TORONTO - For months weve been hearing all about their impossibly difficult early-season schedule. [url=http://www.cheapnikeshoxcanada.com/]Nike Shox Canada Cheap[/url] . Through 34 contests, the Raptors have had the most difficult slate of games in the Eastern Conference, according to Basketball-Refe

TORONTO - For months weve been hearing all about their impossibly difficult early-season schedule. Nike Shox Canada Cheap . Through 34 contests, the Raptors have had the most difficult slate of games in the Eastern Conference, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Theyve played 19 on the road and 16 against winning teams, both tied for most in the East. They have seen both conference finalists, Miami and Indiana three times. In spite of it all, Toronto is right where Dwane Casey had cautiously hoped they would be; at sea level. "These five games are a crucial stretch of games here at home for us," Casey said ahead of Wednesdays 112-91 victory over the Pistons, a win that got Toronto back to the .500 mark. "Its a very crucial time." Following another daunting road trip, capped off by disappointing but expected losses to the Heat and Pacers, the Raptors schedule finally begins to ease up. Wednesdays meeting with Detroit was the first of four straight against losing teams. Four of their next five are at home and only two of the remaining 12 contests in January come against opponents that went into Wednesdays games with winning records. Casey had spoken about using recent tests against the leagues best as a measuring stick for his emerging team but these upcoming few weeks may tell him more about where they stack up in the Eastern Conference. They must continue to win the games they should. Taking care of the Pistons, one of the Easts talented disasters, was a promising first step. Toronto coughed up an 11-point second-quarter lead in what turned out to be an ugly opening half for both teams. DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson combined to shoot 0-of-16 while the team was outscored by 16 points in the paint, outworked by another physical frontline. Lucky to be down only four at the break, the Raptors adjusted going into the second half, where they outscored the visitors 62-37. "We pretty much said, this is a must-win game," Johnson maintained. "We have to go out and take it and we did that." Although they shot just 41 per cent from the field, the Raptors knocked down 11 three-pointers, including five from Terrence Ross, who had 17 points on the night. Toronto improved to 8-2 on the season when connecting on 10 or more three-balls. Kyle Lowry led the team in scoring with 21 to go along with nine assists, Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas both added double-doubles and DeRozan finished with 19 points, 13 of which came from the free throw line. "We knew it was going to be a grind it out game and thats something were learning to do," Casey added. "Theres no pretty games in the NBA, its a mans league," he continued. "To win in this league, to win in the Eastern Conference especially - I found out in my three years in it - its a mans [conference]. Its a hit, knockdown, drag out [conference] and the strong survive. Were learning how to do that." The Raptors were a different team coming out of the locker room after intermission. They bested the Pistons in the paint - Detroit leads the league in that category - out-rebounded them and imposed their will on a struggling team that has now lost six in a row. After eight lead changes in the first half, there was just one in the second and it was all the Raptors needed to seize control. "Theyre must-win games," Johnson said. "Theyre all home and we need to win those games just to stay at the top of our division. Theyre must-win games and weve got to come out and play hard." With Brooklyn on deck, followed by games against the woeful Bucks and Celtics, the Raptors have to continue to do just that. Theyve got to seize this opportunity. Although Toronto is just 1-5 facing the Pacers and Heat this season, theyre 11-5 against the rest of the conference. Sitting just one game out of third place in the East - after the Horford-less Hawks upset Indiana on Wednesday - the Raptors are now in a position to validate their recent success. They can separate themselves from the heap of mediocrity theyll be facing throughout the duration of the month of they will end up blending in with them. "Theres no reason for any of us to be content or satisfied or be able to be happy about [where we are]," Casey preached. "Weve got to play like a hungry team. Weve got to continue to grow, weve got to continue to have the underdog attitude because thats where we are. " "Were nowhere near an established program. Im not kidding myself, I know what an established program is all about and were not there yet. We have a lot of growth to do with our core group of guys." Nike Shox Cheap Free Shipping . The group of Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, & Slava Kozlov were a dominant force for The Wings at one point in the 90s. Nike Shox Canada Clearance .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. http://www.cheapnikeshoxcanada.com/ . "Win basketball games," Collins said. He will get at least a few more chances. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night. PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers released linebacker LaMarr Woodley on Tuesday, with a post-June 1 designation to save money under the salary cap and signed free agent safety Mike Mitchell from the Carolina Panthers. Mitchell first announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers and his agent Brian Hamilton confirmed the signing to The Associated Press. Financial terms were not released. The Steelers have not announced the addition of Mitchell. "First I have to thank God for this blessing and Mr. Rooney and the Steelers organization for such a great opportunity!" Mitchell wrote on Twitter. Mitchell started 14 games last season for the Carolina Panthers and had 66 tackles, four interceptions, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles for the leagues second-ranked defence. Mitchell came to Carolina after four seasons with the Oakland Raiders, mostly in a reserve role. The 6-foot, 210-pound Mitchell brought an attitude to the Carolina defence, regularly collecting personal fouls and league-imposed fines for late hits. By releasing Woodley with a post-June 1 designation, the Steelers free up about $8 million in salary cap space in 2014. The money saved will likely go toward signing the teams selections in the NFL draft in May. Woodley will, however, count $8.5 millionn against the teams cap number in 2015. Nike Shox Sale Canada. Selected by the Steelers in the second round (46th overall) of the 2007 draft out of Michigan, Woodley signed a six-year, $61.5 million contract in 2011, but has struggled to remain healthy. He missed at least three games in each of the last three seasons as hamstring and other lower body issues kept him sidelined for long stretches. The turning point came in a 25-17 win over New England on Oct. 30, 2011. Woodley sacked Tom Brady twice in that game, but also left with a strained hamstring. He had nine sacks at the time of the injury, played in two games the rest of the way and could never seem to rediscover the productivity that made Woodley and James Harrison one of the most feared outside linebacker combinations in the league. Woodley, 29, failed to get a sack after Oct. 20 last year and ended the season on injured reserve. While Woodley sat with calf problems, Jason Worilds thrived. He led Pittsburgh with eight sacks and the Steelers made the fifth-year linebacker their transition player. Woodley started 81 of 94 games during the regular season as well as seven of eight post-season games in his seven years with Pittsburgh. He made the Pro Bowl and selected second-team All-Pro by The Associated Press in 2009. 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