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. 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." Walt Tkaczuk Jersey . The stress, the waiting, the whispers about whether he doped during his stellar cycling career, all of it ended when - after nearly two years - federal prosecutors closed an investigation of him last week without bringing any charges. Eddie Giacomin Jersey . Perhaps their first trip to the city of Winnipeg in 16 years can serve as the shakeup they need. http://www.rangershockeyonlineshop.com/mark-messier-hockey-jersey/ . His big 2-minute outburst in the fourth quarter Tuesday night is all that really mattered for the Dallas Mavericks. Mike Richter Jersey .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court. Sergei Nemchinov Jersey . This is not some token job for a prominent, popular former player. All of those areas need a lot of work, so Molitor is going to be busy. "Hes certainly got a history and knowledge and a high baseball IQ," general manager Terry Ryan said.Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Behind 21 points and six assists from Michael Carter-Williams, the Philadelphia 76ers started a seven-game road trip with a 96-88 win over the Orlando Magic. Five players reached double figures for Philadelphia as it ended a five-game losing streak. Nerlens Noel posted 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Henry Sims and Robert Covington joined Noel by posting double-doubles as well. Sims had 12 points and 12 boards, with Covington recording 11 points and 10 rebounds. Victor Oladipo led all scorers with 23 points for the Magic, who have lost four straight and six of their last seven. Despite getting 19 points and 17 rebounds from Nikola Vucevic, Orlando was outrebounded by Philadelphia 52-43. Orlando extended its lead to as much as 11 in the third quarter but it would last just one possession. After a 76ers timeout, JaKarr Sampson hit a 3 that started a 7-0 burst to make their deficit a more manageable four points. The Sixers scored the last eight points of the period to lead 64-60 after three. That run continued into the fourth quarter and after seven straight points in the first 2 1/2 minutes, Philadelphia led by 11. Sims capped the 15-0 run with a layup and emphatic slam dunk. Evan Fournier scored four straight points to cut Orlandos deficit down to seven points, but Carter-Williams wrapped up a 6-0 run with a 3-pointer to extend the Sixers lead to a game-high 14 points.dddddddddddd Philadelphia did not make a shot from the floor in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the game, but it held Orlando off to come away with the victory. Neither team led by more than five points in a back-and-forth first quarter. A late 8-0 run with four points from both Covington and Sims helped give the Sixers a 23-20 lead after 12 minutes. A 9-0 Magic run halfway through the second period gave them a lead they would only briefly relinquish in the second period. Kyle OQuinns triple started the spurt and he ended it with a layup after grabbing an offensive board. Tobias Harris scored the final five points of the quarter to give Orlando a 42-37 lead at the break. Game Notes Vucevic has 100 career double-doubles ... The 76ers have committed 17 or more turnovers in nine straight games ... Philadelphia snapped a six-game losing streak at Orlando ... The three-game season series between these teams concludes on Feb. 22 in Orlando ... Philadelphia heads south to Miami to continue its trip Tuesday while the Magic host Boston. 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