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TORONTO - The Raptors havent had an All-Star player since Chris Bosh left town but that could change this February, especially if coach Dwane Casey has his say. Hakeem Olajuwon Jersey . "Im pushing our guys," Casey said after practice Friday, making the case for his backcourt duo, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, to get voted in as first-time All-Stars. "I dont know if we can get two [but] Im going to push two and hope to get one, because both guys are playing at a high level." The Raptors coach initially broached the subject in Miami on Sunday. "Theyre playing like All-Stars," he said. "You look at the other guards in the East and theyre right there with them." Since then, he has been busy campaigning to his peers. "All my friends, all the coaches, [Ive] talked to them about it, texted them, they did me the same way when they were trying to get their guys in last year," Casey admitted. "Ill beg the coaches, bribe them with lunch or dinner, whatever, when we have a coaches meeting," he joked. "But its what we should be doing as an organization, and we are doing it as an organization and Im doing it with the coaches." More than likely, Miamis Dwyane Wade and Clevelands Kyrie Irving will get the nod from fans to start in the backcourt for the Eastern Conference. The leagues coaches will then vote in the reserves, two backcourt players, three frontcourt and two wild-card spots (players at any position). Theres a legitimate case to be made for both Raptors guards to represent the East as reserves in the annual midseason showcase, taking place on Feb. 16 in New Orleans. DeRozan is 13th in the NBA in scoring, averaging a career-best 21.2 points per game. He has made notable strides as both a passer and a defender, once considered to be holes in his game. Hes recorded five or more assists in eight of 34 games after doing so 12 times last year and accomplishing that feat in just five contests combined over his first three seasons in the league. "Look at what hes doing," Lowry said of his teammate. "He leads our team in scoring, hes done a great job of being our go-to guy, hes been a complete professional and he gets better every single night." Lowry has been Torontos most valuable player, carrying the team at the point guard position. In his eighth season, Lowry is averaging career-bests in points, assets and steals while shooting his highest percentage from three-point range. His career-best streak of 24 consecutive games with six or more dimes recently came to an end, topping his previous high of eight straight. Hes fourth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. "Look at the stat sheet after he plays," said DeRozan, making the case for Lowry. "Any given night he gives you 16 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, somewhere around that margin every game. Thats just what he [does]. He goes out there and plays hard, hes scrappy, hes a bulldog when hes out there on that court. Hes definitely a leader, he definitely wants to win, I see it in his eyes." True to character, both players were hesitant to make their own case but neither could downplay what the honour of being named to the All-Star squad, alongside the leagues best, would mean to them. "It would be an unbelievable, phenomenal thing, it would be humbling," Lowry admitted. "Im sure if either one of us [makes] it, it would be a great time and a great accomplishment and achievement to tell our families and our kids one day." Lowry made sure to follow up that statement with a reminder that he, DeRozan and the rest of the team remain far more concerned with their collective success than individual accolades. The Raptors recent success could be the very thing that nets them their first All-Star since Bosh was named to the team in 2010. "We deserve it," Casey said proudly. "Our record, were ranked at the top of our division, were number four in our conference so we do deserve All-Star ranking and All-Star consideration with our players, because those guys are playing at a very high level." Entering Fridays slate of games, Toronto is one of just four teams in the East with a record at or above the .500 mark. As a team, the Raptors have gone 11-5 since the early-December trade of Rudy Gay with both Lowry and DeRozan - the teams two leading scorers - playing key roles in the resurgence. Although his percentages have dropped slightly, DeRozan is taking the same amount of shots as he was pre-trade and hes averaging nearly two more assists per contest. Lowry is tied for fifth in the league in assists since the trade was made on Dec. 8, averaging 8.4 to go along with 17.6 points. While Lowry may be more deserving of the honour given his value over replacement this season, DeRozan should have a favourable shot at earning recognition from the leagues coaches. DeRozan is highly thought of as a hard working, evolving player and has been universally praised by opposing coaches this season, whereas Lowry has developed a reputation for being somewhat combative. "Kyles showed hes a positive leader," Casey said of his point guard, who - in the final year of his contract - came into training camp with a renewed focus, in the best shape of his career. "I think that was the biggest question among coaches around the league, could he be a positive leader and be productive on the court. Hes done that." "I think theyre [both] very well respected. DeMar has been playing at a very high level, being very efficient, not just a volume shooter, so hes done that. Everything those guys have [done have answered] the questions about them as players. Plus on top of that theyve put us at the top of our division." The Raptors backcourt duo, or at least one of them, could be the beneficiary of a weak Eastern Conference. Unlike the loaded West, the conferences player pool reflects its overall inferiority. Their primary competition figures to come from Washingtons John Wall (19.7 points, 8.7 assists), Orlandos Arron Afflalo (21.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists), Atlantas Jeff Teague (16.8 points, 7.9 assists) and Indianas Lance Stephenson (13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists). All-Star starters will be announced live on the TNT broadcast Jan. 23 and the reserves will be revealed a week later, also on TNT. Robert Horry Jersey . Manager Ryan Nelsen has confirmed Brazilian No. 1 Julio Cesar will be rested for Wednesdays first leg of the semifinal. That opens the door for Bendik, who started 33 games for Toronto last season. Houston Rockets Jerseys . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/Nene-Jersey/ . The Oilers will try to get back in the win column on Monday when they continue a four-game road trip with a battle against the Buffalo Sabres. Edmonton won its third straight game last Wednesday against visiting San Jose, beating the Sharks 3-0 as Scrivens stopped 59 shots to set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout.TORONTO -- Randy Carlyle had plenty of chances to hold his breath. At one point his Toronto Maple Leafs gave up the lead on a breakaway and another time had a power-play goal waved off. But when goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped Reid Boucher in the shootout, the coach and players got a chance to exhale with a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils Sunday night at Air Canada Centre that snapped their losing streak at four. "Well, we can breathe," Carlyle said. "Theres been a lot of gasping going on, and even in this game there was a lot of gasping going on (with) how tight it was. ... Hopefully this relieves a little bit of the stress thats involved for our hockey club." Plenty of stress had been building up for the Leafs (22-20-5), who hadnt won since the Winter Classic. They still have just two regulation victories in 26 games dating to Nov. 21 and arent yet back in a playoff spot, but the sound of their victory song -- "We Cant Stop" by Miley Cyrus -- brought with it some relief. "Well take any points we can get right now," defenceman Cody Franson said. "Weve had some tough bounces lately, and weve put in some efforts that couldve went either way, and fortunately tonight we were able to get a couple points due to a shootout. You try and manage your emotions with shootouts not getting too high, but for us its a little bit of weight off our shoulders." Bernier made 36 saves on 38 shots in regulation and overtime and stopped all three he faced in the shootout to do his part to end the skid. James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak had the Leafs goals, and van Riemsdyk scored in the shootout to beat a fatigued Devils team playing its third game in four nights. "I think under the circumstances, that team over theres desperate (and) we were coming in here short-handed and under a tough schedule," New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer said. "I thought we gave them everything they could handle. Theyre probably pretty fortunate they got two points and we feel a little bit robbed, but thats the game and weve got to pick up and move on to Montreal." Adam Henrique and Ryane Clowe scored for the Devils (19-19-9), who fell to 0-7 in shootouts this season. Jaromir Jagr, Clowe and Boucher were all unsuccessful this time. "The way weve been in shootouts, lets get it out," Henrique said with a laugh. "I mean, they try things with shootouts, I think everyone has different opinions on it." Opinions varied during the game, too, especially on the call by referee Ghislain Hebert that negated Bozaks power-play goal at 6:23 of the third period. Hebert ruled that van Riemsdyk interfered with Devils goaltender Cory Schneider. Carlyle said it was one of tthose plays it was hard to agree with the official after looking at it on the replay. Trevor Ariza Jersey. Van Riemsdyk agreed. "I was very surprised," said van Riemsdyk, who scored his 17th goal of the season in the second period. "I looked at it after on video in between periods and Im still kind of wondering. He gave me his thought and I asked him if he could watch it after the game and maybe next time we have a game he can apologize or something because that was pretty brutal." It would have been Bozaks second of the night and eighth of the season. Instead, it represented another roadblock for the much-maligned Leafs to overcome. Carlyle estimated his team had 15 scoring chances leading up to that point. "For the next 12 minutes we didnt get any," he said. "So it just shows the mental state and how, I guess, fragile we were at that point." But the Leafs didnt cave. Earlier on in the night they withstood a 7-1 shot deficit and gave up a breakaway goal to Clowe -- his first of the season -- 27 seconds after van Riemsdyk scored to give them the lead. In managing to push the game to overtime and then a shootout, Toronto left things to chance. But players were happy to get tangible evidence of the improvement they saw in a loss at Washington on Friday night. "Our job is to win games," captain Dion Phaneuf said. "We know that the points just keep getting bigger and bigger, and I felt that we stuck with it tonight against a team that played very well." DeBoer was more than satisfied with his teams effort, saying players competed their butts off. "The shootout doesnt take away from the effort that we gave tonight," DeBoer said. Schneider, who made 23 saves on 25 shots, said it was a bit upsetting not to come away with the victory. On Saturday night, the Devils beat the Florida Panthers with two seconds remaining in overtime but couldnt pull off a similar trick against the Leafs. That wouldve been a crushing result for Torontos players, who needed something to go right. "We needed this bad," Bernier said. "We found a way. If thats what it takes to go into a shootout and get points and move on like this, it feels good for the confidence." NOTES -- Five Leafs players -- Bozak, winger Jerry DAmigo, defencemen Tim Gleason and Mark Fraser and goaltender James Reimer -- missed Sundays morning skate with illness. All but Fraser were in the lineup. ... Schneider started for the Devils despite making 29 saves in an overtime victory Saturday night at home. Coach Peter DeBoer said its "always a decision" because of franchise goaltender Martin Brodeur but elected to go with Schneider because of his strong performance against Florida. Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Stitched Jerseys ' ' '