TORONTO - With just over two minutes remaining in the first half of Mondays win over the lowly Bucks, Kyle Lowry dumped the ball into Jonas Valanciunas on the left block. Isolated against Ersan Ilyasova, Valanciunas turned to face up, took one dribble and barreled into the smaller defender, who took the charge. As Milwaukee called a timeout, Lowry followed the Raptors promising sophomore centre straight to the bench. “Know your opponent,” he implored, instructing Valanciunas to post-up when he has a size and strength advantage over the defender. The Raptors were up by 14 at the time, they would go on to win by 22 and Valanciunas would register his 12th double-double of the campaign, four more than he totalled as a rookie last season. Still, Lowry was all over the gaffe. The two have developed a mutually beneficial mentor-protégé relationship. "Hes kind of like a coach," Valanciunas said of Lowry after practice the day prior. He knows a lot, he tries to help everybody, especially me because Im the young guy." Lowry has been as tough on the young centre as anyone in the Raptors organization and as such his fingerprints can be found all over the 21-year-olds continued development. "Hes been great," coach Dwane Casey told TSN.ca, speaking of Lowry and the leadership role hes taken with Valanciunas. "He has a way of getting on him but yet still he has a relationship with him that he can talk to him that way. "Other people may not understand it but Kyles done a great job of working with Jonas, letting him know what he needs to do. [Hes] just been a great mentor to him. Thats been huge for Jonas." Both players are approaching the middle of their second season together in Toronto. Lowry was acquired in a trade from Houston in July of 2012, just around the same time Valanciunas - Torontos fifth overall pick in 2011 - had arrived from Lithuania. After missing the bulk of training camp with injuries last season, both of their Raptor careers got off to shaky starts. While Lowry struggled through injuries, fluctuating playing time and philosophical differences with the coaching staff, Valanciunas experienced the growing pains you would expect from a 20-year-old getting accustomed to his surroundings in a new country, in a new league. Valanciunas has seen his playing time increase by five minutes per night in his second season; hes regularly on the court during crucial moments at the end of games and he is becoming more of a focal point in Torontos offence. However, as both his coach and his point guard would tell you, hes far from a finished product. He continues to make nightly mistakes - with his positioning, in the pick-and-roll game, and on defence, particularly as the help man - and Lowry is usually the first person to let him hear about it. "Every time he messes up we talk about it," Lowry said. "I tell him what he did and then he fixes it and I congratulate him when he does it [right]. "I think he has the skills and he has the heart and he has the right mentality to be one of the best bigs in the league," the Raptors point guard continued. "My constructive criticism is just tough, big brother love. I think the world of him, I think he can be so good [and] thats why I push him. Im always going to be tough on him because I know how good hes going to be." Lowry, an eight-year NBA vet, is also coming into his own, playing the best basketball of his career and spearheading the Raptors recent resurgence. "Thats just coming from buying in if you ask me," former Raptors teammate Alan Anderson said of Lowry. Most importantly - for a player that will be in the market for a new contract this summer - he is well on his way to shedding the reputation that has followed him like a dark cloud over the years. "Kyles showed hes been a positive leader," Casey said over the weekend. "I think that was the biggest question among coaches around the league, could he be a positive leader and be productive on the court." Not only has he been productive, averaging career-highs across the board, but hes been the consummate professional his team has desperately needed him to be while remaining a positive influence on his younger teammates, namely Valanciunas. Occasionally combative, Lowrys fiery nature has often been misunderstood. The reality - which his teammates and coaches have come to accept and appreciate - is, he holds himself and everyone around him to an incredibly high standard. He is a fierce competitor with an unrelenting will to win. Lowry is a strong personality, certainly not the first Casey has coached. The Raptors coach worked with future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett in Minnesota and current Nets bench boss Jason Kidd in Dallas, but Lowrys leadership style reminds him of another hard-nosed point guard from his past. "The guards that Ive had, Gary Payton was one of the [toughest]," Casey said, having coached ‘The Glove as an assistant in Seattle. "He would use some colourful words to talk with his teammates but they understood it, he had a relationship with [them], just like Kyle. Kyle reminds me so much of Gary in the fact that he can talk to players in a certain way that they understand because he has their respect and he has a relationship with them. "As long as you have that relationship and you back it up with love and real sugar than you can get on guys but I havent seen Kyle be overly tough on JV, just when he needs it and just the right amount." As Casey points out, Lowry walks a fine line between tough love and going too far, but he does it with precision. Hes hard on Valanciunas because he recognizes the young mans upside but also, and most importantly, he knows the seven-footer can take it. "Hes really receptive," Lowry said, "because I tell him, I tell him why Im so tough on him and he understands that. "He knows how to do it," said Valanciunas, who has thick skin, having played professionally in Europe since he was 15. "I understand hes my teammates, he wants me to do good and [Ive] just got to live with that." Whether or not Valanciunas realizes or fully appreciates it now, Lowry should have a long-lasting impact on his auspicious NBA career. As for Lowry, his future with the team remains uncertain but wherever he ends up, after cashing in on this seasons revival, his Raptors legacy will live on in the growth of the franchises emerging centre. Wholesale NHL Jerseys ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. NHL Jerseys China . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. MLB Jerseys China . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half.Three weeks ago, Calgary Flames goaltender Reto Berra made his NHL debut and picked up a big victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. It has been a continued struggle for the Flames since, but theyll try to make it two victories in a row on Wednesday night when they take on a Blackhawks club that is slated to give Antti Raanta his first career start. Watch the action live on TSN at 10pm et/7pm pt. Berra was thrown into the Flames goaltending mix on Nov. 3 and stopped 42 of the 44 shots he faced in a 3-2 overtime victory. He earned the triumph when Kris Russell scored 1:32 into the bonus frame. "Honestly I had a lot of thoughts," Berra said of the time leading up to his debut. "Everything went through my mind. Right after lunch I always sleep, but today I couldnt sleep. I was really nervous, but right before the game, when I was just sitting in here, I just thought, Go out and play your game and have fun. You have nothing to lose. I put the excitement and the nerves into a positive energy." Berras efforts helped the Flames snap a three-game series slide to the Blackhawks. Hell get the call again tonight with Calgary looking to win for just the fifth time in the last 13 encounters at home. Berra will make his 10th start in 11 games tonight since joining the Flames and helped the club to just its second victory in nine games with Fridays 4-3 shootout decision over the Florida Panthers. Berra made 23 saves and Sean Monahan had the clincher in the sixth-round of the tiebreaker. Joe Colborne had a goal and an assist for Calgary, while Sven Baertschi and Blair Jones also lit the lamp in a game the Flames won despite blowwing a 3-1 third-period lead.dddddddddddd "We made it too interesting in the third period, but we found a way to win," Flames head coach Bob Hartley remarked.Calgary snapped a six-game home slide (0-4-2), but is likely to be without forward T.J. Galiardi tonight after he exited practice on Monday with back spasms. The Blackhawks have hit few bumps like the one against the Flames as they lead the NHL with 38 points. They have won three in a row since dropping the opener of their seven-game homestand last Tuesday in Colorado and are coming off Mondays 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Jonathan Toews had a short-handed goal and Patrick Kane scored on the power play during a three-minute span in the first period, while Andrew Shaw added two goals and an assist. "Every game is a new challenge. Getting up early was the key," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. "Obviously the short-handed goal was big for us. It really put us in a good spot." Corey Crawford made 24 saves -- including 11 in the third period -- for his NHL-leading 16th win. Crawford is expected to get the night off, giving the 24-year-old Raanta his first NHL start. The Finnish rookie has been serving as the backup with Nikolai Khabibulin injured and made his NHL debut in the loss to Colorado, stopping 14-of-16 shots in 47 minutes of relief. Both Kane and Marian Hossa scored earlier this season versus the Flames. That was part of Kanes current 11-game point streak in which he has totaled six goals and nine assists. Hossa, meanwhile, has rejoined the Blackhawks after missing the previous two games due to personal reasons. [url=http://www.cheapnflauthenticjerseys.us.com/]Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '