TORONTO - Amir Johnson has never been one to sulk over playing time. Gary Lewis Jersey . Whether starting or coming off the bench, Johnson has always accepted his role in stride, part of whats made him the Raptors unsung hero for the better part of the last three seasons. His body language spoke louder than words on Sunday, both before and after his teams 112-98 loss to the Nuggets, their third straight defeat at home. An hour before tip-off a subdued Johnson sat alone in front of his locker. Playing a racing game on his phone - with the volume turned up - he knew what everyone else would find out 50 minutes later. For the first time since Mar. 23, a span of 27 games, Johnson would come off the bench with Tyler Hansbrough replacing him in the Raptors starting five. Dwane Casey had hinted a lineup change could be on its way after practice the day prior but the Raptors coach kept his cards close to his vest during his pre-game availability, with the Nuggets withholding the status of starter Kenneth Faried. Following a couple slow starts in back-to-back defeats at home, the shakeup was not a surprise. "Weve been talking about it, a few days back," Johnson said, despondent after the game. A man of few words. While Johnson was held scoreless in 14 uninspiring minutes as a reserve - an uncharacteristic minus-16 on the afternoon - the change seemed to spark his team out of the gate. Along with Jonas Valanciunas, Hansbrough set the tone for the Raptors, who took an early 15-point lead thanks in large part to Torontos energy and physical work on the boards. However, that lead shrunk in a hurry as both teams went to their second units. The Nuggets - a team assembled, at least in part by Raptors GM Masai Ujiri - dominated the final 36 minutes with their superior depth, exploiting the deficiencies in Torontos shallow roster. "Masai did too good of a job of putting that group together," Casey joked before the game. The Nuggets and their new coach Brian Shaw went 10 players deep, six of them scoring in double figures, including four off the bench. "Our bench has got to give us something," Casey maintained after Denvers subs scored 72 points, an opponent record against the Raptors. "Our (starters) cant play for 48 (minutes), so weve got to get production from the bench." "The guys coming in have got to develop a toughness, a resilience of getting stops and it starts on the defensive end. Thats where our problems started in the second half. They shot well but we didnt make them feel us and thats the difference." As a team, the Nuggets shot 65 per cent in the second half and their bench went 17-for-23 from the field. Johnson - now a member of the Raptors second unit that managed just 16 points on Sunday - has not been himself this season, to his own admission. "No, Ive been on and off," he responded, asked if his early-season play has met his standards. "I mean thats why we made the change in the lineup," Casey said in agreement. "Just to give us some energy, give (Johnson) a chance to recharge a little bit, refresh a little bit, refocus a little bit." Even after Sundays game, Johnson is a plus-20 this season - the teams second best mark - shooting 54 per cent from the field, tops on the Raptors. Still, his effort and consequently his impact has been inconsistent following a career season last year. At times Casey has questioned the forwards focus. "Everybodys been through some rough times," said Rudy Gay, who had a team-high 23 points on 10-of-23 shooting in the loss. "Ive been through it… and hes going through it now." "Everybodys going to go through it at some point in their career and this is the time hes been going through it. But I have all confidence in Amir. Hes going to be great, hes going to be the same Amir we know he can be." Frustration boiling over The Raptors have now dropped three straight and five of their last six games at home, prompting a sensible question; is frustration beginning to get the best of them? "It should hurt," Casey insisted. "But the teams that we played against, if you looked at the schedule before the season started, how many of them would we have been favoured (in)? But thats no excuse because we put ourselves in a position (to win) in each of these games and even in this one in the first half. I dont see frustration." DeMar DeRozan didnt mince words, expressing his frustration after the loss. "Me personally, Im frustrated period," he exclaimed after scoring 17 points in defeat. "Just losing, I mean I hate it, I hate it with a passion." "I mean were right there. Were the ones doing it. Nobodys making us miss our coverages or nothing like that. Its on us. We show it in spurts, weve just got to be more consistent with it." Rare third-quarter touches for Valanciunas Coming into Sundays contest, Jonas Valanciunas had scored 71 points on 57 shots in first quarters this season, tallying just 60 points on 58 shots in the other three quarters combined. The sophomore was utilized more consistently against a smaller Denver team and he responded with one of his better performances of the campaign. "I thought he had a (good) matchup with those guys so we made it a focal point of getting him the ball in the paint," Casey said of Valanciunas, who had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes of action. "He did an excellent job of getting to where he wanted to go." Valanciunas had four points on seven shots in the first frame, a quarter the Raptors won, also taking seven shots and scoring eight in the third, their next best quarter. As Toronto got steamrolled in the fourth, Valanciunas attempted just one field goal in over nine minutes. If the Raptors hope to diversify their offence, which has largely been centred on Gay and DeRozan, they must find ways to incorporate their centre more consistently, a task thats easier said than done given the teams personnel and the sophomores continued development on both ends of the floor. Up next After winning one of four games during their season-long home stand, the Raptors travel west next week. Their first stop is in Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors. Anquan Boldin Jersey . The union filed a grievance late Thursday, one day after Goodell suspended four players who participated in bounties from 2009-11. The complaint says Goodell is prohibited from punishing players for any aspect of the case occurring before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed last August. Ahkello Witherspoon Jersey . Scotlands Greg Laidlaw made one of two penalty kicks and all three conversions, and Stuart Hogg added a try in the second half. "The most important thing to come out of the game is that we did not get scored against," Laidlaw said. https://www.49ersjerseysale.com/3012l-sheldon-day-jersey-49ers.html . Halak did not get the start in the Washington Capitals Tuesday night game against the St.There is a list right now that is at least five fighters long. All injured. These fighters suffered mostly knee injuries and all of these ailments are bad news for fight fans. Chris Weidman, Georges St. Pierre, and Tarec Saffiedine top the list and for St. Pierre, its the second time with this particular injury. This is the toughest sport on the planet. Tell me another sport where the practice claims as many injuries as the game itself. Honestly I have never worked with an athlete who can get back into training within two weeks of a fight. Ok, thats a lie, Ive had a few fighters get first round KOs. If the fight goes one round, the fighter is going to miss two weeks at least. The whole point of me writing about the training is to bring about a change in the fans perspective of what goes into a fight, for example the lead up is intense. As my seventh week goes in the books, I needed the support over at Elite Performance. I dont want to diet anymore and I dont want to push hard. 500 feet on the Jacobs ladder, five sets of five minute long foot touches on a tall box with a minute rest and speed skipping are all grinding on me. Add that to the fact that Im only hitting a heavy bag or working with the Nexersys for striking, Im not sparring or rolling with anyone. MMA fighters are impressive for making it through a camp. So as Jeff Fisher gently encourages me to get through my bike sprints with 1100% effort, or go train somewhere else if I want to take it easy, I think about guys who train so hard they get injured. Billy Wilson Jersey. The guys who dig down deep, do the physical conditioning, then go full throttle spar. Then after all of that, go into a cage and fight for 15 to 25 minutes. As they compete, if the action slows because two great fighters find themselves in a ground game stalemate, the crowd boos. That infuriates me. Id love every fan to get to the seventh, eighth, ninth or any week of a training camp. Eat the food, drink the water, sweat, and put in the hours. Then grapple with even just an average level jujitsu player. Once you get pinned, and you grab on for dear life, think about how boring it is to be there. The game, and what people who understand MMA love is the chess match. Its the preparation that went into that moment when two amazing athletes find themselves in a tie. The training, the work, and the injuries are what make MMA an amazing sport. Go put your time in. Change your health, fitness and your view of whats really going on in that cage. If you have tried CrossFit, go spend some time kickboxing, or better, try jujitsu. There is no better workout on the planet. Week 7 is in the books and the lesson learned is really how tough this is on the body. Im not even competing. Shout out to Dan Henderson at 40+ to be doing this and knocking people out. ' ' '