Lewenberg: Casey looking for "sense of urgency" on defence Defence has long been the calling card of Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, a foundation for which his teams have prided themselves on and an identity he fears may be slipping away early in training camp. "We're not anywhere near the defensive intensity we need to be [at]," Casey said following another marathon practice session, roughly three hours long, at the Air Canada Centre Thursday afternoon.

Josh Lewenberg TSN Raptors Reporter Follow|Archive

TORONTO - Defence has long been the calling card of Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, a foundation for which his teams have prided themselves on and an identity he fears may be slipping away early in training camp.

"We're not anywhere near the defensive intensity we need to be [at]," Casey said following another marathon practice session, roughly three hours long, at the Air Canada Centre Thursday afternoon. "I know we're not going to be in mid-season form but we need a better interest in playing defence and I'm not seeing that right now."

"That's our biggest challenge right now."

With two exhibition contests under their belt, Casey has been unimpressed with his team's effort and toughness, primarily on the defensive end and on the boards. After taking Wednesday off - traveling back home from an eight-day trip out west - that frustration came to a head Thursday when Casey went back to the basics, as he's been known to do at this stage of the season.

"I think that's what preseason is for," said DeMar DeRozan, leading the team with an efficient 44 points in 44 minutes through two games this fall. "We practice a lot of things but it's different once you're in-game, going through it and experiencing it and learning on the go."

Casey has seen the intensity he's expecting from the reigning Atlantic Division champs in spurts during camp - both in their own gym and during their time spent in Vancouver - but for whatever reason it did not translated to their two-game set with Sacramento as they split the series.

Despite their perceived and justifiable flaws, the Kings, to their credit, are one of the tougher and more physical teams in the league. This wasn't the first time they've given Casey's team fits, but that's something that needs to change if the Raptors are going to evolve and take the next step. Their coach is fully aware.

"They cause a few problems, that you're so concerned about," Casey said, citing the threat of DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings' interior players on the boards and the way in which that alters Toronto's defensive rotations. "But that's a good excuse, and life is full of excuses. We still have to get it done."

In Tuesday night's loss, Toronto allowed the Kings to shoot 55 per cent from the field (63 per cent after the first quarter), giving up 56 points in the paint and putting them on the line 50 times. The Raptors were out-rebounded 87-62 in both games.

Last year the Raptors ranked 10th in defensive efficiency and were a top 12 team in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, but their sporadic production in those categories throughout the season is cause for some concern.

Defensively, they faded over the final month of the campaign (ranked 17th over the final 20 games) while they struggled to rebound through multiple stretches, specifically against their more physical opponents. Overall it was those match-ups, against bigger teams like the Kings, that gave them the most difficulty during their breakthrough 2013-14 season.

Are they mentally and physically tough enough to withstand the pressure they are about to face a year later?

Their all-star caliber backcourt of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry has carried the offence through two exhibition games and are expected to do so most of the year, but much of Toronto's success in that toughness department will be dependent on the growth and durability of its frontcourt. The Raptors have a lot invested in third-year centre Jonas Valanciunas, hoping he can grow into the anchor of their defence but understanding he still has a ways to go. Amir Johnson has served in that role for years but has taken a physical beating. Although it's still early and it generally takes longer for big men to re-adjust to game speed at this stage of camp, they've both stumbled a bit out of the gate.

"[It's] not only Jonas, it's everybody," Casey insisted. "It's everybody, all the interior people. We're just not there yet. These games don't matter, whether we win or lose, but the habits we create now are very important."

"[There's] no sense of urgency on the defensive end," he continued. "We're scoring the hell outta it. Everybody's shooting the ball very well but that's not going to win in this league."

Injury Update

Starter Terrence Ross was limited in practice Thursday, mostly taking part in shooting drills while nursing ankle and knee ailments on his right leg. Ross exited Sunday's preseason opener late in the fourth quarter after getting tangled up with Kings guard Ramon Sessions and missed Tuesday's game as a precaution. An MRI, taken earlier in the week, came back negative and the third-year swingman is considered day-to-day.

Patrick Patterson participated in full, wearing a wrap on his sore right hand after sitting out the first two games of the exhibition season.

"I was able to get on the floor today," Patterson said, "running up and down a little bit with my teammates, test it out, see how I feel. So overall, getting better every single day."

The Raptors' forward sustained the injury in a collision with Valanciunas during workouts last week, jokingly attributing it to the JV's added muscle. He could be available as early as Friday, at home to the Celtics.

Centre Greg Stiemsma was held out on Thursday as he undergoes testing as part of the league's concussion protocol following his hard fall towards the end of the loss in Sacramento.

Rookie Lucas Nogueira continues to be a spectator, hampered by what Casey called a "very serious groin strain" that has been lingering.

"It's a very tedious thing," Casey said of Nogueira's injury. "What we don't want to do is rush it back where he gets it re-injured. So it's something we have to be very careful with."