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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. Swell Bottle Canada Sale . Hoffman, the former star closer, will evaluate and help co-ordinate all pitchers at Double-A, Triple-A and the big league team. Byrnes says Hoffman "will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers. Swell Water Bottle Sale Canada .S. womens soccer team to a 2-0 win over China in Colorado in the afternoon. http://www.discountswellbottles.com/. His Chicago Blackhawks teammates werent shocked when he found it. Kanes career has been defined by his brilliance in the Blackhawks biggest moments, and his tiebreaking goal with 3:45 to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals will rank among the best. Discount Swell Bottles .TV Series: Duck Dynasty. Swell Water Bottle Marble . The Mets made the announcement Sunday night. Parnell blew a save on opening day against Washington and the next day it was revealed he had partially torn right elbow ligament.It was borderline unfair. Those were the words used by Toronto Argonaut head coach Scott Milanovich to describe a decision made a year ago. Starting quarterback Ricky Ray was injured in a mid-season game against Calgary. The team needed to select a starting quarterback and would have to choose between backups Zach Collaros and Trevor Harris. Collaros, now the starter in Hamilton, was chosen by the slimmest of margins and proceeded to lead the team to four consecutive wins - all on the road - something that had never been done before in CFL history. The starters job opened again after Ray suffered a concussion in the final quarter last week in Montreal, meaning Harris finally gets the chance to start. He took first-team reps at practice this week and felt right at home. Its been a long time since Ive got to play and start, said the native of Waldo, Ohio. But it felt natural. It just goes to show our coaches do a good job getting us prepared. Harris is now in his third season with the Argos and knows the playbook inside and out. Preparation and familiarity with the offence will not be problematic; impatience might be. I dont want him being a hero from the pocket, said Milanovich. I want him to go through his progressions and if its time for him to make a play, he needs to make that outside the pocket. That said, Harris can best be described in the same terms as Ray. Hes a quarterback who will work through his progressions and make the high-percentage throw. Hes a little more mobile than the veteran and has a stronger arm. It will be doubly important for Harris to get into a rhythm early on. Milanovich says that he hasnt been preaching to the receiving corps that making the sure catch is vital to building the confidence of the young QB. I dont want to put any extra pressure on them, said the coach. I think its very natural...when your backup quarterback is in the game, everybody feels a little bit more of a sense of urgency. I think they understand that, continued Milanovich. Its not something that I stressed, but I think its unspoken that they need to be at their best for him - particularly early. The pplayer that could make or break Harris day is Chad Owens.dddddddddddd. The diminutive receiver has averaged a remarkable eight catches for 95 yards per game this season. Hes excited for Harris and says there are two things that impress him the most about the young signal caller. His confidence and his competitiveness, said Owens. As a quarterback youve got to have that belief that (youre) going to win every time. Hes got that wont to be perfect. Those two attributes can go a long way in combating the butterflies that usually accompany a start by someone in this position. Sometimes a young guy coming in can be a little over-energetic, continued the receiver. You lose some of that composure you need as a quarterback, but Trevors got both. Im excited to be out there with him. Milanovich, who played quarterback in several pro leagues, says keeping Harris feet grounded will be the toughest task. I think its good that its a short week so he doesnt have all week to sit there and think about it, confessed the coach. Hes waited a long time for this opportunity. So what is the coach expecting from his pivot? Hes going to be excited, hes going to be anxious to play great, said Milanovich. I just asked him to play within the system and within himself and understand that he doesnt have to make plays, let other guys make plays for him. Harris has said all the right things this week, most of which have come in cliche form. No matter what the quarterback says, this is a different situation. Hes been on the field, he knows the start is coming, he understands that if his team loses the season ends. With all that said, he told TSN.ca that hes honestly not as nervous as one would assume. He just spent more time doing what relaxes him the most - watching game film. I love to watch tape, admitted a smiling Harris. When Im bored Ill pull out my iPad and watch tape, its just something that I like to do. Some people like to go out and hunt, I like to watch tape. That said, the Argos are hoping Harris plays the role of hunter and bags a win Friday night to extend the teams playoff hopes for at least one more day. ' ' '