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BROOKLYN - As the Raptors opening round series shifts back into quasi must-win territory on Sunday, their playoff lives could rest on the shoulders of a 23-year-old sophomore, who is already having a tough time adjusting to the pressure of his first postseason. Through three games with the Nets, Toronto has yet to play its best basketball, the easiest explanation for their 2-1 series deficit. Its under-performing starting small forward, Terrence Ross, has been a primary factor. Stepping in for the traded Rudy Gay early in the season, Ross played an under-appreciated role in the Raptors turnaround and push to the playoffs. From Dec. 8 onwards, the second-year guard-turned-forward averaged 12.2 points, nearly doubling his pre-trade scoring mark while logging an addition 10 minutes a night. He shot the three-ball at an impressive 40 per cent clip and became Torontos most relied upon perimeter defender. Since making his playoff debut a week ago, Ross has looked like a fish out of water. Despite starting all three games and playing an average of 21 minutes, hes hit just three of his 16 jumpers while looking overwhelmed on defence against Brooklyns bigger, more physical wing players. Overall, the Raptors have gotten just 4.7 points per game from the small forward position, good for last among the NBAs 16 playoff teams by a wide margin. With Fridays 102-98 loss in the back of his mind, Dwane Casey wouldnt rule out the possibility of a lineup change for Sundays crucial Game 4. "Were still going to look at that," Casey said following a Saturday afternoon practice on the campus of a nearby university in New York City. "The decision hasnt been made but we will look at it. Right now we dont want to do anything drastic." "Its not panic time, but we do have to look at that position and get more productivity out of that spot." Its been the most problematic conundrum Casey has had to wrestle with in this series. The Raptors do not have an easy answer for Joe Johnsons unique combination of size, strength and finesse. The Nets crafty veteran - listed at 6-foot-7, 240 lbs - has had Torontos number in nearly every facet of the game. He can beat you from midrange, post-up smaller players and hes deadly from beyond the arc. "We have been double teaming him and blitzing him and hes been getting a lot of his [points] in those one-on-one situations," Casey pointed out. Defensively, Landry Fields has had the most individual success against Johnson. Casey turned to the sparingly used forward in Game 2, a well-received lineup adjustment that helped neutralize Johnson in the fourth quarter and spark Torontos comeback victory. Johnson would go on to lead the Nets with 29 points in Fridays Game 3 but was held scoreless, missing both of his shots, in seven first-half minutes with Fields guarding him. However, Fields was limited to just eight minutes in the loss. This time the Nets had prepared for him. Anticipating his reluctance to shoot, Brooklyn used Fields defender to apply even more pressure to DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. With Jonas Valanciunas in foul trouble, Fields shared the floor with Tyler Hansbrough - another player the defence can afford to overlook - and the Raptors offence took an immediate hit. "Its give and take," Casey said in regards to utilizing Fields in this series. "You sacrifice some offence for defence. I thought he did a heck of a job [defensively] but you do suffer in your spacing." John Salmons returned to the rotation, scoring four points in 12 minutes on Friday after sitting out in Game 2. The 35-year-old has battled lingering back pain while struggling with his jumper. He too has been exposed by Johnson. "Weve got to find ways to get them the ball," Casey said of Fields and Salmons. "Whether its cutting, screening, running the floor, so that we get something from that spot [and] they cant just load up and go 5-on-4 at the defensive end. We want to make sure we do get something offensively out of that position." Their best chance is to get Ross going. Fields moves well without the ball and gives you consistent effort on defence, Salmons brings a certain veteran savvy that has been useful in the past but Ross - when right - is the two-way contributor Toronto desperately needs to gain the upper hand in this series. For the young Ross, boosting his confidence could be the key to unleashing the natural ability he has displayed throughout his second season. It could be something as simple as seeing an early shot fall, getting a big first-quarter stop or throwing down one of his trademark slam dunks. "Hes still the same Terrence," DeRozan said Saturday. "We all understand everybodys not going to have their best night [all the time]. We all understand that. Our job is to keep everybodys confidence high." Through three playoff games, Ross and fellow sophomore Jonas Valanciunas - who leads the Raptors in turnovers - have the worst +/- on the team. Toronto has allowed 24 more points than its scored with Ross on the floor, outscored by 21 with Valanciunas on the floor. The Raptors are the only playoff team to feature two second-year players in their starting lineup. Their inexperience and overall importance to the future of this franchise is largely responsible for the leash theyve been given. "If they werent young guys, if that wasnt our future, our direction, they probably wouldnt be in there with some of the mistakes theyre making," Casey admitted. "But, theyre our guys. Theyve got to learn, its their first playoffs. I expect most of their mistakes. Were going to ride with them in those situations." "Its tougher, but a big part of the reason were here is because of their play. Im not blind to the fact they are our future and the only way were going to learn is to go through it. The amount of time might be a little shorter, but theyve got to get out there." Regardless of his role, Ross will continue to play. Yes, win or lose this is a valuable learning experience for the 23-year-old but more than anything else, Casey knows how quickly the complexion of this series could change if Ross shots begin to fall. For Ross, the player, that would mean more confidence and likely a more engaged defensive effort, even if he cant guard Johnson one-on-one. For the team it could aid their spacing, take the pressure off Lowry and DeRozan and breathe life into their suffocating offence. Adidas Stan Smith Mens Cheap . The Blue Jackets announced the injury through their official Twitter account Friday afternoon. Gaborik, 31, has scored five goals and six assists in 17 games with the Blue Jackets in 2013-14. Cheap Adidas Stan Smith Wholesale . MacIntyre stopped 49 shots and the Marlies defeated the Texas Stars 5-1 in Game 1 of the American Hockey Leagues Western Conference final. "I felt in control, so that was nice," MacIntyre said. http://www.cheapstansmith.us/.com Tour title, closing with a 6-under 64 for a four-stroke victory. The 22-year-old former North Texas player finished at 12-under 268 at Panama Golf Club and earned $112,500 to jump from seventh to second on the money list with $171,500. Cheap Adidas Stan Smith Sale . No, really, his head. Late in the game, the St. Louis goalie craned his neck into the air to block a shot, taking a puck square in the mask. Cheap Stan Smith Shoes . He had even more fun Friday. Coming off a sensational rookie season, Spieth opened the new year by never coming close to bogey and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 7-under 66.DURHAM, N.C. -- Eastern Michigan isnt undefeated against Duke anymore. The Eagles simply couldnt keep the ninth-ranked Blue Devils off the boards in an 82-59 loss Saturday. This was just the second meeting between the schools -- the Earl Boykins-led Eagles upset Duke in the first round of the 1996 NCAA tournament -- and Eastern Michigans struggles on the glass led to a lopsided loss in the rematch 18 years later. Duke outrebounded the Eagles 47-32 and had 20 offensive rebounds. "Its important -- the shot goes up, we have to rebound the ball," Eastern Michigan coach Rob Murphy said. "I thought we did a great job of showing and forcing them into some contested shots. But we gave up 20 offensive rebounds. "To be successful, ultimately, the way we play, we have to rebound the basketball and we didnt do a great job of that tonight." Mike Talley scored 20 points to lead the Eagles (7-4), while Karrington Ward scored 11 points and Sims finished with 10. Eastern Michigan kept this a game into the second half, but went 6 minutes between field goals during the critical stretch when Duke pulled away. For Duke, Jabari Parker scored 23 points and Andre Dawkins had season highs of 20 points and six 3-pointers. With Rodney Hood fighting an illness that he said caused him to flee the court and throw up, Dawkins was summoned from the bench to make a surprise start moments before the opening tip. And the fifth-year senior who sat out last season sure made the most of it. He finished with his highest point total since scoring 22 and hitting six 3s in a win at Florida State in 2012. "Its a little bit different coming off, not playing for a year, and trying to play at this level," Dawkins said. "So, it took some time, but Im getting there. But its still a process." Rasheed Sulaimon added 13 for Duke (10-2) and came up with the key hustle play during the decisive second-half run that helped them polish off their fourth straight win. Duke shot 40 per cent against Eastern Michigans tough zone defence whiile hitting 10 3-pointers, and wrapped up the pre-ACC home schedule with its 101st straight nonconference win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.dddddddddddd "We knew they played zone, so we were going to get open looks on the offensive end, but we really wanted to focus on stopping them," Dawkins said. "It was a big task to try and stop them but I think we did a pretty good job." The Blue Devils led just 43-35 with 15 minutes left before breaking the game open with a 15-1 run. Quinn Cook and Hood hit 3-pointers roughly 25 seconds apart before Sulaimons key hustle play. He had Eagles guard J.R. Sims trapped near midcourt when Sims tried to spike the ball off Sulaimon and out of bounds -- but the ball instead rolled down the sideline toward the Duke basket. Sulaimon scooped it up, was fouled hard by Sims -- who received a flagrant foul -- on his way to the basket and hit the ensuing two free throws to stretch the lead to 53-35 with 13:12 left. Dawkins 3-pointer roughly 3 minutes later gave the Blue Devils their first 20-point lead at 56-36. Amile Jefferson -- who started the run with a free throw with 14:28 left -- hit a foul shot to push it to 58-36 with 10:25 remaining, and they pulled away from there. Jefferson finished with a career-high 14 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who have had at least one 20-point scorer in every game this season. Its the first time thats happened at Duke since the eventual national champion 2000-01 team did it in its first 17 games. Ten of those 20-point games now belong to Parker, who led or shared the teams scoring lead for the eighth time. He scored 14 of Dukes 37 points in the first half after hitting six of his first 11 shots, including a pair of thunderous alley-oop dunks. That helped make up for an off day for Hood, who averages 18.5 points but finished with eight on 3-of-8 shooting. He also had eight rebounds while playing through his unspecified illness. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he received an IV at halftime. "He wasnt the same guy," Krzyzewski said. ' ' '