, does a game pivot quite as sharply as this contest just before lunchtime when Hampshire's methodical pursuit of Yorkshire's first-innings total of 181 was thrown awry by two dismissals the nature of which was completely out of character with the cricket that had preceded them.

By close of play, which was delayed by a long rain-break in mid-afternoon, Sam Northeast's fifth fifty in eight Championship innings and James Fuller's canny 54 not out had served to blur the memory of the morning's play; this is exactly the sort of match critics mean when they complain about cricket's complexity. But the counterfactuals exercised an unusual fascination and some pondered what the game might have looked like had Ajinkya Rahane not lost his wicket and Rilee Rossouw his marbles.

We are being too harsh, perhaps. Nevertheless, a session which had followed an enthralling if predictable course suddenly veered into eccentricity half an hour before lunch. It began at 12.40 when Steve Patterson brought Dom Bess into the attack. Hampshire were 80 for 2 and had lost only Joe Weatherley, brilliantly caught at slip by a leaping Adam Lyth for 14. Then, as if goaded by the introduction of spin, Rahane came down the wicket to Bess and was clumsily stumped by a fumbling Jonny Tattersall for 31. Rahane's thinking was relatively clear: rather in the fashion of many Indian batsmen, he was unwilling to let a spinner settle. Nevertheless, the dismissal still seemed something of a waste.

But such rational analysis was not possible with Rossouw's demise, albeit his innings began in relatively conventional fashion with a single off Bess. David Willey then bowled the next over. Rossouw drove his first ball through point before whacking the fifth over mid-off for a huge six. Then as if intent on disproving the schoolmaster's maxim that you can't hit every ball to the boundary, Rossouw tried to pull the next ball but only skied it miles into the air off the top edge. The chance was well taken by Tom Kohler-Cadmore at slip as other close fielders and wicketkeeper scattered.

"Who knows the secret of the Black Magic box?" asked a rather sultry voice in a chocolates advertisement in the 1970s. Alternatively, spectators at Headingley this morning might have been wondering what goes on in batsmen's heads when they are going about their work.

The dismissals of Rahane and Rossouw left Yorkshire with the advantage from the morning's play. That ascendancy was strengthened shortly after lunch when Tom Alsop was snaffled at slip by Lyth off Duanne Olivier and Northeast was leg before for 50 when shaping to playing Ben Coad across the line. Northeast is making the business of batsmanship look rather simple at the moment; one wonders what is going on inside a cricketer's head at those times, too.

But Hampshire are made of resolute stuff this season. Their new coach, Adi Birrell, is challenging every member of his squad to contribute before the start of every day's play, so perhaps it was appropriate that the player who answered the call this afternoon would not have been in the XI had Kyle Abbott not strained a calf in Saturday's Royal London Cup final.

Fuller is a shrewd batsman who clearly knows the shots he can play. His half-century included three sixes, one of them carved over third man and the other two hit straight. More significantly from Birrell's perspective, he helped Ian Holland add 37 runs for the seventh wicket and Keith Barker put on 27 for the eighth, stands which saw Hampshire take a first-innings lead. (Holland and Barker's contributions also meant that ten batsmen have reached double figures in this match without making 20.) Mason Crane and even the last man, Fidel Edwards, also did their bits although both were bowled by Coad when play resumed after a long break for rain.

The Yorkshire openers survived three overs before close of play which arrived at nearly seven o'clock after one of those days when the early overs of the morning seemed distant indeed. Yet it would be a shame if anyone forgot the astonishing athleticism of Lyth who leapt backwards from second slip to complete a one-handed catch after the ball had looped up off Weatherley's bat and shoulder. Those were clearly the deflections identified by Rob Bailey; Weatherley's downcast look and his slow amble back to the pavilion suggested he thought no bat had been involved.

The old sweats will say that if Hampshire's opener is in doubt as to what happened, he need only look in the scorebook. But sweats of whatever vintage will recall Lyth's catch deep into the winter; and they may also look forward to the next act of a drama whose outcome remains quite uncertain. This may indeed be the type of game critics identify when complaining about cricket's complexity. But it is also the sort of contest which enthrals the rest of us.

Warwickshire 293 (Norwell 64) and 26 for 0 lead Surrey 188 (Foakes 57*, Patel 4-53) by 131 runs

After scaling impressive heights last year, Surrey's 2019 season is still at base camp. Like Somerset, who at this stage look favourites to take their title, they have yet to suffer a defeat, but neither have they registered a win. Warwickshire have tasted only defeat yet at the halfway point are the team in control.

Their most potent weapon, as it has been so many times in the last eight seasons here, in only one of which he has not snared at least 51 first-class wickets, has been Jeetan Patel. The New Zealand offspinner and club captain turned 39 earlier this month, yet has a contract until the end of next season.

It is not difficult to appreciate why Warwickshire value him so highly. On a slow surface from which Gareth Batty had been able to extract some turn on the first day, Patel introduced himself in the ninth over of Surrey's innings and bowled beautifully for 31 overs unchanged.

The heavy weight of left-handers in Surrey's line-up doubtless came into his thinking and he troubled Scott Borthwick and Rory Burns from the outset, while simultaneously blocking off one end. Five of his first nine overs were maidens.

Repeatedly, he turned the ball past the bat or found the edge only for the ball to fall safe. He had three or four men in a claustrophobic cluster round the batsman. There were stifled appeals, oohs and aahs from spectators, but no wickets for 15 overs until, suddenly, three came at once, in the space of five balls.

Dean Elgar, another left-hander, frustrated for almost an hour, ran out of patience and smacked one straight to extra cover. It was a wicket well earned and there were two more right behind it. Patel's namesake Ryan survived his first two balls but nicked the third to Dominic Sibley at second slip. Will Jacks lasted only one, Will Rhodes snatching the ball almost off the floor at first slip.

It meant that Surrey, who had been 73 for 1 barely 40 minutes earlier, were in something of a spot at 92 for 6. Back in the pavilion, Burns was regretting still more keenly that he had played so loosely after working hard to get to 40 that a wide long-hop from Olly Hannon-Dalby had ended up in the hands of backward point.

Liam Norwell, whose free-scoring 64 at No. 10 was now growing in value, had followed up his early dismissal of Mark Stoneman with a fine delivery that clipped the top of off, claimed a second success when Scott Borthwick, trying to work to leg, was pinned in front. Surrey could now think only of damage limitation, still more than 200 behind.

They managed at least to avoid the follow-on. Rikki Clarke, who spent eight-and-a-half seasons pulling on a Warwickshire shirt before returning to Surrey during the 2017 season, launched a counter-attack, beginning with 14 runs from three balls off Norwell, prompting the former Gloucestershire bowler's temporary removal from the attack.

Clarke and Ben Foakes added 58 but the charge ended when a brilliant throw from cover point by Sibley ran out Clarke with a direct hit. Sibley, of course, is the ex-Surrey man who moved to Edgbaston as part of the agreement that allowed Clarke to travel in the other direction.

Surrey immediately lost Morne Morkel, who lasted only four deliveries before Patel bagged him as his fourth success. With Batty at the other end, Foakes completed his half-century, but two wickets in two balls by Henry Brookes left the champions with a deficit of 105, to which Sibley and Rhodes added 26, coming through a testing 12 overs unscathed at the close.

Patel was as pleased with the collective effort as much as his own performance. "To win three sessions today was huge," he said. "To perform as we did all day was tremendous.

"It is only halfway and we have to keep it going session after session. We have a young team but we have showed signs in the last two matches that the younger players are learning about playing Division One cricket and that is very positive for us."

Kent 182 (Siddle 3-29) trail Essex 313 by 131 runs

When Essex won the County Championship in 2017, Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer shared 147 wickets between them. The plan was simple; Porter grabbed wickets with the new ball, Harmer came on once the lacquer had gone, wheeled away from one end and an assortment of seamers rotated at the other.

The plan was pretty much repeated last season, but Essex's batsmen didn't get the volume of runs to back up Porter, Harmer and Peter Siddle. Here at Chelmsford against Kent, it's been like the (not so) old times all over again. Alastair Cook's 125 in Essex's first innings (64 more than anyone else has managed in this match so far) gave his bowlers plenty to play with on a pitch that is assisting the seamers and providing enough encouragement for a very good spinner. Porter, Harmer and Siddle have played to their hearts' content. At times it was like watching a particularly sadistic cat toying with a particularly infirm mouse.

Kent took just 32 balls to wrap up Essex's innings in the morning session. Thereafter the torture began. Sean Dickson, fresh from a match haul of 219 runs against Surrey at Beckenham last week, confirmed the impression that he is very much a feast or famine batsman by succumbing to the last ball of Porter's opening over, giving a catch to Harmer in the slips.

It wasn't until the 53rd ball of the innings that we witnessed Kent's second scoring shot as the returning Joe Denly and the usually fluent Zak Crawley were offered nothing by Essex's disciplined opening bowlers. No width, nothing short, not the merest sniff of an opportunity. When Crawley departed to the last ball before lunch, caught in the leg trap by Ravi Bopara off Harmer, Kent had crawled to 42 for 3 off 23.1 overs.

This was not the sort of cricket designed to attract a new audience of cricket agnostics. This was very much for the connoisseur but my goodness it was absorbing. It is often said that spinners get a raw deal with the way the red-ball fixtures congest at the start and end of the season. But a very good spinner - and Harmer really is a very good spinner - find ways to thrive be it in April, May or July. Last year, Surrey signed the pace-bowling Kolpak Morne Morkel, and he was arguably the difference that turned a good side into a Championship-winning one. Harmer's impact at Essex has been no less profound. To watch him tie Kent's batsmen in knots, and nail most of their feet to the crease for good measure, was to watch a serious operator prove how potent top-class spin bowling can be, whatever the conditions, whatever the time of year.

He looks to get batsmen caught in the leg trap either at short-leg or, as he did twice here, round the corner at leg-slip. To achieve this he has to generate significant turn and, crucially bounce. His height helps. And yes, the pitch also helped, though not extravagantly. The fields that Ryan ten Doeschate sets for him resemble the sort of fields you see in old photographs of Jim Laker bowling in the 1950s. To watch Harmer is, it feels, like stepping back in time.

At the other end, however, he is assisted by a trio of very able seamers who never release the pressure. Although Porter and Sam Cook took the new ball, arguably Siddle is the most important of the three. Hammering away at a length and letting his natural variations combine with slippery pace, he ensured Kent went nowhere. Between the three seamers, they bowled 53.2 overs conceding just 91 runs and bagging seven wickets. Very seldom did any of them try the short ball. There was enough in the wicket for them to know that relentless nagging accuracy would be enough.

It is true that some of Kent's batsmen are not in the best of nick, notably Daniel Bell-Drummond and Darren Stevens, but the former, particularly, was determined to stick it out. It was at times not pretty to watch as he groped and pushed at thin air ball after ball, but what does impress about this Kent side is that they didn't collapse. But like a punch-drunk boxer who has failed to land a retaliatory blow, they really could do little more than delay the inevitable. It was to their credit that they lasted 88.2 overs, but a last-wicket partnership of 45 between Matt Milnes and Imran Qayyum - the highest of the innings - was nothing like enough.

When Milnes was bowled off the last ball of the day, the only batsman not to be dismissed to a catch behind the wicket, Kent had conceded a first-innings deficit of 131. On what is a good sporting pitch they may struggle to get back into this match, but they have shown enough character, not just in their first innings but throughout the season so far, to suggest they'll give it a damn good go.

Glamorgan 186 and 137 for 1 (Labuschagne 77*) trail Sussex 420 (Brown 131) by 97 runs

Glamorgan's Nick Selman and Marnus Labuschagne put together an unbroken second-wicket stand of 137 to frustrate Sussex on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match at Hove.

Already armed with a first-innings lead of 234, after they had been bowled out for 420 in their first innings, Sussex seemed to be in control when Mir Hamza had Charlie Hemphrey lbw in the first over without a run on the board. But the two Australians played with increasing authority during the final session with Labuschagne 77 and Selman 45 at stumps.

After 15 wickets fell on day one the surface offered fewer problems for batsmen prepared to sit in and wait for the bad balls - a tactic the Glamorgan pair were happy to adopt as they reduced their arrears to 97, reaching stumps on 137 for 1.

Earlier, Sussex skipper Ben Brown had made 131 - his 17th first-class century - as he backed up his 156 in last week's drawn game against Northamptonshire with another chanceless hundred. Together with David Wiese, he took the initiative away from Glamorgan in the first session when 140 runs were scored with the sixth-wicket pair putting on 107 in 25 overs.

Glamorgan used seven bowlers but struggled to stop Sussex progressing at nearly five runs an over, even after Wiese was bowled by Timm van der Gugten via an inside edge for Glamorgan's only wicket during the morning session. Brown then joined forces with Chris Jordan to add 55 for the seventh wicket after reaching his hundred from 146 balls with 13 fours when he took a single off Labuschagne in the 65th over.

After lunch he added a further four boundaries and a six off Marchant de Lange, which Billy Root initially seemed to have caught only to step back behind the rope. In attempting a similar shot later in the over, Brown gave Root a more comfortable catch running in from deep midwicket. Brown struck 15 fours in total and faced 190 balls.

Danny Briggs was caught in the covers off de Lange who also picked up Hamza to finish with 3 for 89. Legspinner Labuschagne took 3 for 61 including Jordan, who was caught behind pushing forward when he appeared well set.

Glamorgan were immediately in trouble when they went in again 234 behind. Hemphrey was beaten by Hamza's late in-swing off the sixth ball of the innings to complete a pair.

But Selman, who carried his bat in the first innings, and Labuschagne took advantage of benign conditions after tea to take the fight back to Sussex. Labuschagne took three boundaries in an over off Hamza to move to his half-century and none of the six bowlers employed by Brown could make a breakthrough in the final session.

Middlesex 221 and 195 for 2 (Malan 107*, Gubbins 72*) lead Worcestershire 156 (Ferguson 37, Helm 5-32) by 260 runs

Middlesex paceman Tom Helm returned career best figures before skipper Dawid Malan's 23rd first-class hundred established a position of strength for his side in the Specsavers County Championship encounter with Worcestershire at Blackfinch New Road.

Helm finished with 5 for 36 from 19 overs to earn Middlesex a first-innings lead of 65 as Worcestershire were dismissed for 156 in 63.5 overs shortly before tea. It surpassed the 25-year-old's previous best of 5 for 59 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston two years ago, as he exploited a pitch of uneven bounce and received excellent support from veteran Tim Murtagh (17-9-25-2).

Then skipper Malan and Nick Gubbins cashed in during a marathon final session of 51 overs with an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 175.

Malan leg glanced Ed Barnard for four to reach three figures off 121 balls with 14 fours and he accelerated to such an extent that his second 50 came from just 44 deliveries. He ended the day unbeaten on 107 with Gubbins 72 not out as Middlesex closed on 195 for 2, an overall advantage of 260.

Conditions appeared to ease for batting during the second half of the day although Worcestershire, with the exception of skipper Joe Leach, were guilty of some undistinguished bowling.

In a rain shortened morning session Helm followed up his two wickets on Monday with another double breakthrough in the half hour's play possible after Worcestershire had resumed on 64 for 3 in reply to Middlesex's 221.

Opener Tom Fell had defied the visitors attack for 27 overs on the opening day but added only one to his overnight 18 before he pushed forward to Helm and was bowled. Helm dismissed nightwatchman Josh Tongue who fended off a delivery which bounced on him and Nathan Sowter held on to a low chance at second slip.

The players were driven off by a heavy shower and an early lunch was taken at 12.30pm with the total on 85 for 5.

When the action resumed Worcestershire lost two further wickets without any addition to the total. Riki Wessels pushed forward to Murtagh and was bowled and then Helm completed his five wicket haul when Ross Whiteley edged to Steve Eskinazi at second slip.

Ben Cox top edged James Harris for six to fine leg and Ed Barnard drove Murtagh for four. But the veteran Middlesex paceman's next delivery jagged back and accounted for Barnard lbw and Cox was dismissed in the same fashion by Harris.

Resistance came from the last wicket Worcestershire pair of Leach and Charlie Morris. They added 40 in 16 overs before spinner Sowter trapped Morris lbw.

Leach took the new ball and made two quickfire breakthroughs as Max Holden and Sam Robson fell lbw in successive overs to leave Middlesex on 20 for 2. But Malan, in his first senior game since recovering from a groin injury suffered on England duty, and Gubbins ensured there were no further alarms for the visitors.

They scored at around four an over and were seldom troubled with Malan first to his half century off 77 balls with six fours. Gubbins reached his fifty shortly afterwards from 99 deliveries with seven boundaries.

Former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is joining Arizona State's football staff, Sun Devils coach Herm Edwards announced Tuesday.

"Marvin Lewis is one of the most respected minds in our game," Edwards said in a statement. "Whether as the winningest coach in the franchise history of the Cincinnati Bengals, or the architect of one of the greatest defenses in NFL history, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, Marvin has succeeded everywhere he has been and he has done it the right way. His passion for teaching will be an incredible benefit not only for our coaches, but also for the young men we are responsible for as students and athletes."

Edwards said Lewis, who was fired in December after coaching the Bengals for 16 seasons, will serve as a special adviser. Lewis will serve as a sounding board for the coaching staff and advise coaches and staff members. He will be a part of game strategy and could become a "face of the program" for speaking engagements down the road.

Lewis will not be permitted to work directly with players, as he is not officially a position coach.

"I've known Herman for almost 30 years and the opportunity to come and assist him and his coaches win football games is very exciting and appealing," Lewis said in a statement. "Arizona State and Tempe have always been special to me.

"I envision just being another set of eyes, another set of ears, and doing anything I can to help the coaches. I was really impressed with the staff and what they accomplished after they hit the ground running last season. ASU is a great university and is known for having an outstanding athletic program that has always been able to attract top athletes from around the country and I look forward to doing all I can to help the program."

Lewis went 131-122-3 during his 16 years in Cincinnati, setting the franchise record for career wins. He was the franchise's longest-tenured coach and set the club's head coaching record for playoff appearances (seven), consecutive playoff appearances (five) and division titles (four). The seven playoff berths under Lewis equaled the number the Bengals had in the 35 seasons before his arrival in 2003.

However, Lewis went 0-7 in the playoffs and was fired following the 2018 season after a 6-10 year, despite a 4-1 start.

Lewis joins ASU's staff following an impressive 7-6 debut for Edwards that included upset wins over Michigan State and Utah, which were both ranked 15th nationally when the Sun Devils played them.

Lewis began his career in 1981 as linebackers coach for Idaho State, which won the NCAA Division I-AA championship during his first year with the team. He was also an assistant coach at Long Beach State (1985-1986), New Mexico (1987-1989), and Pittsburgh (1990-1992).

LSU coach Will Wade expressed regret Tuesday for the actions that led to his suspension during the SEC and NCAA tournaments while categorically denying allegations levied by Emanuel "Book" Richardson during the college basketball corruption trial in federal court in New York City.

Speaking at the SEC spring meetings -- where he addressed reporters for the first time since March -- Wade said he was "here to start the process of rebuilding trust."

"As I've had time to reflect since I was out for 40 days or so -- there were some mistakes that I made," Wade said Tuesday. "But ever since that, since I was able to sit down and talk to LSU and the NCAA, I was fully cooperative."

Wade's regret, he said, was getting lawyers involved rather than sitting down with LSU immediately. Acting "in haste" and involving lawyers drew out the timeline and led to his 40-day suspension, he said.

"I wish, looking back on things, we could have gotten into a room together a lot quicker than we did," Wade said. "That was my mistake. I respect LSU's decision based on that."

Wade would not comment on what was said during those meetings with LSU and NCAA officials, citing them as "private and confidential," but he reiterated that he was forthright in conversations of which "there was no limit of scope."

In March, ESPN and Yahoo Sports reported prosecutors were trying to enter as evidence a wiretap that they said included Wade describing his frustration with his inability to close a "strong-ass offer" for a recruit. ESPN reported that Wade's frustration was with the handler of former top-50 recruit Javonte Smart, who ultimately signed with the Tigers.

Wade was suspended indefinitely by the university the following day. He did not coach the team through the SEC and NCAA tournaments and was not reinstated until after he met with school and NCAA officials in mid-April.

Wade would not address the allegations but did take time to dispute the allegations of Richardson, who said during the trial that Wade had told him there was a $300,000 deal in place to land Naz Reid.

"It was absolutely false and did not happen," Wade said.

Asked whether any exchange of money has ever taken place with a student-athlete or their family, Wade would not comment. He also sidestepped a question about the reports of an offer to Smart.

"It's a good question," Wade said. "I can't get into the specifics of everything, like I was saying earlier. I can assure you in my meetings with LSU and the NCAA, I've addressed all the media reports and what was said and I was reinstated."

Asked whether he ever said the words "strong-ass offer," Wade told reporters, "I've not heard the recording so I don't know."

The coach said he hoped to one day get to the point of full disclosure, "but we're not at that place right now."

Wade, who has gone 43-20 in two seasons at LSU, was bolstered by news recently that Smart, Skylar Mays and Marlon Taylor would withdraw from the NBA draft and return to school.

TORONTO -- Eric Lewis and Kane Fitzgerald are heading to the NBA Finals for the first time, as they were among the 12 referees picked to work the Toronto-Golden State title series.

Lewis and Fitzgerald are the two rookies on this year's Finals officiating roster. Mike Callahan was picked to work the Finals for the 16th time, and Scott Foster for the 12th time.

Other referees selected in the 12-man pool are Tony Brothers, James Capers, Marc Davis, John Goble, David Guthrie, Ed Malloy, Jason Phillips and Zach Zarba.

Finals officials are chosen based on evaluations made of their performance during the first three rounds of the playoffs. All 12 referees are slated to work at least once in the series.

TORONTO -- Stopping the Golden State Warriors isn't easy. What does make it easier, though, is having tried to do it before.

"As easy as it looks and seems," Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green said Tuesday afternoon, "it's a lot tougher when you actually get out there."

The Raptors went through their final light practice before the bright lights of NBA Finals media day shine on them Wednesday; Game 1 of the league's championship round takes place at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night. And as they prepare for the challenge of trying to stop Golden State in this series, they have the added benefit of four key players -- Green, Kawhi Leonard, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka -- who have played against the Warriors in the playoffs.

That institutional knowledge is something the Raptors will hope to use to their advantage as they attempt to construct a game plan that will slow down the two-time defending NBA champions.

"It helps, in terms of knowing how great they are as an offensive team," Ibaka said. "Sometimes it's tough when you don't know, and you just go out there and play with the flow of the game. [Then] they are going to beat you so bad.

"The fact we already know how great they are -- not good, great -- that helps. That helps us to be prepared mentally, and then watch tape to try to figure out what to do."

It's one thing to try to figure out what to do on tape. It's something else entirely to go out on the court and do it. Even when Golden State is playing at less than its best -- like it did for large stretches of the Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers -- the Warriors still can ramp up their intensity level in an instant and go on a double-digit run in what seems like a blink of an eye.

It is that ability to overwhelm an opponent that makes them so difficult to stop. Well, that and a collection of superstars, from Stephen Curry to Klay Thompson to Draymond Green, being on the court at the same time -- even as another, Kevin Durant, waits in reserve as he continues to recover from a calf strain.

According to Gasol, stopping the Warriors will come down to patience and adjustments.

"They do a great job with their positioning on the floor, their passing, their counteractions, the second, third counter." Gasol said, "They see the scheme and they have a counter for that scheme. It's a multiple-effort game.

"You know Steph and Klay are gonna make shots. You can count on that. The other guys, you have to keep them under control."

Ibaka's explanation was even simpler.

"Just don't be lazy against them," Ibaka said. "The way they play, they try to make you fall asleep out there -- and then you see Steph out there and he's going to keep going and then you fall asleep and then he keeps going and gets a wide-open 3.

"They just keep moving. It's nonstop. [Steph] and Klay and Draymond, the way they push the ball out there, it's one of those teams where you have to be focused for 48 minutes. You can't relax, because if you relax, and they get hot, it's going to be a long night."

Toronto's defense has been outstanding throughout the playoffs, flummoxing both the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks in series that often resembled rock fights more than basketball games. If the Raptors hope to shock the world and beat the Warriors and claim the first championship in franchise history, they're going to need to remain at the level defensively -- if not jump up another one.

To do so, they'll be leaning heavily on the institutional knowledge of their core players who have been on the playoff stage against Golden State.

"It's going to be a tough challenge for us," Ibaka said. "But we are here for a reason.

"We proved we are a good defensive team, and now it's a new challenge for us and we are going to figure it out and go out here and play."