TORONTO - Dwane Casey was more composed than you might expect after his team surrendered 101 points in defeat on home court Wednesday night. The reason being; this loss - 101-89 at the hands of Minnesota - came in the second game of the exhibition season, a time of trial and error for the Raptors. "[We are in] no way a finished product," Casey said after the loss. "I dont think you can talk to a coach in the NBA now that is where they want to be. Were definitely not where we want to be defensively." "Weve got to fight through things, weve got to fight through adversity and I like it," he continued, stressing that a night like this, at this stage should be used as a learning experience. "I like that it showed us tonight what we have to work on, especially defensively." Casey and his staff will go back to the drawing board on Thursday, as they do after each preseason game - win or lose. For them, October is a month-long chess match, a card game thats all about gathering information, utilizing it in the gym and choosing how much of it they wish to reveal before the games count. Its a month of experimentation and tactical development. "In preseason you stick with your coverage," Casey said, pointing out that through two games the team has yet to switch into the zone defence theyve been working on. "You dont try to do anything tricky, you dont try to game plan. Were still trying to learn our defensive fundamentals." Zone coverage is expected to be a big part of what the Raptors do defensively this season -- or better yet, what they can do when the situation deems it necessary. Whether theyre using a small lineup or simply masking some of their weaker second-unit defenders, it is a trick theyd like to have up their sleeve. But for now it remains in the sleeve. "You dont want to show them too much in the preseason," said Rudy Gay, who scored 11 points in the losing effort to Minnesota. Defensive Slippage For Casey the message is, has been and will remain focused on defence. After holding the Celtics to 89 points on 40 per cent shooting in Mondays preseason victory, the teams recommitment on the defensive end took a step in the wrong direction, most notably in the third quarter where they were outscored them 28-16. "We had a lot of mental breakdowns on the defensive end that were going to come in here tomorrow and watch and try to correct," admitted DeMar DeRozan, who was a standout on the offensive end with a team-high 17 points. The Wolves shot 47 per cent from the field and 37 per cent from three-point range, where they burned Toronto in the second half. The Raptors frontcourt had their hands full all night, as expected, bodying up against a slimmer but always physical Kevin Love (20 points, nine rebounds) and Nikola Pekovic (12 points, eight rebounds). "We just have to start with the mindset that we have to do everything right," Gay put bluntly. "Were honestly not good enough to lack in any category. So we have to try to [be] as perfect as possible." A Determined DeRozan With Corey Brewer preoccupied on Gay, DeRozan took advantage of the smaller guards Minnesota threw at him. After the newly signed Kevin Martin left the game (he played six minutes and was pulled as a precaution with a sore Achilles) DeRozan began attacking the paint, routinely posting up or driving right by Alexey Shved and company. DeRozan scored all but two of his 17 points in the paint or from the line, finishing six-of-seven from the floor and five-for-six from the stripe. He and Gay combined to shoot 14 free throws, making 12, each playing around 20 minutes. "It puts pressure on the defence," Gay said of the duos ability to draw fouls in the lane "The more we can do that the better were going to be." "Now we just [have] to start hitting shots," he joked. "Itll come, its just preseason." Another Efficient Night for the Starters Although they havent been effective from beyond the arc, an area of emphasis for that unit, the Raptors starters havent had much trouble hitting their shots. For the second straight game the starting unit shot above 50 per cent from the field and continued to build on the chemistry they developed towards the end of last season. "I thought they played solid minutes, the minutes they were in there," Casey said of the starters who, with the exception of Jonas Valanciunas, sat out the fourth quarter. Rotation Roulette Again, Casey experimented with different combinations, specifically in the second half. More than wins and losses, the Raptors coach has emphasized the importance of experimenting with his rotation and finding the groupings that work best going into the season. Casey used a couple variations of his small lineup late in the first half with Gay slotted at the four and matching up with Love. "I gained the weight he lost," Gay joked after facing a slimmed-down Love. After sitting out on Monday Steve Novak was also used as a stretch four, playing 20 minutes in place of Austin Daye, who was used in that role against Boston. Novak scored nine points off the bench, knocking down his first three triples in his Raptors debut. "We know what Steve is," Casey said. "We know who he is [and] what he can do. We wanted to give him a turn tonight." Novak, a 45 per cent three-point shooter over the last two seasons in New York, is as automatic as they come in the corner but the challenge for Casey will be masking him on defence and surrounding him with players he will complement. "From a distance you may not see exactly whats going on, but some nights some guys are playing, other [nights] guys arent," Novak said of the preseason. "I think a lot of it is for the coaches to see what theyre comfortable with, where they want to play guys [and] just see how guys react." Fallen Comrade Raptors fans received disheartening news prior to Wednesdays preseason home opener when it was reported that the teams beloved mascot, the Raptor, tore his Achilles tendon during a community visit in Halifax this weekend and will be sidelined for the season. Widely considered the best mascot in the NBA, the Raptor - and the man wearing the suit - has been with the organization, entertaining fans since the inaugural season in 1995-96. "I was disappointed," Casey said of his reaction when he heard the news. "My daughter cried. She was upset." "Hell bounce back. Hes in good hands with the physicians. The Raptor will be back, he will be back. We need his spirit and hes in our thoughts and prayers." Up Next Andrea Bargnani will make his highly-anticipated return to the Air Canada Centre with his new team, the Knicks, who make the first of two preseason visits to Toronto on Friday. TSN Radio 1050 Toronto has the game live at 7pm et. Alex Smith Jersey . -- Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale searched more than three quarters for five guys who would play well together. Sonny Jurgensen Womens Jersey .Do you have to be that close? Federer snapped at a TV cameraman hovering nearby as he received medical advice after losing a set on Wednesday.For Nadal and Sharapova, the nuisance was coming from the lowly-ranked qualifiers across the net. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redsk...Riggins-Jersey/. The defeat leaves the 41-year-old Nestor to concentrate on the mixed-doubles event after winning 12 straight matches and winning Australian titles in Brisbane and Sydney with two different partners. "This was a little bit of a let down, but all credit to them," said Nestor. Darrell Green Redskins Jersey .The Toronto Raptors guard, who will represent the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game in New Orleans on Sunday, says he doesnt complain in the face of adversity "because I know this little girl is just happy for anything. Charley Taylor Redskins Jersey .35 million, avoiding arbitration. Davis led the majors last season with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs, both career highs. He earned $3.SYDNEY, N.S. -- Anthony Mantha scored two goals and added two assists as the Vald-Or Foreurs crushed the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 7-3 on Sunday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play. Mantha, a prospect of the Detroit Red Wings, leads the QMJHL in scoring with 18 goals and 33 points in 12 contests. Anthony Richard also scored twice for the Foreurs (8-6-0) while Nicolas Aube-Kubel had a goal and two assists. Pierre-Maxime Poudrier and Louick Marcotte rounded out Val-dOrs offence. Clark Bishop scored two goals for the Screaming Eagles (6-6-2), who are winless in three games, and Timothe Simard had the other. Val-dOrs Francois Tremblay made 21 saves for the win as Cape Bretons Alex Bureau turned away 26 shots in defeat. The Foreurs went 1 for 3 on the power play while the Screaming Eagles scored once on four chances with the man advantage. --- TITAN 5 REMPARTS 4 (OT) QUEBEC CITY -- Alex Pisarik scored the shootout winner as Acadie-Bathurst held on to defeat the Remparts. Raphael Lafontaine, Christophe Boivin, Joel Blanchard and Adam Chapman put the Titan (6-7-2) ahead 4-0 before Quebec City battled back to force overtime. Brent Turnbull scored twice for the Remparts (6-5-4), who had their five-game win streak snapped, while Anthony Duclair and Jason Houde had a goal apiece. Acadie-Bathursts Jacob Brennan only had to make two saves to record the victory after replacing starter Mason McDonald, who stopped 23-of-27 shots. Quebecs Francois Brassard made 36 saves in defeat. --- SAGUENEENS 2 SEA DOGS 1 SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Jeremy Bouchard scored the eventual winner at 14:15 of the second period as Chicoutimi edged the Sea Dogs. Laurent Dauphin also scored for the Sagueneens (8-8-0), who won for the first time in three outings. Spencer Smallman scored the lone goal for Saint John (5-8-1), which is winless in five contests. Julio Billia made 33 saves for Chicoutimi while Sebastien Auger turned away 31 shots in net for the Sea Dogs. --- WILDCATS 3 HUSKIES 2 MONCTON, N.B. -- Alex Dubeau stopped 36 shots as the Wildcats slipped past Rouyn-Noranda. Will Smith scored the eventual winner shorthanded for Moncton (7-9-0) and Conor Garland and Christophe Lalonde had the others. Mathieu Lemay and Jean-Sebastien Dea supplied the scoring for the Huskies (7-5-2).dddddddddddd Rouyn-Norandas Carl Hozjan made 18 saves in a losing cause. --- ARMADA 2 OCEANIC 1 BOISBRIAND, Que. -- The Armada took advantage of special teams, scoring twice on the power play, to defeat Rimouski. Antoine Dufort-Plante and Nikita Jevpalovs scored for Blainville-Boisbriand (11-1-1), which went 2 for 4 with the man advantage. Nicolas Hebert scored for Rimouski (8-5-2), which led after 20 minutes of play. Etienne Marcoux made 28 saves for the Armada while Philippe Desrosiers stopped 27 shots for the Oceanic. --- OLYMPIQUES 5 VOLTIGEURS 4 (SO) GATINEAU, Que. -- Vincent Dunn scored once in regulation, then added the shootout winner, as the Olympiques beat Drummondville. Martin Reway, Jonathan Bourcier and Mickael Beauregard also scored for Gatineau (10-5-0) while Emile Poirier had two assists. Jerome Verrier led the Voltigeurs (7-6-1) with two goals and Christophe Lalancette scored once and set up two more, including Matthew Boudens goal. Robert Steeves made 24 saves for the Olympiques. Joe Fleschler stopped 19 shots for Drummondville. --- DRAKKAR 5 CATARACTES 1 SHAWINIGAN, Que. -- Alexandre Ranger and Denis Gorbunov each scored twice as Baie-Comeau cruised past the Cataractes. Felix Girard also scored for the Drakkar (10-4-2) while Valentin Zykov tacked on three assists. Shawingan (1-10-2) got its lone goal from Dylan Labbe. Philippe Cadorette made 25 saves for Baie-Comeau as Cataractes netminder Marvin Cupper allowed five goals on 32 shots in defeat. --- PHOENIX 8 TIGRES 6 VICTORIAVILLE, Que. -- Daniele Audette had two goals and three assists and Dominic Talbot-Tassi scored twice and had four points as Sherbrooke toppled the Tigres. Alexandre Sills, Tim Wieser, Jean-Francois Plante and Jeremy Roy also scored for the Phoenix (4-9-2) and Carl Neill chipped in with two assists. Philippe Hudon scored twice for Victoriaville (8-5-1), Angelo Micelli had a goal and two assists, while Nick Marois, Alex Filatrault and Ross Johnston added the others. Sherbrookes Francis Desrosiers made 27 saves for the win as Brandon Whitney stopped 26-of-33 shots in a losing cause. ' ' '