TORONTO - Ten months after their previous general manager pulled the trigger on a franchise-altering trade, the Raptors are still searching for their identity offensively while working around the obstacles created by that roster shakeup. [url=http://www.cheapbengalsjerseysonline.com/?tag=boomer-esiaso

TORONTO - Ten months after their previous general manager pulled the trigger on a franchise-altering trade, the Raptors are still searching for their identity offensively while working around the obstacles created by that roster shakeup. Boomer Esiason Jersey . On Jan. 30 Bryan Colangelo acquired Rudy Gay in a three-team trade, jettisoning Ed Davis and the expiring contract of starting point guard Jose Calderon. Since then, Torontos most consistent area of weakness has been moving the ball. It has been a focus for Dwane Caseys team early this season after spending most of training camp emphasizing defensive principles. The Raptors coach has shouted it from the sidelines, preached it after games and drilled it in practice but still, sharing the ball appears to be an incurable allergy for this team, as its currently constructed. "Were 30th in the league in assists, so were trying to promote ball movement," Casey acknowledged after practice Tuesday afternoon. "Its something weve just got to stay on, harp on and try to do what fits our team." TSN 1050s Josh Lewenberg and Duane Watson weigh in on the teams ailing offence and ongoing ball movement concerns in this weeks Raptors Report podcast. Through 11 games, the Raptors are last in the NBA, averaging 16.5 assists per contest. Their offence has routinely looked stagnant, relying mostly on isolation sets and late-game hero ball. Its not necessarily for a lack of effort on the part of Casey and his coaching staff. "We do it every day," point guard Kyle Lowry admitted. Ball movement has been a daily focus in practice. "We have drills where you dont shoot it before [theres] five passes, so its nothing new," Casey has said. The problem boils down to personnel, a team - built primarily by Colangelo - that was not designed to front a fluid NBA offence. Caseys challenge is essentially to teach old dogs - by league standards - new tricks. "We want there to be movement," he said following Sundays overtime loss to Portland, a game in which only three of his players recorded an assist. "We have our limitations from that standpoint but we want to move the ball. Weve got to do a better job of that and thats where weve got to find ourselves offensively, in ball movement." For the most part those limitations can be traced back to last seasons trade and arent likely to be corrected as easily as they were created. In 45 games prior to the trade last year, Toronto ranked 10th in assists (22.7 per game) and was second among 30 teams in that category (25.1 per) during the 23 contests that Calderon started directly before he was moved. In 47 games since, the team is last in the Association averaging 19.2 assists. To put that in perspective, the Raptors recorded 20 or more assists in 22 of those 23 games Calderon started in succession. Theyve exceeded 19 dimes in just 19 of 47 games since, including one of 11 this season. Calderon, one of the most reliable distributors in the league, was a player Casey trusted to run the pick and roll efficiently and with consistency. Replacing the long-time Raptors point guard - who may have bolted as a free agent during the summer anyway - continues to be a significant factor in the teams offensive identity crisis, but not the only factor. Its fair to argue that Lowry is an upgrade over Calderon - in many areas of the game he has been - but theres no denying hes a very different point guard than his predecessor, one who is less renowned for his work in the pick and roll. Then you add a high-volume scorer in Gay and pair him with a similar wing player in DeMar DeRozan. With Gay, the Raptors got what they paid for. Hes led them in scoring, become the face of the franchise and has played the role of a closer, for better or for worse. Hes also a player - like DeRozan - who takes a lot of shots, many of them outside the flow of a cohesive team offence. Simply put, theyre iso players. That duo has accounted for 46 per cent of the teams field goal attempts, shooting a combined 39 per cent to begin the season. Until Masai Ujiri takes his first stab at reconstructing this talented, albeit flawed roster, Casey has no choice but to work with the pieces he has. Therein lies the challenge. "To turn a guy into Pete Maravich at this stage in their career is very difficult," Casey pointed out. "Youve got to tailor your team according to your personnel and try to get movement out of that. A guys DNA is who he is. Weve got to tailor our offence to fit our players." Torontos best ball movement was achieved in the first half of its win over the Grizzlies in Memphis, also their most impressive outing; not a coincidence. In that game both Gay and DeRozan set the tone early by looking for their teammates. The Grizzlies put pressure on Torontos top scorers but they both passed out of double teams with poise and found cutters on the weak side, a focus for Caseys club in practice Tuesday. Not surprisingly, whenever the Raptors have moved the ball good things have happened. They just havent done it enough. "Believe me theres not a selfish bone, I dont think, in our players bodies," Casey said. "When the game starts guys will revert to what they do naturally, but what weve got to do is try to help them see their options, understand where their teammates are in certain sets and read it from there." Casey knows his team. He knows their strengths and he accepts their weaknesses. Still, masking one with the other is easier said than done. Defence is the great equalizer. Even if the Raptors offence can never function quite like Portlands - the team responsible for their most recent defeat - Casey knows they will remain competitive if they can defend with the ferocity of the Bulls, the team that handed them their previous loss. As long as the current core remains intact, these roadblocks will continue to stand in their way. How well they work around them will determine their success. Jordan Willis Jersey . Dragic was a game-time decision because of a sore right ankle that had kept him out of Wednesdays loss at Utah, but played all but the last 10 seconds of the second half in the first 40-point game for a Phoenix player since Amare Stoudemires 44 on March 19, 2010. A.J. Green Jersey .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. http://www.cheapbengalsjerseysonline.com/?tag=josh-malone-jersey-online . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games.The United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) has today ordered that six Redskins trademark registrations be cancelled on the basis that they are "disparaging to Native Americans". Five Native Americans initiated the cancellation proceeding pursuant to the U.S. Trademarks Act, which "prohibits registration of marks that may disparage persons or bring them into contempt or disrepute." There has been some talk that the registrations have been cancelled, that the Redskins have lost all their trademark protection and that anyone can now go out and start selling Redskins merchandise without the permission of the team. All that is wrong. The trademark registrations have not been cancelled as of yet. The ruling was to cancel the registrations, but they remain in good standing, and will for some time. Challenging the decision will buy the Redskins time. The team will appeal the decision, and in the meantime, the trademark registrations will remain active. The Redskins can appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. They may also start a court action in District Court for the District of Columbia. They may also request reconsideration of the decision with the USPTO. Expect the Redskins to take its case to District Court since that will give them the opportunity to introduce new evidence. At the Court of Appeals level, they cant submit new evidence; rather the court is stuck with the record from the original hearing. On to the big issue: does the cancellation mean that the Redskins lose their trademark rights? The ruling to cancel the trademark registrations does NOT strip the team of its trademark rights or its ability to stop unauthorized parties froom using the Redskins marks. Jordan Evans Jersey. The Redskins have acquired what are called common law trademark rights. These are trademark rights that arise by virtue of the use of the mark in the marketplace. By "use", I mean things like jersey sales and the mark appearing in TV broadcasts and online. And heres the key: common law trademark rights are enforceable and the Redskins could rely on them to stop a third party from making unauthorized use of its marks. This means that the team does not need a trademark registration to stop someone from making unauthorized use of its marks. Common law rights can be relied upon to do just that. While there are important differences between registered and common law trademarks as far as scope of protection, the fame of the Redskins mark together with national sales and use place the Redskins in a good position to stop others from using their marks. So if some guy in Wisconsin starts selling product with the Redskins trademark on it without the permission of the team, he should expect to receive a cease and desist letter from the team, and failing his agreement to stop, he could face a lawsuit. Apart from trademarks, the Redskins could also sue for copyright infringement if someone makes unauthorized use of their logo or stylized word mark. The decision of the USPTO relates only to trademarks and has nothing to do with copyright. While the potential cancellation is not fatal to the ability of the Redskins to enforce their rights, this is yet another blow to the Redskins team name. The pressure on the team and league to change its name continues to mount with no end in sight. Indeed, the question may not be if the team changes its name, but when. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '