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Raptors Training Camp 2016: Day 2 Recap

Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

It didn't take long for age to come up this preseason. With Masai Ujiri mentioning the 10 players under the age of 25 on the Raptors roster and Dwane Casey talking about the opportunity for younger guys to step up, it’s already been a recurring theme in training camp.

Shortly before the team followed up practice with a yoga session on Wednesday, the talk of the day was defence. More specifically, how to prevent losing a step defensively after parting ways with free agent Bismack Biyombo in the offseason. With Biyombo now in Orlando, the Raptors know they’ll need to be extra dialled in on the defensive end of the floor.

“Last year we were able to be eight-tenths of a second late, or even a second late and [Bismack] would be back there to clean it up,” Kyle Lowry said. “This year we’ve got to be a second early, eight-tenths of a second early to make up for the shot blocking we don't have.”

It’s already been a different kind of season for 30-year-old Lowry who is now the oldest player on the team. Entering his 12th season, the point guard is having a difficult time wrapping his head around being the veteran in the locker room.

“I swear I never thought this would be possible,” Lowry said with a smile. “I begged those guys [in the front office] to bring in somebody older than me.”

Cory Joseph, who had a locker beside Biyombo last season, said he’d miss his former teammate but that the two have stayed in touch. Like Lowry, Joseph said the team will need to be better defensively without him there to clean up their mistakes. As well, they will need an effort from everyone on the boards. Biyombo was a favourite among teammates and coaching staff alike in his one year with the Raptors. Casey said everyone in Toronto wishes him well in Orlando, but that the focus is now on developing younger players to fill his spot.

“Rim protection [will be huge],” Casey said. “Make sure we continue to protect the paint. I think we were number one, two, or three in points in the paint [last season]. That’s something we’ve got to do collectively as a group. I don't think one guy is going to come in and take that position.”

Although he’s dealing with a roster that is younger than a season before, Casey feels that maturity trumps a player’s age in years.

“The one reason it doesn’t feel as young is all the young guys have been here for awhile,” Casey said. “We are a young team. 10 guys under 25, [but] DeMar is mature for his age. Patrick Patterson is mature for his age. I think J.V. Is very mature for his age. Our guys have been through a lot together and I think that adds to the maturity level even though we’re young. It’s always a challenge to win with a young team in the league, but I think our guys are up to the task.”

Continuity is key for building a winning culture and Casey is glad to have his core intact. He has praised both Lowry and DeRozan for their leadership off the floor and in the locker room. Lowry knows patience will be important when bringing along younger teammates this season.

“[We’ve got to] talk to them,” Lowry said. “Keep these guys uplifted. They’re going to make mistakes, but if you make a mistake that’s an aggressive mistake, we can’t get mad at you. That’s the one thing I’ll tell them, as long as you go out there and play your butt off, you go out there and give it everything you’ve got, you make a mistake, who can be mad at that? No one can be mad at that. You’ve got to respect it. As long as they give the effort, man, you’ve just got to tip your hat, say, okay, this is what happened, now how do we fix it?”

Casey has been a constant for Toronto. As he enters his sixth season with the Raptors, neither DeRozan nor Lowry have ever been with a coach longer. While much of his approach to training camp has been the same as years past, Lowry can see subtle changes with how Casey is leading in Vancouver.

“I think things have changed a little bit,” he said. “We’ve been flowing a lot better. I think the flow has been a lot different and now with us being the same team, the continuity, he’s changing things. Today we went once today. It’s been good.”

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