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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. 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." Ultra Boost Schweiz . - For years William Gay kept quiet. Lite Racer Schweiz . - Defensive end-linebacker Mike Neal apparently is returning to the Packers. http://www.nmdschweizkaufen.ch/nmd-xr1-outlet.html . Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. Nmd Schweiz Kaufen .com) - The Boston Bruins announced Monday that the team has signed goaltender Niklas Svedberg to a one-year contract. Nmd Schweiz Outlet . Moors, from Cambridge Ont., landed a double-twisting, double somersault in the layout position, en route to a score of 14.600 points in the womens floor exercise, more than a full point ahead of runner-up Pia Tolle of Germany.BANGKOK, Thailand -- Canadas Milos Raonic is still hoping to improve even as the tennis season draws to a close. Raonic came from a set down to oust defending champion Richard Gasquet 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday and reach the final of the Thailand Open. The hard-serving Raonic hit 23 aces and broke Gasquet once in each of the second and third sets, but wants to play even better against top-seeded Tomas Berdych on Sunday. "There are things I must do better for sure tomorrow," said the 22-year-old Raonic. "I competed well but he played better and had more opportunities in the first set." Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., recovered nicely against Gasquet after dropping the opening set with what he admitted was a less-then-perfect initial effort. The two are familiar opponents -- Gasquet beat Raonic in a tight U.S. Open fourth-round match lasting five sets and more than four and a half hours. Raonic took a 4-3 lead in the final set on Saturday as he saved a break point with his 19th ace and won the game with his 20th. Gasquet answered with a love game before Raonic broke him to earn victory two games later on the second of three match points. "TThe first set was not so much about me losing as it was about him playing well.ddddddddddddHe did a lot to win it and hardly made an unforced error," said Raonic. "But I kept focus on my serve, which I knew was the way I was going to turn things around." Berdych needed nearly three hours to outlast Gilles Simon of France 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-5. Simon saved four set points in the 10th game of the first set and was down 5-3 in the tiebreaker before winning the next four points, clinching it when Berdych sent a forehand into the net. But Berdych took a 3-0 in the second and broke his opponent in the 11th game of the decider to reach his third final of the year. Raonic knows the challenge he faces in world No. 6 Berdych. "It will certainly be a tough match," said Raonic. "I think it will be about who can control points earlier and who can dictate and control the centre of the court more." If Raonic wins, it will be his fifth career title and second of the season after winning a third trophy at the now-defunct San Jose event. His other title came at Chennai, India, last season. He has 26 wins and 17 losses this season. ' ' '