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TORONTO - The closed-door pep talk Dwane Casey delivers to his players and subsequent meeting with his coaching staff after each game lasted almost twice as long as usual, following Thursdays disheartening defeat, the teams fourth in a row. The content of those discussions will remain in-house, the Raptors coach insisted when he finally resurfaced, but it wasnt hard to gauge the general theme from the tone in his voice and the feeling of frustration that radiated throughout Torontos locker room. It was written all over Kyle Lowrys face as he answered questions about the teams effort - or lack thereof - in this latest loss, reluctantly. Provide an explanation for the lack of intensity that his coach had referenced moments earlier, he was asked. No, I can not, he replied after an uncomfortable pause. Why might have Casey referred to said lack of intensity, he was asked, again? I dont know. Tonight we sucked as a team, Lowry said, providing a fair and more thorough explanation of the evenings events. Weve got to figure it out soon. Just frustration, disappointment, anger, said Patrick Patterson, offering a description of the mood in the room following Torontos 103-95 loss to Charlotte. Everyones just frustrated with the way were playing right now. Its not like were not trying. Thats the thing. Its not like were giving up. As you see, no matter what the score is were going to continue to battle and play hard but it just seems like things just arent working for us. It seems like were in a hole and were trying to climb out right now. Hopefully we climb out sooner rather than later. Mired in their longest losing skid since December of 2013, dating back to the road trip that preceded last seasons Rudy Gay trade, these Raptors find themselves in uncharted territory. The frustration is just all with us losing against teams that we feel like we should [beat], being in situations that we feel like we should come out on top of and just not having that overall effort as a team out there. Thats where the frustration lies, with our effort, with our lack of will. Their famously harmonious locker room, generally filled with cheerful players and lighthearted chatter between stalls, was almost completely silent. Adversity has hit, as they knew it eventually would. They had been weathering it for a few weeks now. First DeMar DeRozan went down, but they continued to win despite the absence of their All-Star. Then they set out on a lengthy, character-testing road trip, but held their own, at least initially. Somewhere, seemingly in the midst of a mentally and physically draining overtime loss to Portland before the New Year, it all began to wear on them: The loss of DeRozan, the unforgiving nature of the schedule. For the first time this season, theyre truly being challenged in a way that could ultimately make or break them, depending on how they react. The difficulty is, theres no simple cause of, or solution to their sudden slide. One of the silver linings about this situation is that DeMar is not out there, said Patterson. So maybe DeMar is the cure to all this. Who knows? But at the end of the day, with the team that we have, with the players that we have, with the mentality and attitude that we have, from the organization up top - coaching staff and players - this isnt normal for us. Since the trade we havent been in this situation. So, luckily we have great leaders on this team with Kyle and DeMar and luckily we have a great coaching staff so hopefully things turn around. Although the Hornets have been playing improved basketball of late - winners of four in a row - theyre nowhere near the level of competition Toronto had faced in its previous three losses to Portland, Golden State and Phoenix. Coming off a pair of spirited practices, facing a Charlotte team in the second night of its back-to-back and playing their first game at the Air Canada Centre in two and a half weeks, Thursdays loss stung more than the others. Needless to say, their long awaited return home didnt exactly go as planned. Lacking energy early in the game, the Raptors got off to a slow start on both ends of the floor and never recovered. Shooting under 40 per cent from the field, the Raptors also surrendered over 100 points for the eighth time in nine games. It’s been the last couple of games, Casey said. I don’t know if it’s the lull of the season, coming back from the west-coast trip. I don’t know what it is. But we’ve got to find seven or eight guys that are interested in competing at a high level. The Raptors bench contributed 49 points, more than half of the teams scoring output on the night, while they got next to nothing from three starters - Amir Johnson, Terrence Ross and Landry Fields. Meanwhile, Lowry and Lou Williams combined to shoot 11-for-37. With DeRozans return pushed back until sometime next week, Casey hinted at a possible lineup change that could shake up the rotation ahead of Saturdays game at home to Boston. I thought the second unit came in and competed, he said. For whatever reason, we’re not getting that energy at the start of the game, the start of the third quarter. Those were backbreakers. Whether it’s a lineup change or whatever it is, we’ve got to find an answer for it. Fields, who played under 10 minutes without attempting a shot or scoring a point in another spot start, would seem like the odd man out in Caseys current first unit. James Johnson was one of few standouts in 23 minutes of action on Thursday and could fill the void until DeRozan is able to reclaim his spot in the lineup. LOWRY MAKES LATE ALL-STAR PUSH Casey has certainly not been shy in support of his point guards All-Star campaign. In fact, thats probably an understatement. Kyle [Lowry] should make the All-Star team, reiterated a vocal Casey following the teams practice on Wednesday. Again, I love our fans and if they were that gracious [theyd] get out and vote, or get on the computer and vote, or however they vote... I dont even know how they do it. And again, he continued, Im going to be really upset at our coaches if they dont vote him in. If the fans dont vote him in and the coaches dont vote him in, we have an issue. Because if Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler, theres two guys, are not All-Stars, theres something wrong with our system. Although Lowry remains something of a long shot to start in next months annual NBA All-Star Game, Casey would be pleased by the progress made in recent fan voting. In the latest update, released by the NBA Thursday morning, Lowry had jumped Clevelands Kyrie Irving for third among Eastern Conference guards, but still trails Miamis Dwyane Wade by over 100,000 votes for the second and final starting spot at the position. Wizards point guard John Wall remains in first as Irving drops to fourth and Butler holds in fifth. All 10 starters - five in the East and five out West - have remained status quo in the three balloting returns made public by the league since voting opened last month and while a shake-up remains unlikely, Lowrys backing has reached new heights this past week. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper reached out to Canadian basketball fans via Twitter to make an All-Star plea on behalf of Lowry. The two tweets he sent out and their subsequent retweets - amounting to over 6,000 as of Thursday afternoon - all count as votes for the Raptors star point guard. Toronto Mayor John Tory followed suit a day later. Fans have until Jan. 19 to submit their votes for the games starters online and through social media (including Twitter) before the leagues coaches fill out the rosters. Starters will be announced on Jan. 22, with the reserves to follow on Jan. 29. Ive been with a lot of great point guards, Casey added. [Jason Kidd] in Dallas and Gary Payton in Seattle [and] Kyle has a style of play a lot like those guys, he has an effect on the game like those guys [did]. He is an All-Star and Ill tell anyone who asks that question. RAPS ON ESPN With the last-place Knicks mired in a 14-game losing skid, showing no signs of letting up anytime soon, ESPN announced that they have dropped a pair of contests featuring New York - including a match-up against rival Brooklyn - to pick up a couple of Raptors home games. Torontos Feb. 6 meeting with the Clippers and its Mar. 25 tilt against the Bulls will now air nationally in the United States. The start time changes from 7:30pm to 7pm et for both contests to accommodate the broadcast. Vapormax 2019 Sale . The Bulls seem to be getting along fine without him. D.J. Augustin scored 27 points in a start for Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson matched a career high with 26 filling in for Carlos Boozer as the Bulls improved to 7-2 since trading the popular Deng with a 98-87 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Nike Tns Nz .com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. http://www.airvapormaxnz.com/air-max-tn-sale-nz.html .com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. Vapormax Off White 2019 .S. - Nova Scotias Mary Fay guaranteed at least one more match and a shot at the Canadian junior curling championships final on home ice. Vapormax Plus Men . And rest hardly led to rust for the two-time defending NBA champions.HOUSTON - Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck and Texans quarterback Case Keenum both have strong ties to Houston, are in their second year in the NFL, and are starting for their respective teams. Thats where their similarities end. Luck was the first overall pick in the 2012 draft and started from Day 1. Keenum joined the Texans as an undrafted free agent and spent all of last season on the practice squad. Luck has thrown for 1,574 yards and 10 touchdowns. Keenum had 271 yards passing and a touchdown in his only NFL game on Oct. 20. The pair will meet tonight when the AFC South-leading Colts face a Houston team looking to end a five-game skid. Watch the action unfold live on TSN, beginning with Football Night in America at 7pm et/4pm pt. "I think you realize when you go into an NFL locker room, after a certain period of time, it doesnt matter where youre drafted or how you got there," Luck said. "If you get a chance and you play well, thats what matters." Keenum agreed. "Drafted first overall or undrafted, I think, its kind of all put to the side when it comes down to it," Keenum said. Luck went to high school in Houston before attending Stanford. Keenum is from Abilene, Texas and set career NCAA records for yards passing (19,217) and touchdown passes (155) at the University of Houston. Keenum made his NFL debut in Houstons last game filling in for an injured Matt Schaub. The Texans lost 17-16, but coach Gary Kubiak saw enough promise in Keenum to give him another start with Schaub healthy. "I think (hes) growing," Kubiak said. "I liked him or I wouldnt have brought him here in the first place. I think he has all of the physical ability to do what you need to do in this league to be successful." Five things to know about the Colts-Texans game: BANGED-UP BACKS: Houstons top two running backs are dealing with injuries and are questionable. Starter Arian Foster has missed practice this week with a hamstring injury he sustained early in the last game. Backup Ben Tate finished that game despite breaking four ribs in the third quarter. Hes said he expects to play Sunday. Houston signed three running backs on Monday to add depth: rookies Ray Graham and Dennis Johnson, and fourth-yyear player Deji Karim.dddddddddddd Karim played three games for the Colts late last season, mostly on special teams. He had a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last season to help the Colts to a 28-16 win in their last meeting with Houston. REGGIES REPLACEMENT: Sunday will be Indianapolis first game without star receiver Reggie Wayne, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a win over Denver. With the Pro Bowler out, the Colts will look to 2008 first-round pick Darrius Heyward-Bey and second-year player T.Y. Hilton to pick up the slack. Heyward-Bey has 18 receptions for 190 yards and a touchdown, and Hilton has 27 receptions for 412 yards and two scores. AVOIDING ED: Houstons Ed Reed has just 14 tackles with no interceptions in five games this season, causing some to wonder if he can still be a difference maker at age 35. Coach Chuck Pagano does not have that doubt. Pagano was asked how to account for him. "Dont throw in his direction, first of all," Pagano said. "Wherever hes at, just tell the quarterback, Dont go near him. Thats one way. Thats easier said than done." Reed leads active players with 61 career interceptions and has four against the Colts. MONSTER MATHIS: Indianapolis linebacker Robert Mathis has already tied his career high with 11 1/2 sacks. He reached the mark in both 2005 and 2008. "The second year in (this defence), hes much more comfortable," Pagano said. "Obviously, it was a huge transition a year ago for him, going from a 4-3 end to a stand up outside linebacker. ... Were not surprised that hes putting the numbers up that he is." Mathis has 103 sacks in his 11-year career. Hes had 15 1/2 against Houston, which is the most of any opponent. NO CUSHING: The Texans are trying to regroup after losing star linebacker Brian Cushing to a season-ending knee injury for the second straight year. "Unfortunately, weve been down this road before and some guys will have to step up," Kubiak said. Fourth-year player Darryl Sharpton will take over for Cushing, and Kubiak will look to fellow starting linebackers Joe Mays and Brooks Reed to help make Sharptons transition easier. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org ' ' '