News » but were late scratches

PHILADELPHIA - For the first time since April of 2007 - the year they won the division - the Raptors sit atop the Atlantic. Of course, this speaks more to the current state of the division - not unlike the only year they won it - than it does to the 5-7 Raptors. Tim Leiweke doesnt need to map out his parade route just yet and Drake, his global ambassador, can hold off on designing the banner. "Its a great position to be in right now, its a feel-good position but at the end of the day it doesnt really matter until its the end of the season," said Kyle Lowry, putting things into perspective after an uplifting 108-98 road victory over Philadelphia. "Its a great position to build off of [but] we still have 70-something games to go and we have to take it day-by-day, game-by-game." Despite a mediocre start to the season and the inconsistencies that have plagued them on both ends, the Raptors find themselves in unfamiliar territory, at the top of the mountain looking down. What they can see from there isnt pretty. For at least three games - their undefeated start to their campaign, including wins over Miami and Chicago - the 76ers were the darlings of the division. Since then they have come back down to earth and are starting to resemble the team many believed would be the worst in the association. They have now dropped four of their last five, showing their age as the youngest team in the NBA in Wednesdays loss to Toronto. Sitting at the bottom of the division are two 3-8 teams from New York expected to reign supreme in the Atlantic this season while a rebuilding Celtics club is sandwiched in the middle. For now, the title means very little but being a division leader at this juncture in the season serves as a reminder; there are other teams, several of them, that are as lost, if not more lost than the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan used the word "opportunity" a couple of times after the game. Thats exactly what this represents. There is an opportunity in the Atlantic, in the East for them assuming theyre interested in it. Assuming they continue to play like they did in Philadelphia on Wednesday, instead of reverting back to the team that dropped consecutive games to Chicago and Portland. "It means a lot," exclaimed Rudy Gay. "Its a step for us. Its an early step but its a step. We have to take these baby steps to get to where we want to get and thats ultimately the playoffs. So weve got to take everything we can get right now." "Its 12 games into the season," cautioned a less enthusiastic Dwane Casey. "Theres a lot of work to do. Its a long season, its going to be a marathon. Were nowhere near where we need to be." For at least one night they looked a lot closer to that team they need to be. For only the third time all season the ball moved consistently for 48 minutes - or something close to it - and the results, like in the blowout wins over Utah and Memphis, were as you would expect. With a renewed commitment to moving the ball, emphasized all week by Casey, the Raptors benefited from a more balanced scoring attack and easier looks at the rim. "We need to make sure we put that in a bottle and bring it back every night," Casey said of the teams ball movement. For the Raptors, 24 assists was a season-best and Gay, three nights after being held without a helper in the loss to Portland, recorded a career-high of eight dimes. "Weve got to do it on a consistent basis and not let the ball stick," said DeRozan, who led all scorers with 33 points on an efficient 10-of-19 shooting. "Weve got a lot of talented players on this team that can do various things. Rudy showed it tonight that he can do it with his passing ability." "Were putting each other in a position to be successful and its working for us," added Lowry, who pitched in with 10 assists of his own. Burned by three-point shooting on Sunday, Toronto was able to get more efficient looks from long distance as a result of improved movement. The Raptors connected on a season-high 14 three-pointers (on 29 attempts) with three players - DeRozan, Lowry and Terrence Ross - knocking down three triples apiece and a couple - Gay and Steve Novak - chipping in with two. For at least 48 hours the Raptors can enjoy the division lead, after all theyve waited seven seasons to reclaim it, but after that its back to business. "Well take it but its early," Casey said. "Weve got to continue to work." DeRozan excels from the corners Coming into camp, DeRozan raved about the work he had put in on his three-point shot during the offseason. 12 games into the season, the fruit of his labour is starting to show. After hitting three of four attempts from beyond the arch Wednesday, DeRozan is now shooting a more than respectable 38 per cent from long distance, which would be a career-high, besting his 28 percent clip from last year. Most impressive is his production from the corners; the most efficient three-point shot available. DeRozan was three of four from the corners against Philadelphia and is now shooting 10-of-16 from that region on the season. "Like they say, its the easiest shot from the three point line," DeRozan said of the corner three. "Analytical, you know, whatever. Its the easiest shot and I just try to get there and knock it down every time I catch it." Overall, the Raptors guard is averaging 29.3 points, shooting 51 per cent from the floor over his last four games. Gays all-around game After hoisting 27 shots and being held without an assist in Sundays loss, Gay made a concerted effort to get his teammates involved early against the 76ers. Gay struggled with his shot - and missed several easy looks around the basket - in the first half, hitting just one of seven field goal attempts but had six rebounds and six assists. In the third quarter Gay awoke from his offensive slumber, scoring 15 of his 18 points and shooting 5-of-7. He finished with eight rebounds and eight assists. Breakout from Ross Ross had one of his better games as a pro on Wednesday, utilizing both his athleticism and outside jumper, even registering a pair of assists. The sophomore was consistently engaged on both ends of the floor in a season-high 17-point, seven-rebound performance off the bench. "I thought he struggled a little bit in the last game and [I] got his attention a little bit when he didnt play in the second half against Portland," Casey said. "He did his job tonight, came out and played, stayed focused on both ends of the floor." Up next The Raptors return to Toronto, where theyll play their next four games, and host the Washington Wizards at the Air Canada Centre Friday. Catch it on TSN2 and listen live on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 7:00pm et. Orlando Cepeda Jersey . They kicked off the still-going trend of host cities winning the Grey Cup and sent Hall of Fame head coach Wally Buono to the front office a champion. Frank White Jersey .James scored 29 points, including 16 in the first quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers broke a four-game losing streak with a 106-74 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. https://www.cheaproyals.com/1157a-jesse-...-royals.html.28 for a combined time of 1:14.70, also an Olympic record. Lee won the gold medal, defending her title from the Vancouver Games. Salvador Perez Jersey .com) - Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has been selected as the NHLs Rookie of the Month for December, the league announced Friday. Hal McRae Jersey . -- The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Sidney Rice have agreed to terms on a deal.BOSTON -- Ben Zobrist had three hits and drove in Tampa Bays first two runs during an eighth inning rally for the Rays in a 6-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. Alex Cobb pitched seven strong innings and Matt Joyce added a solo homer in the ninth for the Rays in the series opener between the bottom two teams in the AL East. Cobb (10-8) allowed just one run on five hits, striking out three and walking one. Daniel Nava had an RBI double in the fourth for the Red Sox. It stood as the games only run until Tampa Bay got to Boston starter Clay Buchholz in the eighth. Buchholz (8-10) had a shutout going through seven, but a leadoff walk and hit batter cost him in the eighth when the Rays rallied for five runs with two outs. Zobrist doubled with two on to drive in the first two runs and scored on a single by David DeJesus. Buchholz hit Evan Longoria with a pitch and was replaced by Tommy Layne, whose wild pitch allowedd both runners to advance and score easily when James Loney added a single.dddddddddddd All five runs went to Buchholz, who allowed eight hits over 7 2-3 innings. He struck out six and walked one. TRAINERS ROOM Rays: SS Yunel Escobar left the game with a sprained left knee after getting thrown out at the plate in the third inning. Escobar was attempting to slide when his front foot got caught and locked up his leg. Red Sox: 3B Will Middlebrooks (sprained right hand) and SS Xander Bogaerts (stiff neck) were both in the original starting lineup but were late scratches after batting practice. UP NEXT Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi (11-12, 3.98 ERA) allowed just one run over six innings against the Yankees on Wednesday in his last start. Red Sox: RHP Anthony Ranaudo (3-3, 5.29) will make his seventh major league start and try to finish the season with a winning record. Ranaudo has picked up the loss in his last three starts. ' ' '