TORONTO - At the ripe old age of 27-years-old Amir Johnson, the final player to have entered the league straight out of high school, finds himself in an unfamiliar situation as his 10th NBA season approaches. Wholesale Spurs Jerseys . Johnson has never been one to pace himself, thats what has made him so valuable to the Raptors throughout his years in Toronto, and as a result hes taken a beating physically. Since coming to the Raptors, hes been remarkably durable, especially when you factor in the countless rolls of tape used on his troublesome ankles and time spent on the trainers table each season. Hes missed just 18 games in five years but by late March and April you can expect him to be hobbling around on one good ankle, if that. Up until last seasons surprising run to the playoffs it hadnt really mattered. A second-round pick out of Westchester high school in Los Angeles, Johnson began his career playing sparingly for a contending Pistons team. Eventually he transitioned to a complimentary role in Detroit before playing out four losing campaigns as a Raptor. By the spring many of his teammates would shut it down, mentally or physically or both, but Johnson kept chugging along. Last year was supposed to be much of the same, but thats not how it turned out and now here he is, participating in his 10th NBA training camp, but first in which hes expected to play a significant role for a playoff-bound club. Hes graduated from X-factor status, a tag that implicates ones game with the unreliability commonly associated with younger players. Amirs notoriously our glue guy, said Dwane Casey, a far more appropriate label for a player that has anchored Torontos defence and produced efficient offence for years. We know who he is. More than ever before, the Raptors need him on the court, as close to 100 per cent as possible during the stretch run and into the post-season if theyre to top last years accomplishments. The question is, how do you slow down a player who has been so effective operating at one speed? Amir, if he doesnt play with energy or if he tries to pace himself, that doesnt help him and it doesnt help us, Casey said. Hes an old pro and he knows how to play. Im not really concerned about him wearing down. Hes just got to stay healthy. The onus, at least to some degree, will be on Casey and the coaching staff to monitor Johnsons usage and perhaps scale back his minutes, not excessively but sporadically throughout the year, something they implemented last March as the forward battled a series of late-season aches and pains. The teams added depth and versatility should help Casey ensure that all of his regulars - including Johnson, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry - are kept fresh. Patrick Patterson was one of the leagues premier reserves after last seasons trade and figures to have an expanded role in his first full campaign with the Raptors. Tyler Hansbrough has earned praise in camp, having added a jump shot and improving his spacing and overall court awareness. James Johnson can also shift over to power forward, something Casey has experimented with in camp and feels comfortable deploying when they play small. Well watch his minutes, said Casey, but no ones playing that [many] minutes at the position to be overly taxed energy-wise. Johnson is doing his part to prepare for what could be his most grueling year, beginning with his work and innovative approach during the summer. The Raptors forward did not require surgery on either of his tender ankles, to his relief, instead he spent time at the P3 training facility in Santa Barbara, Calif. to help prevent the recurrence of similar injuries. It started with football players and now they expanded to a bunch of basketball players, he said of the cutting-edge sports clinic. What they do is strap you into these little light bulb suits, like they do in video games, and they have a screen where they show you every movement you do. So I was jumping up and down, sliding, seeing which way I land and they break it down to where you can see your skeleton and your bones move in slow motion, when you land and how you land. It could be something where you can just adjust your foot and kind of turn it a different way and that prevents you from maybe rolling an ankle or hurting your back. There, Johnson received feedback on how to refine some bad habits in his movement on the court - running, jumping, landing, etc. Its something he still works on implementing ahead of games and before practice. It takes repetition, but you can get used to it. So I did that this summer and I think it worked out great for me, he said, having also worked with Hall-of-Famer Hakeem Olajuwon on his post moves. Ive been working, strengthening, conditioning and keeping my body healthy. It didnt take long for Johnson to give the Raptors their first scare of the young campaign - if you can even call it a scare, given how often he hits the deck and pops back up. Johnson went down, battling for a rebound late in the second quarter of Fridays exhibition win over the Thunder. It wasnt my ankle, it was actually my foot, he clarified after sitting out the remainder of that game as a precaution. But Im fine. Perhaps his new and improved footwork, coupled with the possibility of reduced playing time, will lesson the threat of injury for Johnson in this all-important upcoming season - its also a contract year for him - but that risk will always be a factor and presumably higher than most on account of the way he plays the game. Whether theyre used to it or not, his teammates and coaches will always cringe when they see Johnson sprawled out on the court, but its par for the course. He may end up their intentionally - after diving for a loose ball or taking a charge - or otherwise, but as long as he continues to pop back up, the Raptors will live with the frequent scare. Hes that valuable. Rudy Gay Jersey . Curtis Davies and Robert Koren secured the victory with goals inside 35 minutes of the fifth-round replay against the second-tier side. Pau Gasol Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. http://www.cheapspursjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-marco-belinelli-jersey . With their coach gone, they finally played offence the way he would have wanted. Amare Stoudemire made all seven shots in the first half, Anthony passed and shot well, and the Knicks shook off the surprising departure of their coach to rout the Portland Trail Blazers 121-79 on Wednesday night, snapping a six-game losing streak. ST. CATHARINES, Ont. -- The Erie Otters used a four-goal first period to whip the Niagara IceDogs 8-1 in Ontario Hockey League play on Thursday. Andre Burakovsky scored twice, and Kyle Pettit, Joel Wigle, Jake Evans, Nick Betz, Connor Brown and Troy Donnay also scored for Erie (38-9-2). Connor McDavid had three assists for the Otters. Eric Ming ruined Devin Williams shutout bid, scoring for Niagara (17-26-6) at 15:51 of the third period. Williams finished with 18 saves for Erie. Blake Richard stopped five of nine shots in his 10-minutes in goal for the IceDogs, while Jon DIlario stopped 25 of 29 the rest of the way. ------ KNIGHTS 9 BATTALION 4 NORTH BAY, Ont. -- Bo Horvat had two goals and two assists, and Chris Tierney also scored twice as the London Knights dumped the North Bay Battalion 9-4. Gemel Smith had a goal and two assists for the Knights (32-11-5) while Brett Welychka, Matt Rupert, Alex Basso and Nikita Zadorov got the other London goals. Ben Thompson scored twice for the Battalion (25-18-6). Barclay Goodrow had a goal and two assists, and Vincent Praplan scored the other North Bay goal. Jake Patterson made 25 saves for London, while Jake Smith handled 23 of the 32 shots headed his way. --- BULLS 7 STING 2 SARNIA, Ont. -- Jake Marchment scored two goals to lead the Bulls over the Sting. Jordan Subban opened the scoring 38 seconds into the game, and Justin Lemcke, Remi Elie, Stephen Harper and Niki Petti also scored Belleville (14-30-4). Davis Brown and Nickolas Latta scored for Sarnia (15-28-6). Charlie Graham made 26 saves for Belleville. Taylor Dupuis stopped 18 of 223 shots over two periods for Sarnia, and Brodie Barrick turned away 16 of 18 shots. Tony Parker Jersey. --- PETES 6 67s 0 PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Nick Ritchie score a hat trick, and Josh MacDonald had a goal and an assist to lead the Petes over Ottawa. Josh Maguire and Michael Clark also scored for Peterborough (22-23-4), and Anthony Stefano and Greg Betzold both had two assists apiece. Andrew DAgostini made 23 saves for his second shutout of the season. Philippe Trudeau made 38 saves for Ottawa (16-28-4) in the losing effort. --- SPITFIRES 4 FRONTENACS 0 WINDSOR, Ont. -- Dalen Kuchmey made 30 saves to pick up his first shutout of the season as the Spitfires blanked Kingston. Ryan Foss had a goal and an assist and Ryan Moore, Josh Ho-Sang, and Brady Vail each scored for Windsor (29-17-2). Ben Johnson also chipped in with two assists. Matt Mahalak made 20 saves for Kingston (26-18-4) to shoulder the loss. The Frontenacs were 0 for 5 on the power play while Windsor failed to score on two chances with the man advantage. --- WOLVES 7 COLTS 5 BARRIE, Ont. -- Nicholas Baptiste scored twice and picked up two assists as Sudbury edged the Colts. Nathan Pancel had two goals and one assists for Sudbury (27-13-8), Connor Crisp scored twice, and Ray Huether added the other Wolves goal. Andrew Mangiapane scored twice and helped on another for the Colts (24-19-3), Garrett Hooey had a goal and two assists, and Zach Hall and Kevin Labanc each had a goal and one assist apiece. Wolves goalie Franky Palazzese made 31 saves while Barries Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 of 41 shots in defeat. 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