TORONTO - With six weeks remaining before his teams likely return to the playoffs, Dwane Casey is hoping to manufacture some late-season rest for the Raptors two leading scorers. Fake Jordan 1 . Although DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have shown no sign of wearing down, each logging more playing time than they have previously in their careers, Casey would like to keep them as fresh as possible for the stretch run, something that may be easier said than done. Sitting 9 1/2 games ahead of ninth-place Detroit in the Eastern Conference standings, Toronto - the Easts third seed - is poised to make its first postseason appearance in six years. With that comes another rarity for the franchise, playing meaningful games in March and April. The challenge for Casey and the Raptors coaching staff will be in managing the rotation, loosening it enough to give the guards a breathier - together or separately - without sacrificing important games. "Thats the hard thing," Casey acknowledged following Wednesdays practice. "Weve got to buy them a few minutes here and there but every possession - not only every game, every quarter [but] every possession - is meaningful." "When you start looking at scoring, we hit a drought the other night against Golden State right before the fourth quarter but we were just trying to buy minutes for those guys off the floor. Its a catch-22." DeRozan is fourth in the league, averaging just over 38 minutes per game, behind only Carmelo Anthony, James Harden and Kevin Durant while Lowry is 14th, logging roughly 36 a night. Amongst NBA duos, only Houstons pair of Harden and Chandler Parsons as well as Golden States Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson play more. In February, DeRozan played over 40 minutes a night, with Lowry nearly hitting 38. Since the early-December trade, Casey has been rolling out a strict nine-man rotation, using primarily Greivis Vasquez and John Salmons to spell Lowry, DeRozan and Terrence Ross. Getting reliable contribution from his reserves and piecing together the right combinations will be essential for the Raptors coach to expand the rotation enough to buy his backcourt duo more downtime on the bench. One player hed like to see more of, who could help in taking the burden off Lowry and DeRozan, is newcomer Nando De Colo. The versatile guard has played just eight minutes since being acquired from the Spurs in a deadline day trade two weeks ago. Although Casey has had trouble pinpointing where exactly De Colo fits in his lineup, he anticipates using the 26-year-old as a secondary ball handler, likely at the two or three position. "Weve got to make sure we have the right combinations on the court, that way we dont sacrifice scoring, but he knows how to play, he has a feel for the game," Casey said of De Colo. "You cant really put your finger on his position or what he is, a two, a three or a point [guard], but hes a basketball player. He just knows how to play." The Raptors got back to work Wednesday after taking a couple days off to satisfy a league mandate. "I thought we had decent focus," Casey said, "the usual first day back to school-type start, but I thought once guys got into it we ramped the intensity a little bit. "There was no resistance as far as the drills were concerned whatsoever, so I could sense they were anxious to get back. As a coach you dont want to lose that rhythm, thats the biggest fear. I didnt sense any of that today." While Jonas Valanciunas used the time off to get away from the game, spending the day ice fishing on Lake Simcoe (he returned home empty handed, without a fish), Terrence Ross took advantage of a rare mid-season opportunity for rest. Ross has been nursing a sprained left ankle, keeping him out of Sundays win over Golden State, but was able to practice in full Wednesday. "It happened at the best time," said Ross, who expects to be in uniform when the Raptors host Sacramento on Friday. "I got a few days off to stay off it and rest. Im feeling back to normal. Ive still got to do treatment on it but right now it feels good." Discount Nmd . Webb birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead, then watched as Choi, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to take a share of the third-round lead, pushed a 10-foot putt wide of the hole at 18 to miss the chance for a playoff. Cheap Air Max 95 Australia . - The Toronto Blue Jays have optioned pitchers Kyle Drabek, Chad Jenkins and Sean Nolin to triple-A Buffalo. http://www.discountaustraliashoes.com/cheap-air-max-270-fake.html .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- For the first time in nearly three decades, Joe Dumars wont play a major role in shaping the future of the Detroit Pistons. Dumars stepped down as Detroits president of basketball operations Monday, a day after the Pistons lost their home finale and fell to 29-52 with one game remaining in the season. Detroit will miss the post-season for a fifth consecutive year. "Its time to turn the page on a wonderful chapter and begin writing a new one," Dumars said in a statement. "Ive had the pleasure of working with some great people throughout the last 29 years as both a player and executive, and Im proud of our accomplishments. Tom Gores and ownership is committed to winning and they will continue to move the franchise forward." Gores took over as owner in 2011, with the team clearly in a rebuilding mode, but expectations were higher this season after the Pistons signed Josh Smith and traded for Brandon Jennings. The new-look roster flopped, and now somebody else will be in charge of the next effort to bring Detroit back to the post-season. "Joe Dumars is a great champion who has meant so much to this franchise and this community," Gores said. "We are turning the page with great respect for what he has accomplished not only as a player and a front office executive, but as a person who has represented this team and the NBA with extraordinary dignity." A message was left with Dumars seeking additional comment. Dumars will remain an adviser to the ownership team, but this is the end of an era. Drafted by the Pistons in 1985, Dumars spent his entire 14-year playing career with the franchise, winning NBA titles in 1989 and 1990. He was Detroits vice-president of player personnel during the 1999-2000 season before being promoted to president of basketball operations. Dumars was named the NBAs 2003 executive of the year, and the Pistons won another title the following season. For the first half of his tenure as team president, Dumars Pistons were a model of consistency, even as players and coaches came and went. Detroit reached the Eastern Conference finals every year from 2003-08, but after the team slid back into mediocrity, some of Dumars most aggressive moves backfired. Cheap New Balance Australia. In 2008, Dumars traded Chauncey Billups in a deal that brought Allen Iverson to the Pistons. That didnt work out well, and neither did the decision to sign Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to big contracts during the 2009 off-season. Dumars had another chance to turn Detroits fortunes around last off-season. When he acquired Smith and Jennings, the Pistons looked like they could become a playoff team, but the new lineup never really meshed, and this ended up being another frustrating season. Coach Maurice Cheeks did not even make it through his first season as Detroits coach. He was fired in February, and the team fell well out of post-season contention under interim coach John Loyer. "Its been tough, guard Rodney Stuckey said after Sundays loss. "From Day One, our mindset was making the playoffs, and unfortunately we didnt do that. We underachieved, and now were going home. Theres always next year. ... To be honest, I really dont know what we need. Thats not my decision." Stuckey might not be back with the Pistons next season. Hes set to become a free agent. "Its going to be a lot of changes here," Stuckey said. "Im going to sit around and see what happens, and once July comes Ill make my decision." Detroit does have one of the games top young big men in Andre Drummond, but the Pistons have struggled to draw fans, and this uninspiring season did little to help in that regard. After taking over the Pistons, Gores ended up giving Dumars three more seasons as general manager, but now the pressure is on ownership to find someone who can put together a roster -- and identify a coach -- that can help the Pistons at least become relevant again. "We know that we can move in the right direction if theres the right moves being made and the attitudes are good in the locker room," forward Kyle Singler said. "My message is: Well be better." ' ' '