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TSN Raptors Reporter

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BROOKLYN - For the third time in three days, Dwane Casey took control of the narrative, channelling his inner Aaron Rodgers in delivering a message to those who have been especially critical of his team recently.

Relax.

"I'm a firm believer in that and I said that the other night," the Raptors' coach said leading up to Friday's 127-122 overtime win in their return to Brooklyn. "We're in the best [situation] the franchise has ever been in and every day all I hear are questions [about] what we're not doing, what they're not doing."

Stemming from the team's mid-season slide - losing seven of nine games earlier this month - there has been some lingering angst among some of Toronto's fan base and media.

Concern over their middling defensive numbers, offensive inconsistencies and a 10-11 record against winning competition. Questions surrounding his rotation and minute distribution with Terrence Ross going to the bench, James Johnson losing playing time and Jonas Valanciunas sitting late in games.

Those looking to find holes could do so fairly easily in Friday's dramatic victory. The Raptors surrendered a 17-point second-half lead, allowing Brooklyn to regain control late in the fourth. They failed to secure some crucial defensive rebounds and allowed the Nets to shoot 49 per cent on the evening.

But in spite of their flaws, the Raptors are now 32-15 for a reason. Resilient and opportunistic once again, Toronto made plays when it mattered most, forced overtime and came away with the victory, their fifth straight, to improve to a perfect 9-0 against divisional opponents.

"It was ugly but guys found a way," Casey said after the game. "We had a Navy SEAL come in and talk to us before the season [and he] talked about how there's never an easy day. In this league there's never an easy day. Our guys find a way."

"I wanted to win," said DeMar DeRozan, whose 26 points - 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime - and season-high nine assists lifted the Raptors to victory. "Every day is extra motivation, honestly. Win every single game."

"There's a lot of things we can clean up," Casey continued. "I wish we had 10 days of practice but we don't so we're trying to do things on the fly. But I thought our guys came in and competed, battled, got stops when we needed to."

Casey has heard all the criticism, he's read it and he's pleading for positivity in the midst of a historic season for the Raptors' franchise.

"These guys are playing as a team," he said. "You take Atlanta out of the equation, I would argue that our guys are playing as well as a team as anybody in the league. Are we going to win every game? No. Are we going to play perfect basketball? No. Are we who we are going to be? No. But I would argue that we are ahead of the curve as a team. That's why the karma of positivity, if that's a term, should be there."

Casey steered the discussion in this direction following Wednesday's 119-102 win over Sacramento, their most decisive in nearly two months, while his message after Friday's shoot-around and ahead of their game in Brooklyn remained the same.

Although the level of competition has been modest, the Raptors have seemingly found their way again.

Of course, both external and internal expectations have changed since the beginning of this season, a hot start will do that. Instead of judging this team as the growing, 48-win group they were a year ago, many have wondered why they're no longer looking like the version that topped the East for 60 straight days heading into 2015.

Most of his players would never admit to reading what's written about them, listening to what's being said about them, but Casey believes some of those unrealistic expectations have seeped into the locker room.

"They hear it," the Raptors' coach said. "Players hear it. "'What about this guy, what about that guy, what about this guy?' They can read and they can hear. They understand and again my job is to coach them, to get on them and also to cultivate a culture of positive approach, a growing approach, not let the weight of the world be on our shoulders as we grow. Let's have fun competing, have fun playing hard, have fun playing together, and not let that cloud just loom over us."

They've come a long way in a short amount of time. The Raptors held their shoot-around at a nearby college in Manhattan Friday morning, the same venue they use when they're in town to play the Knicks. A year ago Kyle Lowry sat in that very same gym, facing questions about his uncertain future and involvement in trade rumours just ahead of February's deadline.

"It's crazy how things work out and they worked out for the better," said Lowry, who is now locked up as the centrepiece of the Atlantic Division's best team. "I'm here in a situation where I'm happy. Last year was a different situation. So to look back on it it's crazy how things kind of turn into a full circle because it was here when the rumours were going on."

They are a better team then the one that turned around their season amid uncertainty a year ago. They're a better team than the one that fell to these same Nets in last spring's seven-game playoff series, the last time they were in Brooklyn. They're a good team, but it takes time to become great. Casey is asking for patience, encouraging you to enjoy the ride in the meantime.

"We are ahead of the curve," he said. "We should be, our city and fans should be excited for what these young men have achieved, the direction they are going. Are we a finished product? No. Are we a championship-caliber team right now? Trying to be, but we're not there yet.

"I've told our coaches we've got to coach that way, I've got to be that way and to expect the players to be that way. That's the message we're going to continue to talk about. I think that's the difference between where we were last year and where we are this year."