TORONTO - Dwane Casey was visibly put off when faced with a question regarding his teams recent success and their upcoming stretch of winnable games prior to Mondays contest against the league-worst Milwaukee Bucks.
[b]Cheap NBA Jerseys[/b] . "[People] keep asking that question and its not a legit question because we dont have that right, we havent arrived yet," Casey responded. "Weve got to take each game at a time, each possession at a time and look at it that way." "Thats the message Im sending to [the players]. Weve got to play basketball and be focused and not look at records." League standings are not welcome in the locker room, Casey maintained. If they were, they would show the Raptors in sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference, just barely ahead of the Hawks, following a decisive 116-94 victory over the seven-win Bucks. Since an early-December trade reversed their trajectory, Casey has kept his team focused. They have defeated the leagues best in wins over the Thunder and Pacers, they have fought hard on the road in Indiana and Miami and, perhaps most importantly, theyve taken care of business against teams that many may have expected them to look past. They havent. "No, you cant [take anyone lightly]," DeMar DeRozan said following a 19-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist performance in his teams 22-point win. "It doesnt matter who we play, its an NBA team. Besides us theres 29 other teams in this league and we prepare for each one of them the same." Casey is getting through to his troops, whether they realize it or not. "He said that [too]?" DeRozan asked with a smile after echoing his coach. "Im just being honest. I tell my guys the same thing, we dont look at who were playing. We understand each game matters more than the last one." Its not just lip service, the Raptors have been practicing what they preach. Apart from a short-lived Bucks run that cut the home teams lead to eight at halftime, the Raptors never took their foot off the gas. Their 38-point first frame matched a season-high for scoring in a quarter and the game was quickly put away early in the third after Toronto adjusted to the Bucks pesky zone defence. "We cant rely on that every night," Casey said of the teams second-half run. "That resolve, it doesnt win too many games against good teams so weve got to make sure we take care of business, and we did." "I think we came out with more effort in the second half and it seemed to work for us," said Kyle Lowry, who scored 11 of his team-high 23 points in the third quarter. Again, Lowry was exceptional, shooting 6-of-8 from the field, 4-of-5 from three-point range and connecting on all seven of his free-throw attempts. The Raptors point guard also recorded four steals and drew his league-leading 23rd charge of the season. "Just another night at the office for Kyle," Casey said. [The] charges are huge. If you go in there hes going to come from nowhere to get a charge so he does a great job of that, reading that, sacrificing his body for it. Hes done everything, defensively, offensively, hes set the tone." The playmaking ability of DeRozan - who registered four or more assists in a career-best sixth straight game - and John Salmons, adding five dimes along with his 10 points off the bench, took pressure off the Raptors point guard, freeing Lowry up on the weak side. As a team, the Raptors tallied 26 assists, shooting 51 per cent from the field and 12-of-23 from beyond the arch. Although Casey doesnt want to hear about it, Torontos next four opponents have losing records. The Raptors have won 10 of its last 11 games against sub-.500 teams and dont appear to be letting up. "Im going to say this again, we dont have any right, yet, to overlook anyone in this league," Casey repeated after his team improved to 19-17, two games above the .500 mark for the first time since March of 2010. "Its a tough league, were still building, were still getting there so I cant allow our guys to have that in their thought process."
[b]Wholesale NFL Jerseys[/b] .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs.
[b]Cheap Football Jerseys[/b] . You can, too, Clay Buchholz, if we ignore the sixth inning of Game 2. Doug Fister and Jake Peavy, youre up next in Game 4 and theres a lot to live up to.Ontario and British Columbia are the traditional lacrosse hotbeds in Canada, but the best professional indoor team in the country right now calls Alberta home. The undefeated Edmonton Rush improved to 5-0 over the weekend, the only National Lacrosse League team yet to taste defeat so far this season. In fact, the Rush are the only Canadian club with a winning record as Toronto (2-3), Calgary (2-3) and Vancouver (2-5) all lag behind Edmonton. "Its early still and you dont want to get too high or too excited but were playing well," said Rush head coach and general manager Derek Keenan. "Its a process of maturity." Edmontons defence was been exceptional so far, led by Kyle Rubisch. "Hes a bulldog," Keenan said of the two-time reigning NLL defenceman of the year. "He takes away opponents space, he picks off passes and hes a beast when the ball is on the turf. His gap closure is scary good. Guys think they have a step on him or an opportunity to get by him and hes in their face and theyre on their butt. "Hes a shut-down guy. Hes got great vision and good hands, too. He fits our system so well. Hes a good team guy. Were lucky to have him." Meanwhile, Chris Corbeil was named captain when Jimmy Quinlan moved behind the bench as an assistant coach this year. "I loved the kid when I watched him play in junior and I continued to watch him when he was in Buffalo," added Keenan. "Hes a real quality person, a great teammate, and hes super fit. He sets an example on the floor both in games and practices. And hes young, too. "Thats the M.O. of our whole group. Were a young group, but pretty experienced for a team so young -- a lot of Canadian championships (in summer lacrosse), a lot of experience in big-game situations." Rubisch, Corbeil and Brett Mydske were good enough to be on Canadas team that won the most recent world indoor championship. "Weve got all three of them on our back end and theyre three of the best in the business," said Keenan. The whole defence-transition corps has been together for three years now, with the addition this year of Nik Bilic, and that continuity has resulted in a league-best 7.8 goals-against average. Top-notch goaltending is a must in lacrosse and Aaron Bold, who gets most of the starts, and Brodie MacDonald supply it for the Rush. "Hes been awesome," Keenan said of Bold. "Hes made big saves at key times. Last game, Rochester tied the score late and he made two big saves on Dan Dawson in the closing minute of regulation time. Hes really raised the level of his game." Up front, second-year forwards Mark Matthews, who was 2013 rookie of the year after being the No. 1 overall draft pick, and Curtis Knight are maturing impressively in the pro game. The former Whitby, Ont., junior teammates share the team goal scoring lead with 12 each. It was Matthews who scored the overtime winner in a thrilling 8-7 home triumph last Saturday over two-time defending champion Rochester. At six-foot-five, hes a superstar in the making. "Hes got a great passion for the game," said Keenan.
[b]Cheap MLB Jerseys[/b]. . "One thing about him Ive found different from so-called premier players is that hes willing to do a lot of the dirty work, too. A lot of his big plays in games are without the ball. Hes willing to do that. I look at (Buffalo forward) John Tavares who is 45 but who can still play because hes changed his game 10 times. You can constantly try to get better, and Mark is willing to do that." Add it all up and it is clear to see that Keenan has been putting a complete package on the green carpet. "Its my fifth year in Edmonton and weve had ups and downs," he said. "This is the first year you feel such positive vibes. You hear people talking about us. Everybody loves a winner. Winning consistently was a problem for us in the past. We were 2-6 at home last season. That was a problem. This season were 3-0 at home so far. You can feel a different kind of vibe in the city -- that theres some belief in us. Again, its early in the season, but theres progress there." Average attendance in Rexall Place is 7,695 through three home games, which is less than what owner Bruce Urban needs to break even. So, everybody in the Rush organization is hoping the winning ways will fill more seats. "We play an exciting brand of lacrosse people should want to see," said Keenan. "Bruce is a committed owner. Weve worked together on finding the right formula and we seem to be getting there. "The tempo of play is so fast these days. We dont designate one or two or three guys as transition players to move the ball quickly up the floor. We expect our entire defence group to contribute that way because we think they are capable of that. Skill levels across the league are phenomenal now and we fit that mould well." Edmonton began NLL play in 2006 but it wasnt until 2010 that the Rush won more games than it lost. Last years 9-7 record was the teams second .500-plus showing, although the 2012 lineup managed to get as far as the title game despite a 6-10 regular season. Winning the Champions Cup that year would have been a colossal upset. Now, Keenans crew looks more ready than most other NLL teams to push Rochester off the top of the heap. Rush players are from either Ontario or B.C. except for defenceman John Lintz, a local who attends the University of Alberta, and faceoff specialist Jeremy Thompson, who is a First Nations player from upstate New York. A home playoff date for the first time in franchise history seems likely come spring. "Weve established a fan base and, to get more people out to games, they just need to see some results," said Lintz. "Getting a home playoff date would be amazing. If we get that, it would really cement us in the eyes of a lot of fans." The West Division leaders play in Philadelphia on Saturday and at Minnesota on Feb. 15. They are at home against Toronto on Feb. 28 and against Vancouver on March 8. A March 14 game in Calgary precedes a March 21 home game against the Buffalo Bandits (5-1), who currently hold down first place in the East Division. ' ' '
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