LOS ANGELES - For the Raptors, Saturday mornings flight back to Toronto couldnt come soon enough. Kavell Conner Chargers Jersey . Its that time of the year. Players are tired, or hurting, or both. Some are looking ahead to the events theyll be participating in during All-Star Weekend, others are looking forward to their midseason vacation time. Its been nine days since the Raptors set out on a five-game West Coast trip and the fatigue was evident as they backed into a 2-3 record on the excursion. "We cant use that as an excuse," Dwane Casey said after his team suffered their third loss in the last four games, falling 118-105 to the Clippers in LA Friday. "We knew that coming in, that were getting ready for the all-star break, mental fatigue is setting in, everybody is preparing for the break but its not here yet, we have games to go and business to take care of." After taking care of business in two of their first three games on the trip, Caseys team lost themselves in a pair of losses to the Kings - a bottom dweller in the West - and the Clippers, one of the conferences elite. The Raptors fell behind early, giving up 67 points in the first half of each game, committing a total of 70 fouls and putting their opponent on the line 105 times over the course of three days. The commonality, according to Casey, was a lack of mental and physical toughness against the likes of DeMarcus Cousins Wednesday and the duo of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan two days later. "The guys are down because they know that we physically didnt take care of business," he said. "The physicality of the game is something we have to get ready for, especially if were thinking about the playoffs because its a physical game in the paint, setting screens, rebounding, going to the basket. All those things are there if youre serious about making the playoffs." Overall, a 2-3 record on the trip is hardly disappointing, its probably on par with what was expected of them going in, realistically. However, they should lose some sleep over the way they ended the road swing. No one expected them to win on Wednesday, not against a scorned Clipper team coming off a tough loss at home to the defending champion Heat. After coming out flat again, Casey was forced to get creative midway through the third quarter, opting to deploy the hack-a-Jordan strategy, a maneuver designed to extend the game by putting a poor free throw shooter - this case, DeAndre Jordan - on the line. Jordan, a 44 per cent free throw shooter, made just 10 of his 22 tries from the line, 14 of those attempts were gift wrapped and delivered to him from Casey. The move was not popular amongst the hometown crowd but for a coach on the verge of defeat, why not take a shot? Although it shaved just two points off the Clippers 20-point lead, directly, it slowed the game down and took the home team out of their rhythm. "We had to do something," Casey said. "Physically they were just manhandling us in the paint. I thought that changed the game a little bit." Toronto would cut its deficit to nine going into the fourth quarter. By that point the Raptors had run out of gas, understandably so. Less than a week before All-Star Weekend, the Raptors are a beat up team. Kyle Lowry is battling a knee injury while both DeMar DeRozan and the slumping Amir Johnson are playing on sprained ankles. DeRozan was the one Raptor who looked at home in LA, in actuality he was. The Compton-born guard scored 36 points, the most hes ever had in nine career games at Staples Center, knocking down a career-high 17 free throws. After averaging 10.0 points on 31 per cent shooting in his first five career games back home, DeRozan has scored 28.5 on 52 per cent over his last four contests in LA. Its yet another sign of DeRozans growth on and off the floor in his fifth season. "Its always good to come home and see the family, or whatever, but I dont put as much pressure on myself as I did my first year or even my second year," said the first-time all-star. "I dont try to come out here and prove a point that Im from here or whatever, I just come here and play." Johnson spent most of Friday night chasing down Blake Griffin, who scored 36 points on 13-of-18 shooting in 28 minutes. It was an impossible task for a player that has been slowed by the injury for a week and a half. The nine-year vet is used to playing through pain and plans to continue doing so but he couldnt hide his frustration after the loss. "That nagging pain is just bothering me," said Johnson, who had eight points in 24 minutes against the Clippers. "I want to but there are just some plays I really cant get to the ball or make a play because my ankle just holds me back." "I feel like I can do a lot better. Im trying to baby it but at the same time Im trying to go hard out there. Once the schedule turns and I can rest it a little bit, Ill definitely come through. Lucky for Johnson and the rest of the ailing Raptors, theyll be en route back to Toronto Saturday after spending one more night on the road. There, theyll host the Pelicans and the Hawks before going their separate ways for the weekend, NBA all-star festivities. The schedule eases up the rest of the way. The Raptors - who have played 28 games on the road, most in the East - only have 13 more to go away from the Air Canada Centre. Fridays contest against the Clippers marked their last road game against a winning Western Conference team. "We want to compete every time we walk out but the main thing is were building and were getting better in some areas and some areas were not," said Casey. "The physicality department, thats going to take some more time for guys to figure that out. My thing is competing, you go out and compete and fight physically and then you let the chips fall where they may and there were some situations where I didnt think we competed physically." Hunter Henry Chargers Jersey . MORITZ, Switzerland - Exceeding expectations in her comeback season, Lindsey Vonn now heads to her hometown world championships injury-free and winning races in style. Corey Liuget Jersey . The award is presented annually to the most valuable player in the NHL, as voted by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players Association. The three centres are also the finalists for the Hart Trophy, awarded by the NHL to the player considered most valuable to his team.GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Green Bay Packers are in playoff mode, even after a loss on Sunday at Buffalo clouded their post-season prospects.Breaking from the norm, coach Mike McCarthy had his players elect playoff captains Monday, six days ahead of a critical game at Tampa Bay. Usually, that voting isnt conducted until the Monday after the conclusion of the regular season.Were looking at this game as really the start of our playoff approach, playoff mindset, McCarthy said Wednesday. This is a road game that we have to have. We clearly understand the importance of winning in December, but we feel like we need to take it up a notch as a football team to make sure that we improve not only as a team but, most importantly, in the win column. This is a playoff-type preparation. We discussed it in the team meeting.Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Jordy Nelson were selected on offence, linebacker Julius Peppers and safety Morgan Burnett on defence, and Randall Cobb and Jarrett Bush on special teams.Of course, the Packers wont need playoff captains if they dont play better than they did in a 21-13 loss at Buffalo. If Green Bay wins at Tampa Bay and either Philadelphia loses to Washington or Dallas beats Indianapolis, the Packers will clinch a playoff berth. Beat Tampa Bay and then Detroit, which is tied with Green Bay for the NFC North lead, and the Packers will earn the division title and a coveted first-round playoff bye.Offensively, it starts with Rodgers bouncing back after what statistically was the worst game of his career. The Packers, who entered last week with the most points scored and fewest giveaways in the league, managed only one touchdown while turning over the ball twice.I think its a mindset of dealing with adversity in a positive way and pushing through it, and when the going gets tough, they say the tough get going, Rodgers said. (Being) mentally tough, I think, is a trait that allows you to overcome some rough performances, and thats what I rely on after a poor performance is my mental preparatiion and my mental fortitude. Jason Verrett Chargers Jersey. Its not only Rodgers whos looking to put last weeks performance behind him. The Packers dropped six passes after entering the game with only 17 for the season, according to STATS. The receivers didnt do any more ball drills than usual, Nelson said, and the only recourse was to move on to this weeks game.The focus level and guys working hard and trying to continue to improve (are the keys), said Nelson, who dropped what might have been a 94-yard touchdown that could have changed the outcome against Buffalo. Even though its late in the year, you cant start settling for where youre at, and theres always areas to improve each and every week, whether its individually or as an offence. I think weve got professional guys in here that take a lot of pride in our work, whether its in practice or if its in a game.That pride has shown up this season. After the Packers three losses, theyve bounced back to win by an average of 23 points. With a healthy Rodgers, the Packers havent dropped back-to-back games since October 2010. That starts with the leadership, McCarthy said, which is why he decided to elect playoff captains now rather than waiting a couple of weeks. Hes looking toward his leaders to take the responsibility of pushing this team past last week and into the post-season.Its that time of the year. Its the playoff time of the year, said Peppers, a quiet veteran who was added during the off-season. So yeah, if you want to say its that time to turn it up, then you can say that. Its an honour to be voted by your teammates. Any time youre voted captain, youve got to accept that responsibility and step up and be a leader.Added Nelson: Its an honour. Probably one of the higher honours you can get is when guys on your team look at you in that way. But theres also a responsibility and pressure with it, so I take that very personal and look to be a leader for this team and hopefully guide us on a playoff run.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ChinaWholesale Jerseys ' ' '
