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TSN Raptors Reporter

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NEW ORLEANS - Just over an hour before tip-off and for the second time this season, Dwane Casey was asked about the hidden challenge in facing a shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans squad.

His response was nearly as predictable as the question itself. It's become a staple ahead of games against teams with missing stars or inferior records.

"We gotta come out with a mindset that we are going to play hard no matter who it is against," said the Raptors' head coach, "who is in uniform, or what their record is."

He'll often cite his team's youth and inexperience. They haven't accomplished enough to justify taking anyone lightly, he'll reiterate so often that it sometimes sounds like a rehearsed speech.

But he's not wrong and Monday night's loss served as the latest reminder.

"I don't even want to hear about the next team that doesn't have a player playing," an agitated Casey shot back after his Raptors surrendered their 18-point advantage a 100-97 defeat. "I think those other guys came in and played hungry. That's the worst thing you can do, play against hungry guys trying to [get their] opportunity in this league. That's what they did."

Coming off one of their most lopsided defeats of the season, they looked like themselves - the good version - throughout the first half. The league's top defensive team over the span of their last four contests, they held the Pelicans - missing their injured all-star and MVP candidate Anthony Davis - around 40 per cent and did an equally admirable job scoring the ball.

Then, just as quickly as the Raptors regrouped to begin the game, they reverted back to the team that was run out of Houston two days prior.

Led by the likes of Alexis Ajinca and Luke Babbitt, career journeymen, New Orleans hit 21 of its 33 shots in the second half, holding Toronto to 36 per cent, 2-of-13 from three-point range, and outscoring them 56-41 to complete an unlikely comeback.

"Tough loss," DeMar DeRozan admitted when it was all said and done. "We should've had that one, being up so much, should've contained the lead but they fought. They hit some big shots."

"This one was pretty bad. It sucks, especially coming off a loss like we had, to lose tonight, it was definitely tough."

The breakdown was in equal parts offensive and on the defensive end. The Pelicans hit some tough shots but took advantage of just as many good looks. Tyreke Evans and newcomer Norris Cole got into the lane, Babbitt found open jumpers and Ajinca had his way in the paint.

Offensively, the Raptors settled for threes and long jumpers as their shots stopped falling. They missed free throws and failed to execute in the game's final and most crucial moments. Jonas Valanciunas, who had a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds in tying a season-high 36 minutes, was on the bench in crunch time once again. A bright spot on the night, the Raptors' centre had played the first 17 minutes of the second half before Casey felt he needed a breather and opted for a smaller lineup anchored by Amir Johnson with the game on the line.

With just under two minutes remaining, New Orleans took its first lead of the game on a Babbitt three-ball. On the next possession Evans' layup stretched Toronto's deficit to three. They would tie the game seconds later but could never fully recover.

"They played harder than us," Kyle Lowry said, before correcting himself. "Not to say harder but they got to the 50/50 balls, they got to the offensive glass, they sped up and we didn't speed up with them. We've got to find that extra notch and turn it up a little. I don't think they played harder than us, I think they just executed better with their offence and I think they got to those 50/50 balls when they needed to."

The Pelicans are now 3-5 without Davis, who re-injured his shoulder over the weekend. Two of those wins have come at the expense of the Raptors. Although Toronto missed Patrick Patterson on Monday, out with a sprained left knee, that loss seems inconsequential compared to New Orleans, playing without Davis, Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday.

Nights like Saturday happen. The Raps were (significantly) outplayed by a very good team on the road in Houston in the second night of a back-to-back. This one is much tougher to justify for a club that fancies themselves a contender in the Eastern Conference. These are games they can't lose, lapses they can't have, opportunities they can't waste if they're going to take the next step.

"It's tough, man," Johnson said. "In the NBA every team plays hard. This is one we definitely didn't want to let go."

BATTLING THE SCHEDULE

One of the issues Adam Silver tackled during the commissioner's annual all-star address was NBA's hectic schedule, primarily back-to-back sets and stretches of four games in five nights. The league's hope, beginning as early as next season, is to drastically reduce these condensed schedule games in an effort to give its players more rest and keep them fresh for the playoffs, a change the Raptors would welcome with open arms.

"Oh yeah," DeRozan said, asked about the possibility of fewer back-to-backs following morning shoot around on Monday. "That'd be amazing. I wish."

"It's a grind," Casey agreed. "I thought our guys handled it well the last time our guys were in it. But something has to give whether it is the product on the floor or the players' bodies. All we can do is make that known to commissioner Silver. He has been great as far as knowing what is best for the game. My humble opinion I think [reducing them is] good for the league and good for the game."

The Raptors are currently three contests into their third stretch of four games in five nights this season. In most cases, they've actually thrived when the schedule has been at its toughest. They went 3-1 during a four-in-five in November while winning all four in December.

"I just think we just play," said Lou Williams, told of their success in back-to-backs this year - they have a record of 11-2 in the first game, 8-4 in the second. "We don't really put a lot of emphasis on stuff like that. The stats and all of that are for the coaches and for [the media]. For the players, we just play."

"They're on the schedule, so we play [them]," the Raptors' reserve continued. "Now that you mention it, it's a great thing, especially coming to the end of the season, to not have four in five after this will be good for us."