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TORONTO - As Dwane Casey called a timeout late in Fridays victory, one of his teams most impressive of the campaign, an honorary

in General Discussion Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:23 am
by jokergreen0220 • Farseer | 295 Posts | 2950 Points

TORONTO - As Dwane Casey called a timeout late in Fridays victory, one of his teams most impressive of the campaign, an honorary addition to the Raptors coaching body was the first to race out and rally the troops. Robinson Cano Jersey . Donning a charcoal blazer on top of his white t-shirt, Kyle Lowry immediately pulled aside his replacement, Greivis Vasquez, as the two point guards calibrated by the bench with less than a minute remaining. A reluctant spectator for the second straight contest, nursing his bruised knee, Lowry refused to take the night off. Not that anyone truly expected him to. "He was like our second or third coach," said Jonas Valanciunas. "He was kind of doing the same thing he does when hes in the game," added Terrence Ross. "Helping us with plays, drawing things up for us, being vocal." The Raptors would rather have him in uniform, dressed in red and white while leading his team in the trenches instead of on the sidelines, but they have more than held their own in his absence. For the second time in three days, Toronto - missing both Lowry and forward Amir Johnson - was able to knock off a top-six team, as the teams confidence continues to grow heading into the playoffs. "With us we feel like we can beat anybody when we step out there on the court, honestly," said DeMar DeRozan, who tallied 20 points and nine assists in his teams inspiring 102-94 win over the Indiana Pacers. "Theyre [a] top team in the East. We understand tonight was a big win at this time of the season." The Pacers - a team the Raptors could see in the second round of the playoffs, should they advance - are backing into the postseason. Frank Vogels club, losers of six straight games on the road and six of eight overall, had occupied the Easts top seed for most of the season before surrendering it to Miami last week. Vulnerable as Indiana may be, the Raptors have split the season series and given that they were without two starters on Friday, their latest victory was of the statement variety. "If theyre looking for themselves, whatever it is, its a win," Casey said. "Whatever their deal is, theyve won 53 games. Thats the way I look at it. Its a quality win." Fresh off a similarly opportunistic win over a Rockets team missing Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, the Raptors displayed characteristics you wouldnt expect from a young, undermanned group. They were resilient, hitting back after the Pacers cut into their 11-point cushion and took a lead of their own late in the game. They were tough, winning the battle on the boards and refusing to back down from Indys intimidation tactics. They embodied the seemingly irreplaceable qualities of their fallen comrades, Lowry and Johnson. Lowry - for better or for worse, in uniform or not - is the engine that drives this ship and even from the bench he couldnt help but to take control. "Its a little bit worse than what he does when hes in the game with you," DeRozan joked. "He just wont stop talking but hey, we deal with it, its cool. He shut up a little bit more once we were winning." "Id rather have him in uniform than in street clothes and coaching," Casey said, also having some fun at the expense of the vocal Lowry. "I tell Kyle this all the time, that when he becomes a coach I cannot wait to come watch his teams play." "Ill tell you what, Imma be that heckler in that stands. Boooo, coach." The relationship between Casey and Lowry has grown exponentially over the past 18 months. Theyre both strong-willed, passionate competitors. Whatever rift they may or may not have had last season - when the team was losing and Lowrys minutes were sporadic - appears to be a thing of the past. They understand and respect each other. Winning will do that. "I mean we have the same goals and thats to win as many games as we can win, make noise in the playoffs and compete our butts off," Casey said before the game. "Were tied together from that standpoint." The Raptors have navigated through the toughest stretch of their late-season schedule without Lowry and Johnson - out with a lingering ankle ailment - and can now afford to be more cautious with the health of their stars. Torontos final six regular season games come against sub-.500 competition, beginning with Saturdays contest against the lowly Bucks in Milwaukee. "The big picture is the most important thing," Casey acknowledged, "keeping guys healthy going forward." Sophomores stepping up Facing elite defenders at their positions, the Raptors duo of second-year starters came up big in the absence of Lowry and Johnson. Valanciunas, who scored 22 points on 14 shots, anchored Torontos defence and pulled down crucial rebounds in crunch time while vastly outplaying Pacers all-star centre Roy Hibbert. Meanwhile, Ross picked up the slack on offence, leading the team with 24 points - including five made threes - against a couple of tough wing defenders in Paul George and Lance Stephenson. "They came in and played with a lot of confidence, a lot of energy," Casey said of his sophomores. "They continue to get better and work hard at it every single day," DeRozan added. "They understand they play a key role on this team and us being successful. I credit tonights game to them because they came up big." De Colo making an impact With Vasquez stepping into Lowrys slot as the teams starting point guard, Casey has looked to trade deadline acquisition Nando De Colo off the bench. Even without scoring, the former Spurs guard has been making an impact with his energy and basketball intellect. He logged 23 minutes on Friday - most hes played with the Raptors - and with the increased role came a greater comfort level offensively. "He knows that hes going to get extended minutes with Kyle out," Casey said of De Colo, who scored 10 points and dished out five assists. "When youre in that situation you play a little more free and a little looser. Hes [being] himself and hes done an excellent job." The stat DeRozan, who had a team-high nine assists Friday, has now recorded five or more dimes in 24 games this year after doing so 18 times in his first four seasons combined. The quote "It should help their confidence," said Casey on the win. "To go against a team like Indiana without our two starters helps us but its not worth a darn if we dont come out [Saturday] night and have the same focus and energy and effort. Were happy, were excited about the win. I dont want to poo poo on it but weve got to turn it up and crank it up again tomorrow night. Ichiro Suzuki Jersey . Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Allen Craig on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee contusion on Sunday. Jarrod Dyson Jersey . -- Nick Bjugstad snapped out of his scoring slump and spoiled Drew MacIntyres first NHL start. http://www.baseballmarinersofficial.com/yonder-alonso-jersey-c-23/ . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List.MONTMELO, Spain - Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were in a class of their own again in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday, while struggling four-time champion Sebastian Vettel stalled and was demoted on the grid. Hamilton edged teammate - and main rival - Nico Rosberg with a late lap of 1 minute, 25.232 seconds on the sunny and dry Barcelona-Catalunya circuit for his fourth pole of the Formula One season and 35th in his career. Rosberg, the overall leader, came in second at 0.16 seconds behind to set up another driving duel. Hamilton has won the last three races right in front of Rosberg, with the rest of the field far behind. "Nico was really driving well though practice and qualifying," Hamilton said. "I didnt know if I was going to get it, but right at the end I had to eke out absolutely everything I could get from the car." Vettels Red Bull has left him stranded twice in two days. First it rolled to a halt during Fridays first practice session, and it failed him again early in the third period of qualifying. Vettel was left 10th in qualification, but he will start from 15th on the grid after Red Bull incurred a five-place penalty for replacing his cars damaged gearbox. Regulations require gearboxes to be used for at least six consecutive races. As Vettels troubles mounted, new partner Daniel Ricciardo finished with the third fastest time ahead of Williams Valtteri Bottas and Lotus Romain Grosjean. Fernando Alonso, last years winner here, could do no better than seventh place, right behind Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton complained to his team early in the day that they "made the car worse" after minor changes to try and improve on its already commanding performances from Friday, when the British driver dominated both practices. "It was a real handful for me," Hamilton said. "It was back to square one. I was a half second behind Nico but at the end I did it by the skin of my teeth." Rosberg wwasnt afraid to show his disappointment. Drew Smyly Jersey. "I dont particularly enjoy coming second to Lewis," he said. "But all it takes is a good start tomorrow and I am in the lead again." Hamilton and Rosberg are poised to dominate a fifth straight race after sweeping the first four and taking all five pole positions. That dominance was acknowledged by Ricciardo. "We are best of the rest. But that is not good enough, we are still a second off," the Red Bull driver said. "We have made some improvement, but they, being Mercedes, have done so as well. Even with a different strategy in the race, it is going to be difficult to make up a second each lap." In 23 races at Montmelo, 15 pole-sitters have gone on to victory, while only two drivers have won when starting from third place or lower. Red Bull appeared to have Vettels car back in a good enough condition to compete, but its transmission acted up at the start of the third qualifying period when he pulled out of the garage, and by the third curve his car came to a halt. Vettel told his team by radio, "I have no drive, Im sorry, I have no drive" before he jogged back to pit lane while waving to fans. Ferrari showed no sign that the three-week break before the European races had paid off in improvements. "This wasnt a good qualifying session," Alonso said. "But the outcome was more or less what we could have expected on a difficult weekend." Less than two minutes into the session, Pastor Maldonado crunched the right wheel of his Lotus when he lost control coming out of a right-hand turn and slammed into the wall on his third lap. Maldonado, who won here in 2012 with Williams, emerged unscathed from the car before it was hauled away. Toro Rossos Jean-Eric Vergne will start the race from the back of the pack after he was docked 10 places for breaching safety regulations on Friday when a wheel flew off his car. He finished qualifying in 16th place. China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys 2019 Stitched Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Authentic Jerseys ' ' '

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