Morning Coffee: January 28th Edition

We went through it early when we had all those close games early and sometimes you get a little drunk from adversity and that type of thing.

Toronto Raptors have to find way to win mind game | Toronto Star

“We went through it early when we had all those close games early and sometimes you get a little drunk from adversity and that type of thing,” said Casey. “I think one thing that’s a little different is we’re in such a tight spot fighting for that eighth spot that there’s still a lot of games left. “We can’t get punch-drunk now and get down.”

Dwane Casey trusts Terrence Ross to close out games for Raptors | Toronto Sun

In Miami, Orlando and Saturday against Cleveland at the Air Canada Centre — all three games which came down to either the final shot to produce a winner, or, as was the case in the Miami game, required overtime to decide it — Casey went primarily with Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Alan Anderson and Amir Johnson. Casey acknowledged the trend but pointed out that nothing is set in stone. He will stray from that five if he feels someone outside that group is going a little better than someone in it.

Bargnani might beat Valanciunas back into Raptors lineup | Toronto Sun

“If I was a betting man, I would say Andrea is ahead of Jonas because I think there’s still the fear of hitting that hand again (for Jonas),” Casey said before Saturday’s loss to Cleveland. “I’m sure he’ll have to wear some sort of pad when he does return.”Bargnani was shooting from distance on Sunday and showing no effects of either an elbow or wrist injury.

PODCAST: Hip Hoop Junkies & Hoop Heads North present RAPS TALK Ep. 39 (01.28.2013) | Hip Hoop Junkies

It’s episode 39 of the podcast and Sean makes his return from his trip out to San Francisco. This week we catch up on the last week of the Toronto Raptors, talk Kevin Durant’s desire to play with the Raptors, NBA All-Stars, #TeamJackDaniels and we also have our regular segments “Hoop Heads Humour of the Week” and “The Wenningtons of the Week.”

Report: Raptors more interested in moving Lowry than Calderon | ProBasketballTalk

And while Jose Calderon has frequently been mentioned as trade bait, league sources say the Raptors are far more amenable to trading Kyle Lowry, who has not made many friends in his new surroundings… Kyle Lowry, who has quickly worn out his welcome in Toronto, could be an option for the Mavs or Hawks, who are both in need of point-guard help. With only $1 million guaranteed next season, Lowry would be a short-term fix without clogging up future cap space.

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