yers to the Winter Olympics? Youve heard what weve had to say, now its your turn. As al

TORONTO - With six weeks remaining before his teams likely return to the playoffs, Dwane Casey is hoping to manufacture some late-season rest for the Raptors two leading scorers. Cheap Air Max 97 . Although DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have shown no sign of wearing down, each logging more playing time than they have previously in their careers, Casey would like to keep them as fresh as possible for the stretch run, something that may be easier said than done. Sitting 9 1/2 games ahead of ninth-place Detroit in the Eastern Conference standings, Toronto - the Easts third seed - is poised to make its first postseason appearance in six years. With that comes another rarity for the franchise, playing meaningful games in March and April. The challenge for Casey and the Raptors coaching staff will be in managing the rotation, loosening it enough to give the guards a breathier - together or separately - without sacrificing important games. "Thats the hard thing," Casey acknowledged following Wednesdays practice. "Weve got to buy them a few minutes here and there but every possession - not only every game, every quarter [but] every possession - is meaningful." "When you start looking at scoring, we hit a drought the other night against Golden State right before the fourth quarter but we were just trying to buy minutes for those guys off the floor. Its a catch-22." DeRozan is fourth in the league, averaging just over 38 minutes per game, behind only Carmelo Anthony, James Harden and Kevin Durant while Lowry is 14th, logging roughly 36 a night. Amongst NBA duos, only Houstons pair of Harden and Chandler Parsons as well as Golden States Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson play more. In February, DeRozan played over 40 minutes a night, with Lowry nearly hitting 38. Since the early-December trade, Casey has been rolling out a strict nine-man rotation, using primarily Greivis Vasquez and John Salmons to spell Lowry, DeRozan and Terrence Ross. Getting reliable contribution from his reserves and piecing together the right combinations will be essential for the Raptors coach to expand the rotation enough to buy his backcourt duo more downtime on the bench. One player hed like to see more of, who could help in taking the burden off Lowry and DeRozan, is newcomer Nando De Colo. The versatile guard has played just eight minutes since being acquired from the Spurs in a deadline day trade two weeks ago. Although Casey has had trouble pinpointing where exactly De Colo fits in his lineup, he anticipates using the 26-year-old as a secondary ball handler, likely at the two or three position. "Weve got to make sure we have the right combinations on the court, that way we dont sacrifice scoring, but he knows how to play, he has a feel for the game," Casey said of De Colo. "You cant really put your finger on his position or what he is, a two, a three or a point [guard], but hes a basketball player. He just knows how to play." The Raptors got back to work Wednesday after taking a couple days off to satisfy a league mandate. "I thought we had decent focus," Casey said, "the usual first day back to school-type start, but I thought once guys got into it we ramped the intensity a little bit. "There was no resistance as far as the drills were concerned whatsoever, so I could sense they were anxious to get back. As a coach you dont want to lose that rhythm, thats the biggest fear. I didnt sense any of that today." While Jonas Valanciunas used the time off to get away from the game, spending the day ice fishing on Lake Simcoe (he returned home empty handed, without a fish), Terrence Ross took advantage of a rare mid-season opportunity for rest. Ross has been nursing a sprained left ankle, keeping him out of Sundays win over Golden State, but was able to practice in full Wednesday. "It happened at the best time," said Ross, who expects to be in uniform when the Raptors host Sacramento on Friday. "I got a few days off to stay off it and rest. Im feeling back to normal. Ive still got to do treatment on it but right now it feels good." Cheap Air Max 97 Black China . The Mercedes duo of three-time Canadian Grand Prix champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has won all six races to start the season, finishing one-two in the last five. Cheap Air Max 97 Pink China . -- A deflected pass that landed in DeSean Jacksons hands. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/cheap-air-max-97-gold-china/ . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta.With John Tavares second period knee injury against the Latvians Wednesday, he wasnt just lost for the rest of the Olympics, but also the rest of the NHL season. The blow for the New York Islanders was softened a little by the fact their season is already all but over, sitting 12 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 22-30-8 record. But imagine if the Islanders were in playoff contention, losing one of the best players in the league. Islanders general manager Garth Snow was none too happy about losing his superstar centre at an international competition. Speaking to Newsday on Thursday, Snow chastised the IIHF and IOC for wanting all the benefits of NHLers for nothing in return and even suggesting the organizations reimburse Islanders season ticket holders. Tavares injury, and Snows subsequent reaction – a sentiment likely shared by GMs around the NHL – may be enough for the league to halt their participation in the Olympics. In light of this and other injuries suffered in Sochi, is it time for the NHL to stop sending their players to the Winter Olympics? The 23-year-old Canadians season isnt the only casualty of the Winter Games, as the Florida Panthers have lost promising rookie Alexander Barkov to a knee injury playing for Finland, and veteran forward TThomas Kopecky to a concussion playing for Slovakia. Nike Air Max 97 For Sale. And while Pavel Datsyuk played in every Russian game at the Olympics, an argument could be made that were it not for the Olympics in his home country, the 35-year-old would be resting his troublesome knee ahead of the Detroit Red Wings playoff push. The solution could come in the reincarnation of the World Cup of Hockey, to be played in late summer before the NHL season begins. While injuries would be as unavoidable then as they are now in the Olympics, players would be coming in fresher and would have more time to heal before training camps open in the fall. Theres nothing quite as momentous as playing for your country in the Olympics, as Steven Stamkos showed doing everything he could to get healthy in time for this years tournament, but a World Cup could be a compromise that keeps every party involved relatively happy. And for hockey nuts worried about the void if the NHL pulls out of the Olympics, ideas such as making the World Juniors, an increasingly popular tournament around the world, an Olympic event every fourth year may be enough to appease them. Should the NHL stop sending their players to the Winter Olympics? Youve heard what weve had to say, now its your turn. As always, its Your! Call. ' ' '