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TSN Raptors Reporter

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - The hardest thing for any coach to do, regardless of what's at stake, is to hold back.

Like their players, they all want to go full bore, but with a bright future to look forward to - beginning with their shot at Olympic qualifying next week - Jay Triano is balancing his competitive spirit with Canada Basketball's best interests.

Triano's club is two games into their slate of friendlies and, without anything tangible on the line, he's managing his roster differently than he plans to at the FIBA Americas in Mexico City.

Fortunately for the Canadians, who are off to a 2-0 start in their exhibition tournament, they have the depth of talent to permit it.

"Our depth was very good, especially offensively," Triano said following the national team's 80-64 dismantling of Brazil on Monday evening. "To have 50 points off the bench [is great], but I was more pleased with the way [the] guys off the bench came in and followed what the starters did defensively. We put them in tough spots and we were active with our hands and we need to continue to play that way."

On a night in which their starting centre, Kelly Olynyk, sat out with a minor knee injury, their best player, Andrew Wiggins, struggled (nine points on 2-of-10 shooting), their top scorer from the Pan Am Games, Andrew Nicholson, was held scoreless and sharpshooter Nik Stauskas contributed just three points, Canada never trailed.

Four Canadians scored in double figures, three of them came in off the bench - Mavericks forward Dwight Powell, who had an efficient 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes, Brady Heslip (15 points) and back-up point guard Phil Scrubb (10 points).

For the second straight day, 11 of the 12 active players got into the game and no one logged more than Heslip's 24 minutes.

"I think we're a pretty deep team," Scrubb said. "Having guys like [Powell] off the bench and Melvin Ejim, guys that can bring energy, and [Heslip], who can light it up pretty quick, I think we're pretty fortunate to have a good bench and we just try to not let the intensity come down [when we come in]."

"We're a young team," Powell added. "Athleticism is one of our advantages, so being able to bring fresh bodies in and continue to have that energy to play at a high level is important."

Triano and the Canada Basketball program have never had this much talent to work with and it is paying immediate dividends as the head coach uses these exhibition contests to teach his young players, without tiring them out.

"We have four games where we can try to figure out rotations, figure out who understands the international game and what we might see when we get to Mexico," Triano had said over the weekend. "We're going to use these games for a variety of reasons, most importantly to play against somebody other than ourselves."

"I said before the tournament started it doesn't matter how many NBA players we have, that doesn't guarantee or give us anything. We have to become a good basketball team. If we become a good basketball team, then this is going to be a fun team to be around. Our goal obviously is to get ready for next week, and to be ready when we go to Mexico."

Collectively, this has been their first opportunity to play together. For a couple of the starters - Wiggins and Stauskas - it's their first opportunity to play for the senior team. They need this time to get familiar with each other and, of equal importance, with the international game.

But managing these first two games has been something of a chess match. Like Argentina and Brazil - their opponents, both of whom they will see in Mexico when the games count - the Canadians aren't emptying their bag of tricks.

For starters, because they're only permitted to dress 12 of their 13 players each game, Triano is using this week to get his best players some rest. Cory Joseph looked fresh on Monday after sitting out the night before. Olynyk, who hurt his left knee in a collision Sunday, got the night off against Brazil. Although Triano indicated his injury is not a serious one, they may continue to rest him and ensure he's back to full health for the qualifier.

Assuming they can continue to use it as an advantage, their depth will be crucial in pacing themselves throughout a gruelling tournament in Mexico, where they will play 10 games in 12 days.