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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - With the Raptors mired in their longest losing skid of the season, Dwane Casey is strongly considering shaking up his rotation going into Saturday's contest at home to the Boston Celtics.

Although Toronto's coach remains tight-lipped regarding the details of a potential lineup change, insisting that no decision has been made - which should continue to be the case until just before game time - he suggested an alteration could be in the works.

"We'll find out, we'll see," Casey said following an informal practice session Friday afternoon. "I'm not pointing fingers at anybody, at any one person. If we make an adjustment in the lineup it's going to be to help solidify or give us something that we're probably not getting in a certain situation or matchup. If we change it, it's not saying, hey, 'that person's at fault for the four-game losing streak'."

Slow starts have plagued the team over their recent slide. In Thursday's disappointing loss to Charlotte, the Raptors allowed 31 points in the first quarter, trailing by eight (or more) after 12 minutes for the third straight contest. After the game, Casey questioned his first unit's energy out of the gate. Patrick Patterson, one of the team's top reserves, attributed it to a "lack of focus" and a "lack of will".

The second group contributed 49 points, more than half of Toronto's overall scoring output on the night, shooting 45 per cent from the field, while the starters shot the ball at a 35 per cent clip.

Kyle Lowry was 7-for-22 from the field and continues to battle the physical and mental fatigue that has been weighing him down since last week's overtime loss in Portland, a product of overuse in the absence of DeMar DeRozan.

During that stretch, the point guard's minutes are up only slightly from last year, but without DeRozan they're taxing minutes. Since DeRozan sustained his injury, Lowry's usage rate (the percentage of a team's offensive possessions that a player uses while on the court) is just under 30 per cent, up from 23 per cent earlier this season. Prior to DeRozan's injury, he had attempted 21 or more field goals just five times in 521 career games, something he's done in eight of 20 games since.

With DeRozan return pushed back to next week, at the earliest, the Raptors are forced to rely heavily on their point guard - they're at a significant disadvantage whenever he's not on the floor. As a result, Casey and the coaching staff have gotten creative, hoping to lessen the demand on Lowry, while still riding him offensively.

"It's getting to that time where guys' minutes are ramping up and it's telling on them in certainly situations, mainly on the defensive end and with their shooting, shots being short," Casey said. "But that's the NBA. We've got to make adjustments as a staff and as players to get it back on track. And if it calls for getting other guys larger minutes off the bench, then that's fine too, to give guys rest. But we've just got to be creative as far as how we manage things until DeMar gets back."

Among the challenges their facing is finding the right lineup combinations to put around Lowry. On Thursday he got little-to-no help from three of his fellow starters in Landry Fields, Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson - all three of whom should be under the microscope as Casey reevaluates his rotation.

Fields, DeRozan's understudy, would seem to be the most logical candidate for a return to the bench. The fifth-year swingman has started nine of the last 14 games, having missed the five in between with a concussion. A pleasant surprise after stepping into the starting lineup last month, Fields has tailed off since returning from his injury. He's a smart player but has little offensive impact on account of his limited range, and although he's a solid individual defender, it hasn't exactly translated to team success on that end. The Raptors have been outscored by 58 points with him on the court this season.

Production from Ross and Johnson has been sporadic this season but the intangibles they bring to that unit make their demotions unlikely. Ross' shooting spaces the floor for Lowry and company, while Johnson - even an inconsistent and hobbled version - is still the team's best interior and help defender. Generally, his teammates all perform better with him on the court.

That leaves James Johnson and Greivis Vasquez, who have both started games in DeRozan's absence, as potential replacements, likely for Fields. 

Johnson started the five games Fields missed and has been one of the clubs most consistent contributors all year. He owns the second-best defensive rating on the team and has been an efficient offensive player buying into his new role. Casey's concern with extending Johnson's role, even temporarily, is rooted in the fear he may revert to the player he was, the player that would often go rogue and try to do too much on the offensive end. It would seem, as he often states himself, that the old Johnson is no more and the new version could be, and probably should be, in line for more playing time.

Vasquez was Casey's initial replacement for DeRozan. While Johnson seems like the safer choice, there's something to be said for the relief Vasquez would give Lowry as a second ball handler in the backcourt. The two guards were Toronto's most productive pairing last season and in the playoffs but haven't had the same success together this year. Beyond that, the most pressing issue with the first unit has been their defensive energy, something Johnson is likely to address more than Vasquez would.

FIGHTING THROUGH ADVERSITY

The Raptors did not hold a full practice on Friday, instead players gathered at the Air Canada Centre for individual workouts and film sessions with the coaches. Casey pointed to the mental hurdles that can build up and derail a team during tough stretches like this, something he hopes to avoid by staying prepared and remaining level-headed.

"Adversity brings out the best or the worst in you," said Casey. "We're going through an adverse time. Every team in the league that I've ever been with goes through it." 

"It gives you guys [in the media] something different to write about and talk about other than a winning streak," he joked. "We're going through it now and it's going to make us better. I don't care what team you are, until you go through something it doesn't make you better. We all are happy and full of joy and peanuts and candy when we're winning, but then you turn around and you find out who the real people are when you hit adversity and that's what we're going through right now. And we'll figure it out."

While their frustration has been evident, primarily after their latest loss to Charlotte, it has been directed inward and at the situation more than at each other, which is a promising sign going forward. This Raptors team has been a notably tight knit group since they came together following last season's trade. Although their chemistry has not been tested through adversity like this before, that togetherness should pay off now more than ever.

"Nobody's blaming nobody and that's a great sign," James Johnson said. "Everybody's sticking together. I think this is making us closer and later down in the season togetherness is big."

"You learn who the leaders are on your team and who's on board, who's in the boat," Casey added. "Everybody's in the boat in the locker room, there's no splintering against each other and we understand it's us against everybody else."

"I think they're mature enough not to [point fingers]. It's about winning. It's about figuring out a way to win. It's not about who's right, who's wrong. it's about coming together as a team collectively on both ends of the floor and getting it right. That's our job as a team, as an organization, is not pointing fingers and staying together."