Metaphysik » ng, in the midst of a career season.

MILWAUKEE - On a night in which DeMar DeRozan went scoreless, Kyle Lowry shot 1-for-9 from long distance, Jonas Valanciunas didnt log a minute in the fourth quarter and James Johnson didnt play at all, it was almost fitting to see the recently benched Terrence Ross go from zero to hero in the games most crucial moments. For the first time since inheriting his starting spot from the traded Rudy Gay over 13 months ago, Ross came off the bench in Milwaukee on Monday night, 24 hours after sitting the entire second half in a disastrous loss to the undermanned Pelicans. With less than a minute remaining and the Raptors trying to hold off the charging Bucks, Ross was back in the spotlight. He didnt start but thanks to a strong showing in response to his benching - his best in weeks - the 23-year-old closed the game for a struggling DeRozan. Amir Johnson saved a broken possession with some crafty ball handling, finding Patrick Patterson, who swung it to Ross in the corner. Ross put the ball on the floor, something he did with regularity on this night, pulled up and drained a 14-footer. Moments later, after Brandon Knight cut Torontos lead back down to one, Lowry found Ross leaking out for the slam dunk in transition. It would turn out to be the dagger. He played with a lot of confidence, relaxed, Dwane Casey said of Ross following a 92-89 win. I thought he came in in the first half and got us jump-started off the bench. I dont know if its a permanent thing but I liked the way he came in and played, especially on the defensive end. After starting the last 102 games hes played, Ross found out he would be coming off the bench earlier that day, although it couldnt have come as much of a surprise given how poorly hes performed of late. Once again, the timing has been unfortunate for Ross. His last slump coincided with the teams seven-game playoff series and elimination, while this slide comes during a stretch in which the Raptors have dropped seven of 10 as a team, almost magnifying the lulls you would expect from a young player. Were struggling as a team and one guy is not shooting the ball well, not playing defence at the level he has, rebounding the way he has so it makes it look like were pointing fingers at him, Casey had said before the game. But just maybe that change or whatever will get everybody else clicking until he gets things going again. Its tough, especially with a young player were trying to develop and grow. Its often difficult to gauge Ross level of motivation because hes a quiet, sort of disengaged person by nature. Hes a different personally, Casey said. But, at least for one night, it seemed like the message was received. He looked like a different player than the one who had shot 2-for-15 in the previous three games, the one that would get lost on both ends of the floor with little-to-no interest in being found. He checked in for DeRozan with nearly five minutes to go in the first quarter, immediately knocking down his first shot, which may have gone a long way in restoring his fleeting confidence. His jumper was falling - hitting a corner three-ball shortly thereafter - and he was making plays off the dribble, looking for teammates around the rim and even throwing down a vicious one-handed slam early in the second quarter. Everybody goes through it, said Ross, who scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench. So you just have to play through it because if you dont itll never go away. Youre in the NBA, youre living your dream, Patterson had told Ross. Youre in a positive situation, youre in an environment where everyone is rooting and pulling for you. No one tells him not to shoot the ball, everyone wants him to be aggressive out there and thats what hes going to keep on doing. We look for him a lot on the defensive end and on the offensive end. Hes our all-around player and hes got a lot of responsibility but hes young and he still has a lot to learn. Greivis Vasquez stepped into the starting lineup in place of Ross, but as the back-up point guard hes still needed on the floor with the second unit when Lowry is out of the game, meaning his minutes automatically go up and someone on the wing becomes the odd man out. On Monday that was Johnson, who did not log a minute. With Tyler Hansbrough playing well (Casey has also been reluctant to use Johnson at the four this season) and the Raptors trying to get Ross going again, there wasnt much time available for the versatile forward. Id love to play 15 guys, Casey explained after the game. Theres going to be some guys out of the rotation some nights and tonight those three did a good job – Terrence came in off the bench, Lou [Williams], Greivis and Kyle – so it had nothing to do with James, nothing he did wrong. Valanciunas, who had a double-double in the first half and finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, was held out in the fourth quarter with the Bucks going small, while DeRozan didnt look like himself playing in the third game in four nights having recently returned from injury. The lineup change, as Casey says, is not permanent but it should stick for the time being as Ross regains his confidence and the team gets back on track. Vasquez will remain in the starting lineup to spread the floor as another three-point shooter and take pressure off of the tiring Lowry. Johnson, who likely missed out on the temporary promotion because of his limited range, may not see regular playing time but has done enough this season to earn a role in the rotation. He seemed to take the benching in stride, supporting his teammates on the sideline throughout the game, and Casey insists theres nothing more to it. Stay tuned. As for Ross, his skill set - when hes locked in - and his presence with the first unit are far too important to just write off. The Raptors need to get him right and Casey knows it. Ive watched film with him and talked with him, he said. Everybody is working and trying to get him through this. Its nothing unusual for guys to go through what hes going through and, again, our woes are not totally Terrence, I want to make that clear. Its not totally him. Its everybody, all of us. I think sometimes guys need to take a deep breath and kind of smell the roses a bit and see whats going on and then go play. FINAL ALL-STAR PUSH Make no mistake, Lowry will be representing the Raptors in next months All-Star Game one way or another, but with fan voting set to close Monday evening, the point guard may be better off getting a short vacation. After playing MVP-caliber ball to start the campaign, culminating in Eastern Conference Player of the Month honours for December, Lowry has hit a mid-season wall. It is what it is, he said last week. It doesnt matter. If I get in, I get in. If I dont, Ill be on the beach hanging out, resting. He could use the rest. With the Raptors losing seven of nine games entering Mondays contest, Lowry averaged 17.3 points on 38 per cent shooting from the field, 31 per cent from three-point range over that stretch. He had scored 23.0 points on 51 per cent shooting, 48 per cent from three in his previous eight contests, with Toronto winning seven of them. In the most recent balloting update, released 11 days ago, Lowry had made some progress passing Kyrie Irving for third place among guards in the East, but still sat over 100,000 votes behind Dwayne Wade for the second and final starting spot at the position. Since then public support of the Lowry campaign has skyrocketed, at least north of the border. To some recent criticism, the Raptors have ramped up their promotion on the team broadcasts while keeping track of in-arena Twitter votes for the ninth-year guard. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the first notable Canadian to jump on board, tweeting an endorsement, which also counted as a vote (as have the 5,500 retweets its accumulated over the past two weeks). Trumping the PMs tweet, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber made a similar plea to his 59-million followers on Monday afternoon, getting retweeted 20,000 times in just 20 minutes. However, Biebers tweet and its subsequent retweets will not count towards Lowrys vote total because he did not include the hashtag NBABallot. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys China . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. Cheap Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . Liriano pitched in and out of trouble in his duel with Josh Beckett, and Ike Davis homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Friday night. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/ . -- Golden State Warriors reserve centre Ognjen Kuzmic is expected to miss at least six weeks after undergoing surgery on his fractured right hand. Custom Nike Minnesota Twins Jerseys . They were right in that they responded to coach Randy Carlyles goaltending switch to erase a two-goal deficit. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Sale . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw was thrilled with his accomplishments Saturday, even if they didnt lead the 10th-ranked Gamecocks to the Southeastern Conference championship. Shaw threw for one touchdown and rushed for another to lead South Carolina to its record fifth straight over No. 6 Clemson with 31-17 victory Saturday night. "Connor Shaw, ah man, the best quarterback in school history," Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said. "Hes probably the difference maker completely for us." Gamecock players rushed to the student section in celebration of the unprecedented win. Theyd hoped to have more to celebrate as SEC Eastern Division champs, but No. 5 Missouri defeated No. 19 Texas A&M 28-21 about 45 minutes after South Carolinas win to eliminate the Gamecocks (10-2). Shaw moved to 26-5 all-time as a starter and ended his career a perfect 17-0 at home in the sweetest way possible. "This is why we came to South Carolina," Shaw said. The Tigers (10-2) had never lost five consecutive games to their rival in a series that began in 1896 -- which they still lead 65-42-4. The loss also left record-setting quarterback Tajh Boyd 0-for-4 against the Gamecocks. "Weve been achieving things no one at South Carolinas done before," cornerback Victor Hampton said. "I told the boys, Dont stop at five. Keep going." Theres no reason to think they wont -- and using the same formula of ball control and timely turnovers. South Carolina forced six turnovers, four of them in the final quarter as Clemson (10-2) tried to rally back after Mike Davis 2-yard TD run broke a 17-all time with 11:47 to go. "Just give them credit. We never had six turnovers before," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "That wasnt part of the script." The Gamecocks have a chance at a third straight 11-win season in their bowl. They had just one 10-win season in their history before Spurrier arrived after the 2004 season. South Carolina put things away with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to break away from 17-all tie. After Davis TD, Pharoh Cooper threw a 26-yard TD pass to Brandon Wilds that put things out of reach. Clemson left the field defeated again and wondering why an offence that sets records in every other game struggles at the hands of its rivals. "Theyre a good team that continues not playing very well against us," Spurrier said. The most crushing miscues came in fourth quarter when defensive end Chaz Sutton ripped the ball from Boyds arms with the Tigers driving for the tying score deep in South Carolina territorry down 24-17.dddddddddddd When the Clemson forced a punt moments later, Adam Humphries fumbled the punt back to South Carolina. Thats when Cooper pass to Wilds put the game out of reach. Boyd, always a step behind in the rivalry, gave the sold-out crowd at Williams-Brice two final mistakes to cheer about with a pair of interceptions in the final four minutes. Boyd finishes his career throwing five interceptions and getting sacked 19 times in four games with South Carolina. "We hurt ourselves for the most part every time we play these guys," he said. Shaw completed 14 of 26 for 152 yards and a 9-yard TD throw to Shaq Roland. Shaw also ran for 94 yards and a 3-yard touchdown. Clemson was desperately trying to escape the 365-day-a-year yoke of its long, long series losing streak coming in. Boyd, the one-time Heisman Trophy contender, has chalked up 57 school and Atlantic Coast Conference records in his career, yet had always come up short in the season-ending game. Boyd even took a sack by Jadeveon Clowney, who taunted the quarterback this summer by saying he was scared of South Carolinas defensive front. Clowney hadnt had a sack since Sept. 14 against Vanderbilt in game three, but put Boyd down to stop a second-quarter drive. Boyd ended 19 of 27 for 225 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked five times. Boyd came out firing on Clemsons first drive, going 5 for 5 and leading the Tigers to the South Carolina 30. Thats when Watkins underthrew Humphries on a half-back pass and Brison Williams moved in for an easy interception. Shaw led a steady, 17-play march down the field that ended with the seniors lunging, 3-yard TD. The 17 plays marked the longest Gamecocks scoring drive of the year. It didnt take long for Clemson to answer back, Boyd finding Watkins for a 57-yard catch and run. Two plays later, Boyd tied things on his 8-yard run. The Tigers looked like they might gain back the momentum after forcing a South Carolina punt. But Humphries and Martavis Bryant collided and Gamecocks linebacker Skai Moore recovered. Shaw had a 16-yard pass to Connor McLaurin to get to Clemsons 8, then followed that with a TD pass to Shaq Roland. Clemson cut the lead to 17-10 at the end of the half on Chandler Catanzaros 38-yard field goal. The Tigers had averaged 30 points in the first half of their past four games. They had not been held to this few since trailing Florida State 27-7 after two quarters on Oct. 19. Clowney, Hampton and defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles are all juniors who took a bow on Senior Day. The trio is expected to head to the NFL after this season. ' ' '