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TSN Raptors Reporter

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CHARLOTTE - As Kyle Lowry sat out this past week, like DeMar DeRozan before him, the Raptors' point guard was able to take an overview of his team, even sitting in on some recent coaches' meetings.

In his three-game absence, the Raptors - as per usual - were a mixed bag, losing to the Knicks, beating the equally dreadful 76ers and hanging in with the streaking Cavaliers before suffering inevitable defeat. One thing remained apparent for the all-star throughout.

"Communication is one thing that is going to be big," Lowry said ahead of his return in Charlotte on Friday. "I think that's definitely one thing I noticed."

Even with their leader back on the floor, those concerns remained, particularly on the defensive end, as the Raptors suffered their seventh loss in eight games.

"Just getting stops," Dwane Casey said following a 103-94 defeat to the Hornets, Toronto's sixth straight loss to that franchise and eighth consecutive in Charlotte. "Getting consistent stops. That has been our bugaboo all year. We go in spurts where we play in desperation mode on the defensive end and then other times, they make us pay. Until we do that, we are going to have a long rest of the year. I told the team that. Until we commit to playing defence and our defensive rhythm moreso than our offensive rhythm, it's going to be a long year because this is about getting stops and then thinking about scoring."

"I think defence is where it starts," Lowry followed up after scoring 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting in 38 minutes. "Offence is easy to talk. Defensively, our bigs have to be our anchor and talk more. Me, I've gotta yell out the plays that they're running. And we've got to all be on the same page, from top to bottom."

Only Philadelphia ranks lower than the Hornets in offensive efficiency this season, yet the Raptors allowed them to score over 100 points on 47 per cent shooting, becoming the fifth straight opponent to break the century mark and third in a row to eclipse 25 assists.

Defensively, communication has been an ongoing challenge for a team that lacks vocal leaders on the floor and often leads to fractured possessions when the opposition moves the ball or forces a switch on the pick and roll.

DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson are the most experienced in Casey's system, both soft spoken players who lead by example more than anything else. At 22-years-old and in his third NBA season, Jonas Valanciunas is still getting comfortable in his role as the anchor of their defence. Much of that responsibility of directing the defence falls on Lowry.

"Talking can alert you to a lot of different things and we've got quiet guys naturally," Casey said. "That's something the other night against Cleveland when [Terrence Ross] got pinned in, they kind of snuck in and got him from the backside and set a back screen. On the film, you see the coaches jumping up and down, yelling, screaming. But the players on the court should be able to anticipate that, see that and a lot of that comes from experience, anticipation, having confidence in what you're saying. It helps a lot and that's one area defensively that would help us tremendously is talking, communicating and alerting your teammates."

Casey attributed some of the most recent loss and the defensive breakdowns within to a rotation that has been in flux for most of the season and was shuffled once again on Friday night.

With Lowry returning to the first unit, Casey went back to his opening night starting lineup, reinstating Ross, who has been coming off the bench for the past 21 games.

Mired in a mid-season slump and in the midst of an overall disappointing campaign, Ross was demoted to the second unit back on Jan. 19. As a team, the Raptors had been struggling and were in desperate need of a shakeup, with Ross standing out like a sore thumb. Toronto had lost seven of nine games at the time.

Though they would go on to win 11 of their next 14, Ross' demotion was never meant to be permanent. Greivis Vasquez started 11 games in his place, with James Johnson getting the nod in the other 10. Vasquez helped spread the floor as a capable outside shooter while giving it back on the defensive end. Opposite problem for Johnson.

At his best, Ross is the team's optimal compliment to Lowry, DeRozan, Amir Johnson and Valanciunas, and Casey knows it. This is the lineup that he prefers to go into the playoffs with but the challenge has been getting Ross' best consistently.

"We are tying to [find continuity]," Casey said. "That's one thing we have to get. We need to get Terrence back in and going again. We need his offence."

"But we have to get him going," he continued on Ross, who scored eight points in 32 minutes, recording a career-high of seven assists. "He is our three-point threat. He opens up the floor for Kyle and DeMar. He gives us spacing."

The hope is that this move, on top of Lowry's return, restores some normalcy to the rotation. Lowry's dribble penetration and DeRozan knack for passing out of double teams creates shot opportunities for Ross in the corners while Johnson balances out the second unit with his energy, defence and ability to get to the rim.

"The rotations were different and we're trying to get everybody in," Casey said. "We have everybody back healthy now so we have to get that rhythm back, get our rotations down and stay together. The guys were dejected after the game. They were down but if we fight and scrap and play in desperate mode the way we ended the game [with], the entire game, we won't feel like that."