Frust » call against Austria on Friday. Its up

TORONTO - As Amir Johnson took a seat, having just picked up his sixth foul towards the end of Thursdays first overtime period, Patrick Patterson fouling out minutes earlier, Dwane Casey and his coaching staff mulled over their next move. Huddling up, Casey consulted with his assistants for over 30 seconds before looking to the far side of his bench and reluctantly calling for Jonas Valanciunas. The Raptors starting centre had been a spectator since late in the third quarter, amounting to roughly an hour of real time spent on the bench since he was last on the floor. As his coach feared, Valanciunas was more than a little rusty, playing 25 seconds in the first OT frame and the bulk of the second until Casey opted to go with Tyler Hansbrough to close the game in the third and final period of extra time. "It really wasnt fair to Jonas," Casey said in hindsight, following his teams marathon 134-129 loss to Washington. "It wasnt his fault." Upon reentering, Toronto immediately ran a pick-and-roll for Valanciunas, however the pass from Greivis Vasquez - who was trapped on the right elbow - was mistimed and ultimately deflected before it reached Valanciunas in the middle of the key, the turnover charged to Vasquez. A few minutes later, Valanciunas received the ball on the left block and with the clock winding down he flipped up a quick shot that was swatted by Marcin Gortat, his first of two field goal attempts in the period, both blocked by Gortat. With just over one minute remaining in double OT, the game tied at 116, Valanciunas negated a Vasquez runner, needlessly tipping in the shot that was already on its way down, above the cylinder. The look of frustration on the sophomores face said it all. This was not his night. The Raptors were outscored by 14 points in the 29 minutes that Valanciunas was on the floor. "I feel really sad," Valanciunas lamented, with his head down after the game. "I feel really bad right now. I could do a much better job than what I did." Valanciunas lost more than his rhythm, sitting as long as he did in the second half of Thursdays ball game. His confidence appeared to be at an all-time low. The second-year centre has had a rough couple of weeks, averaging 7.1 points and 7.6 rebounds, shooting 45 per cent in 24 minutes per in his last eight games. Over the previous eight contests, he put up averages of 15.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, shot 58 per cent from the field and logged just over 29 minutes a night. Perhaps fatigue has played a factor - he eclipsed his minute total from his rookie season last week - but the most noticeable variation in his approach hinders on an immeasurable concept that he has downplayed in the past. Swagger. Valanciunas is a different animal when he plays with that edge, anger and fire, when he gets outside of his head, stops over-thinking the game and just plays basketball. Too often you can almost see his thought process on the court, his movements are robotic as he aims to avoid disaster, fearful of making a mistake that will draw the ire of his head coach. However, hes at his best when he plays freely and Casey knows it. "The key is patience, not getting down on yourself, have fun," Casey said after morning shoot-around on Thursday. "I mean youre playing basketball. Theres no pressure on JV to produce. The pressure is on DeMar (DeRozan) and Kyle (Lowry) and Amir, the older guys." Given the unreasonably high preseason expectations its easy to overlook the fact that Valanciunas is still only 21-year-old, playing in his first full season after missing a sizeable chunk of his rookie campaign due to injury. Hes had an eventful year, participating in Summer League for the Raptors and competing with Lithuania in the FIBA qualifying tournament during the offseason. Hes still learning the NBA game, getting fully accustomed to his surroundings and most importantly finding his way as a player. None of that is lost of Casey, who refuses to put the cart before the horse when it comes to the development of his young centre. "I told him to stay with it," Casey said after Valanciunas logged just 17 minutes in Tuesdays win over Cleveland. "Right now hes pressing so much. [I] just told him to relax [and] play basketball." On account of their unexpected success this season the Raptors ultimate objective has been altered slightly. Although theyre now looking ahead to the playoffs and hoping to make some noise come April, their primary goal has not changed. Casey is still focused on developing his young players, namely Valanciunas and fellow sophomore Terrence Ross. "The hardest thing to do is to develop and win at the same time," Casey said. "Luckily weve got some wins and these guys are developing at the same time. Its the hardest thing to do because a lot of times theyre in there when they really dont deserve to, not as much lately but in the first part of the year." However, Casey wont coddle either sophomore with unconditional playing time. Valanciunas, like Ross, has had the opportunity to play and learn through his mistakes but the criteria for remaining on the floor long enough to do so has been made clear since the get go. "Offensively right now, hes not making his post moves, but thats going to come," Casey said. "Get some sweat shots, get some tip-ins, go to the offensive boards, screen. Do some of the sweat jobs and that will help him get his rhythm in the post." The process is gradual and, as Casey reminds us, its not going to happen overnight. Valanciunas possesses the ability, the desire and the work ethic to be a top tier NBA centre but its not going to happen in the middle of his second season. It takes time and no one in the Raptors organization will rush him. For now, Valanciunas is a matchup play. His minutes will continue to be sporadic as Casey leans on quicker, more experienced and versatile defenders in Johnson and Patterson some nights, depending on the opponent and whichever version of Valanciunas comes to play. Through it all, he cant lose focus and most importantly he cant lose his confidence. Hes got to keep his head up - on and off the floor - continue to work and learn whether hes in the game or on the bench. The Raptors are exercising patience with their young big man but he needs to be patient with himself. Jason Pierre-Paul Jersey . LOUIS - The St. Vita Vea Jersey . This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image. http://www.officialtampabaybuccaneersfoo...n-jersey-womens. Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. Noah Spence Jersey . -- Brendan Leipsic had two goals and an assist and Nicolas Petan extended his point streak to 11 games as the Portland Winterhawks slipped past the Red Deer Rebels 5-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Ronde Barber Jersey . Obasi chested the ball past one defender, prodded it past another and then rounded the keeper before scoring from a tight angle in the 16th minute. Seconds after the restart, Obasi set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar for the Dutchmans 11th goal from 13 games this season. SOCHI — Carey Price will play in goal for Team Canada in its Olympic opener against Norway on Thursday, while Roberto Luongo will get the call against Austria on Friday. Its up the two of them to determine which goalie will start against Finland on Sunday. Canadian mens head coach Mike Babcock said there was no reason for his decision. Babcock informed his goalies, including the teams third goalie, Mike Smith, of the decision in face-to-face meetings on Wednesday morning. "Im really thrilled and ready to go," Price said. "Our preparations have been really good so far. All three of knew that if we were called upon, wed be ready to get in there." Price enters the Olympics on a roll. He won his final three starts with the Montreal Canadiens before the break, stopping 100 of 103 shots, including a 5-2 victory over Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks in Montreal on Feb. 6. Luongo and the Canucks, meanwhile, have struggled with seven straight losses. Luongo has been in goal for five of those defeats and has won only three of his last 10 starts. The Canucks netminder was in goal when Canada won gold in Vancouver four years ago. "Oh, it didnt matter," said Luongo, when asked about the decision to start with Price. "I think right now its just focusing on Norway, thats the first challenge for our team. Ive got to be ready, you never know what can happen in the gaame.dddddddddddd I dont want to look too far ahead right now. I just want to focus on tomorrow, making sure that as a group, not only myself, that were ready to play." Price was asked to look down the road to possibly getting the start against Finland "All Im concerned about is our game tomorrow," he said. "Thats all that matters." Because of Canadas roster size, Smith will be joined on the sidelines by a defenceman and forward. But Babcock would not divulge who the two scratches will be. Canada practiced for the third time and once again kept their lines the same as they prepare to open the competition on Thursday. Here are Wednesdays practice lines with extra players in parenthesis: FORWARDS Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Jeff CarterPatrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews - Rick NashPatrick Marleau - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey PerryJamie Benn - John Tavares - Patrice Bergeron(Martin St. Louis, Matt Duchene) DEFENCE Duncan Keith - Shea WeberJay Bouwmeester - Alex PietrangeloMarc-Edouard Vlasic - Drew Doughty(P.K. Subban, Dan Hamhuis) Team Canada also practiced 5-on-3 on Wednesday with Crosby, Kunitz and Perry up front with Getzlaf and Weber on the point of the first unit and Carter, Tavares and Marleau up front with Keith and Doughty on the point of the second unit. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys discount uswnt jersey Wholesale AC Milan Jerseys Wholesale Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. 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